5 The Creep

A night of staring at the ceiling was finally over. Sleep only arrived when the sun was just around the corner. Jessica didn't feel odd waking up alone. Adam’s job demanded travel and a lot of lonely nights. She often wondered if his nights were as lonely as hers. He could always pick someone up on his way to the hotel to give him company. She shook off the thought. The man she loved was better than that. He never looked forward to those interstate travels and that meant something to her. The alarm had done its best to ruin the seldom blissful dream she had had in a while. She swung a slap at the clock and it shut up abruptly. She had called Adam several times in the night and he hadn't responded. She went to the kitchen to fix herself something but realized that she was in no mood for breakfast. Adam had brought a box of biscuits for days like these. She grabbed a pack and left for work. 

The snow was nowhere to be seen on the roads. Only the last of the ice on shingles and naked branches remained. The sun shone the brightest in the past few weeks. Her Beetle navigated smoothly through the traffic and reached her workplace. The bank looked like new. The janitor had knocked himself out over it. The lines at the parking lot were retraced and the sidewalk was power-washed. It sparked a childish excitement inside her. She cheerfully strolled inside and greeted her coworkers. The bank wasn't open for the public yet and Brenda was in early as usual. She was filing her nails behind her counter and greeted Jessica back. The light in the president’s room was on. It was odd for Wheatley to be at the bank that early. He was probably dozing off or watching movies at his desk. As soon as the clock ticked at nine o’clock, Carlos flipped the sign at the door. People started pouring in. Within an hour, the bank was back to normal and there was hardly any customer at any of the counters. Jessica was on her phone going through her social media feed while Brenda played Candy Crush. She had been playing the game for years and for a while, she had even convinced Jessica to play as well. Jessica had lost interest after a few weeks but not Brenda. It seemed as if the developers made new levels just for her. Carlos was wandering around inside the building with a pack of chips. The day was getting drier by the minute just the way they were accustomed to have. The door opened and a familiar face entered the bank. Jessica was half convinced that the man would go to Brenda’s counter but she caught him coming her way at the corner of her eye. She put down her phone and looked up. She felt her blood freeze. It was the same man. She tried her best to get a hold of herself.

“Welcome to Red Stallion, how may I help you?” She greeted him with a professional smile. After finishing another level of the game, Brenda finally decided to check on the customer. Her reaction was not very different from that of Jessica. She wasn't sure what to do but she was wary. The man still looked in a bit of a hurry. He wore a trench coat and held a briefcase in hand. 

“Hi. I wanted to make a withdrawal,” the man plainly spoke. It almost felt as if the events of the previous day never happened at all. Brenda stared at him trying to find some answers. She glanced at the door and found it abandoned. Carlos was too busy fooling around with his mates. 

“Do you have a cheque on you?” Jessica calmly inquired. 

“No. I seem to have misplaced my cheque book,” the man responded.

“I’m sorry. We can’t make a withdrawal without …” Jessica was in the process of denying him his request when he interrupted. 

“Ok fine! Just tell me the total funds in my account,” the man blurted, showing the first signs of uneasiness. 

“Your account number?” Jessica asked as she typed on the computer. 

“I don't remember,” the man said.

“It’s fine. Any proof of your identity will do,” Jessica comforted him. He pulled out his wallet and handed her his driving license. She quickly typed his credentials in the system and handed the card back. After a moment of processing, the search returned empty. 

“I’m afraid our system doesn't …” Jessica had her eyes on the screen while speaking when the sound of a camera shutter attracted her attention. She looked up and found the man putting his phone away. The man was in shock. It was obvious that he had forgotten to turn the sound all the way down. 

“Hey!” she protested as she stood up. The man didn't spend another second in the building and dashed out of the door. Carlos came running from inside the bank. The man had disappeared by the time Carlos reached the door. Jessica walked out from behind the counter in astonishment and Brenda followed. Everyone in the bank was in shock and wondered what to make of it. Brenda didn't have any jokes to comfort Jessica. Wheatley stumbled out of his office to see what the commotion was about. A staff member told him and he shared the expressions with the rest of the bank. Carlos was at the center of disrespectful glares. 

“This calls for police involvement,” Wheatley suggested and pulled out his phone. Everyone agreed. After a while of standing around in confusion, everyone went back to their workstations. Jessica sat blankly at her seat. Brenda returned moments later.

“What a creep!” Brenda blurted as she sat down. She saw the emotionless look on Jessica’s face and knew that the event had taken a toll on her. A few minutes later, a patrol car arrived at the bank for a formal filing of the complaint. The two cops looked vigilant to the seemingly harmless case of stalking. The police thought that the case had a slight chance of having an aggressive psychopath behind it. The town didn't have much crime so police had the time and resources to manage each case with undivided attention. The senior one asked all sorts of questions while the other scribbled down every answer. 

“He was just fine when he came in yesterday,” Carlos responded to the question asked by the officer. “He started acting up a minute later,” he added. The police concluded the basic investigation and left. 

In a matter of seconds, the bank was back to normal. Wheatley was back in his office doing God knows what. Jessica was back to staring at nothing. Having police around her seemed to make matters even worse for her. 

“You go home. I’ll manage,” Brenda offered. Jessica couldn't.

“But…” Jessica wanted to respectfully deny but Brenda wasn't going to budge.

“It’s gonna be a dry one as usual. There’s no need for two counters,” Brenda convinced her further and flipped the sign on Jessica’s counter. Jessica was convinced. She thanked Brenda and left. None of her coworkers had the right to mind her early leave after what had happened. Carlos escorted her to her car. He was embarrassed. He apologized and Jessica accepted the apology. 

She drove home making a stop at the home depot. She bought an extra pair of locks just to be sure. It was a blissful feeling for Jessica to reach home with daylight to spare. She thought of all the things she could do with the free time she had. But the extra hours at home would definitely be drained in binge watching her favorite sitcoms. She tossed her bag on the couch and switched on the TV. After a while of gawking at the screen, the feeling of dread started to creep in. Every leafless branch waving with the wind looked ominous. Every harmless noise ran a shiver through her. She turned off the TV and walked outside the house. She sat at the door, observing everything that happened in the neighborhood. Jessica knew that sharing the events with Adam was the only way to calm her down but she also understood that doing so would make him sick with worry. Adam took days off work whenever Jessica fell sick. She tried her best to pass the time. The silent neighborhood didn't help her at all. The schools wouldn't close for two more hours. The streets were deserted. She was inching closer and closer towards madness. The ruffling of the bushes made her heart sink. She quickly turned to look and found a couple of squirrels scurry out of them. She ran back inside and locked up the house. The new locks found their homes. Her mind had started to play tricks on her. She was hearing things that weren't there at all. After a couple of agonizingly slow hours, Jessica decided to make the call.