Interrupted Bathes

Pharai

When I got back to the apartment my body was so exhausted from walking around the large campus and packing that all I could imagine doing was ordering takeout, having a good soak in the bath then watching an ancient Egypt documentary where I would argue facts with a screen that did not hear me.

I dropped my bags as soon as I entered my foyer and like a zombie dragged my feet to the kitchen. With a quick gulp of orange juice, I made my way to the bathroom to rinse out my bathtub then pour bath foam with salts under the running water. I opened the faucet so it slowly filled the tub so I could order food.

There was a diner I loved just around the block that sold the most amazing traditional food. They knew me so well now that when I called they already knew what I wanted. The food never took long which was the greatest benefit.

By the time my food had arrived the tub was filled with hot water. I ate first because I wanted the water to cool down slightly before I hopped in. It was a struggle to put my thick curly hair up in a tight knot bun because it had been escaping a lot these days no matter how many hair ties and bobby pins I put into it.

Once I was satisfied I undressed and put my clothes in the hamper before I climbed into the steaming water. My muscles immediately released as a satisfied groan left my lips. I was submerged in the water from my chin down. A small speaker played classical music in the bathroom because it always helped calm my soul.

The back of my head relaxed against the tiled wall of the bathroom. This week had been hectically busy but I was excited for the meeting with the dean and fellow professors in a week. My dream was finally coming into fruition after so long.

Yet it seemed the universe never wanted me to be happy because out of the blue my hair collapsed down to my shoulders. I let out a loud gasp and before I could even open my eyes a thundering and quaking voice rung in my ears, "You know I hate it when your hair is up."

My eyes burst open and without my conscious mind thinking about it, I let out a blood curling scream as Golden Eyes sat on the rim of my bath tub. I pulled my knees to my chest to cover the little respect I had left.

"Why are you hiding?" he laughed displaying his sparking white teeth, "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"You're a psychopath get out!" I splashed water at him but instantly froze when the water somehow floated in the air like large droplets. With a circle motion of his finger the water came right back to me and splashed me in the face.

"You've lost your manners over the years," he tsked, "Maybe I should remind you how to treat guests."

"Get out now!" I screamed, "What the hell are you doing in my bathroom!" My blood was rushing to so many directions it felt like I was about to explode. In fact I would have preferred to explode because I finally thought I had gotten rid of Golden Eyes with the therapy and sleep. "This is a disaster."

I pressed my hands to the sides of my head and squeezed my eyes shut. I chanted a mantra to tell the Golden Eyed man to go away but by the bone crunching chill going down my spine I knew he was still here. He caught me off guard this time.

"Why are you stressing so much?" he cooed. Even though my eyes were closed I could tell he was smiling. "We used to see each other naked all the time. If you want I can undress and we're even."

I opened my eyes to find he was already standing up about to push down the one piece of fabric covering his body which were his black cotton pants. He was always shirtless and barefoot that at a point I wondered why he even bothered.

"NO!" I held my hands out to stop him.

He toyed with the waistband of his pants then twirled his hips slightly as his electric laugh echoed off the walls, "Are you shy Pharai? You'll see me eventually."

"I'll never want to," I bit out, "I beg of you please leave. You're a fiction of my imagination and I don't know why you keep on popping up but you need to leave." The psychologist had suggested when I saw this mysterious figure I were to tell it to go away.

It would allow my mind to feel it had power and that would force whatever Golden Eyes was to leave me alone.

Yet by his facial expression I feared he was not going to leave me alone anytime soon. His upper lip was twisted as his eyebrows furrowed, "You don't remember me?"

"I have no idea who you are besides the hallucination caused by my mind," I frowned, "Now I'm asking you to give me peace." During my little rant I had not noticed I had moved to expose my body.

Golden Eyes peeked into the water with a smirk. I gasped once again and pulled my knees back to my chest.

"It offends me greatly you don't remember me," he shook his head, "but you were always the trickster. You must be playing another one of your tricks on me."

I was completely baffled. "What in the world are talking about? I don't know who you are. Get that through your thick psychopathic head."

The golden molten in his eyes started to shift. It was the most fascinating thing to see as it violently churned in his irises. "Why don't you remember me?" he frowned, his usually loud voice was a lot quieter than usual, "I was your everything."