NaNoWriMo Day 10: 5,891 of 50,000
Theo is struggling to come to terms with his obsession, folks!
To read the previous chapters head HERE!
Chapter Four
After much tossing and turning Theo decided that as soon as his iPhone screen displayed 4:30 am it was an appropriate time to get up. The city of Seattle was not the kind of city that was up at all hours of the night. If anything most people were tucked into their beds pretty early as the consistent rain drove people inside. The summer heat at the moment was certainly not helping either. So, as Theo stepped outside for some morning air and to make sense of what happened with Ophelia and Tyler last night he felt peaceful for the first time in several weeks.
The street was quiet, the street lights still shining brightly as hints of the daylight were appearing around the corner of the spiritual center that was on the other side of 61st street. Theo stretched his neck and heard the joints of his ankles crack as he stretched on his tip toes. Collecting his thoughts was often a laborious task for Theo. He was a fast processor and his mind often moved a million miles an hour jumping from thought to thought. Theo had learned overtime the value in slowing down and allowing one thought to come to the forefront of his mind at a time.
The first thought that he forced into the spotlight was the tussle he got into with, mostly, Ophelia last night. True, she knew more about it than Tyler but it was hard to feel connected to people who all but rolled their eyes at you after sharing a terrifying story. It wasn’t like Theo was expecting them to pull out their magnifying glasses and Sherlock Holmes investigative skills to help him solve this, but a little support wasn’t a lot to ask for at this point.
For Theo he really just wanted a logical explanation and he realized in the silence of the morning that maybe there wasn’t a logical response. It was possible that this man just saw an opportunity to spruce up the neighborhood. As soon as that thought came into his mind he pushed it aside. It was just absurd to see a random person bending down on the sidewalk with a larger than normal knife and cutting the weeds. It just was and there had to be an explanation.
A bird chirping loudly nearby made Theo realize he had to begin his day or he could have stood in this spot thinking for quite some time. Thankfully Theo had come up with something to distract not only his thoughts, but the incessant texts he was receiving from Ophelia and Tyler. It was petty, true, but the last thing Theo wanted to do was to talk to either of them.
As Theo settled into his desk chair and opened his Macbook his face immediately lit up as the screen turned on. For Theo the thing that made him most happy was looking at dogs for sale. He had spent the past year looking for a dog to adopt, but coming to some sort of crossroads or issue just as he seemed to be getting close to having a dog of his own. Only a few short weeks ago he had gotten a new pitbull puppy home and settled only to learn the next morning that the poor puppy needed a surgery and would have to go back to his original home. It hurt Theo for awhile, but what kept him going was the endless list of other puppies that needed a home in the greater Seattle area.
For three straight hours Theo had all but forgotten about Tyler, Ophelia, and the man with the knife as he poured over the Seattle Humane Society website looking at all of the dogs that were currently up for adoption. Realizing that without a car it would be difficult to get over there he decided to ask his sister if she wanted to go look at dogs and possibly see a movie. He was doing his best to keep the obsession at bay but knew that it wasn’t entirely possible.
When Theo’s sister agreed to go he decided in the meantime he would take a walk around the neighborhood just to check things out. After all, Theo had only been a Washington state resident for less than a year so it would be advantageous of him if he were to do a neighborhood perusal. Of course this was all a guise as Theo really just wanted to see if the man with the knife was out at this time.
The neighborhood was more alive in the early afternoon than it was in the morning hours. People were out walking their dogs, playing in the nearby parks, and having conversations on their porches. As Theo crisscrossed the streets in his neighborhood his heart rate increased as he approached the street that the man usually parked his van on. It was all a build-up for nothing because the van was nowhere in sight. After taking a few deep breaths allowing the remaining adrenaline to make its way out of his body, Theo returned to his doorstep.
“Hey there neighbor,” a female voice said nearby.
Theo’s head turned as he took in the smiling brunette before him. “Hi there.’
“I wanted to introduce myself. I just moved in a couple of days ago,” she said now coming closer, “Alice.”
Theo extended his hand to shake her’s. ‘Theo and welcome to the neighborhood.”
She laughed which only further encouraged Theo. “Thank you. How long have you lived here?”
Theo swallowed realizing this wasn’t going to be a quick “hello-goodbye” kind of conversation. He wasn’t much of a people person to be honest. “I moved here in November of 2017. So, not too long.”
“Ah, and is this neighborhood a good neighborhood,” she laughed again, “I’m sorry I’m not sure what I’m trying to say.”
“No, it’s okay I get it. Yeah, it’s not bad,” Theo paused because all he could picture in his mind was that man with the knife, “I mean there are a few homeless people who live in their cars, but I imagine that is true of most neighborhoods in the city.”
The girl’s smile fell as she took in Theo’s words. “Oh my. I have heard that has been an issue, but I haven’t seen it firsthand.”
Theo nodded and was momentarily distracted as something caught his eye. It was the man walking toward them with the knife in his hand. Panic surged through Theo as he noticed the man was making eye contact with him. He quickly turned to Alice mumbled an apology and making some excuse for his sudden need to get inside. He didn’t give Alice a chance to respond as he rushed into his townhome quickly locking the door behind him.
Follow along with me this month at Jenna Pratt!
