The Note

The knock came in the middle of the night, waking me from a dreamless sleep.With bleary eyes, I glanced at the clock. 2:15 in the morning? I groaned and rolled back over, hoping the knock I heard was just the wind outside.Before my head could hit the pillow, another knock came, more aggressive this time. Who could possibly be at my house this late at night? I rubbed the bleariness from my eyes and stumbled down the stairs to the front door.

I yanked the door open, not quite sure what I was expecting to see.Nothing but darkness and silence greeted me. I leaned out, peering down both sides of the street. No one was there. I stepped out onto the porch to get a better view of the neighbors’ yards but a quiet crunch caught my attention instead. I stepped back to find I had stepped on a wrinkled envelope.

I picked it up. The front was blank aside from my name, no return address, not even my own address.Just my name scrawled terribly, like someone was rushing to write it down. I flipped it over, nothing on the other side either. After a moment of staring at the envelope I realized I was still standing on my porch in the dead of night. I took another quick look around but there was no one watching, no one that I could see anyway. I stepped back into the safety of my home and shut and locked the door.

I looked at the envelope in my hands. It was late, the letter could wait until tomorrow. I tossed it on the little table by the front door and started to go back to bed. I was only two steps up when a weird feeling overcame me. I needed to look at the letter. I walked hesitantly back to where I’d tossed it. Something about the hurriedness of my name being written and nothing else made me nervous. Something tugged at the back of my mind, like the letter was familiar somehow, but the feeling disappeared almost as soon as it came. I ripped the envelope open. The only thing inside was a small, ripped piece of paper.

You were right.

I flipped the scrap of paper over but there was nothing there. Just those words, you were right. Right about what? Again, something tugged at the recesses of my mind. I pushed the feeling away. I looked at my name on the front of the envelope again.

Jenny.

The J was so jagged it barely looked like a letter, more like a scribble.The Y was so broken apart it would have looked like two random lines had the E, N and N not been more legible.Whoever wrote it was in a massive hurry.With an exacerbated sigh, I tossed the envelope and scrap of paper onto the table and made my way back to bed.At this point it was 3 am and I had a session first thing in the morning.

Eight A.M. came too fast. Usually, I was alert and awake for my first sessions but something about that letter had me tossing and turning all night long. I yawned obnoxiously as I poured my coffee and waited at the kitchen bar for my first client. Not even five minutes letter the doorbell rings. Coffee still in hand, I open the door for my first client.

“Good morning, Casey!” I try my best to sound cheerful but even I can tell it sounded forced. She gave me a worried look but didn’t say anything.I led her to my office as I always did, and we sat down across from each other. I set my coffee down, grabbed my notepad and flipped it to a blank page.“How are you doing since our session last week?” Casey fiddled with her thumbs. Something about her movements seemed off today, unnatural.

“Not good.” Casey admitted after a moment of silence. “I’m really scared Jenny.” The way she said my name felt off too. She didn’t sound like herself.

“Am I talking to Casey this morning or am I talking to Sabrina?” Casey’s gaze shot up to me, tears welling up in her eyes.

“No, it’s me, it’s Casey!” The question clearly rattled her. “It’s me, it’s not her, it’s me, it’s me.” Her voice raised each time she repeated ‘it’s me’.

“Okay, okay, Casey you’re ok, breath, breath.” After a moment Casey calmed back down. “Tell me why you’re scared.” A single tear ran down her cheek. Casey quickly wiped it away and sniffled.

“My roommate said I came home yesterday not acting like myself. She said I was distant and cold. She said she tried to talk to me about a disagreement we had a few days ago and she said I snapped.” Another tear ran down her face. “She said I grabbed her by the throat and started choking her!” More tears. “I don’t remember doing that! It had to be Sabrina. She’s escalating. She’s never hurt someone before.” At this point Casey was in full hysterics. I gave her a few minutes to collect herself, writing down notes while I waited. After several minutes later, Casey had finally calmed down.

“Casey, I’m worried the escalation of Sabrina could mean she is potentially a psychopath, devoid of any emotion and remorse. With the way she’s escalating I think it may be best to put you on medication to suppress this personality. I’ll write you a prescription, pick it up today and start taking it immediately. I also think it’s time you tell your roommate the truth about Sabrina.” Casey nodded, a few more tears escaped her eyes. She took the prescription paper and left.

The rest of the day went by slowly. None of my other clients showed up which was odd, but I took the opportunity to clean the house and relax. I’d forgotten all about the letter until I went to straighten up the table by the front door and saw the envelope and the scrap of paper sitting there. I picked them up again, reading my name for the hundredth time. It seemed foreign to read my name, like it wasn’t mine.

You were right.

What could that possibly mean? Right about what?

Right about Sabrina! A voice rang out in my head. My breath hitched. It wasn’t my voice I’d heard in my head. I ripped the paper and the envelope apart and threw it away. Suddenly someone was banging on my front door, aggressive and urgent. I ran to the door and yanked it open. Casey stood on my front porch, her hands and shirt red with what I could only conclude was blood.

“Oh my god, Casey what happened?” Tears streamed down her face; her hands trembled as did her knees. A strong feeling of deju vu overwhelmed me and my heart began to pound.

“You were right.” My blood ran cold. You were right. The same thing the note had said. The scene in front of me rippled. “You were right.” She said again, her voice distorted into an eerie echo. Slowly her face distorted, her mouth curved into a cruel smile, her eyes turning black as coal. Sabrina was taking over. “You were right.” The words were sharp, cold and cruel.

Sabrina’s face twisted and swirled, like a ripple in the water. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest. I closed my eyes, willing the nightmare before my eyes to disappear. My head pounded, a screeching noise piercing my ears. I tried to scream but the noise in my head was so loud I couldn’t tell if any noise came out at all. After what felt like an eternity the screeching finally stopped. I took several deep breaths before opening my eyes.I stood staring out at an empty porch and street.

It took me a moment to realize this wasn’t my street. I blinked, looking around at where I was. I was standing in my therapists’ door. I turned around, expecting to see her standing there. The house was silent.

“Jenny?” No one answered.

I walked wearily through the foyer. The red streak on the floor was my first sign something was wrong.

“Jenny?” A few more steps told me why no one was answering me. Jenny lay on her kitchen floor, a pool of blood surrounding her.I looked down at myself, covered in blood. My roommates’ blood, my therapists’ blood. Everything came back in terrifying clarity. I tried to warn her. Tears streamed down my face. I tried to warn her with the note. She wanted to call the cops. Sabrina didn’t like that. I dropped to my knees sobbing. Why did she have to open the door? I tried to warn her, that she was right.