The Creature Inside by Dankova Daria

This ugly slimy worm inside start moving again.

This inexplicable creature has been tormenting Anna for a few weeks. She felt it for the first time when she had got the beautiful bouquet of red roses from her boyfriend and was looking at gorgeous view from the roof of high building. The man, Rick, had prepared the romantic dinner and she had to be surprised and happy. But she wasn’t… Anna felt that it’s improperly to feel nothing and the worm inside her body was proving this feeling.

After that situation the worm appeared every time when her loving attentive boyfriend cooked the dinner or made the coffee for her in the morning. The woman felt that something wrong but didn’t understand what.

This morning the worm appears when Rick that she is very beautiful today, the prettiest woman in the world. And this sight… He looks at her as if she is not less than goodness, he eats her slim body by his eyes and can’t stop. Anna should feel something like embarrassment or shyness, or at least thankfulness. But again – nothing. She just smiles because she feels that has to do it and goes out the room.

On the way to the exit from the house Anna looks in the mirror. She really looks gorgeous today. Her big dark eyes are framed by accurate black thin arrows, the lips are highlighted by the glance lipstick and stand out from the pale skin. Her dark, almost black, hair is done into light curls and the black elegant dress emphasizes her hourglass-shaped figure. She glances on the mirroring the last time and goes out the house. Rick follows her to the car and kisses her at parting.

- See you tonight, babe. Have fun at work – says he and goes to his black Volkswagen.

Anna starts her new grey Volvo and drives to the office. She bought this car only by her own power. She is only 24 years old but already has a work place of developer in the successful IT company. She always had analytical rational thinking. She always loved math problems and life challenges and always was able to overcome troubles on her way. But this feeling inside disturbs her. She doesn’t know the reason of it, she doesn’t know what she can do with it. Thinking this way Anna reaches the high all-glass office building, leaves the car and heads to her favorite coffee shop. Every morning she meets here her best friend, Sandy. Today Sandy obviously is late because Anna doesn’t see her car at the parking. The woman comes into the coffee house and orders americano with milk for herself and cappuccino for Sandy. Once the barista completes the order, in the coffee shop appears smiling blonde woman with bright eyes dressed in stylish blue pantsuit.

Everybody who knows Sandy says that she always smiles. She is HR-manager and it is the part of her work but also it is the style of her life – smile to everybody.

- Hello, girl! Can I join you drinking the coffee? – jokingly asks Sandy.

- No, sorry. I’m waiting for my friend who is always late – laughing Anna in reply.

- Don’t lie to me! Not always – answers Sandy offensive not stopping smiling.

Laughing and speaking women head to the office building, come into the elevator and do up to the fifth floor.

It’s 9 a.m. and they are just in time to start working. The current project Anna works on is the sport app. Design department send her the visual yesterday and she got the task list from the consumer. Project manager who was expected to work on this app resign because he had got the proposal from another company. Sandy said that the new person for this place is already found and he starts working from Monday (it’s today) so Anna looks forward meeting this new employee because things in the team are going hard without manager.

Anna starts investigating the task list, makes the notes what she has to change and remake. When she ends this deal and opens the code of the program she has created, Sandy and a handsome young man come to her desk.

-  It’s Anna. One of the most talented developers in the company. It’s my subjective point of view, but I think you will agree with me. Anna, It’s Steve, new project manager you will work with – declares Sandy.

The young man behind her smiles and extends the hand to shake Anna’s hand.

- Nice to meet you, Anna. I believe that our teamwork will be productive and enjoyable – says Steve. His voice is pleasant, low and quiet – I want to gather the team in an hour to get acquainted and discuss our future work together. So wait you in the green meeting room at 12 a.m.

- Nice to meet you too. Will be there.

After an hour of changing the written code and discussing new requires of customer with colleagues all team gathers in the meeting room. The team includes eight persons. Four of them are developers who writes the code for internal part of the apps, in other words, they make bottoms clicking, images changing and functions working. Two of the team are front-ends. They also work with code but deal with the interface and visual part. One person is senior developer who controls the quality of all technique processes and project management who should to contact people in other departments who work on the same project, come to terms with consumer and satisfy all his needs, divide the responsibilities between the members of the team etc.

There is only two women in the team. And in overall, women in the IT department is rarity. Usually females choose work with people, with documents or with visual. Another woman in the team, Amanda, is front-end. She is young person who has chosen the simplest way in IT – html and css code. Amanda is quiet shy person who always looks on Anna on the team meetings. It irritates a lot but Anna tries to endure it because doesn’t want to spoil the good relationships in the team.

The closest person for Anna in the team is Roger, shy kind man in glasses. He is always ready to help with any questions and he helped Anna a lot at the beginning of her work when she didn’t know what to do on her workplace and how she can to overcome the programmer problems when such appear.

Steve start speaking:

- Hello guys. I have taken a look at the project we will work on together. I’ve already seen the result of completed work and I think that’s cool. You managed to complete a big part in a small term. That’s very good. Now I want to discuss with you a few moments, to hear your point of view. And, before we start, I want to invite you to the dinner in the café nearby to get to know each other closer. Think about it.

Anna decides to go to the dinner at once. The first reason is that she doesn’t want to go home for some unconscious reasons and the second reason is that she wants communicate with Steve. She likes this man, she obviously is smart and is surely a good interesting interlocutor to speak.

The team discusses the project for two hours. Steve carefully listens to each member when he or she speaks. His sight is attentive and glance as if he wants to read the thoughts and penetrate the soul of each speaker. Steve asks some questions about the project to understand its purpose deeper and to understand deeper the core of each member of the team.

At 2 p.m. all of them leave the meeting room. Anna is going to take a lunch with sandy in the café on the first floor of the building. Now she need only to find her.

- Anna – hears the woman the Steve’s voice – you’ve forgotten you purse – says he coming to her with small black purse in his hands.

- Oh, thank you

- You have an excellent look – says she smiling and looking at her by his attentive sight – This dress is very beautiful on you.

Anna feels that she gets red.

- Thank you very much. I also like your suit.

Steve smiles and goes away:

- See you soon!

“What I did just say. It was so stupid” thinks Anna returning to the work space to find Sandy.

Now she gets this feeling that she was looking for a few weeks. The warmth inside her stomach, inside her chest, joy and excitement, everything in one moment. But the familiar worm wakes up again. The ugly feeling that Steve, another man forced her to feel something like that. She wants Rick to be cause of such a wonderful feeling that fills her up. But he wasn’t such reason for a few weeks. Or months. Anna doesn’t remember the last time when she felt something about Rick’s words, moves or just his presence. It’s weird and improperly but she can do nothing with it.

Sandy waits for her behind Anna’s table.

- I’m hungry like an animal and ready to eat two, no, three portions of pasta – complains Sandy.

- I doubt that you’ll manage to deal with three portions.

- You should believe in me – laughs Sandy and goes to the exit of the work space.

While they go to the café and eat their lunch Sandy tells Anna the newest office gossip. Anna finds out that Elena has divorced with her husband and found somebody in the biker café to date with. Roger has quarreled with the boss and lost the opportunity to get the new work place. Matilda wants to resign and Sandy’s going to try to take her place.

Anna can’t stop thinking about the future dinner with the team and especially Steve. She can’t stop thinking about him after he complimented her. “What if he likes me as a woman? I need to carefully inform him that I have a boyfriend. But I don’t want… “.

The rest of the day passed unnoticed. At 6 p.m. Five members of the team (Anna, Steve, Amanda, Jacob and Roger) gather near the Steve’s table.

- So, guys, are you ready to hang out? – asks Steve smiling (as always).

All of them say goodbye to the other colleagues and come out the office.

Anna writes the message to Rick that she will be home later because of dinner with her team. “I love u” see she the answer message. The worm inside appears again and Anna feels that every time this slick creature inside her becomes bigger and stronger and she can do nothing with it. She still feels nothing about gentle message from her boyfriend. “I love you too” tapes she and hides the phone in the purse.

The company enters the café. This is beautiful cosy place. Despite the huge number of people inside there is enough space to feel comfortable. They occupy the table in the edge of the hall and the waiter brings the five copies of menu for them. Steve set behind the Anna and the feeling of warmth filled her body again.

Anna is hungry enough and she chooses the pasta with cheese and chicken. Amanda takes the salad. It seems to Anna that it is not the meal Amanda really wants but she is just ashamed to take something more calorific because of her imperfect body and the complexes about it. The men take different hamburgers and fried potatoes. Also Steve orders the bottle of wine for women and expensive brandy for men. Initially Anna rejects the alcohol but Steve is really persuasive promising to take the taxi for her and take her for work next day.

Steve starts the conversation. He tells about his previous work and the interesting cases he had deal with. Anna is excited how this man can grab the attention of the company. He seems to her even more exciting under the influence of the alcohol (there is the second bottle on the table already). Jacob tells about his travelling all around the world. They discussing different countries and cities. Anna had been to not many places because Rick doesn’t like leave the home. He likes being home with her watching movies and eating delicious food. Anna imperceptibly though, how many places she could have been to if Rick haven’t been in her life.

Steve, unlike she, has traveled a lot. He tells about Europa cities atmosphere, about sunbathing on the gold beaches etc.

Amanda leaves the café first but it seems that after her leaving nobody notice her absence. Jacob and Roger also leave soon and Steve and Anna stay alone. Anna sees that Steve is a little drunk but she also is. She feels comfortable with him, they speak, laugh and discuss everything.

- Alcohol helps people get closer, isn’t it? – says Anna laughing – You’ve chosen the perfect way to become friends with the team.

-  I think so – laughs Steve. He carefully lays his hand on her one.

Anna notices this gesture. She has to put his hand away and go home. But she doesn’t want. It seems to her that electric charges from his hand hit her and go through her whole body spreading over the vain just into the heard. But in her heard still lives strong cold ugly creature that reminds her about the boyfriend who waits her at home. She trying to strangle this worm, no, snake, but it becomes only stronger inside her body.

But the warmth of his hand enchanted her and Anna wants only one. She lies on his spread shoulder and lays the hand on the another one.

- I have one more bottle of wine at home. Do you want to join me? – whispers he into her ear.

- Yes, I want – answers Anna. The snake eats her from inside. Anna feels how this snake bites her muscles, displaces her organs but can do nothing against his magic.

She doesn’t remember how he calls the taxi and how they ride to him. After they enter his big house he pours the wine into glasses. Anna drinks takes the sip of wine and can’t control herself anymore. She seats on him and begins kiss passionately. They fallen onto sofa continuing kissing.

- I don’t want you to think that I’m using you – whispers Steve gasping.

- Shut up – barks Anna and takes his shirt off.

His strong developed muscles move under the pale skin. She wants him by every cell of her body while the half of her cells are eaten by terrible monster inside her. This monster wants to Rick, it doesn’t want to be here but Steve muffles this monster by his hot kisses and touches. Anna takes her dress out and feel the Steve fingers opening the clasp of her bra. She feels his hands on her chest, and hips, and everywhere…

Next morning the snake inside Anna wakes her up so early in the morning. Steve sleeps behind her. Anna takes the phone and see a lot of messages from Rick. She tapes the messages “Sorry, my phone was dead. Stayed with Sandy, she needed my support. Will be home after work”.

She doesn’t recognize herself. She never lied to Rick and the snake inside of she just goes crazy.

“Why are you cheating me? I asked Sandy if she knows where are you”. Anna can’t stand with this snake inside. This ugly creature encourages her to tell Rick everything about her feeling from the very beginning.

“I’ll be home in twenty minutes. We need to talk. I’m very guilty, Rick”

The snake inside becomes calmer and waits.