My husband, David, wasn’t the loving partner he was when we got married. We had countless date nights and movie nights together. He was the perfect man. He was kind, caring, courteous, and always listened to me. Our friends always said that we were the perfect couple, almost out of a romance movie. We lived in a city where everything was so convenient and close. Yes, the cost of living was high but the city had its pros and cons. Looking back, life seemed so perfect. We had everything we needed; a nice apartment, a paid-off car, and most importantly each other. But everything changed when David’s mom passed in a brutal car accident that came out of nowhere. Now, I never considered David to be very close with his mother but something changed. He looked at me differently. He talked to me less and was always out of the apartment. Unfortunately, David’s mother’s funeral and burial ate up a lot of our savings. We had to sell the apartment and move further away from the city and into a secluded rural town. Who knew we were so close to losing everything we had in a city?
As we pull into the gravel driveway of our new abode, my heart sank. The paint was faded, the windows pale and dirty, and the wood porch was cracked and broken. The entire house appeared to sag under its weight. It just looks sad. “This doesn’t look anything like the advertisement we looked at,” I said with a scowl. “I’m going to call our agent.” When I pulled out my phone, David snatched it out of my hands, shoving it deep into his pockets. “What’s wrong with you?!” he yelled in my face.
“I need to call Amy so I can ensure that we got the right house!”
“Listen, this house is cheap so we bought it,” David yelled, spit flying into my face. “We don’t need to call anybody!”
I hop out of his car and look around the surrounding area. Nothing but yellow grain fields and a couple of lone trees. I couldn’t see any other houses anywhere. Everything looks to be dead or dying. There were no tree lines and no points of interest in sight. The air smelled like dirt and sand. A chilly wind touches my skin as it flows past me. As I continued to scan the area I noticed that a storm was right overhead. The dark clouds covered the sky, not letting a single stream of hopeful sunlight through. “C’mon Avery, let’s get inside. Don’t keep me waiting.” He said at the top of the stairs. At least David seemed to be excited about something. Ever since his mom’s crash, he doesn’t seem to enjoy anything. Maybe this was for the best. This time alone with me might be the thing he needs, I thought to myself as I bounded toward the disgraceful front door.
As David forced the door open, the old hinges groaned and yelled in pain as if the door hadn’t been used in years. A quick scan of the surrounding area shows a thin layer of dust coating everything in the house, leaving nothing uncovered. “Wow, this sure is a fixer-upper,” I said snarkily, hoping to get a laugh out of David. My efforts hailed no reward. We continued through the house looking around at all the artifacts left behind by the previous owner. The house smelled musty and wet, likely from mold hiding in corners like a scared mouse. The dust entered our lungs leaving us coughing and sneezing like we had spring allergies. I separated from David to go upstairs as he ventured down into the basement. Walking up the worn steps, I spot two quaint rooms that would likely just be bedrooms.
After the two of us had examined every nook and cranny of the house, we became hungry and fatigued. We dusted off the chairs and table and sat down. We didn’t have much for a real dinner but we made quick work of some granola bars we found in David’s car. I looked out the clouded window and noticed that the storm that had been brewing when we had gotten here had only grown bigger and ever closer. “Do you know if the roof can keep us dry tonight?” I asked, looking over at David. He continues staring down at the bar he had been silently pecking at for a little while.
“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” I scowl at his answer. I don’t believe him. “Are you sure? I definitely saw some pretty sizable holes in the roof,” I said, gesturing to the tattered shingle roof above us.
“Oh my god Avery, Yes it’s fine! Why can’t you just trust me?” he yelled as he threw his arms into the air. “You are always worrying!” I stand up from the table and walk upstairs into one of the bedrooms. As I walk over to the window in the bedroom I give one last look to the area around the house and am given the stark reminder of just how alone we are out here. tear the plastic cover off the mattress. Better than nothing. I shrug and fall onto the mattress. I curl up and close my eyes. I wish we had been more careful about which house we spent our last bit of savings on.
I open my eyes and try to look around the room. A black void surrounds the room prohibiting me from seeing much of anything. My entire body is sore and aches as I sit up from the fetal position I had fallen asleep in. I can’t have been asleep long. I stand up and walk down the creaky old stairs, careful not to miss a step. I look out the front window and squint my eyes to realize David’s truck isn’t where we left it. I stumble into the kitchen to reveal David sitting alone at the table with a blank stare facing a small candle in the center of the table. How did David grow so much facial hair in just the time that I had napped? Dirt mattes his clothes and his hair is slicked back from grease collected from a lack of showering. “Hey hun, How are you doing?” he looks up at me and just grunts. “How long have I been asleep?” I asked David, hoping he’d say anything to me.
“I don’t know, a couple of hours,” he said, looking back down at the table.
“How did you grow your beard out? You look like you haven’t showered in days! You look disgusting!” I yell gesturing at him. A massive crack of lightning strikes one of the few trees outside and I nearly jump out of my skin. David sits at the table like nothing even happened. Rain starts pounding at the old windows. “How long have I been asleep?!” I yell out of desperation. The same phrase keeps repeating in my head. Please just answer me. Why won’t you respond to me?
He erupts out of the chair and lunges out towards me. He pushes me back onto the countertop behind me and raises a hand at me. I grab his hand just in time to stop a slap and quickly respond with a swift kick to his knee. He topples down beside me. “What the hell, David?” I run out of the kitchen and towards the front door. I hear the chairs scratch against the floor as he struggles to stand. I burst out of the front door and try to see anything in front of me. Rain falls onto my body as thunder rumbles noisily overhead. Total darkness has enveloped the environment. I spin my head around in search of the moon. I can’t spot the moon. What the hell is happening? As I continue to peer around me, the front door flies open and slams against the wall. “Avery, come here NOW!” I turn to face the sound of him yelling and his outline standing in the doorway holding the small candle. I am frozen still, goosebumps raised on my arms and legs. What has he become? He has never tried to hit me. I tap my pockets looking for my phone. I have to call somebody. No such luck as I come to the realization that he never gave my phone back after he yelled at me in the car. He holds the candle out as he hears me shuffle around looking for my phone. He locks eyes on my body and starts an all-out sprint towards me. I run in the opposite direction trying my hardest to stay ahead of him, but also trying not to trip on the earth below me. I hear him stop running behind me and pick something up. I stop and look back at him as I see him hurl a large rock at me.
I open my eyes to another dark room. Only a small candle on a bedside table allows me to see the surrounding area. My head is pounding from where the rock impacted my head. I try to sit up but fail. I feel like my body weighs 400 pounds. I support myself against the bedframe and pull myself up. Just as I sit up, a flood of memories fills my brain and a shiver runs down my spine. It almost feels like a really bad dream. Ever since coming to this shoddy old house, it seems like something has sprung in David’s brain and he is almost a brand new person. I snap back to reality and try to listen for any movement inside the house. The only thing I hear is the wind pushing up against the wooden walls and my raspy breathing. I look down at my skin for any other marks. I gasp in horror as I reel back in the visual of my body. I can see my ribs poking through my body and my skin sags, no longer filled out by muscle. I shake and cry at the realization of the condition my body is in. I fall back onto the bed with tears streaming down my face. I take deep breaths and look outside in an attempt to calm myself down. I frowned as I realized that the outside world continues to be pitch black with no remedy.
After a little while of sulking in the bed, I come to the realization that I need to eat something if I want to keep living. I pull myself up using the bed frame and hobble over to the door frame. I am so weak that even walking over to the door requires a moment of rest. I squint and look around the house to try and spot David. Nothing seems to be moving. I trudge over to the stairs. Going down the stairs normally is a bad idea, I think to myself as I sit down on the stairs, using my narrow arms to lower myself down one step at a time.
Once I reach the bottom of the stairs I hoist myself to a standing position using the wobbly banister. I spin my head around looking for any signs of life. I press my face up against the front window to look for David’s car. I can’t see anything past the dirt on the window pane. I stumble over to the door in the dark, feeling the walls on the way there to identify if I’m actually going to the right place. Once I reach the door, I try the door knob. Shit, it’s locked. I let out all that I can muster, but it only amounts to a small, quiet groan.
I make my way over to the kitchen, feeling the walls on the way there. Once I reach the kitchen I find cabinets and open them in search of something to eat. Wind keeps pressing against the walls and squeaks are heard all around the house. I swing my arm side to side hoping for anything to make contact with my arm. Nothing. I check another cabinet. Nothing. Another cabinet. Nothing. I check every damn cabinet the kitchen has to offer. Nothing. I fall to the ground in defeat, resting my back against the open cabinet, and begin to weep. This creaky old house will be my final resting place, my tomb, and I couldn’t do anything to change it. I call out to David. I don’t care what he did and wants to do to me, I just need his help and something, anything to eat. With what little tears I have left, I cry. I’m going to rot in this little house in the fields. I would give anything to see the sun one more time. I close my eyes, pressing more tears out from my eyes. Cold begins to surround me, touching every inch of my body. I open my eyes to more darkness, but this time at peace. The fear, desperation, and hunger are gone. I was tired — exhausted. A final labored breath leaves my body as I slip away and succumb to my condition. The only sound in the room was the mournful wind brushing against the walls.
