Depths (22 page)

Euphoria flooded my body and I stood over him, ready
to give the final swing. I couldn't even recognize the bloody piece
of pulpy mess before me. He twitched just enough to let me know he
was still alive. Perfect.

I took position off to the side of him and aimed the
bat low, right at his head, and swung it like a golf club. It
connected with enough force to actually send a shock back into my
hands, making them go numb. I had put a hole right through his
skull.

The room flickered again but not
just once this time. It kept going, making me sick. The blood
reversed its trajectory and flung itself back into Charles's
lifeless body. It reversed itself down my walls, unsoaked from my
carpet and cleaned itself off my bat. With a blink,
Charles
’
s body
had gone. The bat in my hands vanished right before my eyes and I
turned my head to look at the rest of the room.

Nothing looked disturbed, no signs of a struggle, no
more blood. Just a room. My living room.

“
Where were we?
”

Her voice came from the sofa. I
jerked towards the sound, wide eyed and slack jawed. She just sat
there, as if I hadn
’
t just beaten her
father to death.

What
’
s
going on?

“
You gonna just stand there or are
you gonna come here and sit down?
”

She beckoned me with her eyes. Stupefied, I obeyed
and plopped onto the couch, still in disbelief.

It had to have been in my head
right? I mean obviously, he
’
s not here
anymore and she
’
s sitting right there. No
blood, no chains. Normal.

Did I fix things? Was that some
sort of cathartic event, bringing me some sort of closure
…
For what? What had happened that I needed closure
on? What did I solve? Maybe it didn
’
t
matter
…
This had to be real.

It is real.

“
Good. Now, what were we talking
about?
”

Without a word I grabbed her and
pressed her mouth to mine. She seemed shocked at first, but
didn
’
t move
away. After a second or two, she kissed me back. Her tongue flicked
over my mouth and her hands ran down my chest. My fingers traced
her spine, her flesh burned into my own and I pulled her shirt over
her head and
—

—
backhanded her across the face.
Her teeth dug into my hand with the force of the blow and drew
blood, enraging me more
—

—
without missing a beat she yanked
my own shirt off as well and fumbled at my belt
—

—
and ripped her panties off. Black
lace, my favorite pair. It
’
s almost like she wore them
especially for me. She kicked at me but I grabbed her foot and
yanked her off the couch
—

—
I gently rolled on top of her.
The warmth from her thighs spread through my body as I pushed my
way inside. She broke away from my mouth and gasped before pulling
me back
—

—
slamming her head into the floor,
stunning her. I quickly straddled her and forced my way into her.
Her hair smelled like vanilla
—

—
I bucked into her, increasing my
vigor with every thrust. Our moans blended into one sound, carried
throughout the house on the musical notes of couch springs. She
rolled on top of me and I stood up, still inside of her, wrapping
my arms under her legs and carried her down the hall to my bedroom.
I caught a glimpse of the glowing thermostat, 75 degrees. The
perfect temperature. We collapsed together, spraying sheets and
bedspreads into the air. A few more final thrusts and we climaxed
together,
meld
ing into one form. Our bodies
were slick with each other
’
s sweat and saliva and fluids and
it was beautiful.

The sea of clothing settled to the floor and we just
rested there. The heat spread from one of us to the other and
swirled around us, still trying to catch up from minutes ago. She
nuzzled against me and I ran my fingers up her neck and through her
hair, simply savoring the moment. Everything was OK now. Everything
was perfect. Just me and her. Nothing else existed, we were in our
own world now. I had been sucked into hers, and her pulled into
mine. She trembled slightly and I pulled her tighter. Poor thing
must be cold.

A tear rolled down her cheek onto my arm and I knew
she felt exactly as I did. Swept up in the beauty of the moment. I
couldn't have asked for better. It was perfect.

“
I didn
’
t remember there being a mirror
on my wall
…
Or did I? Was it always there?
I couldn
’
t
remember. But where did she go? I couldn
’
t feel her beside me. A chill
spread over my exposed backside instead of the warmth that was just
there. The sheets that were still on me for some reason, seemed
constricting. And there was that clinking sound again
…

“
God, it had nearly driven me mad.
The constant clinking and clanking, scampering down my halls, not
giving me a moments rest. A glimpse of movement from the corner of
the mirror caught my eye, and her slender figure moved into frame.
Well good, she was back. I had thought I lost her for a moment
there. She ambled past me and behind the bed, clinking along as she
went. The clinking noise didn
’t bother me
anymore, knowing that it came from her.

“
Wait a minute... Was I saying all
this out loud? Whatever. It didn't matter.

“
Her head lolled around, bobbing
up and down as she stumbled past. The gash on her throat still
looked perfectly fresh. Her hair covered her face, but I knew those
chocolatey-brown eyes reflected the same affection that my own
held. The clinking became almost soothing and rhythmic. Her steps
were a beat. The thump from her first foot, the clink of the chains
and lastly the slide across the floor from her second foot. I could
listen to it for hours.

“
She made her way back around the
other side of the bed. My eyes followed her as she crept back and
forth behind me, moving in and out of view of the mirror. It was
hypnotic
—I couldn't help but stare at her
perfect legs, speckled with black, blue and purple bruises that
provided just the right contrast with her fair skin.

“
Her slender
waist
curved just enough, while her cotton
panties hugged her tightly, showing off the dislocation in her hip.
And the red-raw abrasion marks that lined her upper body like
stripes, seemed to flow along her contour lines. A wild, tangled,
beautiful mess of hair poured over her shoulders with drops of
scarlet from her neck trailing down into the pattern of chains. No
one could ever match her, and no one can take her away now. She was
finally mine.

“
The clinking stopped and she
stood directly behind me
—her head tilted
dangerously to one side, a few bits of tendons and muscle clinging
onto her spine
—
before putting a knee onto
the bed. It took her a moment to get her balance as she pulled her
other leg over the edge and climbed into the bed with me. She
slowly got herself situated next to me and put her head up against
mine. Her ragged breath tickled my ear and I chuckled at the
gurgling sounds her throat made. I wanted to touch her face so
badly but I couldn't move. She nuzzled against me lovingly, and
even though her body had long gone cold, I still felt a sense of
warmth just knowing she was near me...

...She pressed up tighter against
my back and put her hand on my face. I couldn't quite look up at
her but I could see her perfectly well in the mirror. Her hair
brushed neatly, warm chocolatey eyes locked into mine in the
mirror. She ran her hand down my neck to my shoulders, slowly
slipping the sheets down past my chest. I wanted to grab her hand
but the chains, wrapped tightly around me, prevented me from doing
so. They hugged me close and I couldn't help but feel defenseless
and vulnerable, at least at first, but after the shock wore off, I
felt safe again. I knew she would take care of me. But the most
comforting thought of all, was that she wasn't mine. I was hers.
Just like it had always been since the very first time I saw her.
Just as it always would be. I was truly hers and that could never
change.
”

I opened my eyes, trying to remember where I was.
What day was it? It took me a second to realize I was actually in
my bedroom. My head felt a little fuzzy and I got lightheaded when
I stood up. I was barefoot and the floor was cold. I walked down
the hallway to the living room and saw that everything was... Tidy.
No mess on the floor, no dead bodies, no chains, no putty walls,
nothing weird. It looked perfectly normal. There was no voice in my
head, following me around and talking to me, it was just me and my
house. Normal.

I flopped onto my couch and a smile crept up onto my
face and I began to laugh. I laughed and laughed and guffawed until
tears rolled down my face. Everything was normal again.

I'm not sure how long I sat there in hysterics, but
the rumbling in my stomach told me I needed to go and eat
something. What time was it?

The clock told me it was 1:33 P.M.

Well, it didn't actually tell me, it's a clock after
all but you get the point. I had really overslept. I could always
get a doughnut and some coffee. I felt like I deserved it. What a
strange couple of days it had been...

At least I
think
it was a couple of days. Hours
maybe? Weeks? I wasn't sure.

Wait, wasn
’
t everything normal anyways?

…
blood reversed its trajectory and
flung itself back into Charles's lifeless body. It reversed itself
down my walls, unsoaked from my carpet and cleaned itself off my
bat
…

Hmm. Well, whatever. It didn't matter. I went back
to my room and pulled on a pair of jeans, strolling back down the
hallway with a botox smile plastered on my face. It was Monday, and
I despised Monday, but today was different. Things were finally
going to change. Normally, there was always something that could be
better about Mondays but not today.

What a strange weekend it had been. Or weeks...
Whatever. It didn't matter. Normally I didn't get to sleep in on
Mondays but I figured I'd just call in sick today.

But did I need to?
Wasn
’
t I fired? Nah
…

That was the best night's sleep I
had had in a long while. Sleep hasn't been easy to come by as of
late. But where was
she
? I couldn't have imagined last night, not no way not no how.
So were did she go?

Hmm...

She hadn't been curled up next to me in bed, or
waiting for me, watching TV on the sofa, or getting herself
something to eat in the kitchen. She was nowhere to be found.

Her clothes were strewn about
across the floor
—
I
’
d have to get them back to
her
—
so she
had
to have been here last night. I
could always see if I could catch her in the afternoon.

I was still a little groggy from
last night, it almost felt like I was trying to remember a dream. I
wasn
’
t
exactly
sure of what I
had done the night before. But
her
, I was definitely sure of
that.

My stomach growled at me, I was starving. I went
into the kitchen and saw a note on the refrigerator with her
hastily-scribbled handwriting across the paper:

Meet me at my place at 2, I have a
surprise for you. Last night was fantastic
…
I can still barely believe it. I
’
ll cya soon!
XOXO

Well
, that answered my question.
If I left now, I could just swing by and at least grab a coffee.
She did like to cook, maybe she made lunch? A picnic maybe? I
wouldn
’
t want to
spoil my appetite.

I needed my car keys...

Where were they?

I've always liked driving. It's always been a thing
I could do to clear my head. It's easy to get lost in the rushing
of the cars, the scenery zipping by, the rushing and buzzing... And
just let go of everything. I never get tired of the brief little
drive from my house to hers. The stoplights don't even bother me
like they do with most people. For me, it's all just part of the
drive.

Every now and then though, I get so caught up in my
drive that I have to stop and ask myself, where am I?

I swear, I've driven this road thousands and
thousands of times but that doesn't stop me from getting lost every
once in a while.

I had to pull over at a gas station, that I guess I
had never noticed before, and stepped inside. Rows of snacks and
candy and junk food lined the aisles but I didn't see anyone
running the place. I went up to the counter and peered around but
there was no one in the back, and no customers. The place was
deserted. Come to think of it, so was the road. Seemed a little
unusual.

I turned around back to the door, no point in
staying if there was no one here. I could always stop somewhere
else.