Twisted (32 page)

Terrified that I had been detected, I fumbled with the phone
and jammed the buttons erratically with my thumb until a green glow lit my face. 
I frantically looked back at the window, but there was no one there.  A tree
branch swayed in the wind, casting leery shadows across my kitchen floor that I
couldn't explain. 
Am I going crazy?

My heart beat, hollow and hard, as I contemplated my next
move.  Had Edwin remembered to lock the back door after he took out the garbage
this morning?  My nerves were shot, but I was convinced that someone was
stalking me.  Whoever it was, was still prowling my backyard beneath the shadows. 
I could sense it.

An ear-splitting beeping noise started to blare from the
phone, telling me to hang it up, but I couldn't tear my eyes from the window. 
As I crept toward the kitchen, the phone stung my every nerve, my limbs jerking
with vicious tremors.  Quickly realizing that the phone wasn’t a very useful
weapon against an intruder, I pounded a handful of buttons until it turned
off.  My eyes shifted to the patio door and stared at the dead bolt, begging
for it to be turned over.  It was not.

Petrified, and with one last shallow breath, I scurried to
the drawer of knives and pulled out the biggest one I could find.  I shakily crushed
the large shiny knife in my right hand, the cordless clung to my left.  My eyes
darted from shadow to shadow inside my vulnerable home.  The music had rendered
my memory useless, my nap stealing the knowledge of whether the stalker was
alone.

It has not been in the house.  It was not in the house.  It
is not in the house.

Going only on a whim, for my sanity’s sake, I decided there
was only one intruder.  And it was outside.  Though I kept telling myself that,
I knew my false hopes could not deceive my eyes and ears.  But it was so dark. 
If I could only hear.  But I couldn’t, my ears ringing like there’s no
tomorrow.  Knowing what I had to do, I leaned restlessly toward the kitchen window
and peered out the clear black pane.

My eyes darted across the dark back yard, but found nothing
in the shadows.  I breathed a deep sigh of relief, believing that the peeping
Tom had moved on.  Knife still gripped stiff in my right hand, still trembling
nightmarishly, I held the phone to my heaving chest, as a sense of hasty relief
washed over me.

Suddenly, my heart bored into my esophagus, when I caught a
flash of darkness wash over the floor.  I twisted abruptly to see what it was
and found a pair of red glowing eyes staring at me from the shadows, mere
inches from the window pane.  I screamed in horror, the phone dropping from my
hand and shattering to pieces around me, as I fell backward onto the hard ceramic
floor.  The shiny blade of the large knife sliced my delicate skin and spilled
my blood everywhere.

Before I could comprehend what was happening to me, there was
a knock at my front door and a harassing ring of the doorbell. 
Could it be
the intruder?

Blood continued to shower from my wound as I fumbled to pick
up the knife, smearing dark patches across the cold floor.  My breaths rapid,
clinging to the knife for dear life, I stared at the growing pool of blood.  My
eyes failed me, the room turning into a foggy shadow.

I tried to focus on the floor, but it only stunned me even
more, the blood turning from a dark red to black.  I tore my eyes away and
reached for the dish cloth hung from the stove.  I wrapped my wrist and
squeezed the cloth tightly in my hand, my back pressing tight against the
cabinets.

Tears began to sting my eyes as the doorbell rang again and
again.  All sense told me not to answer it.  All sense told me to lock the
door.  I rushed to the back patio door and fumbled for the lock.  It turned
over.  More blood smeared across the white surface.

Feeling too exposed in front of the window, I hurried to the
next room and wondered:
How many criminals do you know that actually use the
front door?
  With the bloody weapon in hand, I took my chance, ready to
strike.  I sprinted to the front door, bumping my leg on the couch, but not taking
it as a sign to back down.  Fearfully glancing out the glazed window, I flashed
on the outdoor light with a bloody finger.

I WHIPPED
THE DOOR open.  The bloody knife dropped to the floor with a clang.  I flung my
arms around Maddie’s neck and started to gasp for air, crying hysterically.

Stunned, she held me, comforting me like an adult would a
battered child.  "Is everything okay?" she asked confused, her hand
smoothing over my back.

"Hurry," I cried, tugging her over the threshold.

She anxiously glanced over her shoulder as I tugged her
inside and slammed the door behind her.  I instantly rolled over the dead bolt
with my uninjured hand, still shaking like a leaf.

"What's going on?  Do you need an ambulance?" she
asked, noting the bloody knife and the dark smears on the floor and wall.

“It’s nothing.”  I gasped, trying to pull myself together. 
“I’m fine.”  But the tears still streaked my pale face and the blood continued
to soak the towel in my hand.

"Then I hope you didn't get any blood on me," she said,
checking herself over.

My wits rushed about and I regained some common sense. 
I
must have officially gone crazy.
  That's the only explanation.  "It
was an accident.  It just happened.  I'm okay.  I just need to clean up this
mess," I insisted, making a good show.

"Are you sure?  It looks pretty bad."

"It looks a lot worse than it is… really," I
persisted.

"Is Edwin home?  I didn't see his truck outside."

"No.  He had a dinner tonight.  It's just me.  Please
don’t call him.”

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.  But do you think you could give me a hand?  I really
don't want him to come home and find this mess.  He'd have a bird for
sure."

Maddie sighed, then walked toward the kitchen.  "Let's
get you cleaned up first and then we'll worry about the walls.  And the floor,"
she added, as she stepped into the crime scene.

I couldn't argue with that, and Maddie did a fine job of
wrapping me up.  Her motherly instincts must be kicking in already.  The walls
were sparkling, as if they were never drenched in my blood.  How she did it,
I’ll never know.

"Thank you so much for washing up for me.  I owe you
big," I said.

“I’d say we’re even.  But that was a lot of blood Abby.  Are
you sure you won't let me take you to the hospital?"

“I’m sure.”

The house was back to normal, my wrist was covered in a clean
bandage and, apart from my throbbing wound, it felt like the incident had never
happened.  Lucky for me the cut was superficial enough that I wouldn't need
stiches.  Maddie was extremely understanding, and didn't judge me for freaking
out over the minor incident.  I may have left out a few tid-bits here and
there, but why dwell on things such as glow in the dark eyes?

"You should really report it to the police.  That's so
creepy," Maddie said, when I finished giving her the sane version of
events.

"I know, right?  But seriously, it's fine.  A one-time
thing.  Nothing to worry about.  I promise I'll tell Edwin about it when he
gets home."

"Okay, but in the meantime, are you still up for some
company?  I could really use someone to talk to," she said.

I actually desperately wanted her to stay, so I wouldn't be
left to my own crazy devise.  "That’d be great.  Stay.  Please."  I definitely
could use the distraction.

"You're sure you want to hear my troubles?" Maddie
asked, giving me one last escape from the imminent storm of chatter.

"Yes, I do.  Tell me... how did it go?"

Maddie walked to the couch and plopped down with a sigh.  "It
could have gone better.  But I guess it could have been a lot worse."  Maddie
stopped to take notice of my jar of peanut butter, with spoon still intact. 
She squinted at it and then glanced at me probingly, attacking my gluttonous
snack.

"Hey, don't judge.”

"Are you sure you're not pregnant too?" she teased,
smirking at me.  "Cuz that would be too convenient."

"Hah!  Absolutely not!  It's just been a long day.  Now tell
me what he said."

"Okay, well, first he said he couldn't believe he’s
gonna be a dad and asked how I could be so sure that it’s his.  Then I
explained that he's the only one.  I told him that I wasn't exactly planning on
having sex with him.  Seriously, it all happened all so fast.  By the end of
our discussion he agreed that he got me into this mess and he'll deal with it. 
Quite frankly: he's gonna be my baby daddy whether he likes it or not."

"Wow.  Are you okay?" I asked, unsure how she'd
feel about that.

"I feel much better now that I laid it all out on the
table.  Even though Hunter doesn't want to be with me, he’s still here for me. 
That's got to count for something."

"What about Aliah?"

"He told me he's working on things with her and he wants
to see where that goes.  But he also admitted that this isn’t entirely my fault. 
He even agreed that something special happened between us that night.  So in
other words: He's gonna take care of me and the baby."

"Well that's good," I replied, shocked and impressed
with Hunter's righteousness.  I considered probing, to learn more about that
something
special
she was talking about, but decided to stay out of it.

"It's a start anyway.  I'm still banking on the fact
that Aliah’ll blow it with him and then he’ll be all mine."  She smirked,
totally confident in Aliah’s faults.

"Keep those comments to yourself. 
Please!
 Honestly,
you know Aliah's my best friend."

"Best friend or not, you know she's always blowing it. 
She's no good for Hunter."

"Oh, and you're so much better?" I teased.

"Whatever.  Now that I've tainted Aliah's image of
Hunter, it's only a matter of time before she moves on to the next."

"You may have pegged Aliah, but Hunter doesn't look like
he’s gonna give up that easily."

"He's not as persistent as I am," Maddie reminded
me.

So true.
  And I laughed it off, only because if I didn't then I would have to
strangle her for her blunt honesty.

"I bet we made a real beautiful baby though.  Perfect
tanned skin, dark luscious hair, just to name a few of Hunter's staggering
qualities.  Oh!  I hope my baby gets his hazel eyes.  They’re so gorgeous." 
Maddie was beaming, lost in her own fantasyland.

Seeing Maddie so happy made it easier for me to forget about
my mental instability and focus again on my superficial dilemmas.  "Well,
since you have your situation under control, maybe I can confide in you
my
troubles."

"Of course.  I'm good at giving advice.  Shoot."

"Okay, so it's about me an Edwin."

"There's a shocker.  Trouble on the homestead?" she
asked, eager to hear.

"No.  Not yet anyway.  But I have an ultimatum for him. 
And it scares me half to death when I imagine what he might say."

"What exactly are we talking about here?" Maddie
asked, curious and intrigued.

"I'm not getting any younger.  You're having a baby and
you're 27.  No offence, but I can't see waiting that long before having my
first."

"Abigail, you're 24 years old.  You have plenty of
time."

"Before you know it I'll be 30."

"30's the new 20 these days," Maddie suggested.

While I agreed it was true, I still didn't think it was
right.  "Whatever.  I've always planned to have all of my kids before I
turned 30, and here I am 24 and the discussion isn’t even on the table."

"You’ll have kids, in your own time.  It will happen. 
Edwin wants kids, so you're set.  How many do you want anyway?"

My head was spinning from her rapid fire statements.  I
didn't want to feed off of her blissful optimism, but she made it difficult not
to.  "I've always wanted three; two boys and a girl.  What about
you?"

"I only want two.  Never had I imagined that my first
would come about this way," Maddie admitted.

"So… back to me," I said selfishly.  "I was
thinking of telling Edwin that I want to try to get pregnant in the next year
or two.  They say that you should go off of birth control for a year before you
want to get pregnant.  I'd like to plan for these things, and I really want to
know what his plans are."

"And if they don't jive with yours?" she asked. 

"If we aren't on the same page, then we'll have to call
it quits.  It's the only way."

"Your way or the highway?"

"Exactly."

"You guys are so perfect together though.  It's like
you're meant to be together."

"Yeah, yeah.  I know we're great together, but kids are
a real important part of my life plan.  If Edwin wants to be in my life then he
has to want the same things that I do.  I can't waste any time with a man who
doesn't want to have kids; and soon."