THE WORST KIND OF MARRIAGE – PART 2

The blood from the knife wound drenched her nightie. She looked over to her husband, the one who had stabbed her. He tilted his mug back and had a sip of his coffee. He was reading the Sunday comics until he noticed her gaze, at which point he raised his eyebrows.

She smiled as best she could.

Four months of this now. Four months since he had found her walking and forced her into his van. A gun to her head the entire ride over.

Play it cool. 

That was what did her in. Play it cool. A lot of good that did. From the moment she set foot in his house she was finished. Every window was boarded up with blinds to keep outsiders from peeking in. A lock on the front door to which only he had the key. She was only allowed in the backyard under his supervision. His supervision was a pointed rifle.

She hated him.

Huerto was his name. The first day he forced their ‘marriage’. The ceremony was him forcing his grandma’s old wedding band onto her finger. Huerto declared them husband and wife.

With the barrel pointed at her head, she said, “I do.” With the barrel still pressed to her head, she received his kiss.

Bethany looked over to Huerto. He was still at the kitchen table tearing a white napkin into little pieces. She moaned softly, so that only she could hear, and felt the bloody wound again. Her vision was beginning to blur. Her strength was already depleted. She leaned against the counter top and looked around to all the boarded windows. She sniffed.

A knock came to the door.

Huerto immediately looked to her, eyes wide. He picked up his rifle from its lean against his thigh, brushed his hands off each other and stood up.

“Let’s go,” he said.

He shoved her several times as she struggled to walk. She passed the front door biting her lip, begging beyond hope that the door-knocker would just barge in and spot her. He didn’t.

Huerto threw her into the closet. Quickly he wrapped a towel tightly around her mouth, then stuffed it into her bite.

The doorbell rang three times.

“Don’t say a fuckin’ word,” Huerto said, pointing his finger.

Bethany gulped.

Huerto shut the closet door and locked it behind. She was engulfed in darkness. Blood oozed from her wound onto her thigh. ‘Police,’ she whispered in her mind. ‘Please, be the police.’

She needed to get out.

Today.

Part 3, Coming Soon!

– Thomas M. Watt

Julie and Benjamin – Part 3

“You’ve done broken in to ma private property,” said the man with the rifle.

Benjamin and Julie stood staring at the figure. The lit cigarette in his mouth provided for the sole source of light in the shed. It was enough to reveal a foul interior – dead rats were hanging from the ceiling by their tails, and empty turtle shells covered the floor.

“What do you want?” said Julie.

The man chuckled. “All I wants is justice.”

“Justice?” said Benjamin.

“Yeah, ye know, justice! Two handcuffed law-breakers done break into my private property!”

“Just let us leave!” said Benjamin. “Please, sir!”

“NO!” screamed the man. “You don’t get to go.”

“Well what do you want?” said Julie.

“I wants to shoot ya, of course!”

Benjamin started to speak, but before he could get out a word his wife Julie shoved the shed door open and dragged him out, by the iron-chain handcuffs linking them together.

The shot boomed loudly, but the man missed. He fired a couple more rounds, but they escaped from his property alive and stopped to catch their breath on the sidewalk.

“That was close!” said Benjamin.

Julie punched his arm as best she could. “I hate you!”

“What? Why?” said Benjamin.

“You’re such a wimp! You would have let us die there!”

“Well we shouldn’t even be in this predicament in the first place! A police themed Halloween party, really? You made me steal regulation uniforms from the station for that? What’s the matter with you Julie?!”

Julie grew misty eyed. “I just wanted to do something fun. For once, I wanted to do something fun.”

Out of nowhere, three police cruisers pulled up and stopped on the pavement just short of them. The lights flashed brightly and one of them spoke over the loudspeaker.

“Get down on the ground! Get down on the ground!”

Julie sniffed, and started to lower. “Guess this is it then. This is where it ends.”

Benjamin looked at her, back at the cops, then back at his wife. “No.” He tugged the chain bonding them his way.

“What?” she said.

“GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!” Came the shout over the police speaker.

Benjamin smiled, then whispered. “Run.”

He bolted, and Julie followed behind. The cruisers burnt rubber to start after them.

“Benjamin!” Julie screamed. “How are you planning to get away? There are police cars covering the area, and police-in-uniform at the end of the street!”

“I have a way!” He said, yelling over the sound of their foot smacks. “We might die, but I think it could work!”

“We might DIE?”

The husband and wife continued their flight. The cruisers were right behind them.

PART 4, COMING SOON!

– Thomas M. Watt