When the daylight has faded

The House (#house)

The photograph had seen better days. It had a slightly yellow tinge to it and the edges were frayed. Real photos were a rarity these days; the sensation of the photographic paper on my fingertips made me a little nostalgic. Maybe because my eyes focused on anything but the focal point of the picture.

"Honey, who was that on the phone?" my girlfriend shouted from the kitchen.

I threw the photograph back into the drawer it had come from.

"Nobody important!"

I walked into the kitchen, gave Annie a kiss on the cheek and grabbed our plates. The homecooked casserole on my plate looked delicious, but my stomach felt tight. I took a hearty bite. Annie had slaved in the kitchen for hours, after all.

"Spit it out, Stevie! And I don't mean the food."

I smiled, trying to ignore the ache in my lower back I hadn't felt in years.

"I'm good, baby! Really."

I swallowed another bite, mentally threatening my stomach with a beer ban if it didn't start to show immediate cooperation.

My phone started to vibrate. I recognised the country calling code straightaway.

My stomach squeezed and I raced to the bathroom. Beer ban it was, then.

Annie gave me some space for a few minutes, then followed me. She sat down next to me on the cold tiles and took my hand.

When I couldn't stand it any longer, I broke the silence.

"That was my cousin."

More silence.

"My father died a week ago. Left me the house. Took Marcus a while to track me down." I felt a tremor running down my spine, driving a knife into my lower back. The pain seemed familiar again all of a sudden.

"I didn't know your father was still alive. I'm sorry for your loss." Annie looked confused.

I had told her that I had no family.

"Don't be!" I looked into Annie's eyes. "It's no loss."

I flushed the toilet. The swirl of the water tore up the mental image of my father breaking my back, then killing my mother inside the massive house he called our home.

I climbed to my feet awkwardly.

Despite the hurt in Annie's eyes, the knot in my stomach unravelled.

I had run from my home, my family, my country as soon as I my back was better and had never looked back. But, I understood with sudden clarity, I had never stopped running. It was time to tear the house down.

I swallowed.

"I'm going back, Annie. I need to see that my father is gone and that it is just a house. Then Marcus can have it, for all I care. Please, come with me, even if you're mad at me now! I'll tell you everything on the way."

* * * * *

The house loomed dark and massive in the foggy night sky. But as soon as I stepped over the threshold, I knew that I was doing the right thing.

I went down on one knee and whipped out the engagement ring Annie's friend had helped me pick out.

Annie's eyes went wide. I knew she had been waiting a long time for this.

"Yes!" she screamed before I had a chance to say anything.

Right on the spot where the police had found me so long ago, I finally stopped running.