UNINVITED

Chapter 27

I was foolhardy thinking I could sleep without sedatives. I woke up occasionally in the middle of the night from bad dreams covered in sweat. I had seen Alec’s pallid face. In one of the nightmares, I tried to pull out the knife. Blood gushed out and he choked to death right in front of me. In another, he was imploring me to help him.

    I didn’t know his current status, but I prayed he would make it. I had seen a lot of blood yesterday and each time I remembered it, a chill ran down my spine. The clock on the nightstand said 7:00 A.M. I was certain I turned off the alarm at my usual waking time, then went back to sleep. That would explain why I was waking up this late.

     Sighing, I pushed the blanket aside and sat up, running a hand through my bedhead. I closed my eyes. All I saw was Alec’s face. I instantly blinked and opened them, gazing at the wall. I stifled a yawn, rose, and walked to the window. When I stared out into the Bergers’ porch, there wasn’t a sigh of their Mazda 6. Amy must be at the hospital by now.

     I stood, watching their house. Zeroing in on their bedroom, I started to see Alec and Amy behind the curtain, arguing. He grabbed her neck and choked her hard. When she was out of breath, he finally let go of her and she collapsed to the floor. I tried to delete the scene to no avail. If I hadn’t shown up at their house last night, Amy would probably be dead by now. Alec would be trying to hide the body out of fear. Then I’d wake and find out the Bergers were gone to wherever they came from. I wouldn’t hear from them ever again. Alec would get away with murder. I did my best to save both of them only if Alec made it out alive.

     At least I was right about Amy’s abuse, and in a way, Amy was better off without Alec by her side. After all this upheaval, I was certain Amy would ask him for a divorce and press charges against him for attacking her. The mystery with the Bergers had been dealt with.

     Retracing my steps to the bed, I grabbed my phone from the drawer and turned it on. A while later, I looked at the background photo. This time, I didn’t frown. The picture of me and Tom was gone and replaced with the photo of the green forest I found in my phone’s gallery. I had two new messages, all from Anne. She’d emailed me the photos. I thanked her and went to my email section, then pulled up her messages. Soon, I was staring at photos of Anne and Tom cuddled up together. I kept flipping till I couldn’t.

     My hands froze. Tears welled up in my eyes. I blinked them back and glanced down at the screen, then threw the phone on the bed. A pang seared through my body. I staggered to the bedside and fell slowly on the floor, wrapping my hands around my legs. I thought I could handle this. I didn’t know what I was up against.

     For years now, Tom had accused me of cheating while in reality, he had been seeing Anne since we got married. I hadn’t sensed his infidelity. I couldn’t stop feeling like an idiot. Four years of my life were wasted in a bad marriage. I had no idea what good came out of my marriage. If there had been a child, I’d have thought of it as the blessing that came from the marriage, but there wasn’t any. Thank God I didn’t give birth. My baby would’ve been caught in this mess.

     Tom doesn’t deserve you. He’ll be in your past in no time. I just couldn’t believe I wanted to have a future with him. Had I been delusional? There was a churn in my stomach. I wanted to throw up, but I didn’t. Clara strutted toward me, wagging her tail.

     I reached out to her. “Come here, girl!”

     She ran to my side. I carried her into my arms, stroking her fur. In no time, I’d be a free woman. Tom and his Mom would no longer be my burden. If it was possible to erase them, I would instantly do it. They would always be in my head to remind me of the poor choices I made. With time, I’d make peace with my past. That was the only way I could move on. Clara licked my fingers. I looked down at her and smiled. At least I wasn’t alone. I had company. Even though it was from a pet, it was enough.