Missing Piece

Chapter Thirteen

Benjamin

My eyes are stuck on the scene with absolute concentration. I watch as the assassin stealthily sneaks behind the bulky guy before slitting his throat open.

One down. Four more to go.

"This is so stupid." Melanie's annoying voice makes me break my concentration from the TV and my gaze lands on her. She grabs handful of popcorn from the bowl and stuffs her face. She extends the bowl of popcorn towards me. When I don't make any efforts to reach for the bowl, she retrieves her hand and places the bowl back on coffee table. "Why are you making me watch this 'horrendous' movie?" She asks in an exasperated tone.

I stare at her blankly before shifting my gaze back to the screen. The assassin is already on his fifth kill. How did he kill those three guys? Damn this girl made me miss that scene. "I'm not making you watch anything. I told you already I don't want any company. Go away. Let me watch the damn movie in peace."

"But you're supposed to watch movies with people. You can't enjoy them alone."

I scoff. "Who told you that nonsense? I was enjoying the movie just fine before you came uninvited. You're a terrible company to watch movies with. Do you have to have some kind of comment for every scene? Can't you keep your mouth shut for like a second?"

"Well you-", she starts but her sentence is cut off when we hear a loud thud from upstairs. I see her eyes widening in panic.

"What was that?" I ask getting up from couch to see what was that sound about. But before I could take a step, Melanie grabs my hand and pulls me back down. I lose my balance and end up falling onto her. My head bumps with hers. Ouch!

"Ow. Get off me." She pushes me back quickly, like it was my fault that I fell on her. "What the heck is your head made of? Iron? I can still feel my brain shaking inside my head."

I lean away from her completely. "Do you even have a brain? And keep your hands to yourself." I try to get up from couch again but before I could she plants herself in my lap. "The hell are you doing? Get off of me." I try to push her away, but the creature just wounds her arms around me tightly.

"I need to tell you something Benji." She says in an urgent tone.

I struggle to get out of her steel like grip but she just holds me tighter.

I give up the fight and slump back into couch. "What?" But then again, I hear a soft thud from upstairs. "What is that?"

Melanie looks panicked again. "What? I didn't hear anything. There's nothing upstairs." She tries to look clueless.

I gave an incredulous look. "I never said I heard anything or mentioned upstairs."

She thinks back to her sentence and laughs nervously, "of course you didn't. But you were going to say that. It was written in your eyes."

"Really?" I cross my arms and look straight at her. "Then you might also know what my eyes are saying now." I glare harder.

She nods and flashes me a big grin. "Your eyes are saying that 'I'm so damn lucky to have an amazing and awesome wife'".

"What was that noise upstairs?" She opens her mouth to speak. "That better be truth coming out of your mouth."

"That was my pet mouse."

Her what now?

"Your what?" I ask baffled because that sure didn't sound like a measly mouse.

"My house." She coughs. "I mean my mouse."

"You have a pet mouse?"

"Yeah. I do. He's a rescue mouse. I rescued him form our backyard yesterday."