Tainted by Darkness

Trapped

Awareness returned with a sense of foreboding, a familiar feeling since the accident a few months ago. Whether it was dawn or dusk, I couldn't tell, but as I pulled the curtains, I saw the evidence of what she had done lying discarded in abstract abandon all around the sitting room. My eyes strayed from the throw-covered corpse, absently catching a reflection in the mirror over the mantel. I had to take a second, then a closer, third look at what I saw reflected in the blood-spattered glass. I gasped, horrified beyond words as my fingers traced the latest endeavour my other half had taken to improve her looks with the aid of Bethany, one of the neighbours. There was no way I could cover this one up; not when I wore Bethany's face.

Whatever pain meds she had taken were wearing off, the numbing effect fading so I could feel the pins nipping at my hairline. I took a fortifying breath and began the arduous task of removing them. One by one, the pins joined the birthday gift Bethany had given me the day before. As the last fell from my shaking hand, I watched it pierce the once pristine-white petals of the orchids now stained with my blood.

I should have listened to my instincts and ended the facade the first time I woke with no memory of events. The absences were coming more frequently and I feared that someday soon I wouldn't wake.

Light glinted off the razor blade on the mantel, an omen for what I knew I had to do.

The first cut was deep and the only one she needed to take control.

Now it's me who sees through her eyes, my screams that go unheard in the darkness of her mind.

~*~

Writen as the qualifying entry into the MotherHorror Smackdown. If you would like to read the other entries, you can find the recruitment thread and links by clicking the external link.