My Perfect Bride

chapter 8

"Love is like war: easy to begin but hard to end."

-Anonymous

chapter 8

Everyone wears a mask, and everyone tries to also hide the fact that they are wearing a mask. Emotions are complicated; sometimes you are angry because the person walking right besides you once used to be loyal.

And sometimes you are angry at yourself. You blame yourself for every ordeal that has happened to you, you blame yourself for the situation. That is how Rachel was feeling right now, lost and angry.

The minute Ethan unlocked the door to step outside, Rachel started to doubt herself. Can she get rid of Ethan? Does she posses that kind of strength? And how can she possibly survive this weather without Ethan?

So she just stood there at the front door lost deep in her thoughts. Ethan was already outside; he also stood there at the porch waiting for her to come outside.

“Are you coming? Or did you change your mind.” He leaned on the railing of the stairs while speaking.

Ethan’s words made Rachel snap back to reality, the very cruel reality that she was stuck in. And with that she forgot all her doubts, it was now or never. She will get rid of Ethan for good or else she will have to suffer the consequences which were pre planned for her by her husband.

So she took her first step outside placing away all her fears. A part of her somehow expected some kind of applause for her bravery but only thing that did greet her was the cold air.

And soon she was out of cabin and at the porch with Ethan; she pulls the sleeves of her coat as cold air didn’t understand privacy.

They were both out of the warm and safe temperature of the cabin. Ethan locked the front door once again but this time no one was inside.

“Lead the way my dear bride” Ethan said while gesturing with his hand saying move.

“You want me to lead? I don’t even know where we are going.” Rachel said shocked, she sensed that Ethan was somehow aware of her motives.

“That way” Ethan said while pointing his finger in some random direction in forest. “See now you know, now move.”

“I don’t know why you are insisting that I lead. But if you plan to kill me please don’t kill me from behind at least”

“If I was planning to kill you and I said if. I wouldn’t have brought you out in this cold weather where I can’t even feel my fingers. I would have rather preferred the cabin. Now are you done with your interrogation? We are getting late; the storm will not be this quite for long time now.”

Rachel just nods and starts to move in that direction where Ethan pointed his finger. She took her first step down on the stairs and then second and that was it. The cold snow almost entered her boot.  Both of them were not barefoot but they can still feel the chilling sensation that came from their legs which were deep buried in snow. With every step it became harder to take the next step but they kept going until the cabin was far out of there sight.

After a few meters into the forest the quantity of snow became quite low due to the long and dense forest. Now the darkness welcomed them, no trace of sunlight anywhere. No trace of anything that can make this place a little less sad.

Old fears took over Rachel again, the fear of darkness that made her so fragile and weak that she slept with Ethan to seek comfort last night. A light blush spread across her cheeks just thinking about it made her feel all kind of emotions.

Ethan couldn’t saw her face but he already sensed that she was scared. “Are you okay?”

Rachel stopped walking but she didn’t turn around fearing that she just might just ask him to hold her hands. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she carefully asked while breathing carefully. Does he know my plan?

“You know you and darkness seems to have a special bond.”

“I am fine thanks for asking” she said while walking two times faster than before. Hoping she just might outrun him and he will leave her alone.

“Trying to outrun me love, don’t you think it’s a little stupid?” with every word Ethan’s voice became more distant. She was still walking not running.

And after a few minutes she realised there were no footsteps from behind her. Did I just outrun Ethan? She turned around to see if he was there. But he was not; she couldn’t see him anywhere near her in sight.

A little panic arose deep in her stomach. She was alone in a very dark place she was probably lost also because she doesn’t remember which way she was going.

“Ethan  ...Ethan this is not funny” she yelled but in return she was greeted with only silence. She backed away to a tree and started rubbing her own shoulders, to warm herself.

“Who said it has to be funny? Maybe I just like teasing you.” Ethan whispered in her ear from the back of the tree where she was standing.

She jumped like a maniac “oh my god, why would you do that to me?” she said while patting her heart lightly.

“Well you are the one who run off from me, so I thought we were playing hide and seek” he said while making an innocent face.

“First of all I didn’t run I walked faster and it’s your fault that you couldn’t keep up with me.”

“No need to get offensive love, because we are almost there.” He started walking again. This time he was leading.

“Yeah right, that’s what you have been saying since the past hour. Do you even know where is...” the words automatically stopped from her mouth. When she saw that warehouse hiding behind some big trees.

“ta da, have faith in your husband my dear bride.”

She didn’t say anything she just followed him to the front of the warehouse. Both of them didn’t say anything to each other. They just looked for a stone or rod to break the front lock.

“Yeah!! Found it.” Ethan said while Rachel was going through the bushes in hope of finding a stone.

“Found what?” Rachel’s question was soon answered when she saw Ethan ran to the front door while holding an axe and opened it in just one hit.

“VOILA!! Come inside it’s freezing outside.” Rachel dare did not fight him or defy his command.

He was her psychopathic husband who was possibly bipolar and now he has an axe. This only made him scarier. In silence Rachel entered the abandoned warehouse after that Ethan did too. She was trapped again with Ethan and this time it wasn’t going to be pretty.