Defect

Freedom

Evan stood in the bathroom looking at himself in the mirror. His eyes were red and puffy where he'd been crying all afternoon. He was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, and getting himself ready to go to bed. Of course, his head was throbbing with another stupid headache. As he stood there looking in the mirror, his mind began to wander. He thought about the times Dr. Tipton apologized because there was nothing she could do to stop his pain. He remembered laughing with Peggy, and sharing frozen yogurt with her. He thought of that she-beast Laura, and her ridiculous offer to sleep with her, and her hag friends. Then his mind drifted back to the day in the car when Peggy said they were moving too fast. He thought about Laura, again, when she showed him that picture in the paper. That lead his mind to Nash, who had the audacity to thank him when he left Peggy's apartment. Then his mind settled on Laura, and her saying she always gets what she wants. It was too much for Evan. He grabbed his bottle of pills off the sink.

"I'm done." he muttered to himself. He took the bottle, and walked over to the toilet. He hesitated for just a moment. Then, he dumped the pills, and flushed.

ONE WEEK LATER

Evan sat on the couch with a melancholy expression. He just sat, not saying a word, while Dr. Tipton observed him.

"Evan, please tell me what's wrong." She sounded more like a concerned friend, than a doctor. She'd never seen him like this, and it was making her worry. Evan let out a deep breath.

"She left me." he croaked. His voice was raspy with grief.

"What?"

"Peggy dumped me." He said again.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Her ex happened." He snapped. "That brain dead sperm donor waltzed back into her life, and she jumped at the chance to be with him." Evan's grief began to morph into anger.

"That seems rather sudden." She replied.

"Doesn't it?" he grumbled. Dr. Tipton had learned by now to ignore his sharp sarcasm, and continued on.

"What did she say?"

"Some nonsense about giving the baby a chance at life with both parents." He waved his hand dismissively.

"I know it's not what you want to hear," she started cautiously, "but she has a point."

"I know she's right, okay?" His tone had softened some. "It still hurts."

"I understand that. But, I promise I will help you get through this." Evan nodded, and gave her a little smile. He was glad he had some support while dealing with his heartache.

"Thanks, Dr. T." he said quietly.

"Now, what about those headaches?" she asked.

"Getting better." He answered.

"Finally?" she asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah. I guess I just needed to wait it out." He smiled sweetly at her. He prayed she didn't ask anymore questions about it.

"See? I told you to give it time." She said triumphantly. Evan just smiled and nodded.

The next two weeks were thankfully uneventful. Evan threw himself into his work to distract his mind from Peggy, and that whole ordeal. It was nice and quiet. It was almost like the world sensed he needed a break. People didn't bother him when he was out and about. Work went smoothly, (he broke another sales record), and even Laura had made herself scarce in recent days.

One night, after an especially exhausting day, Evan came home, and went straight to bed. It wasn't very long before he started to dream. He walked through dark woods, and came to an abandoned building. He wasn't sure how, but he knew exactly where to go. The front doors were swung wide open. He went through them, then walked to his right. He opened a door that had a staircase that lead down to a basement. The hallway was dark, but moonlight was coming in through a tiny window at the end of the hall. There was one door. He opened it, and went inside. The room seemed ethereal. The whole place had a green glow from no discernible source. The only thing in the room was a cage, with someone sleeping in it. Evan walked toward the cage with confident strides. He opened the door, that wasn't locked, and went inside. The person was laying with his back to Evan, still sound asleep. Evan walked to end where the man's feet were. He watched him for a minute. Was he sure about this? He kicked the guy's feet.