My Wife, My Man?

Chapter Thirty-one

"Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye." H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"No!"

"Stop!"

"No!"

Then silence.

Perli was awakened by the agonizing shouts and groans. The violent sounds echoed through the quiet house, breaking through its silence, and stealing the peace the place once held. It was 3 a.m. and the sky, still painted dark blue, allowed the little stars to twinkle like a winking eye. A light breeze — a gentle kiss to her skin, blew through the open window, making the thick curtains dance to their slow tune.

She groaned in frustration as her heavy eyes flung open to stare at the patterned ceiling.

Her mind was too tired to register the noise into her head and it didn't take long before her tiredness battled her back into her sleep. At least for a couple of minutes. She was shortly awakened again by the persistent sounds that echoed into her ears. Her first reaction was to get slightly annoyed by the sounds, but the worry dawned on her as she realized that Jack and herself were the only people in that huge house.

Without hesitation, she jumped out of bed, causing her body to feel partially disorientated by the sudden movement. Unsteadily, she walked in quick steps toward the source of the sound, each step becoming heavier than the first. At a certain point, through her walk toward the source, the noise ceased, and she was greeted with a familiar silence.

But she knew where the sound had come from, and it worried her greatly. Her heart drummed with anxiousness as she slowly made her way toward her husband's room. When she had gotten close to the door, she softly knocked and tapped her foot nervously, as she waited for a response.

There was none.

She inhaled then exhaled nervously.

"Jack," she called his name, then peered into his room, where a strong scent of medicine swept into her nostrils. The only light source was that of the moon which dominated over the darkness of his room and brought some sort of hope for something good. Confused, she studied the body that lay inert on the bed and began to wonder whether she had imagined the sounds. But she was answered with a loud growl. His hands were clenched into a fist and his teeth, gritting together, allowed a sound of agony to escape from his mouth.

"Jack, wake up," there was a slight panic in her voice as she shook him, but she refrained from losing calmness.

His forehead was damp with droplets of sweat, while his body unwillingly reacted to the dream he appeared to be having. Perli could see the way the veins lined his arms with their dark green and black colour.

Again, she worryingly shook him, but he could not evict himself from the terrible dream he was trapped in. "Jack!" She ran her hand over his head and felt the burning sensation of his blazing skin. Even in such chilled weather, his body burned as if he had a fever. Quickly, she rushed into his bathroom, damped a towel with cool water, then ran back to him and placed it on his steaming forehead.

A sudden panic kicked into her system. She had no clue how to react or what to do in such a situation.

"Calm down Perli, calm down," she held back her tears and told herself.

She felt her knees weaken, so she sat down and buried her face between her knees. For a few minutes, silence reigned, and she hummed lowly to regain her calmness.

"Don't touch her!"

"Stop it!"

"Stop it!"