When I Wake (working title)

The Start

I try to speak but screams are all that come out. She thrust the knife in and out again, I've lost count of how many times it pierces my stomach. Why hasn't the pain stopped? I'm now begging to go into shock, or die; anything is better than this.

    "Please! Why are you doing this?" I scream. I can't see her face, the shadows casted across it concealing her identity.  My knees crash onto the hard pavement and I lean my back against the brick wall behind me. I can't do anything but scream because of the pain. I wish I were dead. It feels as if each time the knife is placed back inside me, flames are released into my body.

    She kneels down to become eye level with me and whispers, "You're welcome." before driving the knife back into my torso.

    I shoot up right in bed. My breaths are sharp, quick. That dream felt so real. Only then do I begin to calm down when my wife starts to stir in bed beside me. Pulling the cover up over her shoulder, I gently get out of bed and go to find Apollo. I spend about five minutes calling for him before I realize he's playing hide and seek again. I hate when he does this but Tanya think's it is cute, so I never scold him for it.

    "Apollo? Hey, buddy, where are you?" I try to listen carefully just in case he decided to change spots. It's been almost twenty minutes before I spot his, white tail sticking out from behind the couch.

"I found you Apollo; now come on before we wake up mom." I call to him, hoping that hide and seek will be over.

"What are you doing, Chester?" At the sound of Tanya's voice, I turn around and stare at

Apollo, who is sitting next to her. "Since when do you wake up and not let him outside?" She places her hand on her hip. Apollo tilts his head to the left, as if he agrees with her.

    "I-I thought he was behind the, nevermind, I'll go start the coffee." I go open the back door and watch Apollo run into the backyard, leaving it cracked for him to come in when he pleases. I begin to turn around, and I feel a small hand wrap around my wrist.

    "Hey, is everything okay?" Tanya asks. I give her a slight smile, and take her head into my hands, kissing her forehead.

"I'm fine. Promise." I bring my fist to her line of sight and extend my pinky. Once she locked her finger with mine, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. I return to the kitchen to finish getting the coffee ready.

    "Are you feeling sophisticated this morning? I know that you drink it when you want to act professional and I have a fresh cup of your favorite black coffee with your name all over it."  Just as I turn to take Tanya her cup, Apollo comes running through the house at full speed causing the scalding hot coffee to splash all over my chest.

    "Ah, shit" I say as I hear Tanya come running into the kitchen.

    "What happened?!" She yells as I start to remove my t-shirt.

"Apollo ran into me, sorry about the coffee. I'll clean it up."

    "Forget about the coffee, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Tanya starts to examine the skin where the coffee landed. My torso is covered in red and pink lines, showing where the hot liquid had burned my body. "It's nothing too serious, maybe you should go take a shower and relax? I'll have breakfast ready by the time you come out." Tanya softly kisses my cheek, instantly calming my nerves.

I exit the shower, and I can hear Tanya downstairs humming. I turn the corner into the kitchen to find her and Apollo dancing to some the Ready Set song; I don't know why she loves that band so much.

    "Chester we should go to a show soon, we haven't gone dancing in a long time." She let's go of Apollo's paws and sways over to me draping her arms over my shoulder. "Come on, it'll be fun." I take her face into my hands and rest my forehead on hers. I inhale, breathing in all of her. I love her.

    "Okay. Thank you." I whispered. With her arms back around my shoulders, she stands on her toes and gently kisses me. I begin to lean in just as she pulls away leaving me wanting more.

    "I have to send out invites and you need to eat." She places her hands in the back of her blue jean pockets and begins to walk backwards out of the kitchen, not breaking eye contact. Something about the way she bats her eyelashes turns me into putty in her hands, but I don't think that's enough this time. The atmosphere feels heavy. I try to push the shaking feeling from under my skin.

    "Apollo! Let's go for a walk, what do you say?" He begins to run in circles due to excitement. I can faintly hear Tanya grabbing her keys and preparing to leave.

"Could you run by Jasper's and ask him to call me please?" Tanya yells. I simply nod even though I know that she won't see me. 

Ten minutes into our walk and Apollo is lying under a tree, refusing to move. Who knew that huskies could be so lazy? I decide to sit with him and scroll through my phone until I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to find Lillie with her hands full of coffees.

"Hey Lillie." I send her a small smile, but she doesn't return it. Instead she furrows her brows and speaks at a pace so fast that I can't keep up.

"How could you and Tanya plan a party and not tell me?" she is swinging her arms in all different directions, I'm amazed that the coffee hasn't spilled from her multiple cups. "And of all people to know before me, you tell Aaron?! He's a drunk for God's sake!" I don't respond. "Well? What are you going to say about it? Can't you see that I'm very upset?"  At this point Apollo has jumped up and crawled into my lap. I think that's a sign that we need to leave and go home.

"Lillie please stop shouting. What are you even talking about?" She shakes her head in disbelief.

"Chester, you and Tanya are having a party tonight and she sent out the invites and I had to find out from Aaron instead of my best friends." The word "best friends" rolled off of her tongue like venom.

"Lils, don't be so dramatic, of course you're invited. I was on my way to see you and Jasper, but Apollo here wanted to take a nap." The harsh lines of anger on her face fade and she begins to laugh.

"I'm so sorry Chester. I assumed we weren't invited. Does Jasper know?" I shake my head providing her with an answer.

"Well, don't worry about it. I'll tell him." Lillie smiles at me and turns to walk away.

"I'm telling Aaron what you said about being a drunk!" I yell. She simply responds with the classic middle finger. I just laugh it off. "Come on Apollo, let's go home and deal with the wrath of Tanya in party prep mode."

I enter the house and everything looks different than before. Just a bit over two hours ago Tanya was cooking and I was making a mess with Apollo; now the place looks as if someone had clean it top to bottom. It's only one pm and I can see Tanya setting up paper cups, and big empty bowls that she will eventually fill with chips.

"Tanya?" She doesn't answer, so I raise my voice and try again. "Tanya!"  She still isn't answering. I walk into the kitchen and see the faucet running, but Tanya is nowhere to be seen. Running over to the sink I turn it off . Where is she. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I hear loud music start thumping from behind the basement door. I rip the door open and yell down the stairs.

"Tanya!" The music stops and I see her turn the corner and start to run up the stairs. She stops right in front of me and looks up.

"What Chester? I'm busy."  her hands move to her hips and a frown forms on her face.

"I've been planning your party all morning." her expression still hasn't lightened.

"I couldn't find you, and you left the water running in the kitchen."  Tanya's face goes from upset to confused.

"I didn't touch the water, I've been down here for the past hour. Just forget about the water and help me pick the playlist for tonight." Taking my hand, she leads me down the steps, but all I can hear is the steady stream of water from that faucet.

Author's note:

So this is a piece I started (and kinda finished) in my senior year of high school. I want it to turn into something much bigger than it is now, but I want to get a reaction to the concept before pouring my blood, sweat, and tears (literally) into this book. I am really hoping to get feedback on this and turn it into something much longer for you guys. Thank you for reading!!