To the Point of Shatter

3. Abby

*

        I can hear movement coming from downstairs. I sit up slowly, acutely aware of the bandage on my torso, the staples beneath it, the empty space where my spleen used to be underneath those. I splint the area with my hand like I know to do and get out of bed. I consider waking Aiden but he is sleeping so soundly that I don't have the heart to. He has spent countless hours watching over me in the last five days I've been home, and more in the five days I was hospitalized. He has earned his sleep.

        I go out into the upstairs hall and listen. At first, nothing, but then as I turn back to the bedroom, I hear it again. It's a quiet clattering and I can't quite place it. Maybe the cat's up to no good. So I descend the stairs.

        There is a nightlight both at the bottom of the stairwell and in the kitchen so though it's dark, I can make out the room. I don't see Snowy, so I walk back to the kitchen. The sound again, closer now. I look around and then I see what it is. The sliding glass door is open and the slight breeze is jarring the verticals. And my breath catches.

        The door is open.

        My heart immediately starts to gallop and I begin to tremble. Hastily, I back away from the area. When I bump into something, I turn and see a face in sunglasses looking down at me. He raises his arm and the glint of a blade in the pale light flashes.

        I throw up my hands to protect myself and stumble backwards, falling.

        I fill my lungs with air and scream.

*

        "Abby! Shhhh. Hey, it's okay," Aiden's voice croons in my ear and I jump awake, flailing blindly at him. But he manages to keep his arms around me and I realize it was only a nightmare. 'You're okay," he soothes.

        My heart thunders in my chest and my incision burns. Aiden turns on the bedside lamp and allows me to find my bearings. He pulls me against him carefully but firmly, rubbing my back.

        "You're okay," he repeats softly. I can feel his heart racing against my shoulder. I'm sure I've scared him half to death. I shake my head at myself.

        "I'm sorry," I tell him, and my voice cracks. I start to cry. "It was so real. He was here, in the house. He was going to finish what he started."

        "Abby, Abby. No one is here but us. I swear. I won't let anyone hurt you again. Ever. I swear."

        We both know this is a hollow promise, that he can't be with me every minute of the day. But it reassures me nonetheless.

        I look down at my nightgown and there is a faint line of blood on it.

        "Dammit." I pull away and lift the skirt, see my bandage is reddened. I must have pulled at the staples struggling in my sleep. Aiden tells me to stay put, goes into the bathroom for a new dressing and tape. He gently peels off the old one, revealing a zipper of staples horizontally near the base of my rib cage. Eight inches wide, 16 staples. He dabs it and I suck in air between my teeth. He looks up at me.

        "Sorry, baby."

        "It's okay." he expertly tapes a new rectangle of gauze over the site and tosses out the soiled one. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he reaches for the lamp, hesitates. He looks over his shoulder at me.

        "Want me to leave it on?" I give it serious consideration, then shake my head. Aiden turns it off and settles back into bed. He pulls me against him gently, wraps his arms snugly around me. He kisses the top of my head, my ear. And although I feel completely safe in his embrace, I am unable to sleep for the rest of the night. Demons are everywhere, and mine happen to be real...out there, somewhere. Waiting. I am sure of it.