Family Secrets

Chapter 1 - Glasses

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Your head throbs as you squint your eyes open to a blurry world. What happened? Through the drumming against the inside of your head, you remember that you and your husband were driving on a backcountry road, heading into the mountains. You were driving away for the weekend, a little getaway, time apart from the everyday hustle and bustle. Granted, he was probably driving a bit too fast for the bends in the road.

You squeezed your closed eyes tighter trying to wring any information out.

An animal, or something, came out on the road, you had closed your eyes and screamed. Too scared to watch the impact. You felt the car jerk and roll but you couldn't recall much more outside the world spinning.

You groaned and sat up, clutching the thin blanket that was draped over you. As you sat up your body matched the beds creak in disagreement with the change of position.

As you settled into your upright position, your head rang in a sharp hum and you held it, trying to relieve some of the pressure. You squinted your eyes open once again, though a lot of good it did you. Without your glasses, you felt blind as a mole. Barely able to make out shapes and colors never mind your current whereabouts. You squeezed your eyes shut trying to clear up the jumbled thoughts as they tumbled about. Where were you, why were you alone? How are you alive?

You knew you weren't the smartest, spending more time in the house than anything else. Taking up more homey hobbies like cooking and sewing then going out with friends. Not that your husband would have approved of you venturing out either way. You had gone out one night with friends to celebrate a childhood friend's engagement. They are so, so happy, so in love.

You had come home to a husband clasping an empty liquor bottle. Later that night you were off to bed with a black and blue just starting to appear on your ribs. Your husband saying it wasn't right for a lady to be out like that, alone. That you should be ashamed of such disrespect. Only whores and women with ill intent ever go out without their husbands. Going out only to be tempted by other men.

You weren't a whore, you were a good wife, you would never. You told him that, but he wouldn't listen.

Over the years your friends just naturally started drifting away. People just stopped coming over, stopped calling, stopped trying to get involved. You always told them you were alright, he was just protective is all. That you promised your friends that if something ever got bad you would go right to them. Though it never did get bad enough for you to go. You were loyal and a hardworking wife, it's just part of the job, you loved being a housewife. Yeah... it was just part of what you signed up for.

You would never really admit it but, you were lonely. Whenever you voiced your interest in getting a few of your approved lady friends together for an afternoon he always said, 'You have a husband, what more company do you possibly need. Don't you have to start dinner soon? What do you expect me to go hungry?' and pushed the topic aside time and again.

Some nights you couldn't sleep. Usually when he got a bit too rough, usually after drinking from a bottle, or two. You spent your night in your rocking chair, just staring at him, stuck in the back of your own mind. Thoughts just bouncing back in forth in your head. Could you? No, he loved you. But what if you just. What if he just, went away?

These thoughts usually went away at some point. Mostly while you were busy keeping the house in order. You were happy with your life. Happy.

Happy as you cleaned, happy as you cooked, happy as you polished the forks, spoons, the knives.

Another spike of pain drew your attention out of your thoughts. Though you knew you wish you knew more, your reasoning skills were adequate. The air smelt musty and damp with an earthy yet bitter iron tang to the air. You could safely assume you were definitely not in a hospital. There was no town for miles around, never mind a hospital where you had crashed. Someone must have come and picked you up.