I opened my eyes. I was now lying entirely on the floor. I didn't recall going all the way to the floor, but I either did it or I fell there. Either way, here I was completely sprawled out on the floor. The cold tiles felt so refreshing against my naked body. My body was like an inferno. I was burning up. Just beyond the bar, I could see the fire I had doctored just moments earlier. It was raging now. My eyes scanned the room, and I thought I caught sight of a person standing next to the sliding glass door where earlier I’d been thinking only of returning to the hot tub in an effort to drown out all thought. This wasn’t exactly the way I had intended to do that. Nonetheless, I thought of nothing, except the dark figure at the door and the throbbing in my body. I blinked and the image was gone. I shifted my eyes to the lower part of my body that was caked in blood despite my efforts to clean it. I stared at the huge holes in my foot and leg and allowed my heavy eyes to close again. I w
I buried my face in the downy softness of the plush pillow. Little edges of feathers poked through embedding themselves in my cheek. I wiped the tiny amount of saliva from my mouth. It took me a minute to remember where I was and what had happened. When it did all sink in, I was startled. Last I recalled, I had been lying on the floor in a puddle of my own vomit, bleeding, and in immeasurable pain. I slid my hand under the cover and reached down to feel the inside of my leg. It had been sutured. Slowly, I opened my eyes to look around me. The room was still spinning and everything was a blur, but I could tell I was clean, wearing clothes, and I was covered with the cushiony, down comforter that went with the pillow on which my head was gently resting. I could see the floor where I’d trudged a bloody trail from one end of the cabin to the other. It had been cleaned. The shadow of the flames from the fireplace licked the wall beside me. I was lying on the sofa in the living room, cleane
…Had I dozed again? The room was still vaguely alight with the fiery shadows cast by the dim glow of the fireplace. Someone had added more wood to feed the flames. No lamps had been turned on, and the stereo continued to softly play Imogen Heap. I heard dishes clanking in the kitchen. He was still there. How long had it been since I injured myself? I thought, just wait till I tell the women Amy and Carrie how peaceful my calming mini-vacation went. They will definitely get a kick out of it although living it was not funny at all. I mused at how wrong this weekend had gone. To think…I could’ve died. “You awake again?” He smiled down on me as he came back into the room wiping his hands with the rooster dish towel. Perfect teeth. And he was a doctor. Shame on you. I looked at his ring finger. Nothing there. “You up for a ride?” he questioned. Seriously, I’m almost comatose and he wanted a ride? It took me a minute to realize he was talking about riding in his car - not riding him. Sa
The nearest hospital was in the neighboring county. Although it was about an hour away from the cabin, the drive there didn’t seem very long. I had slept most of the ride and had felt rude for it. I was sure since he was a doctor that he understood. It wasn’t that I hadn’t wanted to carry on a conversation with him. He’d tried talking to me, but I was only able to churn out the occasional yes, uh huh, or hmm. I just couldn’t seem to stay awake long enough to muster up the strength to talk. I only caught fragments of what he’d been saying to me. He was from Atlanta. He’d never been married. He’d asked if I was married? And not to be personal, but why was I up here in the mountains all alone? Now, that was a loaded question thatI definitely did not have the mental energy required to answer. To that, I just shook my head.They were waiting with a stretcher when we arrived. I hazily recalled him calling to let them know we’d be arriving, giving “doctor details” of my condition. No, he’d
I had awakened several times during those wee hours of the morning with my IV neatly pulled from my flesh. The nurse scolded me as if I’d done it on purpose. Yeah, sure, as if I enjoyed the excruciating pain of having it reinserted time and time again. When I woke for the final time, I had worked up the nerve to call into work. In fact, it took all the energy left in my reserve to muster up the courage in me to make that call. Of course, no one would be at the school on the weekend, so, I had to call Mr. Thomas, the principal, at his home to inform him that I had been injured on my trip to the mountains and would be unable to be at work Tuesday. I don't know. I may be ready to go back before Tuesday, but any excuse to stay out of work at this point in my life I was going to take it. He was displeased to say the least. Geez, as though I’d done it on purpose. Mr. Thomas was probably in his late fifties, though he could’ve been younger. I wasn’t sure. He was tall and large. Not fat but j
It just hung there as though it were suspended on an invisible thread, peering at me in its reflection, either blind to my reaction or indifferent to it. I don’t know how long I lay there, watching it. It did not move. It didn’t appear to breathe. It wasn’t the same thing I saw that night on the deck, but it was similar, same cloudy appearance, winged with piercing red eyes. And though its eyes were the same color, something in its eyes was different. I just knew I wasn’t looking at the same monster that had tried to attack me the night before. I wanted to face it but was frightened of what would happen this time. There was no barrier separating this being from me like there had been last night. I couldn’t be sure if it would attempt to pounce at me like whatever I’d seen the previous night did. I took a teeny bit of comfort in the fact that it had made no indication that it would leap out at me so far. It just hung there, examining me from its distance. I was terrified to turn and lo
I called Carrie from the car. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t called her the whole time I’d been in the hospital. She’d had called several times, but I knew of her tendency to overreact, so I hadn't answered to keep from alarming her. This seemed counterproductive, I knew at once when she answered her phone in a complete frenzy. “Oh my God, Sadie. How could you vanish off up into the mountains without so much as a call all weekend to let me know you at least arrived there okay? Amy has been burning up my phone, too!” But I had called Amy, but only twice. I’d been so exhausted, I hadn’t bothered calling anyone much except Peter, to tell him what happened – leaving out certain details, of course – and to talk to Evie. Not surprisingly, he never answered his phone, so I wound up calling and telling his voicemail to relay to Evie that I loved her. I realized at this point I had completely tuned Carrie out. She was now shouting through the phone, and I held it away from my head to k
Peter looked momentarily frightened as he dropped the rake and backed away. “No. Peter is my ex-husband.” I stated. His expression softened as I got out of the car. No sooner had my foot hit the ground, I heard the beautiful high-pitched squeal of my sweet girl. She came peeling out the front door letting it carelessly slam behind her. “Mama!” she screamed as she came running to me and crushed her body into mine. I yanked her up and held her tight. It had seemed like an eternity since I'd last seen her. I wanted to just hold her forever. To take her, hop in the car, and yell to Ben, “Drive!” But I knew I couldn't do that. I could feel her tiny tears rolling down my neck. She missed me too. “Where have you been? You haven’t called me.” She was hurt. And I was mad. Mad as hell at Peter. “I did call, Honey.” I cooed, gently pushing a loose strand of hair behind her tiny ear. “Daddy just forgot to tell you.” Fucking douche bag. Evie stared at the car that pulled in behind us. My car.