Page 25 of The Bones We Break
“You seem tense my love, why don’t you sit down and let me help you relax, would you like a drink?” My eyes widened at her gesture. She wastes no time in ushering me into the living room to sit down on the lavish couch. I ease into the comfortablefabric, legs spread wide, the tension slowly starting to leave my tense shoulders. Maybe this is what I needed, my wife to finally take care of me, like I’ve been taking care of her.
Tipping my head against the back of the sofa, I closed my eyes for a moment, a mixture of colours and shapes burst behind my eyelids, the sensation sending me into a small trance. In my state of bliss I hear Annabelle return into the living room, coming to stand in front of my parted legs. A crystal glass comes into my vision, the gold liquid calling to me. I lift my hand from my side and wrap my fingers around the glass, taking it from her outstretched hand, then bring the rim of the glass to my lips, the rich woodsy aroma penetrates my senses.
Lifting the glass, I let the whiskey slide down my throat, the fiery notes burning going down before dropping to my side as Annabelle retreats back into the kitchen. My eyes instantly start to feel heavy, the buzz from the drugs fighting against the drowsiness. My mind is spinning out of control, my limbs are tingling with what feels like a thousand pins being poked into my skin. Fuck. It feels like ants are burrowing underneathmy skin. Everything feels like it’s moving a million miles an hour, but my movements are slow, almost glitchy.
What the fuck is happening to me? I’ve never taken a bad batch of drugs in my life, my stash is clean. I flick through the options in my head, opening and closing several tabs until something makes sense. Nothing is making fucking sense. I don’t know what’s happening to me, I’ve never experienced a rapid change in high before.
I fist my hands to bring some sensation back into the bones and tendons. My extremities feel like jelly, but there’s also an underlying current of electricity running through them. My neck strains as I lift my head away from the sofa, the grey tones of the living room come back into view, the shapes of the furniturestart to distort and I have to squint my eyes to focus on one thing.
Swiping my hand over the cushion of the sofa I knock into the glass that’s now fallen onto its side, a thin line of liquid trails down the side and, I wrap my fingers around the cylinder shape and bring it in front of me. White clumpy powder gathers at the bottom of the glass, the whiskey turning it into an odd paste texture. I dip my index finger into the gloopy paste and rub the gritty texture between my index finger and thumb, the specks of powder spreading over the pads of my fingers.
“That fucking bitch.” I grit out, my molars cracking and grinding in my mouth. Annabelle’s soft footsteps have me snapping my head up, the glass still in one hand, the traces of powder on my other. I swear I can feel my eyes darken, the sight of her knocks me sick, the fuckingbetrayal sets my blood on fire. Silence surrounds us as I take every inch of her in, my eyes roaming from her face to the tips of her shoes before landing on her trouser pocket, I squint my eyes to focus on the shape that’s taking up space.
“What’s in your pocket my love?” I ask, tilting my head to the side, my voice slurring slightly. Her eyes drop down for a split second before shooting back up to me, she thinks I didn’t catch it, but I did. I saw the lies and the fear.
“What do you mean what’s in my pocket? There’s nothing there. Are you feeling okay?” She questions, stepping closer to me. Her voice distorted and warbled in my ear drums. Taking a deep inhale I manage to will away the dizziness that’s trying to infiltrate my head.
Gripping the glass in my hand, I rise to my feet on shaky legs and launch the glass straight towards Annabelle, the crystal firing past her head and smashing against the living room wall,shattering into a thousand shards. Her hands cover her ears as she ducks down to avoid the spray of the glass.
“Ricky?! What are you doing?!” She screams, her whole body beginning to shake. Annabelle squeezes her eyes shut as I begin to take small steps towards her, attempting to keep my balance, the room beginning to spin again. As she goes to stand up the contents of her pocket empties all over the carpet. Her lies rolling across the carpet in tiny pill form. Annabelle’s wide eyes dart to mine until both our gazes meet the small white tablets that have scattered across the floor.
“Ricky..Please, let me explain.” She pleads, her hands coming up to the front of her, her palms facing outwards. The wedding ring on her finger practically laughs in my face, and I instantly recognise the white pills along with the yellow bottle they came out of. Her fucking sleeping tablets. This bitch thought she could knock me out with sleeping pills and whiskey, and for what? The fear that laces her face is enough to flush every ounce of colour from her skin, leaving her a ghostly shade of white.
Gripping the front of her blouse in a vice grip, the fabric tearing at the seams as I lift her body to face me, her heaving chest pushing into mine.
“Did you really think you could betray me like this? After everything I’ve ever done for you. After everything I’vegivenyou.” I bite at her like a rabid dog, hot white anger raging through my body, my mouth inches away from hers, saliva spraying across her face. I shake her violently, her head jerking back and forth. Her features blur across her lying face the more I shake her fragile body.
The burnt out energy has me swaying on my feet, her body becoming a dead weight in my hands. She tries to push herselfaway from me, her palms shoving harshly against my shoulders but I keep a tight grip on her blouse as she fights against me, the soft fabric ripping down the front until it completely comes away, causing her body to fall backwards with gravity until her head hits the side of the cabinet.
Crack!
The sound of her skull coming into contact with the solid wood ricochets around the room. My eyes begin to see double of her, the burnt crimson liquid pools from her head into the carpet fibres. The floor seems to rise beneath my feet, the rage wreaking havoc on my system, mixing with the cocktail of substances to create a deadly poison. Annabelle’s eyes flicker open, her glassy blue eyes straining to focus as she brings her palm to the back of head before bringing it to the front of her face. The pale skin of her fingers is soaked with blood, thin rivulets begin to rain down her arm. Her white lace bra and cleavage spill out from the torn fabric of her blouse.
I spin away from her, my hands raking into my hair and pulling until my scalp burns. “FUCK!” I scream, my teeth clattering together.
I’m losing it. I must be. Something is fucking happening to me. The effects of the sleeping tablets that bitch fed to me start to take a solid hold over me, my skin feeling clammy under my jacket and shirt. Yanking at my tie and collar, I rip them both away from my skin, feeling suffocated. Throwing my body around, I face my deceiving wife again, the motion has me doubling over on myself, blinking my eyes rapidly to clear the blur.
Giving myself a minute, I see Annabelle in my periphery pulling herself up to lean against the cabinet, her cheap blonde hair now matted and stained a hot red.
“I’m fucking done, Ricky! Don’t you hear me! This marriage is over!” She screams out, her voice cracking and hoarse. “I can’t live like this any longer.You, have fucking ruined me. I never deserved any of this!”
I feel the exact moment something snaps inside of me, my tether to reality completely fractures. My sanity fractures and splits wide open to unleash the evil that’s buried inside of me. A thick, black mass pouring out from my seams.
Standing to my full height I make quick, determined strides over to her. My hand slides into the back of her wet hair and I can taste the copper tang in the air on my tongue. Forcing my fingers into her scalp, I grip the open gash at the back of her head and pull, she screams and pants under my torture. Annabelle’s hands wrap tightly around my wrist to ease the pain but it doesn’t deter me as I bring my face to hers, our hot breaths mingling together.
“Is that so?” I taunt. “You think you can just walk away from me? Hm. That I’d just let you leave? What the fuck do you take me for, Annabelle? Because I’ll tell you right now, you won’t be leaving here alive. If I can’t have you, no one can.” She whimpers under my hold and I plant a punishing kiss to her mouth, the bruising force causes my jaw to ache but I don’t relent. Prying her mouth open with mine, I force my tongue past her lips and into her mouth, my free hand attempting to rip her blouse fully from her battered body. She struggles and fights against my hold, her arms flailing around, knocking picture frames from the cabinet, the glass bouncing on the carpet. I bite down on her plump bottom lip until blood starts to pool in around my teeth and she cries out, her voice gets trapped in my mouth. I force my hand down the front of her trousers, the clasp and button bursting open at my intrusion.
“Ricky! Please. Stop.. don’t do this!” She pleads but I nolonger care. She’s pushed me too far now and there’s no going back. I’ll have my way with her then I’ll fucking kill her. End her entire existence right here on this expensive fucking carpet. My entire focus is solely on tearing into her, taking her again and again until I’ve had my fill. Until she’s battered and bloody and begging for me to finish her. To put her down like a sick dog.
I don’t notice her body stilling underneath my hands until it’s too late, as a blinding pain splits against the back of my head rendering me useless. My vision flashes behind my lids, black to white then white to black. I feel my hands slipping from her body, the space in front of me becoming empty at the loss of her as I stumble backwards. My shoes crush the glass photo frames under my weight, the fragments shattering.
Bringing my hand to the back of my head I feel the hot wetness seeping out of the deep gash, coating my fingers in the slimy substance.
“You fucking.. Hit me. I’ll fucking kill you for this.” I seethe, my chest heaving and straining. Seeing Annabelle in front of me, her blouse torn down the front, the opening of her trousers gaping, the lace underwear peeking out, the gold marble lamp hanging by her side, my blood slowly dripping from the base like a leaky tap has me ready to start a murder spree.
“I’m so sorry.” She whispers, the features of her face are unreadable. The moments seem to happen in slow motion right before my eyes, like I’m no longer inside my own body. My wife lifts her arm with everything she has, the gold lamp swinging into my vision again before coming into contact with the side of my head, whipping it to the side. The raging pain fires through my whole body until I feel myself falling backwards, my head and back bouncing off the carpet, my teeth shattering together in my face. I feel the blood seep out of the wound at the side of my head, the warm liquid running down my temples untilit pools in my ear blocking out any sound, almost like I’m under water. Everything is so heavy as I try to lift my body, to make any sort of movement but it never comes, the drugs and throbbing pain is enough to knock me out.
I succumb to the darkness until I no longer see anything.
