Chapters 1 and 2 of a new story :)
Click.
Click.
Click.
“… yes, we have do have same day shipping if you like. Mhmm, yup, $29.95 and we will have it there for you in the afternoon. Mhmm. Yup. Alright then, Miss Freemont, pleasure doin business with you. Have a nice day.” Mark Tilandro rubbed his hand on his temple as he set down the phone. Too early for this shit. The clock said it was 11:30am. Liar!
Click.
Click.
Click.
Filling out the rest of the forms for the order, he noted that his pen looked quite nice today. The metal shone against the fluorescent lights, its silver sheen glowing. In bold black letters the word Duralec could clearly be read. The clasp was the same silvery color. Alright, Miss Freemont, one order of the finest silverware comin your way! Rippin off the sheet, he straightened up and turned out of his cubicle. Click. He put his pen in his chest pocket.
The office was not big. In fact, it was only one large room divided by cubicle sections. His cubicle section, where all the phone salespeople sat, was in the farthest corner from the entrance, by the windows of the building. Not many people envied his seating arrangement, but he didn’t mind, since it was more private and, frankly, farther away from his boss. Leaving that area, he took a left towards the center of the room, in between his segment of stationeries and another segment dedicated to the techies. Farther across, to his left, Marketing, and to his right, the big guy. He turned right.
Clearing his throat, he held out the papers. “Hey, sir.. I have another order in today. Another big on-“
“Mark, sit down.” He did as he was told. “How long have we known each other? Seven… eight years?” The boss’ head shook back and forth. “I have some bad news for you Mark. The hospital called. Said it was urgent. I suggest you go call them. It had something to do with your wife.”
Oh my god, no. Not yet, It wasn’t supposed to be yet.
“Yes sir, thank you for the information. Did they leave a number for me to call directly?” The boss only nodded and handed him a small piece of paper.
He set a quick pace back to his desk, his hand nervously going to the pen in his pocket. Sitting back down, he leaned over his desk and looked at the note. He really needs to get better handwriting… is that a 5 or a 6? The phone was chirping, so he must have typed it in correctly. Click. Click.
A woman’s voice answered the phone. “Hi, is this Mark?”
“Mhmm yes it is. How is she?”
Click.
The voice lowered “Her situation has.. well.. worsened, to tell you honestly. It may be best for you to come and see her before the deterioration continues.”
Click Click.
A frown spread across his face. “Alright, when should I come in?” Click Click.
“I think it’d be best to come in right away, sir.”
“Any uhh –Click- any way I could come in a couple hours?”
Click Click Click.
“Well, sir… she won’t be here in a couple of hours.”
He was runnin out of the doorway before his pen hit the floor.
CHAPTER 2
A hospital would have been great, he decided. He stared at the building in front of him. Its brown brick walls were surrounded by 10 feet of fencing, barbed wire at the top, sticking in towards the center. No one comes in there normal, I doubt anyone comes out normal either. They might as well have just called it a psychiatric prison. He began a slow walk towards the entrance, and after being frisked a couple of times by the guards, he was accompanied by a short lady who’s voice matched the one on the phone.
She offered a little smile. “I’m glad you made it, she’s been asking about you.”
Mark gave her a brief smile in return. “I’m glad you guys haven’t brainwashed her memory out of her. Will she be okay with me in there?”
Her head went back and forth slowly. “It should be fine. If she starts to become agitated we can always find an alternative method for your visit today.”
“What has she been talking about lately?”
“Well… besides her usual, I guess nothing that you won’t find out about in a bit.”
Truer words were never spoken. Sighing, he continued their walk through the corridors in silence. The place, from what he had researched on the internet, had housed several true psycho’s throughout the years, some of them being killers. Shivers ran through Mark as he wondered if his wife was in one of their cells. Only fitting. Corridor after corridor they walked, in a dizzying circle of up and down, left and right. He had been lost within the first few minutes, he wondered how the lady’s first day at work had been. Finally, she lowered her pace as she reached for the keys on her side and moved towards the door numbered 665.
“Mark, are you ready?”
“Ready as a husband can be, I suppose.”
Thinking a sec, she shrugged. “Good enough for me.” They went through the doorway and into a well lit room. Sitting across a table, a face began to shine. “Oh Mark!” Sara Tilandro was a petite woman. Her soft facial features and bright green eyes made her look much younger than she was. Younger than Mark by a couple years, she was the most gorgeous woman he had ever hoped to marry.
He embraced her in a passionate squeeze. “Sara, my dear Sara,” he murmured into her ear. Tears streamed down his chin. Holding her a little ways away from him, they sat there staring into each others eyes.
Pouting a little, Sara gave him a playful glower. “You haven’t been visiting me very often, you know. I was beginning to think you had found someone else.”
Chuckling a little bit he shook his head. “No, since I don’t have a wife around to talk me out of it, I’ve been working extra hours.”
“Awww honey… you know, that isn’t a good thing for your health. Your heart is gonna blow up one of these days from all that stress!”
“Yeah, I know. I promise I’ll start cutting back, I just figured it’d be nice to have some extra cash.” He
gave her another big hug, kissing her forehead. “I love you.”
She beamed up at him. “I love you too. Say, you never bring little Maddie around here. You know I would like to see her. Every time, I tell you to bring her, and you never do.”
It hit him like a kick in the nuts. “I, well… I’d love to bring her here, but I can’t.”
She playfully poked him in the side, still beaming up at him. “Of course you can, silly. We can have all types of visitors here, you know, especially my own daughter.”
“NO, I…” he began to yell, his voice cracking. “I can’t, Sara. You don’t remember what happened?”
He could see it in her face. That puzzled expression. She didn’t know. Tears began to fall anew, these tears bitter and sour. She didn’t remember.
“You are here…” Mark began, his voice ragged and cracking. Sara’s face seemed frantic, needing answers to questions she already knew if she knew where to look within herself.
“You are here, Sara, because you got sick. One day while I was at work, you took Maddie, and…” his voice was hoarse now. He needed a drink of water, but he was frozen against the wall they were leaning against. “…and, you killed her.”
For a few seconds the world stood still. Utter silence. No movement. Then it simply fell out of the sky. Realization entered Sara’s skull, her eyes widened, her mouth opened, she breathed in deeply, and exploded.
“No no no no no no no no no…” She shivered as if cold. She stared at her hands, widening the space between her fingers as if to inspect and see if anything was there. Then the yelling began. “LIAR!” She screamed with animalistic rage and terror. “NOOOOO!” Sobs and moans escaped her. Her fists rampaged against his chest, her legs buckled as she balled up on top of him, his right arm caressing her back in an attempt to calm her. In a matter of minutes everything had subsided.
“Thanks for coming, Mark” she whispered.
“I’d do anything for you, Sara” his voice almost inaudibly answered back.
“I know.” She gave him a quick little smirk, her eyes still puffy and defeated. She leaned against her head against his shoulder, and they lay there until the nurse came back and told him it was time to leave.
Sara was nervous. “Mark, when you gonna come back?”
He gave her a little squeeze and a smirk. “Soon.”
Her eyes brightened up. “Really!?”
Mark nodded. “Of course!”
Sara smiled. “good.”
They embraced in a hug, and Mark snuck a quick kiss on her lips, then he began to walk out of the room.
“Hey Mark?” questioned Sara’s voice.
“Yes Sara?” He looked back towards her with a smile.
“When you come next time, remember… remember to bring Maddie along with you, okay?”
For awhile he just stared into her. I can’t hurt her again. I won’t. “I will try my hardest sweetie.”
She had the biggest grin on her face as the nurse closed the door behind him. As he turned away from the door, tears fell to the ground.
