Abby Lipscomb

Staff Writer

atl5355@psu.edu

I stared at his back as he talked to her. Smiling and laughing, pretending to have a good time with the young brunette. I could see how uncomfortable he was around her because he knew, in the back of his mind, no one could fill the me-sized hole I left in his heart. And so I waited, waited for her to walk away, naively believing he in some way liked her, so that he would turn around and see me. Then I could finally make my move in this game called love. 

A smile graced my lips as he turned my way, the opposite direction of that she-devil. I just knew he would feel instant relief at the sight of me and run into my arms, clinging to me to make him feel whole again. 

Slowly, I stepped out from my hiding place and rain drops suddenly started falling from the sky. When his eyes finally landed on me, they widened in shock. Oh, how I knew he would just be so happy to see me!

“Hi sweetie, I came to bring you home,” I said to him in a soft tone as I took a step towards him. 

He didn’t respond, which made my heart flutter in anticipation. He was even happier than I had thought, to the point where he was speechless! Standing in front of him, I wrapped my arms around his neck before kissing him softly, gripping the collar of his shirt when he tried to pull away. It was a sweet feeling even if the rain just had to ruin it. But then again, nothing could ruin true love. 

“Let’s go home now,” I ordered kindly while taking his hands and roughly pulling him along behind me. “And no funny business this time. I will not let there be a repeat of the past.”

I had to tighten my grip multiple times as he tried so valiantly to pull away from me. He had always loved to play hard to get. We made it to my car and I shoved him into the backseat, handcuffing him to the headrest. I was careful not to make it too tight that it would hurt his wrist but not too loose as to let him think he could slip away. Then quickly, I got into the driver’s side and drove off. 

When we arrived home I uncuffed him from the seat and took him inside, leading him to the living room. I forcefully pushed him into his old chair as he tried to push away. After getting him settled, I tightened the other cuff around the armrests. 

“Gosh, it feels just like old times,” I said as I rubbed my thumb across his cheek. Slowly, he began to struggle and I just shook my head. “Oh no, not again.” I scolded, gently placing a chloroform soaked rag under his nose. “This will help you stop being so ornery.”

His eyes widened in surprise and I watched happily as his body slumped over and eyes finally fluttered close. “Now we can be together, ‘til death do us part.”

/////

He squinted at the sudden influx of light as he slowly opened his eyes. Lifting his head,  he noticed the room looked eerily familiar. Scanning the area, his eyes locked on an old picture. He was in it, dressed in his best suit with a woman in a big white dress who was leaned up against him. She looked up at him with love stricken eyes while he smiled back. They looked sohappy, but the woman’s eyes, he knew them. He knew them all too well. He closed his eyes as memories flooded his mind, this was his-

The door creaked open, interrupting his thoughts as her head popped in. “Hi honey!” she cooed, walking in with arms full of groceries. A sick feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. “I see you’ve woken up.”

He flinched as she gently caressed his cheek. “Don’t… don’t touch me.” he whimpered, leaning away from her hand. 

“Why not? I’m just trying to love you,” she said. 

He grimaced at the word. “You don’t love me.”

“Aw don’t say that. Of course, I love you.”

“No, you don’t, you… you psycho!” he spat before feeling a sharp sting emit from his cheek. 

“That is no way to speak to your wife,” she said, her eyes glistening with tears of rejection. “I have alway loved you and have tried in any way I can to show you, but you always just took me for granted. My mother alway told me to give up, but I said no because I saw something in you that no one else did. I knew you loved me, but that stupid shrink tricked you into thinking you didn’t. And then today, seeing you with that hussy,” her tone turned into huffy breaths, “I could see how unhappy you were without me.”

He stared straight ahead of him, eyes glossing over as he thought of recent events. She’d been watching him and he never even noticed, never thought twice about the possibility of her tracking him down and finding him. He felt her hand hold his and intertwined their fingers together. Despite his best efforts to pull his hand away, she just held it tighter and tighter making his joints grind together in pain. 

“Let go!” he cried out as he felt his fingers pop and crack. 

He panted as he felt her release his hand. 

“But baby,” she stood walking to a small coat closet, “you can’t leave, I made something just for you.”

She opened the door of the closet revealing endless pictures of him taped to the walls. Pictures of them together, pictures of only him, and even some of him with other people. In some he’s looking at the camera, but in most he’s just going about his day like normal. 

“See? Don’t you just love?” she asked sweetly while tracing her fingers in hearts around his face in their wedding photo that was hung in the center of her shrine. 

He stared at her in disbelief. “Love it?” he asked. “Love it?!” he repeated, his voice raising as his anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach and venom oozed from his words. “I hate it.” 

 She jumped back a little and something sparked in her eye.  

“But I made it just for1” she started but he interrupted her.

“I hate it. I hate it just like I hate you.” he growled as he started to struggle against the new restraint she had put on him while he was unconscious. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she left the room, his strength growing in that moment of tranquility and he thrashed around even harder. 

She came back and stared him down while slowly raising her left hand, showing him her wedding band. 

“You promised.” she slowly crept towards him as she revealed her other hand that wielded a knife. His breath caught in his throat as she raised it above her head, repeating herself over and over. “You promised, you promised, you promised.”

He tried to scoot away, his entire body shaking in fear, blood running cold all while a maniac stumbled towards him with a knife.  It had finally begun to settle in that it could have easily been the last few seconds of his life. 

“Hey, now let’s not do anything too hasty.” he tried to talk her out of it, calm her down and knock some sense into her, but it didn’t work. 

“You promised.” she screeched, but then she dropped the knife and collapsed to her knees as she sobbed into her hands. “You promised…”

He hissed in pain as the object grazed against his skin as it fell to the ground and then kicked it out of reach. He stared at the pitiful woman, curled on the floor like a child, in front of him. He almost felt a little guilty and as if he were the real reason she became like this. 

Sighing, he strained to reach where her head pressed against his leg and gently patted her head, “Shh, it’ll be okay. I’ll stay, I promise.”

Despite the inkling of hope that he could escape again, he had just renewed a life contract at that moment. One that he knew he’d never get out of, until death do they part.