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He was staring down at me. It hurt to look at him. My eyes stung as
I blinked away a few tired tears. Then I discovered what he had jabbed my
ribcage with. It was the end of a large, wooden-handled axe. I
swallowed hot bacteria down a salty sore throat.
“You fuckin’
heard me-get off your ass!”
I rubbed my eyes and got up
quickly. I was quite inclined to obey.
“Um-is there a-what
needs-why are-“
“Why am I holding an axe?”
I
nodded.
“I plan on chopping this couch to tiny little bits. I
don’t really like it anymore-tired of it, ya know? So, I thought to
myself, ‘I got the money. I’ll get a new one.’”
“But
why the-“
“Axe? I need to get rid of the old couch somehow,
right? It’ll keep a fire burning for a while. Seems logical enough
to me. So if you don’t mind…” He walked over to a pile of clothing
and dipped his hand into it. After searching for a moment he tossed a
towel to me. “Get out of the way.”
I mumbled a thanks and walked
up the stairs. When I got to the top I was hit by a gust of warm
steam. I could hear the sound of steel hitting polyester covered wood
below me as I made my way down the hall. Hack! shyunk.
Hack! The door hung wide open and a mist was pouring out of what I assumed
was the bathroom. I stepped inside.
She was prominently
unclad. Her shimmering wet limbs hung limply over the rim of the
bathtub. A bolt of electricity shot up my spine and my heart froze as soon
as my brain registered the image. My hands shot up and thrust my towel
over my eyes. I stumbled backwards and fell against the wall outside of
the bathroom.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m
sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” My head shook back and forth, as
if trying to loose the wrongdoing from my mind. I suddenly noticed the
sound of his axe again. Hack! shyunk. Hack! My own
violent movement made me light-headed, so I stopped. The thick, moist air
flowed in and out of my nostrils.
The water in the bathtub shifted
about, and little droplets made tiny thudding noises on the tile floor.
She laughed. The floor moaned a little louder under each subsequent step
as she approached. This was an old house.
“Can I use this?”
I felt a tug on my towel.
“S-sure.” I let it go. I shut my
eyes tight, but one lid managed to squeeze open (Of its own accord!) and I saw
some things I shouldn’t have just before she wrapped the towel around
her. I could smell her skin; she smelled fresh. Her lips formed a
smile and those green eyes widened for a moment.
“It’s all
yours.” She said.
“Thanks.”
I stood up, almost
toppled over again, but managed to maneuver myself around her and into the
bathroom. I shut the door behind me and disrobed quietly and
awkwardly. I drained the water in the tub and filled it with cold
water. The numbing pain put my mind at ease. The sound of his
chopping was far away and muted now. Thk. Thk. Thk.
When I got out of the tub, twenty-three minutes later, I realized that I had
no towel. I did the best I could to dry myself with a hand towel and then
put my clothes on again. My teeth chattered as I opened the door.
The axe had stopped, and when I went downstairs the couch was in pieces all over
the floor and there was a fire in the fireplace. He was sitting against
the wall opposite the fireplace smoking a cigarette and she was draped across
his lap.
I wanted to leave, but I felt like I had to stay. So I
sat down at the bottom of the stairs, with my head in between my knees and my
hands folded neatly above my neck. |
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