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“Fine, but be serious this time. I could’ve been doing other things.”
“Like thinking about Skyler?” Sadie sang.
“Don’t mention that name. He’s dead to me.”
Such a liar. Sadie knew Charlie wasn’t over Skyler, and she wished her sister would just talk to him already.
Sadie chatted with Charlie a little longer, mentioning what happened at the party the night before. Needless to say, her sister wasn’t as enthused as Sadie had been about it.
Since there wasn’t time to prepare a fancy meal or dessert for indoor date night, Sadie swung by the bakery, grabbing a container of red velvet cupcakes. River’s favorite. Or maybe, more so, hers.
She glanced at her phone—still no text from River. This usually happened when he found himself wrapped up in one of his art pieces, especially the sculptures, just as she did when enthralled in a story.
Sadie cranked up the radio while driving back to her house, but she was in the mood for nostalgia, per usual. A collection of her grandfather’s vintage cassettes rested inside the arm storage, and she drew one out, then pushed it into the radio slot. The singer’s deep baritone filled the truck, her fingers drumming against the wheel to the song.
She allowed the lyrics to drift through her head while trying to piece her new scenes together. There needed to be more than trees filled with blood and beating hearts. She needed a story, for the monsters to do something.
As she focused on the road, her gaze connected to familiar pine and oak trees in front of bricked homes. Sometimes she wondered how she didn’t find herself on a date with death from a car wreck while her mind was on autopilot. It was as if she’d been visiting an alternate dimension, then returned to reality.
River’s car was still parked in the driveway, and the neighbor’s daughter was laying out on the lawn on top of a beach towel, even though the sun had already set. Sadie avoided talking to neighbors whenever possible and booked it inside once she turned off the engine. River was the outgoing one, while she was the recluse, the introvert, and she didn’t mind it one bit.
“I’m home,” Sadie called as she shut the door behind her. “And as you could’ve guessed, I don’t have time to make dinner. But I brought you something even better!”
A cream sheet of paper lay folded on the table, her name written across it in River’s perfectly sloppy handwriting. Her chest swelled at the sight. With a smile, she set the cupcakes on the table and picked up the note. More of River’s paint bottles and brushes cluttered the living room. Various monstrous sculptures were sprawled across the coffee table, mostly complete. An unfinished canvas with the woods and a night sky sat atop the easel. Her framed insect collection and animal skulls covered nearly the entirety of the walls.
Unfolding the letter, Sadie stepped over the paint supplies and walked down the hall. Her smile grew as she pored over the words River had written to her.
Sadie,
I love you, but I can’t. I’m sorry, my sweet nightmare.
Love you even after our bodies become dust,
River
And then there was silence.
“All right, River,” Sadie called with a grin. “You got me. If you keep doing tricks like these, I don’t think we’ll ever leave the bed.” She walked into their open bedroom, her attention catching on a shadow in the corner.
Sadie flipped on the light and her heart picked up, thrashing wildly in her chest, so much so she couldn’t breathe, the room tipping sideways. Blood rushed in her ears and her hands trembled. Her lips parted, the note falling from her grasp.
Hanging from one of the wooden beams was River’s lithe body. His arms hung limp—everything about him was still, and his head rested at an unnatural angle. Her husband’s dark hair blocked half of his beautiful face, the other half exposing his unblinking bloodshot eye.
An ear-piercing scream poured from Sadie so loud that it could’ve shattered glass. She yanked the chair from the desk as hot tears flooded from her eyes, then rushed toward River to get him down and try to pump air back into his lungs. But she already knew it was too late, that the piece of him she loved was no longer inside his shell.
Gone forever.
Chapter Three
“Memories are a part of us, what drives us.”
“Aww, look at you looking all … bloody.” River laughed, wearing nothing but his black boxer briefs, his bare chest speckled with yellow and orange paint from working on a beastly portrait.
Grinning, Sadie rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove on the arm. “Sometimes one has to get into character.”
“A beautiful character,” he purred, leaning against the wall, his arms folded. “So, this is your inspiration for the screenplay?”
“It is.” She shifted forward, inhaling his honey and sandalwood scent, and pressed her lips to his warm neck, tasting the salt of his skin. “But I also need to get into character with a seductive romance storyline.”
