AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, the drama,” I deadpan.
True to his word, Dad finishes the introductions, seals two business deals, and finishes two drinks in the span of an hour and a half.
Then he’s out of the picture, leaving me to deal with the fallout.
I’m thankful for any opportunity that keeps me away from the house as long as possible.
It’s become increasingly difficult to exist around the bane of my existence and not touch her.
Which could be considered an innovative form of torture, if you ask me.
By the time I reach the house, it’s a bit after midnight.
I walk in and pause at the threshold, and that’s not only because of Sam’s and Henderson’s alarmed expressions as they stand by the stairs.
Or the absence of any other staff.
The sound of the cello coming from upstairs fills the space like a haunting doom.
“Why the fuck didn’t you call me?” I snap at Henderson, my ears prickling at the damned sound.
“I did. You weren’t picking up,” he replies.
“How long?”
“An hour,” Sam says.
“Has she been taking her meds regularly? You didn’t skip a day?”
She shakes her head. “Every morning with her strawberry and banana smoothie, and she takes her nightly dose with her usual glass of milk.”
“Fuck.” I climb the stairs two at a time and stop in front of her door. Images from the last time I heard the cello slip into my head, and all of them end with a haunting smile, a scream, and a fuckload of blood.
One, two, three…
It’s under control.
Four, five, six…
She doesn’t remember.
Seven, eight, nine…
At ten, I open the door and stop at the entrance.
My wife is sitting on the bed, facing the window with her back to the door. She’s wearing a baby-pink satin gown, the straps hanging off her pale shoulders, and her hair is tied in a messy bun.
The sad and absolutely lethal sound penetrates my ears like a doomsday song.
She’s nearly wrapped all around the cello as she plays on and on, like a robot.
I walk toward her slowly, carefully even. “Ava?”
No reply.
Not that I was expecting one.
I stop beside her, and a crushing weight lands on my shoulder and stabs my nonexistent fucking heart.
