Escape

Due to a surprisingly busy week, this small snippet is all I have to offer for your consideration. What do you think?

Left alone with my deep, dark thoughts, midnight creeps across my soul. I raise my hands so I can see their outline in the dim glow of the streetlight outside the picture window. These hands should be caked in gore, yet she still breaths at my side, this temptress, this vixen. She sleeps through my distress, oblivious to my knowledge of who she has become.

As she rolls over so the soft moonlight can bathe her face, I can see the red slash of her lips. The smeared lipstick that revealed her secret to me still stains her lips and part of one cheek. Realization brought with it an awareness of the strange cologne that clings to her bare skin.

Dark thoughts well up again. I envision a dagger in my right hand. Somewhere my evil thoughts would be condoned, encouraged, and expected. In our sleepy little town, however, the concept of honor remains undiscovered. I could divorce her. I could also spend the rest of my life hearing how I drove her to it or paying for her to continue her debauchery.

I slowly push myself into a sitting position. My wife rolls away from me, pulling her pillow closer to her chest and whispering another man’s name. I roll my eyes and gently slide my legs out from under the covers.

The hardwood of the floor chills the soles of my feet as I pad softly around the room. Familiar patterns unfold as I dress in the darkness. Carefully lifting my wallet and keys from the dresser, I slip them into my pocket. I leave the cell phone. I don’t need a connection to this life I am leaving behind.

Careful footsteps bring me to the bottom of the stairs. I open the door as cautiously, pulling it closed behind me with a gently click. I pause in the driveway for a moment before unlocking the door of my dark brown SUV and taking my place in the driver’s seat.

As the engine turns over, the light in the bedroom sends a soft glow out into the dark world. Seconds later, my wife, my former wife, peers out the window at the driveway. I honk the horn once to let her know that I am aware of her. Then I shift the car into reverse and begin my escape to a new future where no one knows I was once married to and betrayed by the prom queen.