Both girls had already been put to bed, and it was just the two of them downstairs. The obvious alarm on Kelly's face was meaningless to Mark. She was limping over to him and trying to get his attention. He whistled and winked at her.
"Did you try to destroy the dollhouse? Why did you have the guns out earlier?" Kelly said, completely uncomfortable with her husband's odd reactions.
"Yeah, I totally smashed it with the sledgehammer. The guns were for killing the witch, but I've decided not to. I don't like the idea of killing people. I will destroy the dollhouse again if you like! Is there anything else I can do for you, honey?" Mark said with a grin as he finished drying the last dish. He winked at her and gave a her an awkward thumbs-up with his broken finger sticking out from his hand.
Kelly leaned on her crutches but grew silent staring at her chipper husband. It was a complete personality transplant. Finally, she said, "Stop smiling! I need you to take me seriously."
"Of course!" he said, immediately forcing his face into a straight line. He picked her up and sat her down in the kitchen chair, her crutches clattering to the ground. Then he sat down across from her, held her hands, and stared into her eyes. "Baby, you know I want you to feel loved. Is there anything I can do to make your life more amazing?"
"Fuck you," she said, completely uncomfortable with his weird attention. "Actually, could you stop this cursed dollhouse from killing us all? You do know it's coming, don't you? One of us is going to snap and murder the others. How can we stop it? How do we stop it? I need your help. Please take it seriously."
Mark's eyes grew soft with concern pouring out them. "Baby, I always take you seriously. You are so important to me. I'll take care of the dollhouse right now." He smiled at his beautiful bride as she cringed. Quickly, he tried to keep his lips straight. He started whistling happily again as he went into the living room and carried the dollhouse back to the driveway. She hobbled out on her crutches. He was desperately trying not to smile at her as he took a swing. The dollhouse shattered and exploded into tiny shards of wood and glass, once again. He took his time and soon it was barely useful for kindling. At one point, he hit it so hard that the concrete below the dollhouse had an imprint of the hammer head.
"See, baby? Are you happy now?" he said, looking up, covered in sweat. The smile wrapped around his face was bright and happy.
But her nose was gushing blood, and she wasn't paying attention to him. She was hobbling back inside, on crutches, trying to stop the flow of blood out her face.
"Baby! What happened?" he said, rushing to her side. Awkwardly, he grabbed at her and tried to hug her.
"Get off me! You'll knock me down!" she shouted. Blood was running down her face, on her shirt. "Get out of my fucking way." She stopped trying to hold her nose and used the crutches to move faster. A dotted trail of blood was skittering underneath her. "What the fuck, Mark? I need your head in the game. How the fuck are we going to fix this?" She plopped on the couch and tightly held her nose with one hand. "You only have two stages left until you kill us. You aren't taking this seriously."
"I take everything seriously!" he said with a happy little lilt in his voice. He kissed her forehead, then smiled at her. "Baby, I just destroyed the dollhouse. I'll do anything for you," he said with a smile. Happiness was practically glowing from his skin.
"In the morning, take me to the witch. I hope she can help us. Because otherwise... we are so fucked," Kelly said. Then she tottered up the stairs to bed.
Mark grinned, finished tidying up the kitchen, and skipped up the stairs to see if his wife would allow him to rub her back. He’d take sex if she offered it to him, but really, he just wanted to make her feel amazing. Like he felt.
She was crying when he stepped into the room. But he couldn't help smiling; she was beautiful. He was lucky to have her. They spent the night with him comforting her with kisses and hugs, telling her how wonderful she was.
But Kelly was terrified.
Chapter Twenty-Six
In the morning when they got up, they went downstairs to see the dollhouse sitting back in its place. Mark felt a small sense of relief. He was worried that the dollhouse would feel bad if he broke it, and he didn't want anyone to feel bad. When Beth came down the stairs, he tickled her and tossed her on the shoulder and they played for a while. "Okay, honey, gotta go to work," he said to his wife, who was still sitting on the couch, staring at the dollhouse. She was pale.
"Do you need some water, or something to eat before I go? I'm happy to take care of you, darling." He stepped between her and the dollhouse and smiled brightly at her. "Beautiful wife of mine, how can I make your day perfect?"
The wild look in her eyes paused and turned to his. "Don't go to work today. Convince them that you need to stay home with me because of my broken foot. Take medical leave, whatever you gotta do," she said. Her hands were clasped painfully together in her lap, the knuckles white, and she cocked her head to see the dollhouse behind him. Goosebumps were appearing on her skin.
Mark obliged. After all, he loved to make his wife happy. He would do whatever she needed. Whenever she needed. He was her knight in shining armor and he would always live up to that description. She was gorgeous and loveable, sitting there on the couch, her sweaty hair plastered to her face. He stepped into the kitchen to make waffles, but Kelly stopped him. "No, don't cook anything. We need to go see the witch now. We have to make her break this curse."
"Okay, baby!" he said with a grin, and he kissed her on the forehead and called the girls down. "Coralina! Come on, Beth, get your shoes on! We’re gonna go on a little adventure," he said with a bright smile. He whistled a happy tune while he helped Kelly and her crutches get to the car. Her movements were slow and her eyes were beautiful as they darted back and forth nervously.
Beth whispered to her mom, "Dad is being weird. He's very happy."
Kelly patted her quiet child on the head. "I know. I think it's from the dollhouse. We have to stop it before it gets worse."
Beth stared at her mother with wide, terrified eyes. As if her father getting happier was the worst thing that could ever happen to them. Kelly understood exactly how she felt. It was like living with a stranger.
They all loaded into the rickety minivan that Kelly usually drove. It was a dirty beige color, and the interior had been covered by marker and vomit long before they even got to purchase it. It ran slightly better than the truck but not good. Nothing that they owned ran good. Kelly's nose started bleeding as soon as she got in the passenger seat. She rifled through the glovebox and stuffed a McDonald's napkin up it.
But Mark was chipper and put on his sunglasses, drummed on the steering wheel, and they drove to the woods. The rifle was rattling in the trunk.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As they drove down to the woods where they normally hunted, Mark suddenly had an epiphany. "Hey, Kelly! I was just thinking. I don't think that dollhouse is cursed. Or haunted, or whatever is wrong with it. I think, I think it was a blessing to come into our house," Mark said with a big grin. "Besides! Don't you remember we are having a baby?"
Beth was the first child to say something. "A baby?" she said, utterly shocked. Kelly gave him a dirty angry look. They were definitely not planning on telling the children right away. He just grinned at her.
But Coralina exploded, her fury dripping from a million different directions at once. "A baby! You can barely feed us as it is. You two are shit parents. What the fuck are you thinking! Do you not understand how babies are made?" Their tiny little child glared with such hateful intensity that Beth curled away from her sister.
Kelly's mouth dropped open as she turned and stared at her furious little girl. She had never even heard Coralina use a swear word before, much less be able to throw them out with such venomous perfection. Kelly couldn't think of anything to say to her angry child. The hair on the back of her neck was rising, and she knew... she knew that it would come in like a hurricane. This curse. Coralina had just entered fury, an
d Kelly wondered how long until her husband tried to kill them.
If they couldn't resist it, then they were dead.
"You are right!" said Mark with a big grin. "We are no good at birth control. That's why we have a new one! Won't it be fun? I think it sure will be! I'm sorry you're not feeling super happy about it, but you shouldn't be mad! This is a beautiful time of life. And I am sure that your mama is going to get another job so we can have food, or she will stay home and raise the baby. Either way, it's a beautiful thing," he said, practically giggling with excitement with every word. The mood in the car was an unwanted rollercoaster. Glorious delight pouring out of Mark, while fury brewed in the backseat. Kelly was mute with terror. Her little family was spinning out of control.
Beth was cowering in the back seat staring frantically at her father and then her sister, then again at her father and then her sister. She looked at her mom with big frightened eyes and Kelly knew that her youngest might crack. Beth understood that something horrible was happening to their family.
But Coralina was not done yet. "You bitch. Don't you know how to close your legs!" she said and she reached forwards and grabbed a handful of Kelly's hair with her unbroken left arm and yanked it with all her might.
Kelly let out a scream of shock, terror, and pain. How could her own child be saying these things to her? She turned and slapped Coralina across the face. And then there was shock on her own face as she realized what she had done. She had never slapped her child before. Kelly instantly had tears running down her face.
"Fuck you," Coralina said, and then opened the car door and jumped out while it was still moving.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
"Mark! Pull over!" screamed Kelly. Fear was running through her; it was creeping in her throat, strangling her words.
"Okey-dokey," said Mark as he casually stopped the car at the side of the road. "What's the matter?"
Kelly never heard him, leaping out of the car, chasing after Coralina. She hit the ground with a cry of pain. Her broken foot had been forgotten in her effort to get Coralina. Pain was crawling up her body. The girl was running. She stopped, only to turn and flip off Kelly, then turned and started running again. Kelly was beside herself with exasperation and pain. She could not possibly catch Coralina. Not by herself.
"Mark! Get out here and catch her!" she screamed, terror running across her voice. She had tears trickling down her face. Sobs racked her body as she lay crumpled outside the door of the van. Mark casually got out of the car, grinning the whole time.
"Okay-dokay! I'd love to help!" He started running at a happy pace, the same way he ran when they played tag. He seemed absolutely delighted to be chasing Coralina down the highway. Mark loped along, practically skipping.
Kelly was struggling to her feet, pulling the crutches out of the van. By the time she was hobbling towards them as fast as she could, Mark had caught Coralina. Kelly could see them struggle: Mark with a grin frozen on his face, and Coralina's big angry eyes. Her hands were clawing at his skin, punching him, biting him. He just laughed.
Then he carried her back to Kelly. She kicked and screamed the whole way, as if she was an angry cat.
"Okay, I caught her," Mark said and he winked at Kelly. "You guys want to go out for ice cream?" he said with a grin.
Kelly let out a scream. "You fucking ass. I need my husband back." The combination of fear and ridiculous behavior of both of her people that she loved was too much for her. She felt like she was about to have a nervous breakdown.
"But, babe, I'm right here!" he said with a grin, winking at his wife yet again.
"Both of you in the car," she said. "Don't you dare let her get out again, Mark."
Coralina bit Mark, and a little trickle of blood ran down his arm. But he did not even falter. "Okay-dokay! But then let's go get some ice cream," he said, and he happily trudged back to the minivan where Beth was cowering inside.
Kelly wondered if they would ever get to the witch, or if her husband would kill them all.
"Okay, Mark. Which one is her house?" said Kelly with intense exasperation.
Mark glanced over at her, her crutches jammed against the door next to her. She leaned forwards, one hand rubbing on the top of the cast as though it could help the ache that was surely developing between her broken bones.
"Are you sure you want to look for the witch, honey? Couldn't we go get some ice cream?" Mark said with a big bright smile towards his wife.
"If you say ‘ice cream’ again, I'm going to take this crutch and smash you across the face with it," said Kelly. "Do you remember anything about this woman that we’re looking for? What kind of car she drove, the color? Anything."
"Hmmm, I think she drove a yellow car," said Mark and he winked at his wife.
She stared out the window as they drove past the first cabin. Her lips were pressed painfully tightly together. Tension was running thick.
"Slow down, Mark." Kelly stared at the houses, looking for a hint of yellow. He slowed down so that her eyes had a chance to scan the landscape. "Beth, do you see any yellow cars?"
"Yes," said Beth. Her voice was faint, and she sounded like she was almost in a different vehicle. It was so muffled.
"You do?" said Kelly, totally shocked. She turned and looked at her young daughter. She was pointing with one finger to a cabin on the left. The driveway was nearly two feet ahead of them. Thankfully, Mark was going slow enough that he hadn't missed it already.
Coralina was sitting, anger brewing. She looked like a teakettle about to blow her whistle. But she was smart enough to not jump out of the car again, probably because it hurt so bad the first time. Her face had a handful of road burn on it, and she was silently seething.
When he stopped the old minivan, Mark hopped out and said, "I'll see if she's here!"
Kelly's eyes grew wide as she tried to untangle herself and her crutches so that she could follow him. But before she could even get out of the car, he was inside the cabin.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The witch was sitting in a large comfortable chair when he walked in. He hadn't knocked. Mark was too happy to worry about being polite. "Hello! Are you a witch?" he said with a very amicable smile.
The lady looked surprised and turned her head to him. Her skin was mottled with sun damage, and her face was coated in wrinkles. Her hair looked scraggly and two shades of gray and one shade of black. It seemed to be jutting from her head in an uncomfortable manner. As if the very ends of her hair were trying to escape from her. "Yes. Why are you here?"
Mark grinned again. "Well, I wanted to go get ice cream. But my wife said that we should talk to you first." Then he winked at her. "It seems that we have a bit of the dollhouse curse on us. So we would kinda like you to fix that... If you could... unless you've got some ice cream."
"I can see you’re stage five," said the witch. "Stage five is my favorite. My husband was the nicest to me that he had been in our entire marriage. That's what stage five was like for me." She stood from the rocking chair she was sitting in and walked over to her freezer to see if she had any ice cream. "I'm sorry you had to get caught up in all of this. But you don't understand the man. We had been married for a long time. All I wanted to do was go on the cruise that he had been promising me." She pulled out a small container of Rocky Road.
"Rocky Road is my favorite!" Mark said with a big fat grin spreading across his face. He felt so excited. It reminded him of that Christmas morning when his dad was in the living room, and he opened the thing he had been coveting all year long. That Nintendo Entertainment System. This ice cream was just as glorious. He had to resist the urge to shout with excitement.
"And I'm sorry you’re caught up in this, but... he wouldn't go on the cruise with me. He had to finish the final dollhouse. It was more important than me, more important than anything. More important than our three-thousand-dollar tickets." She pulled out a black bowl with a silver spoon. Carefully, she scooped a large bowl of ice cream. "Do you understa
nd? That's why I did this. All those years and he still could not understand I was important."
Mark gobbled down the ice cream like his life depended upon it. He was grinning and smacking his lips and licking his bowl like a puppy not five minutes later. While the witch apologized again for him getting caught up in all of this until finally there was a knock on the door.
The witch had just finished serving Mark another scoop of ice cream, when she went and opened the door. Kelly was standing there, leaning on both crutches. Her face was red and she was panting with fury. "Are you the witch?"
"Yes," said the witch, her smile half cocked.
"Did you remove the curse from my husband?" asked Kelly. Her voice was laced with a hint of if you haven't, you're going to pay.
"I was just explaining, dear, but there's nothing I can do." She smiled at Kelly. "I'm sorry you had to get caught up in all of this."
"What did we get caught up in? We brought home a dollhouse for our children!" Kelly's fury was boiling forth.
"I was telling your husband, I only meant to curse my husband, not the entire dollhouse. Certainly not everyone who touched the dollhouse lives with the dollhouse. However, it works. It was an accident," the witch said. Then she stood up and she turned and said, "Now get out of my house before I make it worse." The house let out a little tiny rattle, as if it almost screamed underneath her threats.
"Mark, we have to go," said Kelly, tears threatening to crack through her voice.
"Okay-dokey," said Mark.
Before they stepped outside, the witch said, "Your nose is bleeding."
Kelly touched her nose, and it was gushing.
Chapter Thirty
Deadlocked Dollhouse Page 8
