by Candis Vargo
Mia’s mom, Shelly, used to call them nearly every damn day. Sometimes they would make a game out of it and once her mom hung up they would count to three and point at the phone which rang on cue nearly every time. And there were plenty of times when she called at least three times a day.
If Mia went a whole week without answering the phone her mom would get all frantic, thinking Mike had butchered her and shoved her in their freezer or a ditch somewhere. Not to mention her dad, Steve. Mike knew that her dad didn’t care for him…knew he always thought of him as a dead beat husband. Not because of his being out with his friends at all hours of the night while he drank up a storm, Mia had kept all that from him so he didn’t know anything about that. He thought of Mike as a dead beat husband because of his job.
He knew that Steve always thought he would never amount to anything, that his job was a dead end and that he couldn’t make ends meet. True, they had their rough patches, but Mia’s strength is what held them together like hot glue.
She never complained and stuck by him every time he got laid off and had to collect unemployment. She’s the real reason they kept the roof over their heads and food on the table. He may have made the money, but she knew what to do with it to make ends meet.
“If you don’t mind,” Kris said, “I would like to come and observe some behavior, first hand. I’m not trying to intrude or anything.”
“No, no, you’re fine. Anything that’ll help,” Mike agreed for Kris to go to the party. He figured he could just say that she was friends with his sister, which isn’t too much of a lie since his sister obviously already knew Kris.
Kris had even offered to call Cammie for him and tell her about the party. After getting phone numbers from him said she and Cammie could set everything up, including contacting his in-laws. It was one less thing he had to worry about, so he didn’t mind. Mia’s parents always loved Cammie more than him anyway.
“So, before we go our separate ways, has anything else happened,” Kris asked.
“No. Not really. I mean, we went out to dinner together. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, only a few people stared. She didn’t seem to notice and I did my best not to let it bother me. So really, it wasn’t too bad,” Mike shrugged his shoulders. “Could have been worse.”
Mike realized that he was finally coming to terms with helping Mia. Maybe this therapy was meant for his wife but he was getting something good out of it too, and that was him making peace with Mia’s illness so he could help her better.
During the day of the party things continued on as normal. He was pretty good at pretending that he didn’t remember her birthday, since the past few years he really didn’t.
She never complained though, no woman wanted people to acknowledge that they were getting older. Time together meant more to her than gifts but that didn’t keep him from feeling like an ass about it.
Kris and Cammie arrived together and Mike took a deep breath, readying himself for what was sure to be an eventful night. When he heard their car doors shut he called to Mia to let her know people were here.
Kris and Cammie were just getting ready to knock when he opened the door. A smile played upon his face when he saw Kris holding a store bought birthday cake.
“Glad you guys could make it,” Mike said. “Mia, this is Cammie’s friend, Kris. Kris, this is my wife Mia.” Mike held his hand out to his wife.
Kris glanced over and smiled at Cammie, before looking in the direction of Mia. “Hi, Mia, it’s nice to meet you. I brought cake,” Kris held the cake up and looked at Mike. Instinctively he took the cake, leading the women inside and set the cake on the counter, careful not to tip it so the purple frosting didn’t smudge on the plastic cover.
The cake was simple, white with purple frosting around the edges. The words ‘Happy 32nd Mia’ were written in pink and Mike was grateful that Kris had taken her time out for his wife.
It wasn’t long until Mia’s parents arrived and Mike groaned. He forced a smile on his face as he greeted them at the door the look of disgust on Steve’s was anything but unnoticeable, obviously lacking the willpower that Mike had.
“Oh, don’t mind him,” Shelly said, reaching in for a hug.
“It’s nice to see you, Shelly.”
“Can we go inside or do we have to stand out here all night?” Typical Steve, always rude. As much as Steve annoyed him Mike would just bite his lip and put up with him for Mia’s sake. Steve pushed his way through the door, using his large build to his advantage and his attitude just became worse. “Smells like a barn in here. Don’t you ever dust or vacuum? And why don’t you put some insulation in these damn walls? It feels like the beginning of winter in here.”
“Steve,” Shelly spat. Though she was petite she had a lot of fierceness in her.
Steve threw his arm up with a wave as though he gave up and walked over to the recliner and sat down. He grabbed the remote and turned on football, ignoring the world around him.
Mike tensed his muscles out of frustration. Obviously his wife had been ill and he didn’t expect her to do minuscule things like dusting or vacuuming. That was a stab in Mia’s direction and one he despised. Mia placed her hand on his arm as she walked by him to both comfort him and tell him to ignore her obnoxious father.
Mike stood in the kitchen and the girls gathered on the couch. Mia sat on the arm of the couch so her guests could have the more comfortable seating. They were all whispering among themselves like little school girls. Mike smiled inwardly, happy to see his wife reconnecting with his sister and her mother, but also that she was getting along with Kris.
He placed thirty two candles along the edge of the birthday cake and used a match to light them.
“Mia,” he drew out her name as he called her. He picked up the cake and slowly carried it out into the living room as he sang ‘happy birthday’. Everyone except Steve joined in the singing. Mike placed the cake on the coffee table and knelt down on the floor. “Well, blow them out,” he said.
Mia smiled. “Blow them out with me?”
“Okay. One, two, three.” They blew out the candles together and the girls clapped.
“You go ahead and sit down, Mike,” Kris said as she stood up grabbing the cake. “We’ll cut the cake.”
Mike sat down on the couch next to his wife as the ladies went into the kitchen to grab a knife and cut the cake. He glanced in there and couldn’t help but notice the girls, still whispering, glancing in their direction.
He chucked silently. He was sure Cammie was telling Kris the story about them being called the M and M’s.
When the cake was ready, Mike stood up to go grab a piece for him and Mia. After grabbing two saucer plates that each held a slice of cake, he turned with the plates of cake in hand to go back towards the living room only to realize she was standing behind him, right beside Cammie, who didn’t even acknowledge her.
What the hell, he thought. It seemed like they were getting along just moments ago. What the hell was Cammie’s problem?
“Cammie,” Mike said. “Really?”
Cammie looked around…looking right over Mia. He glanced at Mia, then Kris. He saw the emotional hurt on Kris’s face. At least she cared.
Mike was pissed. “You’re in our house. The least you can do is show some respect,” he practically dropped the plates back on the counter.
“I…what,” Cammie stuttered.
“Show some damn respect” Mike spat. “You haven’t talked to her in months…months! It’s like you blame her or something. Well news flash, it wasn’t her fault. None of it. So stop ignoring her like you’re better than her or like you blame her. I—”
“Aww hell,” Steve cut him off. He threw down the television remote on the stand that sat beside the chair as he kicked the foot rest of the recliner down. “I can’t take this shit anymore!”
“Now guys, hold up,” Kris’s voice was calm and her hands held up as she tried to keep the peace.
“No!” Steve walked up to Mike
. “I can’t do this. There’s more than one person here who’s suffering, you know? Why the hell do you think we’ve stayed away for so long?” Steve rambled on, Kris trying to quiet him down the whole time.
“Steve,” Cammie snapped while a quiet tear ran down Shelly’s face.
Steve ignored everyone’s complaints and carried on. “Helping Mia, Mia seeing Eli…it’s all a big wad of shit…a big ass wad of shit if you ask me. You guys want us to help, well—”
Mike didn’t hear the rest of what Steve had to say. The shrieking of Mia’s agonizing scream drowned out all sound in the house. Mia was backed up against the cabinets as though she was trying to hide in them. Mike instinctively ran over to her, taking her in his arms.
Chapter 11
“Do you see it? Do you see it now,” her voice panicked as she pointed up high in the corner opposite to her, above the refrigerator.
“What? See what, Mia?” He was frantic, looking where she was pointing. He wanted to take it all away. All of her pain, her suffering…everything.
Although he ached for what Mia was going through, fear slithered down his spine as though something was there.
He looked into the corner again just to try to calm his slight fear.
Mia ignored Mike and continued to sob on his shoulders. Steve had walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him and honked the car horn for Shelly. “Keep in touch, Mike,” Shelly spoke softly before she walked out to leave with Steve.
Cammie walked over to her brother and knelt down beside him. She placed her hand on his shoulder only for him to shrug her it off.
Mike’s stubbornness shone through as he snapped at his sister, “Don’t come to us now and act like you give a shit.”
“I’ll be in the car,” Cammie said to Kris, there was compassion in her voice. Maybe she finally realized how ridiculous she was being. Kris just nodded her head and stood there watching.
After a few minutes when Mia calmed down she stated that she had a headache and was going to lie down in their room. “Come on, Eli,” she called. She took a few steps down the hall before she called for Eli again.
Eli had always enjoyed lying down with her, even if it was only to sneak out of the bed when she fell asleep. It was like Eli had known how comforting it was for her.
“Eli,” Mike said. “Go with mommy. I’ll bring you some Tylenol in a minute, babe.”
Mia disappeared into their room and Mike turned to look at Kris. An understanding filled her eyes as he started apologizing for everything that happened. She insisted that it was all right, reassuring him that it would all be over soon enough.
Kris repeated how things like this took time. That as scary as the situations could be and for him to try and not worry. How could he not worry? This was his wife they were talking about…she was all he had left.
He looked up at Kris. “Why is it so hard for everyone else to realize that she’s having a hard fucking time? You’d think they’d be a little more sympathetic knowing their daughter lost her child. I don’t see any of them tearing up over this shit…how would they feel if it was them that lost a child? This was just a big fucking mistake.”
“Trust me, Mike.” Kris’ eyes filled with sorrow. “They’re hurting too. With Steve lashing out like that…that was pain.”
“No, he’s never liked me. Always looking for a damn reason to start shit.”
Kris’ face softened. “It was pain, Mike. It’s hard for someone on the inside to see it, but from the outside, it’s all I was able to see. A family being torn apart from pain and suffering.”
“Yeah, I guess,” his anger was fading, though he still wasn’t quite sure Steve wasn’t just looking for an excuse to start an argument.
“I better get out to Cammie, but if you need anything…anything at all, even before our next meeting, just give me a call.” She offered him a soft smile before she left.
Mike stood in the kitchen for a while, leaning on the table with one hand. He rubbed his forehead, trying to wrap his thoughts around what the hell had just happened.
Things were going good, or so he thought. How the hell did it go from things being so calm and so nice to a complete circus show?
That was one thing he definitely didn’t miss…the stress that came with any type of gathering…especially one with Steve. Mike couldn’t think of the last time he was stressed out this bad.
He filled up a glass of water from the faucet and shook two Tylenol out of a bottle. He knew that Mia was probably sleeping but he took it back to the room anyway. After she would cry like that she would always fall asleep so easily. He didn’t want to ruin her image of Eli sleeping next to her so he set the pills and the glass on the nightstand before covering her up with a blanket.
The need that he hadn’t felt in so long hit him like a ton of bricks. God how he hated himself for it but he used the stress he was under as the perfect excuse. Mike walked to the pantry and dug an old bottle of American Honey off of the top shelf. After taking his first swig from the bottle and wincing at the ting, he cursed himself for not leaving it in the freezer. Desperate times called for desperate measures, though, so he wasn’t about to complain.
He took his bottle with him into the living room and got comfortable on the couch, kicking his legs up and leaning his head back as he laid down. He left the television on football and touched the lamp that sat on an end table above his head, leaving finger marks in the pile of dust that sat on it. That was the only reason he had ever agreed to touch lamps, because he would just get too damn lazy sometimes.
His cell phone buzzed and when he saw that he received a text message from Tommy. Tommy informed Mike that Johnson had to get more supplies for the construction they were doing, and that they didn’t need to be to work until noon. Mike felt a sigh of relief when he turned off his phone. After the day Mia had just had he wanted to make sure she was okay in the morning.
He didn’t pay attention to how much he was drinking and before he knew it, he had passed out.
He woke up in the middle of the night and wandered around the living room aimlessly.
He froze for a moment when he saw someone lying on the couch. Walking over to see who it was, his mind was rattled.
He didn’t remember letting anyone in, but his buddies always knew they were welcome—and by the stench they were giving off, it had to be Pat…his feet always did smell like a pound of rotting eggs.
“Hey,” he said as he walked over.
It took Mike mere moments to realize that the body that lay on the couch wasn’t Pat; he was looking down upon himself.
There he was, lying on the couch with the bottle of American Honey still in hand, curled up on his chest.
I need to wake up, he thought.
He thought about slapping himself to wake up when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Every hair fiber on his body stood on end and his heart raced, alerting him to exactly what it was.
The darkness.
Somehow, the shadow of darkness that was in that room was even darker than the room itself.
The flickering light from the television cast several shadows throughout the room, but none matched the depth of the darkness.
Somewhere deep inside of him he knew that even if the room was pitch black, he would still be able to see it.
To feel it.
The darkness ran along the walls, moving from corner to corner.
As much as he tried, his eyes were never able to keep up with it. His eyes chased it from corner to corner but it kept moving faster.
He spun in circles desperate to keep an eye on it but it was moving too fast for him to keep up with and it was making him dizzy.
Finally, as though an unknown power forced him, he woke up.
His eyes jerked open, relieved he had escaped the horrible nightmare.
He lay still with only his eyes moving back and forth. He tried to still his pounding heart as he told himself it was just a dream—just a really fucked up dream.
&nb
sp; His eyes started to close again but he fought to keep them open. He tried to bring himself back to reality as he concentrated on taking lengthy, deep breaths.
As he looked around the room again as he struggled to convince himself and realized that he didn’t escape.
The darkness was hidden within the shadow of a corner. Once he spotted it, it started taunting him again.
It was moving into a different corner every time his eyes almost caught up with it.
Frozen in fear, the only thing he was able to move was his head as he struggled to keep an eye on it. The sound of his heart sounded like a hammer pounding in his ears.
The darkness strayed from its path and he watched as it made its way behind the couch.
Mike knew that he should be running, but he didn’t know if he dared.
When a growling emerged from behind the couch he finally found his strength.
He jumped up and slammed his hand against the lamp.
It didn’t turn on.
He looked at the light as he slammed his hand against it again and again.
He didn’t need to see where the darkness was, just by hearing it he could sense what it was doing.
The growling grew closer as his body went cold.
The darkness rose above the couch and spun inside its self as it neared Mike’s face.
When the lamp finally turned on Mike whirled his head around.
It had vanished.
Chapter 12
Mike didn’t have any explanation for what the hell had just happened. But he sure as hell wasn’t crazy. That was one thing he knew. Maybe what Mia had been seeing was real after all. If it was, that would mean it was the same damn thing he saw in the bathroom at the bar.
“Shit,” he said as he sat on the edge of the couch. He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned his head down as he rubbed his temples. His heart slightly slowed its beating but the god awful smell of rotten eggs still lingered.
There wasn’t a damn thing that was ‘normal’ about what was going on. The only problem was...he didn’t know who to talk to. He sure couldn’t talk to Kris, she was a psychiatrist and would have both him and his wife locked up for sure. How could he get help for something when he didn’t know what that something was?
