Please see Outta Time for the first part of the story.
Please see Outta Time 2 for the second part of the story.
Please see Outta Time 3 for the third part of the story.
His finger pressed the red power button on the remote control. The screen flickered to black. From the bedroom came some rustling followed by silence. Even Bruce’s snoring had subsided. He was alone with his thoughts.
His first instinct was to grab the bat and run into Ella’s bedroom swinging; only those last few words that floated across the television screen deterred him. Paralysis ensued. He felt both helpless and angry. The rush of adrenaline instantaneously warmed his body, turning his face a bright red.
‘Who the hell is this guy?’ he thought to himself. ‘Why the hell should I listen to him?’ But the answer was all too apparent. Because the guy on the DVD had been right about the apartment. And not only right about the apartment, but had saved Darren’s life. Though Darren wanted desperately to disregard the message, he knew it wouldn’t be a good idea.
He relaxed a bit, trying to stop his mind from racing, but he soon discovered relaxation was an equally bad idea. If he had ever boxed, he could have equated the feeling to a punch directly in the solar plexus. Vomit – or more likely bile – edged into his throat. He tried to counter with short, deliberate breaths. It didn’t work. He made it to the kitchen sink and spewed yellow liquid into the tub. His stomach felt as though it was turning inside out. Dry heaves followed. He put his right cheek down onto the cold tile; spittle inched from his half-open mouth.
Expending considerable effort, he lifted his head from the counter and tried to focus on the pink Hello Kitty clock with its tail wagging to and fro. The consistency of the movement calmed him. He grabbed a glass from the dish rack and put it right side up next to the sink. He then opened the refrigerator and pulled the milk carton – skim milk, unfortunately – from the top shelf. It didn’t pour as creamily as he would have liked. For whatever reason, water and soda had never helped him feel better; it was always a cold glass of whole milk, even though his mother constantly told him it would only make things worse. He took three large gulps, hoping to rid himself of the lingering bile. It felt good going down until he allowed his taste buds to process the liquid. The soured nectar didn’t taste much different than the bile; his stomach contracted, and he leaned into the sink again to allow his body to rid himself of the offending substance.
Darren decided not to try his luck with anything else in the refrigerator. Instead, he limped back into the living room and fell onto the couch. The cable box clock’s red digits displayed 11:11; he made a wish. His eyes closed. The words from the DVD floated in front of his eyelids. He struggled to open them again. He felt himself losing consciousness. Ella’s voice repeated in his mind, ‘For whatever reason, I love you. I forgive you. I’d appreciate it if you’re out of here by 7 a.m.’
Ella cuddled, her right cheek nuzzling into his bare chest. Her left hand played with the tuft of chestnut brown hair around his right nipple. She looked up and saw his scraggly chin; she kissed him on the neck. Darren didn’t move. She wrapped her left arm around the right side of his body; her hand squeezed just above his love handle. He turned suddenly; his left side upended her, causing her to roll back and away from him.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
‘Huh? What?’ He didn’t feign sleep altogether well. She knew as soon as he ceased breathing deeply that he was awake.
‘I know you’re awake Darren.’
He made a few more grunting noises and shook his head a few times. He wasn’t a good actor.
‘Good morning,’ she spoke hesitantly.
He rolled off the bed and onto the floor; his feet landed flat on the wooden floor.
‘Where are you going?’ she wondered aloud.
‘Bathroom,’ he muttered.
She felt herself begin to cry. ‘Just calm down,’ she said to herself. ‘It will be okay.’ A few tears streamed down her face before she could get the cream-colored sheet to her eyes.
He re-entered and fell into the bed. He kissed her on the cheek. ‘Hi,’ he grunted. There were no tears to notice on Ella’s cheeks.
‘Hi Darren,’ she answered. ‘How are you?’
‘Sleepy,’ he responded. His eyelids flapped from closed to open and closed again.
She kissed him on the lips. Softly. Just enough to open his eyes again.
‘Hi,’ she said, allowing the sound to linger in the room.
He wasn’t accustomed to such affection, at least not recently. He stared into her blue eyes and became immediately frightened by what he saw. ‘What’s up?’
‘Did you sleep well?’ She kissed him again on the lips.
‘Yeah,’ he answered. His voice cracked.
‘I have some news.’ She smiled again.
He already knew what she was going to say. He looked away and wished that he could postpone the moment indefinitely. He took a deep breath.
‘Please look at me,’ she half ordered and half pleaded.
He turned his head towards her and instantly regretted it.
‘I’m pregnant,’ she said.
1 comment:
fantastic writing..
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