Shadows

2

2

Some bloody wanker was mowing the lawn. I poked my head out from under the duvet. It wasn’t even half-past seven in the morning. I rolled over. Kevin was gone. He’d probably let himself out sometime during the night. Typical. He was hardly ever there when I woke up. I wasn’t sure how I felt about his not being there in the morning. There were times when I was relieved, and then there were times when I was insulted. Sometimes it simply hurt.

Sundays were the only day of the week I could sleep in, and as luck would have it, I was woken up early on most Sundays. It sucked. I stretched and enjoyed a good yawn. There’s nothing better in the morning than a good spread-eagle stretch and a wide, open-mouthed yawn, followed by a cup of strong coffee. Unfortunately, due to an irritating ulcer, I couldn’t enjoy a good cup of hot coffee. I had to settle for a mug of green tea instead. I missed the serious caffeine boost.

I rolled out of bed and waddled into the kitchen. The tiled floor was cold against my bare feet. Memories from the night before made me shiver. The freak’s face kept flashing in front of my eyes as I waited for the kettle to boil. I shook my head and told myself I was being stupid.

I hoped that I'd imagined it all, but I wasn’t ready to admit that I was completely round the bend either. If I hadn’t imagined it all, then what was going on? Was I as nutty as a fruitcake?

The kettle clicked and interrupted my thoughts.

The tinkling of a bell announced Gypsy’s presence.

Gypsy was what my vet called a miracle cat. When she found her way into my life, I was living in Pretoria. I’d been on my way to the shop on the next block when I heard a cat meowing. It was so soft I almost missed it. The sound came from under a bush. Some sick bastard had stubbed out cigarettes on her. Most of her fur had been burnt off and her stomach cut open. She’d been dumped in the park across from the building where I lived. The park was notorious for satanic rituals. She just lay there, fighting for her life. I forgot all about what I want to buy and sprinted back to my flat, fetched a towel and my car keys. I hoped she would still be alive when I got back.

She was still under the bush, looking at me with beautiful, pain-filled eyes.

The park gave me the creeps even in broad daylight. It was directly across the road from an old Catholic church. Nobody walked around there at night, and they walked quickly through it during the day. People never sat on the benches on a Sunday after church, and children never played on the swings.

I wrapped her in the towel. She didn’t hiss or claw me. Maybe she’d lost too much blood to put up a fight.

The vet, Dr Venter, was a few blocks away from my mother’s and he'd been the family vet since I was a little girl. His house was attached to his practice. He was always available for late-night emergencies and over weekends.

Taking one look at Gypsy, he took her straight into his operating theatre. His assistant told me to go home. They’d call me.

He fixed her up, and I took her home a couple of days later. She’s been with me ever since. Sometimes I wonder who looks after whom. She kept me sane at some of the worst moments of my life.

I took a sip of green tea and again missed being able to have a cup of coffee.

My phone rang. Thanks to caller ID, I knew it was Kevin. Weird, he never called that early. I answered. There was no ‘Hello’ from him, but then there hardly ever was. That was one of the things that attracted me to him. He just didn’t care what people thought.

“I can’t make it tonight. We have a family thing.”

“That’s cool. I’ve got stuff to do anyway.”

“Cool.” The phone went dead before I could say anything else.

The family thing meant he was invited to have dinner with his parents, and I was officially not invited. His family didn’t like me very much and made no bones about it. Personally, I didn’t think very much of them, either. They took dysfunctional to a whole new level.

I decided that an early night might be just what the doctor ordered. I was safe at home. No weirdos, drunks or figments of my imagination trying to scare me, would be able to hurt me in my own home. At least I hoped not.

*

Sunday nights were relaxing. Kevin and I usually had plans, which ended up being cancelled thanks to his family, so I spent them alone. Which was, actually, pretty good. I was better at being alone than being with other people. Kevin, on the other hand, needed people. In the months that we’d been together, I’d probably spent more time with other people than I had in my entire life. Kevin couldn’t understand my need for time on my own, and I never got his constant need to have people around him. He was the life of the party, and I wasn’t. Because of that, I knew our relationship couldn’t last, though there were times that I hoped it would.

It was not the night to worry about another doomed relationship. I decided that I was going to enjoy every minute of my much-needed alone time. A glass or two of red wine and a good film was exactly what I needed. The eight o’clock movie on M-Net was Secret Window. Another good thriller: not that my life wasn't thrilling enough.

Johnny Depp was his usual sexy self, but it was a bit strange seeing him in the role of a delusional killer. Supper was a simple green salad. I couldn’t quite stomach anything more. Since the night my mother called to tell me that my father had killed himself, I'd lost my appetite.

The movie ended with Johnny saying something about endings, and that his particular ending was a very good one. Maybe Kevin and I would have a good ending to our story.

I took my half-empty glass of wine to bed with me. I had every intention of reading a few pages of Micki Pistorius’s “Fatal Females”, but was only halfway down the page before my eyes closed.

I rolled over and managed to switch off the bedside lamp before falling asleep. Gypsy snuggled up in her usual spot. I always slept on my stomach, which left the backs of my legs free for her to perch herself on. She usually slept with her head on my arse. I drifted off into a deep sleep and dreams floated in and out.

Gypsy hissed. My heart pounded. There was something in the room with us. Gypsy bolted off the bed. I could still hear her hissing and screeching from under the bed. I rolled onto my back and looked around to see what it was. I thought it was another cat from next door. But a voice at the back of my mind screamed – RUN.

Shadows moved and took shape. I closed my eyes and blinked to clear my vision. There was something there: something with shape and form. It was coming for me. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. A hand came out of the shadows. It was a claw, not a hand. It grabbed my ankle. I felt its talon dig into my flesh.

“There’s nothing there,” I whispered. “It’s just my imagination.”

Another claw grabbed my other ankle. Using my legs, it pulled its way out of the darkness, coming closer towards me. Its head emerged out of the shadows. It looked at me, smiling. It was the man from the parking lot.

He slowly clawed his way up my body. A scream locked in my throat. I was paralysed with fear. The air in the room froze and time stood still.

His face was above mine and his breath stank of rotting flesh.

“Real enough for you?” He said with a grin. “I'm really going to enjoy our time together.”

The weight of his body pressed down on me. I couldn’t breathe. Cold, hard lips pressed down on mine. I closed my eyes. His sharp teeth bit into my lower lip, and I tasted blood. His tongue slithered into my mouth. I bit down hard. And bit my own tongue. I opened my eyes. He was gone.

I switched on the bedside lamp and scanned the room. My heart was pumping ninety to the dozen. A cold sweat covered my body. My teeth chattered, and I could still taste blood. My tongue and lip hurt like hell.

Gypsy jumped back onto the bed and made herself comfortable on my stomach. I tickled her under her chin with shaky fingers, and she started to purr.

*

Kevin’s parents were in high spirits. He hadn’t seen them this happy in a long time. Denise sat between him and his sister Carol. He wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about his sister and Denise holding hands under the table. He now had an inkling why Denise hadn’t had any problem with his desire for a threesome. The fact that she seemed to like chicks was a definite turn on but, Denise doing Carol was a whole other story. He also doubted that his parents guessed at the relationship between their little girl and the woman they hoped he was seeing. He couldn’t help but wonder if that tidbit of information would change their mind about Sarah. Although he somehow doubted it would.

Sarah had made the unforgivable mistake of arguing religion with his devout Catholic parents. He had told her not to, but Sarah couldn’t help herself. She’d decided that his parents were narrow-minded and antiquated in their beliefs; his parents had branded her a heretic who should be burnt at the stake. They settled for banning her from all family dinners.

Sarah’s big mouth always landed her in trouble. It was one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place. Now, it was one of the things he found the most irritating.

Denise smiled at him, her brown eyes twinkling. His gaze drifted down from her eyes to her low-cut top. Denise moved her chair back a little so he could get a better view. Then he noticed something else, and deliberately dropped his fork. Bending down to retrieve it, he saw Denise’s hand up his sister’s skirt. Part of him was disgusted, but his c**k reacted without permission and stood at attention. He bumped his head on the edge of the table in his hurry to get away from his confusion. He didn’t want to see Denise pleasuring his sister. He wanted her hand down his pants, not up his sister’s skirt.

Carol’s smile was wide, and her eyes glistened with pleasure. His parents were oblivious. It came as a shock when he felt a hand on his thigh. Fingers travelled lightly upwards towards the zip of his jeans. She must have read his mind. He glanced at Denise, who was talking and smiling as though nothing was going on. Surely his parents would pick up that Denise didn’t have any hands on the round table and wasn’t eating anything, or that their daughter wasn’t saying anything or that her breathing was a little funny. All thoughts vanished as he felt Denise’s hand inside his jocks, freeing his c**k.

He couldn’t breathe. He felt dirty, and his c**k got harder. He wanted to burst. He had to get out of there. He jumped off his chair, causing his parents to stare at him. Thankfully he had the presence of mind to hold the napkin over his swollen appendage and unzipped jeans.

“I’m sorry. I forgot I had to do something important,” he stammered as he backed away from the table and knocked over his chair. “I have to go.” He turned and walked away, holding his jeans up, fighting the urge to run and ignoring his chair on the floor.

“What’s wrong with him?” he heard Carol ask as he opened the front door. He closed the door behind him. The cool night air was pleasant against his hot face.

“Can’t take the heat?” Denise stood behind him, a smirk on her face.

“What game are you playing at?” he asked.

“I’m just having some fun. Don’t you want to have some fun?” she asked, looking up at him. Her eyes seemed to glow. Her fingers found his still-unzipped pants and started caressing him.

“It’s sick. Fingering my sister and …,” he couldn’t finish his sentence. She was nibbling his ear, and her hand was inside his jocks, rubbing him slowly. He couldn’t help himself. He wanted her so much that he felt his head was about to explode. His lips found hers, and he gave in.

*

Carol listened to Kevin's heavy breathing from behind the door, which Denise had left open for her. She heard him groan and couldn't help smiling.

“Is everything alright?” her mother asked.

“Everything's perfect, Mom,” Carol said with a wink and tried to cover her surprise at finding her mother standing next to her.

“I didn't mean them.”

“I know you didn't.”

“Tell me about this Dr Brink.”

“He's gay, so you don't have to worry about another scandal.”

“Gay! I didn't realise he was one of those.” She sighed. “Please don't say anything in front of your brother and father.” A tear threatened to melt the icy grip her mother had around her emotions. “I've worked very hard to make sure that they never know about that sordid affair of yours.”

“Don't worry; they'll never hear it from me.”

“As long as it suits you, they won't.” She shook her head. “I know you well enough. The moment you think it will cause them pain, you won't hesitate to tell them.”

“That's great, Mom,” she said, keeping her voice even. “It's so good to know that my mother thinks so highly of me.”

“What did you expect after everything you've done to this family?” her mother retorted over her shoulder, as she walked away.

“Some unconditional love would have been a nice change,” she whispered.

The sounds of kissing drifted towards her from outside and her parents’ fake-happy conversational voices enveloped her in hot, angry, isolation. She couldn't breathe.

“Are you okay?” Denise asked. Carol hadn't heard her come back inside.

“I'll be fine.”

“You will be.” She nodded. “I promise.”

“Where's Kevin?”

“I sent him home.” Denise smiled. “I've got him right where we want him.”

“Good.”

Her pain and anger melted away with the knowledge that it would all be over soon. She just had to be patient.