Along the Path of Torment by Chandler Morrison

Author:Chandler Morrison [Morrison, Chandler]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Atlatl Press
Published: 2020-08-28T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

A CERTAIN KIND OF SADNESS

I wake up one Friday night in the middle of August to find the yellow woman on top of me. She’s rubbing her clammy, callused hands over my face, my neck, my chest, whispering garbled secrets in my ear. When I start screaming, she leaps off me and scurries, on all fours, back into the closet. Shivering, with hot tears stinging my eyes, I hurriedly get dressed, grab my phone and cigarettes, and go out onto the balcony, hoping no one is there. It’s past midnight, but a few of my neighbors often sit out there into the early hours of morning, drinking beer and getting stoned. Tonight, mercifully, it’s empty.

I sit against the railing and try to light a cigarette, but my hands are trembling and I drop my lighter. It clangs through the metal slats, bounces off the second-floor balcony below, and plummets to the sidewalk. The tears are flowing freely now, and a sob is building in my chest. I can’t keep living like this.

I unlock my phone and stare at the home screen, wanting to talk to someone but not knowing whom. Judy would be the most obvious choice, but there’s the husband to worry about. Allison is out of the question because we don’t have that kind of relationship. Arthur would laugh at me, tell me to lay off the drugs. Aunt Carlotta would be gravely concerned and convince Arthur to lock me up in a psych hospital.

Before I’m aware of what I’m doing, I select Beatrice’s contact. The phone is ringing in my ear. When she answers, her voice is groggy but relatively clear. “This is a weird surprise,” she says. I hear her yawn. “Do you, like, make a habit of blowing girls off for months and then calling them at twelve-thirty at night?”

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I keep thinking of the yellow woman, waiting for me in her shadows, and it makes speech impossible.

“You missed my birthday, you know,” says Beatrice. “You could have at least texted me a gif, or something. I know you know it, because it’s in my paperwork.”

I try to remember the date of her birthday, try to picture the space, midway down the page on the second sheet of legal forms, where it would have been, but I can’t. There’s only the yellow woman’s face, leering and laughing.

“What even is this, some sort of booty call?” Beatrice asks, yawning again. “Because, let me tell you, that ship has totally sailed.”

I again try to speak, but I’m horrified when all that comes out is a harsh, barking sob.

“Ty?” she says, her tone raising in what I guess is concern. “What’s wrong?”

Summoning all my will, I’m able to choke out the words, “Beatrice. I’m . . . scared.”

“Of what? What’s going on?” I can picture her sitting up in bed, gripping her phone tighter.

“You . . . wouldn’t believe me,” I manage to say, taking a shuddering breath.

“I think you’d actually be surprised by the things I’m willing to believe.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.