The Doctor's Tale by Claire Applewhite

Author:Claire Applewhite
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Smoking Gun Publishing, LLC
Published: 2015-05-30T23:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Trapped in the world of a fitful sleep, Lori saw a stranger without a face. She began to run. Her breath grew shorter. The mist swirled around her. The rain fell harder. Thunder crashed and boomed. Finally, Lori saw the face. It was Starr! Dressed in her tight white pants, the blonde laughed and chased her, laughing, always laughing…

Terrified, Lori stared into the blackness. The air reeked of bleach and bandages. A starched pillowcase grazed her cheek. This was not her bed. The mattress felt too wide.

Muffled whispers broke the silence. Lori winced and peered into the shadows. In the dim room, she could barely distinguish a man and a woman, now engaged in a passionate embrace. She couldn’t be certain, but to her, those folks sure looked like Eddie and Starr. A smoldering kiss, followed by another, and yet another, made her heart ache Eddie used to kiss her like that, sure did. Until now, she thought he had forgotten how.

Lori tried to speak, but her lips felt cakey and dry. Her tongue simply refused to move. At last, she glimpsed the first light of dawn. When the sun rose over the horizon, her curiosity overcame the wounds of betrayal. The rumpled sheets rustled beneath her frail body.

“Eddie?” Lori said. “That you Eddie?”

The startled couple separated. Someone dashed from the room into the hall.

Bedside her, someone waited by her bed.

“Hey,” Eddie said.

His hand reached for hers, and Lori thought how strong it felt, clasped in her own. Still, she wanted to scream and curse his infidelity. Yet, when she opened her mouth, her voice sounded raspy and old.

“How’d I end up in here, Eddie? I mean, I just got home, didn’t I?”

“You passed out again, Princess. I hoped you’d come around, but you never did. Starr helped me load you into the Pontiac. Without her, I don’t know where you’d be right now—probably dead. You almost stopped breathing this time, girl. We almost lost you.”

Lori turned and stared at the plaster wall.

“Lori?” Eddie said. “You okay?”

“Starr staying at our house?”

“She helps out now and then, yeah.”

Lori studied a wooden crucifix on the plaster wall. Barely secured by a rusty nail, it looked as if it might fall at any moment.

“Eddie, you know I don’t have long. So do I. Can’t do nothing about it.”

“I know that, baby. I’m here for you, ain’t I? I’m doing for you like I always said I would. I know Dr. Spezia don’t think much of me. But, you know the truth. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Yeah, Eddie. Like I was saying. Now let me finish.”

“Okay then. What’s on your mind?”

“I know I’m not being much of a wife to you any more. Seems my job is filled.”

“Do we have to talk about this now?”

“Yeah, Eddie. We do. I’m not coming home. ”

“You know what I think? I think you need some of those pain pills.”

“I want you to be happy.” Lori gazed at her husband. “You know what I’m talking about?

“You know, don’t you?” Eddie hooked his thumbs in his pockets, and rocked back and forth on his toes.

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.