Tell Me

Tell Me

     He feels her lips press against his ear.

     “Tell me what’s wrong, baby.” He heard her say.

     Feeling cold, he pulls the covers over his shoulders.

     “It happened again today.” He said softly.

     “Tell me.” She breathed.

     “I closed my eyes and watched it happen again. It keeps happening every day. I don’t know what to do anymore. It’s starting to drive me mad.”

     “How often do you watch it happen?”

     “Every time I close my eyes for more than 5 seconds. My mind…”

     “Go on.” She whispered. “Tell me.”

     “My mind, puts that memory on loop. I feel it all over again. The scars in my mind spread open and spill blood. Fresh wounds have salt shoved in them every time this happens. I can’t control these thoughts.” He said.

     “Yes, you can. You have to focus on other thoughts. Let those take over and let go of that day.” She encouraged.

     Taking a deep breath, he watches his exhaled breath float across the sheets.

     “I must have left the window open.” He said to himself.

     “You are not telling me everything. Tell me.” She said softly.

     “I told you everything before. It never changes.”

     “Tell me. Don’t leave anything out this time and I promise things will be better after tonight.”

     “How can things be better? They can’t be changed.”

     “Trust me. Go on.”

     “I see the truck off in the distance, and I think he is coming on my side of the road but I get distracted by the driver behind me. I look in my rearview mirror for 5 seconds and…”

     “You’re doing good, baby. Keep going.” She whispered in his ear.

     “Do you remember when we first got Charlie?” He asked.

     “Yes, I do.”

     “He was so little and had such a big belly. I would wake up in the middle of the night and find that he shit all over the kitchen floor. It would take me an hour to clean it up and he would beg and cry for more food and wouldn’t let me leave until I petted him to sleep.” He said shivering.

     “He grew into a big dog under your care. You brought that dog back to life. Now, continue.” She told him.

     “I know you never liked the name Charlie, but it fit him perfectly…”

     “Tell me.” She said.

     “You remember when we got the house? You were so happy to get out of that shitty apartment. You couldn’t help but skip all day. You walked in every room and told me in detail all the things you wanted done. The kitchen you let me decide, but that was it. The living room you wanted tan walls with black leather sofas. The bathroom you wanted an ocean theme. You had your painting section of the garage already taped off so I wouldn’t step on your toes. The study was fun building. We spent most of our time in there the first few weeks.”

     “Those are wonderful memories. Now, tell me.” She begged.

     “I look back and see that the truck is already riding the yellow lines…”

     “Take a breath, and tell me.”

     He took in the cold air and let it out, watching it float away.

     “Our first fight was over that study. You didn’t want any drinking done in there. Remember? You didn’t want anything to get on the books. How would anything get on the books when the table is nowhere near them?” He said.

     “Tell me.”

     “We would cook together all the time. When you cooked, nothing ever tasted the same twice because you did your cooking by eye-balling everything. It was always good though.”

     “Tell me.”

     “The truck was getting closer to my lane and I looked into the wide eyes of the driver…”

     “…” She waited.

     “My memory of it isn’t there anymore. I don’t remember anymore of it.” He said firmly.

     “You do remember; and you need to tell me.” She whispered softly.

     Grabbing his covers, he pulls them to his face.

     “You started to stay more in the study and I would go off to the den to write. I’m not sure how or why that started, but it became the norm.”

     “Tell me.”

     “One night you came in the den and gave me a big hug and a long kiss and told me you loved me. You seemed scared like you saw a ghost. I never felt you squeeze me so tightly before or since…”

    “Tell me.”

     “His eyes were wide and wild. He had a grin from ear to ear. I heard screeching of brakes…”

     “Go on.”

     “Ever since that day, we were never in different rooms. You always wanted me touching you, or to have me in your sight. You would look up and smile at me every time.”

     “Tell me.” She whispered.

     “The truck with the wild man in it hit my car going 50 mph. My car flipped over 5 times and landed back on the wheels…”

     “What did you do after the car came to a stop?” She said softly.

     “Charlie got sick and we had to take him to the vet. Remember? He had mucus in his eyes and had troubles breathing. We both took the day off of work to take him to the vet. We were so worried he was going to die on the way there.”

     “Tell me.”

     “When the car came to a stop, I opened my door. I fell out of the car and landed on my broken arm. Screaming in pain, I see…”

     “Tell me.”

     “I see Charlie lying motionless in the street. He got thrown from the vehicle. I ran to him but he wasn’t breathing…”

     “What else?”

     “I looked past Charlie and noticed you lying dead under the truck. You fell out of the car and the truck ran over you. There was nothing I could do. I blacked out and that’s all I remember.”

     “Tell me, baby.” She begged.

     He rolls over, grabs the pillow and pulls it close to his chest.

     “Goodnight, baby. I love you.”

The End