These are chapters 1 & 2 of a story I am writing. As I am new to long-form writing, I wanted to get some parts up early to get feedback. I will be adding quite a bit more to this story later. For now though, feel free to leave feedback of any kind!
- Jeff
*****
As David walked down the block, the cold started to creep into his body. It was early December, but even so this was a particularly chilled evening. The cold wind pierced his jacket - which was more of a fall jacket than a full winter jacket - but it could not pierce his mind, for it was focused on issues more damning than a blustery Canadian winter evening.
The reality was that David had no reason to be walking down the block this evening. It was 5:33PM: he had finished work just under twenty minutes ago and could have easily hopped in his car in the parking lot outside the office. In fact, he realistically could have been home by now. But he willingly chose not to. He willingly chose to walk here. He willingly chose to avoid the problems at home with his wife Marissa.
Things had been trending downwards for them for about a year now. Their six-year marriage had been great up until this point. But now, at 28 and 26 years old - David being the elder - they were experiencing problems that many had warned them about when they got married at such a young age. It had started subtly, with the two drifting apart slowly but surely which both of them took to be a natural part of their long relationship. However the drifting never stopped. It kept going, with the two spending less time together, arguing more over smaller issues, eventually not even sleeping in the same bed together for most nights of the week. This was no longer a natural longing for a bit of personal space and individuality - this was a potential marriage-ending problem.
Now, here David was; a year down their path of slow division, slowly freezing in the cold wind just to dodge the truth that lies at home. To himself, he referred to this as his time of "Self-Exile for Self-Reflection." A pompous name to be sure, and not entirely true, but it justified his actions to himself. To give himself more time for "Self-Reflection," he told Marissa he would be working late for a few weeks. This was the third week of this and it would likely have to be the last before she got suspicious. It was already Wednesday. He was going to miss this time to himself.
That being said, it was a cold evening. A damn cold evening at that. Normally he would return home at around 8:00PM, sometimes even as late as 9:30PM. But given tonight's weather, he decided to abridge his exile in favour of a warm house. When he got to his car, it was only quarter-to-six. He'd be home by six, which was much earlier than he had been home in two-and-a-half weeks, but he couldn't take the cold any longer. After a few minutes hesitation, he fired up the car's engine and headed for home.
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Night 1 - Wednesday
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Home was a modest two-story home in a small neighborhood just on city limits. The neighbourhood was quiet and not particularly filled, so the homes had good-sized yards and decent privacy. The house itself was fairly typical: living room, dining room, and kitchen on the main floor; two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs; an unfinished basement supported it all. It wasn't a mansion by any stretch, but for the first home of a young couple it suited the bill just fine.
David came up on the house shortly after six - just as predicted. He was filled with dread at facing some sort of argument of why he was home early, or even just getting the cold shoulder for not just 2 or 3 hours but 4 or 5 instead. However even in this state of dread he was able to pick up on two things that were out of place about the house. For one, there was a car parked out front on the street. Now in normal urban neighbourhoods this is a normal occurrence, but not in this neighbourhood; the only reason someone would be parked out front was because someone was visiting.
Now this alone wouldn't have bothered David, since Marissa was a big girl who had friends she was would invite over when she felt like seeing them. The reason that the car struck him as odd was that their bedroom light was on. Never had he ever come home and seen that light on. And never would she be up there when her friends were over. Yet here David was, seeing both occurring at the same time. The coincidence seemed too much to be just that and he knew something was amiss.
Intrigued at this new happening, David decided against pulling in the driveway figuring that she wouldn't be expecting him for at least two hours so he had time to investigate - if he was smart about it. Slowly driving past the house, he parked at the small playground about a block-and-a-half from home. He walked towards home briskly, feeling heat build under his collar. A person over in the bedroom? His mind was jumping to conclusions and becoming more-and-more sure with each passing moment. He reached the house and decided the best course of action would be to enter through the back door. He reasoned that since the back door led to a porch it would be less noticeable than entering through the front door which tended to make a racket.
David cautiously unlocked the back door and entered, he paused listening for movement for a few seconds before gingerly closing the door behind. Here in the back porch he waited for two minutes, listening for any audio clues. The back porch entered into the kitchen which was connected to the rest of the downstairs by a circular open floor plan. By waiting here, he would be able to hear any movement that happened on the main level. But he never heard anything. The main floor was dead silent. David's face flushed a little red as his mind started racing again.
He cleared his head, determined to move forwards. Gently he cracked the door to the kitchen: still nothing. He slipped inside and returned the door to its closed state. The kitchen was slightly dirty, as it was clear food had been prepared likely for supper. He noted dirty dishes left by the sink: two sets of plates, glasses, and utensils. A further sign that more people than just his wife was here.
It was then that David heard the first signs of life in the house: the unmistakable sound of something heavy landing on a bed and springing. If David was warm before, he was boiling now. The heat burned on his cheeks. There was no avoiding it now: his wife and the stranger were in the bedroom.
He slipped off his shoes as too mask his footsteps. As quietly as possible, David started up the stairs. The stairs meet the middle of a hallway: to the left are a bedroom and a bathroom, to the right is the master bedroom - which they obviously used. He reached the top of the stairs and peered left. Both doors open. To the right, their bedroom door was closed with light leaking out under the door. And that was when David had his suspicions and fears answered once and for all.
Squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak ... the unmistakable sound for a mattress compressing and uncompressing in rapid succession.
Mmhmm mmhmm mhm mmm mhhhm ... the familiar sound of Marissa moaning as she was experiencing the pleasure of sex.
