Bloody Romance

Gray clouds cover the once-sunny sky. The smell of petrichor fills the air. The little animals take cover within a tree or a hole in the ground. The sound of typing aggressively adds a certain element of tranquility between humans and nature. I took a vacation away from the city to write. The peace the cabin brings helps me bring my work to life. Helps me live in the world I created through metaphors, written from experience. To no surprise the rain started to pour, it sent my cat Midnight running. He hid underneath Shane’s truck with his bright green eyes staring at me. My book was almost finished just a few more pages and I would be ready to call my editor. I heard the heavy stomping of Shane’s feet and immediately turned to him.

“Good morning,” he said, then he kissed me on the forehead.

“Morning” I smiled happily.

“It’s really coming down, damn I almost forgot we need milk.”

“Rain has never stopped you before.”

He knew I was being funny considering how I am scared to go out in the rain. I just didn’t want my hair to get wet plus with rain that heavy usually thunder and lightning are not too far away. Shane went back inside and I continued to write. Midnight was still hiding underneath the truck from the rain but started to fall asleep. About ten minutes went by when I heard keys along with Shane’s heavy boots.

“Anything else you want from the store?”

“Mmmm no I’m all set.”

“So no coffee?”

I closed my laptop and stared at him, lifting my right eyebrow.

“Don’t be ridiculous, always coffee, I didn’t know we ran out.”

“Somebody has been drinking it all up. I wonder who that could be?”

He leaned against the door frame with a smirk.

“Get coffee” I playfully rolled my eyes.

“Of course.”

Shane headed to his truck. The rain was merciless as it poured down. Suddenly it’s like a light bulb went off in my head.

“Midnight is under the truck!”

Shane turned to look at me in confusion, he couldn’t hear me. His clothes getting drenched, it poured so heavily that it seemed to mess with his vision as well.

“What?” he squinted.

Instead of screaming so he could hear me I got up and ran over to him.

“No love, now you're all wet too.”

“I know but I can’t let you run over Midnight.”

“He’s under the truck again? figures.”

“He’s scared of water, he's a cat.”

“He’s scared of everything.”

Shane took a peek underneath and saw Midnight’s bright green eyes staring back at him. He turned the truck on and honked the horn and Midnight went running out into the house.

“He’s fine, go back in the house. I’ll be back in a few.”

I nodded.

“Drive carefully.”

I walked away slowly backward just to see his smile. He drove away quicker than I expected. I jogged back into the house, my sneakers were filled with water. I decided to change.

I headed up the creaky stairs into our bedroom and saw Midnight in his bed balled up into a ball.

“Cute”

I walked into our bathroom and peeled the wet clothes from my body; they stuck to me like glue.

I put them into the dryer and walked bare into the bedroom. My feet were still wet, I left footprints. I put on a pair of black sweats and a red t-shirt. The shirt was technically Shane’s but he let me wear it once we started dating. As I reached for a hair tie to pull my wet hair back I heard a huge bang noise like someone shooting a gun. I instantly ran downstairs remembering that I left the door open. I grabbed my laptop from the porch and looked around. I didn’t see anything and how could I with all the rain? I panicked a little and rushed back inside and closed the door. I locked all five locks. I made Shane add more locks to the front and back doors. I loved that he always did what I asked even when I had the most ridiculous request. He reassured me and always made me feel safe but whenever he left I always got a sense of panic. Sometimes he’d say it was all in my head and that my brain was my worst enemy. Maybe he was right but part of me always felt like somebody was out to get me.

I took a deep breath hoping I would calm down. I did for two seconds until somebody started knocking on the door. I looked through the window next to the door and saw a huge man. He was covered in what I was hoping was paint but to be more realistic was probably blood. He looked dirty and rough. His clothes looked like he could be a construction worker the same like Shane, but they were torn slightly around the neck.

Quietly I tiptoed away from the window and walked over to the back door to make sure that it was also locked. When I got to the back door the door wasn’t locked. I locked all five of those. Unfortunately, another man was staring at me through the glass part of the door. He wasn’t as tall as the first man but he was just as intimidating and covered in blood too.

“You must be the girlfriend.” the man said. He smiled at me menacingly.

“We are just looking for Shane. We won’t hurt you.”

I backed away from the door and ran upstairs. I grabbed my phone and called Shane. He picked up after two rings.

“I’ll be home in a min with your-“

“Shane, get home now! Two men are here, they know you. I don’t know what they want.”

“Go to the bedroom and stay there. Hide somewhere, I’m coming.”

Before I could say anything he hung up. My fight or flight reflexes kicked in and I closed the door. The bedroom door didn’t lock so that was out of the question. Another loud noise startled both me and Midnight; he ran into the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom. Normally I would remove him from there but given the circumstances, he was safer there. I closed the cabinet door. I heard the men's voices in the house, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I carefully walked towards the closet. My own footsteps were going to cause me to have a heart attack. The old creaky floor was going to give me away. I got inside the dirty laundry bag with the clothes and stayed still. My body felt numb and my heart was pounding out of my chest.

I could hope Shane was close by. The sound of boots stomping slowly up the stairs made me tremble, I was fighting with my body's natural reaction and trying to stay still.

“We got ourselves a writer Red.”

“Nice and pretty too.”