Welcome Home, Honey

It's always darkest before the dawn, but what happens in that darkness can cause a person to go mad...

  It was a cool summer night, just before midnight when Michelle finally got home from a long, tiresome day. "Hey baby, I'm home! You won't believe the day I've had!" She says into the dimly lit house. It only takes her a moment to realize that her boyfriend, Charlie, isn't in front of the t.v. waiting for her, and there is a chilling breeze. "Baby? Where are you?" Her voice trembles as a wisp of anxiety climbs up her back.

  "Charlie this isn't fun! I swear to God if you jump out and scare me I'm moving out!" Only silence follows her threat. She slowly makes her way into the house, turning on the lights as she calls out again, "CHARLIE! Where are you! This isn't funny!" As she turns on the bedroom light, she can feel her heart stop and her breath catch in her throat.

  The soft, pale glow reveals the bedroom, a pile of laundry and an unmade bed, just as she left it this morning before leaving for work. Michelle's eyes slowly pan around the room, settling on a note near her alarm clock. 'Hey baby, sorry I'm not home, but my mom called me to come over and watch the new puppy for her while she went to bingo night. Love you, call me when you get this! -Charlie'

  A wave of relief washes over her as she sits on the edge of her bed. She reaches for the phone to give him a call to tell her how silly she felt for being so scared, and how she was screaming into an empty house. As her hand moves to the receiver, a loud slam roars through the house, followed by what sounds like breaking glass. Michelle, jolted from her calm state, jumps to her feet and lets out a small scream. She runs to the kitchen and finds a vase lying on the floor, pieces of glass mixed with water, dirt, and flower petals scattered all over. Her eyes dart around the room, searching for whatever could have knocked the vase over, but to no avail.

Her heart is pounding in her chest so hard she thinks whoever or whatever knocked this over would be able to hear it, so she chokes back her breathe and runs back to her room, slamming and locking the door behind her in one swift motion. Turning around to call Charlie and tell him to hurry home, Michelle bumps into a tall, dark figure. She opens her mouth to scream, but the figure's hand grabs her throat, ramming her against the door. She struggles to free herself from this death grip, but the figure's grasp was too strong.

  She kicks wildly, but it seems futile, for the figure just stands there holding her throat, unmoved by her flailing. She finally stops fighting and looks at her attacker for a moment. A black, hooded sweater hides the face of this person, dark pants and gloves, and she could see in the other hand is a very large knife. She panics and starts punching and kicking again to try to break free. Then the figure speaks...

  "Welcome home, honey..." The voice was low and gravely, but familiar. "Charlie?! What are you doing! Let me go, you're hurting me!" She manages to cry out from his choke hold. "I'm sorry baby, but I think we need to talk!" He says as he forcefully throws her onto the bed. She gasps for air as he stalks to the bedside.  "Charlie what are you doing with that knife? Why are you doing this?" She said as she looked up.

  Without a word, Charlie plunges the knife deep into Michelle's chest, grabbing the back of her head as blood starts to flow from her mouth and the wound. "I think it's time we see other people..." He says ominously, as he pushes the blade deeper into her. He grabs her hair and she feels him snap her head back, she looks into his eyes now, still feeling the pain from the knife.

  "What?" she says, reaching for her next breath, in agony. "I said I think we should see other people, I'm sorry Michelle, but with work and school, we barely see each other. And you're always out with your friends...I don't know, I think maybe we should move on. I'm sorry." She shakes her head, looking around at the coffee house they have been sitting in for her lunch break. Charlie looks at Michelle, noticing sweat dripping down her face. "Hey, are you feeling ok? I'm sorry that I didn't warn you about this, but I've been thinking..." She raises her hand and cuts him off mid sentence. "It's ok Charlie, you don't have to explain. I understand. So I'll see you at home tonight so you can get your things, right?" With that, a small, wicked smile creeps over her face, and a thought comes to her...