Evilution

Chapter 7

Travis didn't care who was staring when he barged into the police station and bounded up the steps to the special forces office. He had startled the secretary along the way and his other teammates looked up with surprised expressions, all except Captain Danko who merely glanced in his direction before ending his phone call. Travis had taken several shots before leaving the house and was feeling confident and wanting nothing more than to bash the truth out of his boss. When the captain saw him coming, he must've seen something in Travis's eyes because he ended his conversation with Nathan and indicated for Travis to join him in his office.

"Pates, what's this all about?"

Travis put Rebecca's broken cell phone on his desk. "You've been sleeping with my wife."

Danko's head jolted back in surprise.

"What the hell are you talking about, Pates? Are you drunk?"

"A dozen phone calls, even more texts. What were you doing with my wife?"

"Pates, it's not what you think." Captain Danko's voice was calm. He placed his hands gently on Travis's shoulders in hopes of pacifying him but Travis shoved him hard against the desk.

When Travis tried to speak, his voice broke as he forced back tears. "Don't you touch me; don't you dare fucking touch me. Just tell me, were you sleeping with my wife?"

"I was not sleeping with your wife. She loved you more than you know."

"Then why was she texting you in the middle of the night?"

Danko held up his hands. "If you calm down and take a seat, I'll tell you."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Travis shouted.

"I was waiting for Rebecca to tell you first, but it seems that she never got the chance."

"Tell me what?"

Danko took a breath. "Rebecca was pregnant."

Travis was silent. It felt as if the wind had knocked out of him. The room became distorted and a wave of emotions flushed through him.

"What? My wife, she—" but he couldn't say the words. He covered his nose and mouth, his hand stifling his breath. A hot stickiness leaked from his nose and his eyes stung like a thistle patch in spring.

"She wanted to tell you, but she didn't know how. She was scared, thought that you didn't want kids."

The news came too much for Travis and he rose to his feet taking uncertain side steps and wiping his face with his sleeve. "

I didn't want kids?" He stuttered. "She thought I didn't—?"

"She came to me asking for help. She knew you and I were like brothers. I tried, Travis."

Travis began to sob and then pushed Danko away when he tried to console him. Again Danko tried to reach his arms around him but this time he held tight so that Travis, struggling, gave up in a flood of tears.

The red crayon gently rolled along the table toward him. When it neared his lips he gave a light blow and the red crayon changed directions and rolled away. After a few inches, it slowed down, switched directions and rolled back towards him. When it reached his lips again he gave another light blow and the crayon rolled back along the smooth surface. He did this for thirty minutes and a third of a bottle of Scotch later he blew the crayon hard so that it tumbled across the table and landed on the carpet on the other side. Another drink and he rose to his feet to retrieve the crayon.

I need more red.

Having children wasn't something they had ever discussed. In fact, it hadn't ever really crossed his mind. He was happy with Rebecca, he loved her so much that he felt his life had been fulfilled. He had a wonderful job with a great bunch of guys who were also his best friends and he lived in a secluded neighborhood in the woods surrounded by rivers and lakes with the most beautiful landscape in the entire country, and the best part was Bridgeport was far away from the distractions and unwholesome characteristics of the metropolitan lifestyle. This place was the epitome of family life. An ideal place to raise a child if they had ever considered one. He was living the perfect life while his wife was left wanting. The thought of her existing in discontent all this time was a horrible feeling that deeply bothered him and now it was too late—there was no way he could ever make it up to her.

Had she wanted children because he wasn't giving her enough love? Did he not fulfill her needs? The question plagued him, even haunted him and deeply disturbed him. If she had been happy and loved him as much as he did her, then why didn't she feel open enough to talk to him about starting a family. How long had she known she was carrying his child? Weeks? Months? How long had Danko known?

If she was showing he certainly hadn't noticed which was unlikely because he knew every nook and delicate inch of her perfect body. His medical training taught him that a pregnancy test would appear positive after only three weeks and since it was her first she probably wouldn't show the baby bump for 12 to 16 weeks. She was so slender he figured he figured she'd show sooner rather than later

After first discovering she had made substantial investments into Omni Tech and now that she was pregnant, Travis was starting to doubt if he knew his wife at all. Perhaps she didn't trust him. What other secrets was she hiding?

Travis felt angry at her for the first time in maybe forever and hurt that she'd kept these things from him. He was even beginning to wonder if she even loved him at all, and that hurt the most.

Travis went to the bedroom and sat on the bed. He placed the red crayon beside the picture of Rebecca on his nightstand and reminisced the evening they last made love, about two days before the accident. She'd taken a few days off prior to tour Seattle with friends and stayed with her parents for a week to assist in building a fence for two horses they had volunteered to care for. The evening she arrived home they showered together and enjoyed the warm mountain air on the back porch. Travis still remembered how her nipples poked out of her nightgown as they sipped whiskey sours. She looked like a country girl pinup model under a vibrant white moon. Beside him, she guided his hand to the warm velvety place between her thighs, like a velvety summer rose. Her hair was down, tumbling over her shoulders to her breasts, tiny and cute. She rose from her chair and hunched herself over the wooden railing, beckoning him to his feet. Travis stood, preceded by his engorged sex. He wondered if there was anything more carnal and passionate in life than that moment. He put his mouth over her right breast and she arched in a way that was more snakelike than human. Then, right there on the back porch, among chirping crickets and soughing pines, he entered her and together they made love. Travis tossed his head back and lost himself as the world exploded in an orgasm so powerful he thought he'd collapse to the floor. Looking at her photograph now from the side of the bed, a bottle in his hand, and a guilty erection between his legs, he felt pitiful, depressed, and most of all the insufferable longing for his late wife.

There had been something missing in his life after all—he just didn't realize it until it was too late. 

—

Thanks for reading chapter 7 in my book Evilution! Travis learned a very important lesson in a tragic way: sometimes you don't realize what you have until it's gone. Unfortunately, in Travis's case, it took the death of his wife and his unborn child to learn that he wanted a family after all. So melancholy and tragic. Still, when things don't appear as if they could get possibly worse for him, they do.

Please share with me your thoughts in the comment section below and check back every Tuesday and FridayFfor a new, exciting chapter! 

Too anxious to wait?—That's okay, because Evilution is available in full on Smashwords and Amazon for $1.99. Paperback version available too!