"Five... Four... Three... Two... One... Happy New Year!"
The cheering and laughter of an excited crowd shakes the television's speakers, as a very uncheerful Samantha sits on the couch watching the televised celebration. She is obviously unamused by what she's watching, however, the look in her eye accented by the reflection of the television's flickering lights, tells the story of a devastated girl who misses her life and freedom.
Aaron has come downstairs and is walking toward Samantha with a bottle of champagne and two fancy cups. He sits on the couch next to her and places the glass cups on the coffee table. Samantha is staring blankly at the television screen without paying attention. Aaron pops the cork off the champagne bottle and pours a serving into each glass. He then hands a glass to Samantha, who of course does not take it.
"Happy New Year, Sam..."
Samantha's eyes shift toward Aaron, but return to the television just as she begins to speak.
"I was supposed to be in New York tonight... I had been planning it for months... It was gonna be my first time in the big city... New Years in Times Square..."
"Let's make the best of what we've got, Sam..."
"Aaron... I don't have anything. I have chain, and you have a slave. How can I make--"
"Samantha, darling... I don't have you here as my slave, no... A slave is one who does hard labor for their master. If not hard labor, then other undesireable acts... I haven't asked you to lift a finger... I am not making you do anything... I provided you with the most comfortable bed, sofas, a bar, a bathroom, with a luxurious jacuzzi might i add, and you don't even have to worry about cleaning after yourself... I bring you clean towels, clean clothes, fresh food... Hell, I've even gotten you the most expensive cable package... If that's being a slave, then--"
"You try to convince yourself differently, but you know it's true. I'm a prisoner."
Aaron looks at Samantha with raised eyebrows and recoiled lips. He then drinks the champagne he was offering her, all in one gulp. He shakes his head and starts looking at the television.
Bethany's house is very quiet. The television is off, and so are most of the lights. Bethany is now in Samantha's bedroom, stuffing random clothes carelessly into a large suitcase. Tears are gently running down her face.
"This old year? Gone! And with it? All my pain. Anything that reminds me of the pain and loss? Out, out, out!"
She is obviously drunk as she speaks to herself with a heavy tongue. Her physical movement is wavy and ungraceful as she overpacks the luggage she is working with.
"And I don't care. I don't give a damn if that's her favorite sweater. If she is found, we'll just go shopping. New wardrobe for the rebirth of my doll!"
She hiccups and then gulps an inward belch. She taps her chest while her eyebrows come together in discomfort.
"Oh God, now where did I put my drink?"
She turns and looks around the room. She sees a glass on top of the dresser and reaches for it. After stumbling a bit, she knocks over the glass, spilling its content, but grabs the glass anyhow, ignoring the spill. She brings the glass to her lips and tilts to sip but the glass is now empty. She angrily pouts and then closes one eye shut to use her open eye for inspecting the bottom of the empty cup.
"What the hell..."
Bethany takes an abstracted walk and stumbles through the doorway. She walks down the stairs into the main floor and goes to the kitchen. She grabs an open bottle of wine that sits on the kitchen counter and takkes it with her bak up the steps. She sips directly from the bottle as she makes it upstairs.
"To hell with it, I don't need etiquette. It's not like anyone can see me... There's nobody here... You hear me? There's nobody here!"
She scoffs to herself as she enters Samantha's room with the bottle in her hand.
"Who the hell am I talking to...?"
She starts packing more things into the suitcase, inadvertently spilling drops of wine all over the items she packs as well as the bed.
"Oh I'm not getting rid of Sammy, I'm just... You know... Getting rid of her stuff... So that... Hmmm..."
Bethany yawns now.
"Oh God, I need a break. I'll just take a power nap. Continue packing in about an hour..."
Bethany lays on top of the pile of clothes that hardly fits into the suitcase and worms her way into a state of comfort.
Several hours later, Bethany painfully awakens and she still has a tight grip on the bottle of wine she fell asleep with. The sun is brightly coming into the room and Bethany keeps her eyes closed from the pain this causes her. She walks to the window to close the shade. She grunts when she notices she has not let go of her bottle, then puts it down on the floor.
"Oh, what am I doing in Sammy's room?"
She looks around and sees the evidence that she had been packing, and it refreshes her memory.
"Oh... Right... It's a new year... Time for good will..."
A few more hours later, Bethany's SUV arrives at the parking lot of a thrift store. After pulling into a parking spot, Bethany exits the vehicle. She is wearing her regular winter coat and scarf, but this time a set of large dark sunglasses have joined the ensemble. She walks to the thrift store's door and enters.
Inside the thrift store, she stands at the counter and speaks to the man behind the register.
"Hey... I brought a whole bunch of stuff for you guys, you mind giving me a hand?"
The man nods and walks around the counter. He walks outside with Bethany.
"Like I said, it's a lot of stuff. You might need help, or at least a dolly or something..."
When they get to Bethany's vehicle, she opens the rear door of it. The man standing with her lets out a whistle that expresses surprise when he sees all the boxes and suitcases in Bethany's car.
"Is all of this coming in?"
"Yes, all of it."
"Well, hang on a minute. Let me go get the boys."
Bethany nods with retracted lips as she stands there with her arms crossed. The attendant walks away and she waits a few seconds for him to come back. She begins to nervously tap her foot with impatience. Two other thrift store workers come out and one of them is wheeling a handtruck.
Bethany steps aside and points them to her vehicle. She watches as they start grabbing boxes and carrying them inside. With each box they touch, she becomes more emotional. Her nose has become red and her lips moist. She licks her lips and tries to keep her composure, but a tear is visible trailing out from the bottom corner of her sunglasses.
That evening, Bethany is sitting at her dining room table, drinking wine yet again. She is alone in her empty house with the light above her being the only one that is on. Upstairs, Samantha's bedroom is clean, with nothing but an empty bedframe sitting in the middle of it. Bethany has given away and sold most of Samantha's belongings, the last of which is the boxspring of her bed sitting out on the curb with a sign that reads "free - take me." Bethany is inside drowning her sorrow in liquor, mourning the loss of her love for Nathan almost as much as she grieves over the loss of her daughter.
Time passes by, and the fallen leaves over frozen rain become covered in snow. The boxspring in front of Bethany's house is gone, and the house itself has become a pale and lifeless imitation of what it once was. It has been six weeks since she gave away her daughter's things, and it is apparent now that she has also given away many of her own belongings as well. Bethany has become even more careless in how she looks after her barren home. Aside from a couple of curtains, it would seem only her dining table and couch remain in the house.
Bethany walks down the steps to the main floor while holding a large portrait.
"This is such an expensive piece... Poor Aaron, always giving so much to my sweet doll, with nothing in return..."
She exits the house with it, and goes out into the sidewalk where her garbage barrels are. She breaks the portrait in half by slamming it on the ground and stepping on the middle of it. She then bends the broken pieces up and stuffs them into the trash can.
"All memories of my baby... Whether good or bad... Must go."
Her watery eyes look back at her house and she pauses with a regretful sigh before she proceeds to go back inside. Once inside her lonely home, Bethany sits at her dining table. On the table are two boxes. She pulls one toward herself, which she opens and takes out several empty pink envelopes. The other box has some printed sheets of paper. She proceeds to fold each sheet and place them in the envelopes, carefully sealing them tight and putting them aside.
At Aaron's house, the basement is host to a path of rose petals, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, and life size stuffed animals. Samantha is sitting in bed in silence and rage, surrounded by these colorful items and is looking around in fierce disgust. Aaron approaches the bed very slowly while wearing a chef's apron over his sharp business suit and holding a tray full of freshly baked brownies.
"Happy Valentines day, Sam...!"
"Oh gee, why didn't I see this coming..."
"Because I'm spontaneous, Sam, just for you, just how you like things to be..."
"And my sarcasm, completely unnoticed... See, I think the reason I didn't think you would do this is because I was under the impression that, by Valentine's Day, I'd either be free, or finally dead. You haven't given me the pleaseure of either option, so... There is nothing for me to be happy about on this day."
"Well, Sam... I've already told you... In fact, I said it last week... You're free to go, the very second you accept the fact that you're absolutely in love with me... I will set you free... Because I know you'll come back to me."
"Aaron, in order for me to 'accept' something, it would have to be true. You can't just force me to love you!"
"And you, Sam, can't force yourself not to."
Samantha rolls her eyes.
"Here we go again."
Aaron sets the tray down next to Samantha on the bed and takes a seat beside it.
"You know what I think, Sam? I think you like being with me so much, that you don't want me to let you go. Because if you really wanted to leave, you know all you have to do is tell me how you really feel. But if what you say is true, and you really don't love me, then the desire to get out of here would be big enough for you to pretend... Just for one second... Look me dead in the eyes and say, 'I love you, Aaron.' You would lie to me... If you really wanted to leave... You'd just tell me what I want to hear and be on your wa--"
"I love you, Aaron."
"You... Oh my God, I..."
Aaron leans in and gives Samantha a big hug, holding her tightly. Samantha doesn't return the hug, but speaks to him while he holds her.
"...Now take this chain off me and let me go."
Aaron releases her from the hug and, with watery eyes, stands back up from the bed.
"You... Don't get to play those games, Sam... No... I've invested my entire natural born life into the hopes that I would hear you say those words to me, and now... You use them to mock me? No... No, no, no, Sam... You don't play games with my feelings for you... You say those words to me when you know you mean them, not when you want out..."
He slowly walks away from her, untieing the apron from around him as he does so.
"I'm so stupid! I just told you! Just now! That if you want to leave you can lie to me... And then hearing those words I instantly forgot I just put the thought in your head... To lie to me..."
He takes off the apron and throws it on the floor as he begins to walk up the spiral staircase.
"But it's not your fault... It's not... It's my fault! I'm the one who told you to say that. I'm the one who made you take advantage of my weak heart... You didn't mean to... I know you didn't, so... So it's okay... It's okay, Sam..."
Samantha looks on as Aaron exits to the main floor and she furrows her brow when she sees that he continues talking even after he's left. She can still hear his muffled ramblings through the floor over her but shrugs her shoulders while shaking her head. She reaches for the remote and turns on the television. She eats a brownie from the tray as she begins to click through channels.
A couple of weeks later... The presence of snow on the ground outside is challenged by the falling of icy rain and Samantha has now been missing for three full months. Bethany is leaving City Hall with an envelope in her hand. She gets in her car and drives away through the urban rain.
Bethany's SUV pulls up in front of a funeral home. Inside the funeral home a young man is standing at the front counter. He is greeted by the entrance of Bethany. She presents him with the envelope she obtained from City Hall. He takes a look at the contents of the envelope.
"Let's see... Death certificate... What is your relation to the deceased?"
"I was... Am... her mother."
"And where is her body currently kept?"
"That's just it... There is no 'body' to keep... She went missing three months ago, and was declared dead this morning."
"I'm sorry for your loss, madam."
"As am I... Let's just proceed with the arrangements..."
That evening, in Aaron's basement, Samantha is sitting motionless on the couch, with black pajama bottoms and a long white V-neck shirt, watching the local NEWS on television.
"... I'm Kay Sullivan with the latest in local coverage. Recent development in one of the many cases of missing persons in Thurston County. This particular case being of one Samantha Lawrence. The authorities say Lawrence's mother has opted to declare her legally dead as of this morning, due to the failed efforts to find her... We tried to get a word with the grieving mother but she refused. Claiming it is too soon for her to talk about this tragic loss..."
Samantha's eyes well up upon hearing this.
Up in the main floor, Aaron is sitting in his living room while filling out some paperwork which apparently have something to do with his company's manufacturing contract. He notices Samantha's head peek up through the booth entrance to the basement. He pauses what he is doing and looks at her. Without rising past her eyes, Samantha calmly speaks to Aaron in a very monotone voice.
"Aaron... Can you please come downstairs for a minute?"
Aaron puts his pen down and gets up. He lets out a sigh with a slight smirk as he approaches the access door. Samantha retreats into the basement as Aaron gets closer. He walks downstairs.
"What is it, my love..?"
When he makes it down, Samantha springs at him with a vicious swing of a fist, which is balled up with the chain. Her untrained punch connects with Aaron's chest and he stumbles backward. Samantha jumps toward him again with another punch, which this time connects with Aaron's forehead.
"Sam! Please stop..."
Samantha hits another straight punch with the chain to Aaron's face, cracking his lower lip. Aaron quickly tries to run up the steps, but Samantha ropes the chain over his head and halts him with a choke. Aaron gags as he holds on tightly to the railing of the staircase.
"Sam... Calm down, Sam... Why the... Sudden..."
"You monster! I was just announced dead! Do you have any idea what you've done?! What my mother must be going through?! What I am going through?!"
"Sam... Please... Don't do this..."
"Don't do what, Aaron?! Pay you back for what you've done to me?!"
"Sam... Please..."
Aaron loses his grip, and the strenght with which Samantha was pulling him, causes both of them to fall backward. Aaron quickly rolls away and runs up the steps. He is holding his bruised throat and coughing as he makes more distance between himself and the basement door.
"Sam... Please... I'm sorry! I'm sorry it happened like this... Please forgive me...! You have to believe I didn't mean for this to be this way... I only want the best for you...!"
Samantha is down in the basement absolutely furious. She is throwing bottles from the bar, flipping chairs and couches, ripping up stuffed animals, and pushing furniture in anger. She is too busy letting out her rage to even hear any of what Aaron is shouting from upstairs. Aaron carefully closes the basement door and locks it. He sits next to it with a busted lip, a bruised neck, and a scraped forehead as a fountain of tears begin pouring from his face.
"I am so sorry, Sam. I never meant to let them do this to you... I didn't think they would... You're not dead, Sam... Just remember that they're wrong... You're not dead..."
Another three days have passed and rain has once again taken over the weather. The rain falls lightly with a gentle mixture of snow on this sad morning. A small group of people have gathered at the cemetary with umbrellas, all dressed in black for the ceremony of Samantha's burial. Besides the two pallbearers, Bethany is the only person without an umbrella, letting the gentle rain wash over her as she holds her purse down in front of her. She stands in front of the gravesite to address the people.
"Before the casket is lowered, I want to thank you all for coming and paying respect to my daughter. It truly means a lot to me that so many people cared about her even though we had no one. I honestly thought the only ones who would come were Aaron and Jadaiah, but Aaron isn't here. He has told me he refuses to believe Samantha is really gone, and I respect that. But it is unrealistic. In order to move on, we must accept certain things. I thank you Jadaiah for being there for me through this whole thing. I thank you, my brother Pete and Sammy's cousin Therese for coming so far, it means a lot to me and it would have meant a lot to her. And I thank the rest of you, for caring enough to withstand this horrible weather... Now... Each of you here have a pink envelope that I've asked you not to open until I gave you word... Well... This is the word... You may open them, and read the note."
While everyone takes this moment to open their, Bethany watches them with a saddened smile. Among the people reading the note, Jadaiah has the most puzzled and disturbed look on her face. She quietly mouths the last words to herself and questions the note with shifty eyes. Suddenly she gasps and looks up toward Bethany.
"Oh my God, Beth! NO!!"
A loud gunshot is heard, and Bethany collapses to the ground bleeding profusely from her mouth and nose as well as the back of her head, and dropping a revolver from her lifeless hand as she falls. She had waited until everyone was in the middle of reading, to reach into her purse for the gun and put the barrel into her mouth. Jadaiah saw her pull the trigger.
The crowd is shocked and frightened as te pallbearers try to tend to Bethany's body but it is hopeless. People are stepping away nervously and do not know how to react. Jadaiah rushes to the body of Bethany to try helping her up but notices too much blood is bubbling out of Bethany's head along with pieces of brain. Jadaiah cries loudly and her voice echoes throughout the cemetary.
At Aaron's house, Samantha lays in bed in the basement sound asleep. Suddenly her eyes open wide as if ahe has been startled out of her dream. She gets up from the bed and finds that there is a tray on the coffee table. She walks to the table staring at the tray containing a bowl of cereal, a blueberry muffin, a bagel with cream cheese, and an empty glass next to a pitcher of orange juice. There is a note with her breakfast, which she picks up and reads as she sits on the couch.
"Good morning, Sam. I'm sorry they think you've died, but I promise I'll make things right again. Once you tell me you love me, and mean it, we can start a new life. We'll both go and declare you found, it'll be a new life for both of us. But for now. Please stop trying to kill me every time I come downstairs. I hate having to sneak your food down while you sleep. Love, Aaron...."
Samantha shakes her head and furrows her brow as she scoffs. She takes a bit from the bagel as she clicks the remote to turn on the television. Finding no relevant NEWS, she watches the weather reports.
Knowing a rainy day is in the works for this cold winter morning and Aaron has already left for work, Samantha finishes eating every food item in the tray , then proceeds to remove her clothes and click the smaller remote to get the hot tub running. The shackle on her waist has formed a red ring of a bruise around her abdomen. She is very careful as she enters the jacuzzi and lowers herself into the bubbling water.
Just as slowly, back at the cemetary, Samantha's casket is lowered into the grave. A very strange moment is taking place, as crime scene investigators are also inspecting Bethany's dead body at the same time. Evryone has been asked to stand further back as the casket is buried and Bethany's body zipped into a black bag to be carried away. Jadaiah still holds the note from the envelope in her hand, and although some of it has become smeared from the rainfall, she can still read it. Bethany's voice resonates in Jadaiah's head with the words in the letter.
"This is the second time I've had to do this, and it will be the last. I must have come into this world just to lose loved ones. Living a lie all those years for Nathan made me realize how truly cruel love is. With that said, I refuse to ever put another empty casket in the ground. Happiness isn't for everyone, and I am living proof of this. So I apologize in advance to all of you, but the next casket I put in the ground will not be empty, but filled... By me... I thank you all for being here, and especially you Jadaiah for guiding me toward peace...
"Come unto me, ye who are weary and overburdened, and I, The Lord, shall give you rest." -Matthew 11:28
Good bye..."
Jadaiah crumbles the paper into her fist and presses her eyes shut as tears coat over her cheeks.
That evening, Aaron arrives at his house and routinely enters. After deactivating the house alarm, he removes his coat and hangs it by the door. He turns on the television as he walks through the living room and toward the kitchen. He grabs a loaf of bread from the breadbox on his kitchen counter and begins to look through the refrigerator for ingredients to make a sandwich, but his attention is lifted from this as he overhears the local NEWS.
*"Breaking story for Thurston County tonight; Death at a Funeral. Here is Kay Sullivan with the details."
"Thanks, Grace. A shocking development this morning. We reported earlier this week that a missing woman had been declared dead. This morning, during the ceremony of her burial, the victim's mother, fourty-three year old Bethany Lawrence took her own life. Leaving behind a suicide note that the police has chosen to keep confidential..."*
Aaron's eyes become watery now and he silently gasps.
"Oh no. Not Mrs. Lawrence..."
A loud banging noise is heard now. Aaron is startled and looks to te booth-like access door to his basement. The loud knocks are persistent and he hears the muffled cries of Samantha coming from behind the door as the banging gets louder.
"...Aaron! You bastard! My mother is in the NEWS! She's dead becase of you!! Open this damn door you trash! Aaron!"
Aaron's lips tremble and he takes a step backward. He is afraid to even go close to that door, and that's when his doorbell rings. He is even more shocked now. He looks to the front door as paranoia sets in. The loud knocking from the basement is now joined in a duet by the cross-rhythm knocking coming from the front door. Both knocks become louder and louder and Aaron is frozen with fear of which door may hold a worse fate.
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Author's Note**
I am very open to any questions anyone may want answered in future chapters, or anything that you would like me to explain or go into more detail as well. Please don't forget to vote and fan me if you like my work :) Thank You so much for letting me share this with you. -GB