A Lover's Quarrel

In the middle of the night, a loud crash echoed into the quiet halls of a suburban home, startling Kristy awake and out of Nate's arms. Kristy sat upright, running her fingers through a thick nest of golden waves until it was calm. She reached over and turned on her lamp. A soft, dull light illuminated her bedroom. She glanced over at Nate, still fast asleep. A small stream of saliva threatened to fall on her precious and expensive satin sheets, but Kristy smacked at his arm. Nate slurped down, dark shades of forest-green irises peeking open at different times.

“What’s wrong?” Nate asked, his voice rough. He rubbed at his eyes, hoping to blink away the drowsiness.

“I heard something,” Kristy whispered. “I think it came from the kitchen.” Nate shrugged.

“It was probably Summer,” he said. “She probably tried to jump on top of the cabinet and fell.”

“I don’t know, Nate.” Kristy sounded unsure.

“She’s done that before. Let’s go back to bed,” Nate pulled at her wrist gently. His hands slid up her arms to touch her face. As he pulled her in for a kiss, Kristy asked, “Can you at least go check?”

“Kristy, it’s the cat,” Nate said, moving his hands away from her.

“Prove me wrong then.” Kristy narrowed her eyes. A staring match had ensued. It was a deep ocean blue versus a dark forest. The ocean was bound to win as always. Nate sighed, picking up his boxers from the floor.

Nate took a peek outside the hallway, looking left to right. He turned back towards Kristy. “There’s nothing out here.”

Kristy crossed her arms. “I said in the kitchen.”

“Kristy—”

“Just shut up and go,” Kristy huffed. “You’re already up.” Nate bit back his irritation, walking into the dark abyss that was presented to him.

It was times like these that Nate found himself wondering why he stayed with Kristy. However, his mind quickly answered for him. Sex. He lived for every moment of it, and everything between was just foreplay. This was just foreplay to him. They both knew that there was nothing causing mayhem at night except her clumsy cat.

Nate moved his hands in the dark, feeling for the light switch. He took a step forward, his body quickly jumping without his command.

“Fuck,” he hissed. His hands smacked against the wall, flipping the light switch on. Green shards were swimming in a pool of red wine, slowly becoming contaminated by Nate’s blood. Nate hopped over to the paper towels, droplets of crimson following him. He pulled himself up onto the pearly white counter, his bloody foot destroying its pristine perfection. Kristy was going to kill him if he didn’t get the stain out, however, Nate had other things to worry about. He inspected his foot, finding a small gleam of green peeking out from the cut. He needed to pull that out. Nate took a deep breath, pulling his foot closer to his chest. His hands were shaky as he gripped the small shard and very slowly—

“Is everything okay?” Kristy’s voice echoed into the dark, causing him to slice his finger on the shard.

“Yep,” he muttered. “Just peachy.”

“Nate?”

“I’m fine, Kristy!” Nate yelled back. “Just give me a minute.” Nate waited, but he was answered with silence. He turned his attention back to his foot. He sighed. Let’s try this again. Nate gripped the small shard that was gleaming with attention and very carefully, he pulled at it. He clenched his jaw, watching the small shard extend into a bigger piece. He let out a huge breath and flung the shard onto the floor with the rest of its friends. Nate swiped at the paper towels, pushing against the wound. He didn’t need any more blood on this counter.

Nate slid off the counter slowly and hopped over to the trashcan to grab the broom and dustpan. Then he hopped back towards the paper towels, throwing some on the ground to soak up his blood and the red wine. Nate swept up the glass shards, throwing them away. He grabbed some more paper towels, this time for the counter. He scrubbed at the blood on the counter, his body freezing at a noise.

A soft purr erupted above him. Nate glanced up to find Summer sitting on top of the cabinets licking at her white paws, her blue-green eyes taking in his every move.

“You know, I would appreciate it if you didn’t break things when I’m here, especially at night,” Nate said. “It makes your owner paranoid.” Summer stopped licking at her paws, her tiny frame sitting upright. She looked down at the counter under her, then back at Nate.

“Summer, don’t,” Nate warned, but it was too late. Summer leaped into the air, her paws aiming towards the blood that Nate was cleaning up. Nate’s hands shot outward, grabbing at her honey-colored fur just inches above the crimson-covered paper towels. He hugged her against his chest, petting the small kitten. Summer purred against his touch; his irritation somehow dissipated.

“You’re lucky I actually like you.”

Nate shifted her under his arm as if he was holding a baby, to finish wiping away at the bloody mess. Once it was relatively clean, he threw the paper towels away. Nate turned off the lights, limping back into the dark abyss that he made for himself.

Nate petted his clumsy friend, looking for the small light that came from Kristy’s bedroom. She was exactly where he left her. Nate held up the culprit.

“I was right,” Nate said. Kristy let out a sigh of relief. Nate sat Summer down on the floor, petting her once more before sitting her down on her soft little donut-shaped bed. Summer walked off her bed, then circled it, only to lay down on it again. Meanwhile, Nate limped into the bathroom and grabbed some bandages. He sat on the edge of Kristy’s bed, slowly wrapping his foot up.

“What did she knock over?” Kristy asked.

“The wine bottle I told you to put up, but you didn’t,” he said. “And now I have a hole in my foot.”

“Stop acting like a baby,” Kristy said. She went back to her side of the bed. Nate muttered under his breath but said nothing aloud. He watched as Kristy turned her back to him. Nate glanced up at the ceiling, silently praying she’d roll over so he could have his way with her, then sleep. Nate slid back into the bed, his fingers running along Kristy’s nightgown, stopping at her legs.

Kristy rolled over to face her irritating lover. She leaned in towards him watching those forest green irises light up only to dim at her words, “I’m not in the mood.” She flipped back over and leaned over to turn off the lamp, thrusting her bedroom back into darkness. Nate rolled away from Kristy in a huff, finding the strength to go to sleep.

***

Summer woke to the smell of something new, but familiar. It reminded her of Nate, but the aroma was a lot sweeter. She crawled out of her bed, stretching her body at an awkward angle. She let out a soft yawn, slowly walking into the hallway, blindly following the smell. Her ears twitched at the click of a door. She watched as a dark figure made its way from the door and into the kitchen. Summer followed the sweet-smelling figure into the kitchen. The intruder opened up the refrigerator, the small light illuminating their body. Summer let out a loud hiss, startling the uninvited visitor. Their head smacked against the inside of the fridge, causing them to drop the bottle in their hand. Summer jumped up onto the counter before it could touch her coat. The clear liquid and brown shards had spewed everywhere onto the floor.

“Damn it,” the intruder whispered, grabbing at her hoodie to cover her nose and mouth. After a few minutes, they grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and chugged it down. “I guess a painless death is not in your owner’s cards after all.” The figure walked around the kitchen; her midnight irises landing on the knife set.

The crash had stirred Kristy awake again. She let out a small sigh, sitting upright in her bed. Kristy glanced behind her to find Nate’s frame facing away from her, lightly snoring. She reached over and turned the lamp on. The bedroom quietly became alive again in the dull light.

“Nate,” Kristy said, softly. She was still met with the sound of snoring. She glanced over to the corner of the bedroom at Summer’s empty bed. “I’m getting a dog,” she muttered to herself.

Kristy slid out of the bed, shuffling to the doorframe to peek out into the hall. She hugged her body as the cold air nipped at her exposed skin.

“Summer,” she whispered. “Come here.” Kristy sighed, leaving behind the safe haven of her bedroom to enter the darkness. She felt against the wall, her fingers searching for kitchen light, but she stopped moving as she took in the smell. Kristy brought her hand up to her nose, her brain scrambling slightly at the weird intrusion. “What the hell is that smell?”

Kristy rubbed her hands against the wall, flipping the light switch on. She was greeted by brown shards and a random liquid on the floor. She turned back to the hallway, rushing towards her room to wake Nate. As she got closer to her dimly lit bedroom, Kristy’s hair was yanked backward, sending her body into the hardwood floor. The impact cracked her floor, her body crashing against it. Kristy’s brain had bounced around in her skull, her vision becoming clouded with stars and her ears ringing like chimes.

Kristy watched as a figure moved around her body, turning to stare at her.

“Nate?” she asked, weakly. The figure slowly squatted over her, but Kristy still couldn’t see anything.

“Shhh…” the figure said. “You don’t want to wake him.” Kristy's eyes widened, her body trying to wriggle away from the intruder.

“Nate,” Kristy said, her voice slightly louder.

“Let’s not do that,” the intruder said, placing their hand on her right thigh. Kristy pulled her other leg back, thrusting forward with as much force against their crotch. The figure fell backward, giving Kristy enough room to get up. She kicked the intruder’s side once more, heading to her room.

“Nate,” Kristy calls out again. Her footsteps come to a slow, her eyes struggling to make sense of what was in front of her. She blindly headed towards the light, but as she reached the doorframe, she found herself falling.

The intruder hopped on Kristy’s back, forcing the butcher knife into the crevice of her left shoulder blade. They grabbed Kristy’s head, slamming it into the hardwood floor, again and again, watching as Kristy spat up a tooth.

They rolled Kristy’s disoriented figure over, sitting her up against her door frame. Small, delicate fingers gripped her face, forcing Kristy to look at Nate’s sleeping figure.

“That man is going to be the death of you,” the figure said. “That married man.” The figure took off their hood, revealing a beautiful yet unhinged-looking woman’s face. Kristy’s ocean eyes widened at the familiar harshness of an eternal night that was the woman’s eyes.

“Veronica,” Kristy groaned, her mouth and head aching from the violent swinging.

“Hi, sweetheart,” she whispered. She tightened her grip on Kristy’s mouth. “You know, if you didn’t sleep with people’s husbands, then you might’ve actually been a decent nanny. Take this as a learning experience.”

Veronica smiled at her, her eyes remaining cold as she watched a tear fall down Kristy’s face. Veronica shoved her hand against Kristy’s mouth, plunging the butcher knife deep into her gut. She twisted the knife, pulling at Kristy’s intestines. Kristy’s body jerked forward at the sudden intrusion, unknowingly thrusting the knife deeper inside, her vision slowly fading at the sight of Veronica’s smile.

The gurgling sound that escaped Kristy had finally woken Nate, but before he could move, Veronica had already jumped on top of her husband, straddling him. He moved to shift her off, but the bloody butcher knife that she waved around his face caused him to still.

"Hi, honey,” Veronica chuckled.

“Veronica,” Nate said, his glance shifting back from her to Kristy’s lifeless form perched up against the doorframe. “What have you done?”

“I killed your whore, Nate.” Veronica bit back her laugh. “And it felt really good. I wasn’t even planning on stabbing her. That was going to be all you.” Veronica lightly tapped his bare chest with the tip of the butcher knife.

“I’m sorry,” Nate spit out. “I wasn’t thinking.” Veronica leaned forward and kissed his lips lightly.

“It’s okay. I’ve already forgiven you,” Veronica said. Nate let out a sigh of relief, his hands touching her legs lightly to shift her off. She tightened her grip on his waist. “I’m just here for a divorce.”

“I can do that,” Nate said.

“Oh, I know you will,” Veronica grinned. She traced the outline of Nate’s chest with the tip of the of the butcher knife, her hands slightly raising the bloody weapon as if it were a walking stick and his chest was the ground.

“Veronica,” Nate winced. He glanced at her and back at the knife, whose tip was slowly clawing at his chest.

“Nate,” Veronica said. She looked into her husband’s eyes, giggling at his widened ones.

She lifted the bloody, butcher knife into the air, only stopping at the sound of a low hiss. Summer sat in the legs of Kristy’s lifeless body, a pool of blood staining her honey coat and white paws. Veronica tilted her head, wondering what to do with her bloody witness.

“I’ll get to you in a second,” Veronica said, before turning her attention back to Nate. The bloody, butcher knife glistened above Nate before plummeting down to thrust the night back into silence.