Amid the Recesses: A Short Story Collection of Fear (19 page)

Jared took a shower and
stood a distance from the drain. He washed his hair with his eyes
open and felt the sting of the soap as it dripped into his eyes. He
stared at the black little hole and waited for a tongue to fling
out when unprepared. Nothing came. He dressed and repainted the
walls of the apartment. They were white again.
Not white enough
, he thought. Jared
prepared simple meal. He fetched his water from the bathroom sink.
He thought it safer, as it was a distance from the kitchen
pipes.

There was a knock on the door. Jared
looked at his watch. It was too early for Emily. He opened the door
to Matt. Jared’s gauze-wrapped hands caught Matt’s
attention.

“
Doorknob get you?” Matt
laughed, unsympathetic.

“
What do you want?” Jared
asked with blunt force. He tried not to seem impatient.

“
Heard noise coming from
your apartment last night. Wanted to see if everything was
alright.” Matt said. He seemed genuinely concerned. Matt’s eyes
darted over Jared’s shoulder. It was obvious to Jared he was merely
curious, not concerned.

“
Everything’s fine. My wife
is coming out tonight. I was just doing some last minute...
cleaning.” Jared said, with little confidence after the short
pause.

“
Wife? I didn’t know you
were married.” Matt said with surprise.

“
It’s complicated. Still,
everything’s fine. I’m hoping it’ll be a nice night.” Jared smiled.
“I do have a lot of things to do. Was there anything
else?”

Matt shook his head. “No, man. Have
fun with ‘the wife.’” Matt grinned and stepped back from the door.
He bopped his head as he waded toward the pulsing sound of his
apartment.

Jared called out as he was walking
away. “Matt, do you think you could turn down the music tonight?
I’d like to have a nice night and the music’s distracting.” Jared
tried to reason with Matt.

“
Sure, man. I’ll turn it
down.” Matt lifted his chin toward Jared, in a nondescript sign of
“getting it.” Jared nodded and stepped out of the apartment. He
headed to the jewelry store.

Emily was a fan of jewelry. Jared
thought jewelry was an enormous waste of money. He never understood
the symbolism. He conceded from his own ideas to do whatever he
could in the last try at getting Emily back. He’d hold nothing
back.

“
That gold one there, with
the diamond? How much is that?” Jared asked the salesperson as
Jared’s reflection stared at him in the glass. The jewelry case’s
lights glowed in a way that made the diamonds inside
glimmer.

“
That one there?” The man
reached into the case after he unlocked it. He lifted the small
display toward Jared and showed it off before he gave the price.
“One-thousand for that one, Sir, but I could give it to you for
nine-hundred?”

“
Nine-hundred?” Jared didn’t have that kind of money, but he
had a credit card.
All the
stops.
Jared thought about it and lifted
the necklace with gauzed fingers. He thought of the voice from the
kitchen pipes, “give me your metal.” He shuddered then nodded.
“I’ll take it.”

The salesperson clapped with a
delighted smile. “Wonderful. Let me package it up for you, Sir.”
Then he did, in a ribbon-strewn, decorative box.

On the drive home, Jared popped open
the case of the necklace. He glanced at it in the passenger seat as
he drove along. The necklace was a symbol of a new beginning. It
meant that him and Emily could put everything behind them, move on.
It seemed simple to Jared. He wanted to remind her of his love and
his willingness to sacrifice. He imagined Emily would feel pity
when she saw the apartment and be mesmerized by the necklace.
Everything was going to work. It had to.

When Jared arrived at his apartment,
the music was down. He and he called out a quick “thanks” as he
passed by. There was no response. Inside, Jared cooked the meal
he’d prepared and dressed in his best clothes. He put the necklace
and case inside of pocket of his slacks. Jared cooked the meal then
stood over the sink with both gauzed hands on the sides of the
metal basin.

“
Listen. I know you want
metal and I have it, alright? You just stay in there and out of
view until we’re done here and you can have every bit of metal you
want. I don’t imagine I’ll be staying at the apartment long.” Jared
said into the drain’s abyss.

He heard the building’s pipes groan in
response. Taps and ticks echoed through the emptiness. The pipes
below his feet and above his head sounded as though they were
twisting and contorting. Jared accepted it as a response—maybe even
an agreement.

The knock came. Jared tugged on his
collar, ensured it was crisp, lit a couple of candles at the table,
and made it to the door when the second knock came. He opened the
door to Emily, who looked solemn, and then disturbed by the
apartment behind him.

“
My God, Jared, what is
this place?” She said, concerned while looking over his shoulder as
Matt had earlier. Matt, too, stood in the hallway. He chewed on
potato chips and stared at Emily. Emily peeked over her shoulder to
Matt.

“
Come in.” Jared escorted
her in and he narrowed his eyes on Matt, who returned a wide,
greasy grin.

Inside of the apartment, Jared removed
Emily’s coat and placed on the couch’s back. He presented the space
with a swing of his arms.

“
So, what do you think?
It’s not much. I just painted.” Jared said.

Emily looked around the room for a
long time. She didn’t smile or frown. Her face was still like a
doll.

Jared intervened. “I made us steak and
asparagus. Our favorite.” He dashed off toward the kitchen to bring
back the pan of asparagus first. The plates were already at the
small table at the edge of the kitchen. With a pair of tongs, he
placed the asparagus on the plates.

Emily migrated from the
center of the bleak living room. She ran a hand along the old,
Salvation Army couch and her red lips rose at one end. He knew that
she disapproved. She wore a simple white dress, white always a
color that Emily wore well and one that Jared thought highlighted
her purity. Glossy white heels made her perfection.
White enough
, he
thought.

“
Why don’t you come and sit
down?” Jared asked after he placed the pan down. He pulled a seat
out for her at the table and waited for her to finish her
inspection of Jared’s furniture.

Emily looked up to him with a smile,
her eyes glossed in the dim candlelight. She nodded and stepped
toward the seat and sat. “I’m sorry, Jared, if I had
realized—“

Jared stopped her.
“No. I wanted you to be alright. I can’t have you
living like this, so I want you to have everything. Really.” Jared
smiled, but an unknown feeling weakened it. It was enough for Emily
to see.

“
Why, Jared? After all of
this? Why aren’t you upset with me? Why aren’t you mad, or
spiteful?” Emily asked, confused. She sounded like she wanted anger
and spite.

Jared served the steak and sat down
across from her. He poured two glassed of wine and avoided the
question. The silence created a thickness in the air. She waited
for his answer in suspense. He cut into his steak and Emily chimed
up.

“
Are your hands getting
worse?” She pointed to the bandages that were over his hands. She
didn’t notice them before.

“
Yeah, I think so. I’m not
sure. It might be some sort of reaction to a chemical I used, or
the paint or something. I don’t know. I’m sure it’ll clear up.”
Jared said. He put a fork-full of steak into his mouth and
chewed.

“
Don’t you think you should
go to the hospital?” Emily asked with her brows knotted

“
I don’t
think it’s that big of a deal, Emily. I’m sure it’s going to be
just fine. I don’t have anything else to paint.”
Until that thing decides it wants to come out and
lick toward the lead
, Jared thought. He
continued to chew and kept his expression cheerful against the
odds. He wanted everything to work. “Why don’t you try it? It’s
really good. I left it rare, the way you like it.”

Emily looked down to the steak. She
stared at it like a dead pet. She cut into it and smiled after
mouthing a “thank you.” She took her first bite and closed her eyes
in gentle bliss. “Mm.”

Jared knew that Emily loved great
steak. She kept a great form, exercised compulsively, but when she
sat down and indulged, she was in heaven. Emily opened her eyes and
nodded to Jared with a wide, satisfied smile.

“
It’s delicious.” Her mouth
still full of the rare steak. He remembered their brand of
comfort.

“
I’m glad. So, did you get
the new car?” Jared asked. He cut into the asparagus.

“
Yes. A new sedan.
Keyless-entry, automatic everything. A real sharp gunmetal
color.”

As she stated the color, the pipes in
the apartment groaned. Jared’s eyes shot to the sink. Emily wasn’t
the only one that enjoyed her meals.

Jared stuttered a response, “Oh yeah?
That’s great. I’m glad you found something you liked.” He tried to
be happy about the purchase, but he wasn’t.

“
I am too.” She said. She
put her fork down on the plate.

Jared’s brows rose. “Something
wrong?”

“
I’ve had trouble lately. I
feel so lost, Jared. I feel like everything is changing so
quickly.” She stared at her fork. Her hands came to the table and
she kept quiet after her confession.

Jared listened in the
silence.

“
The past few nights when
I’ve been in bed, alone, I just think... did this all have to
happen this way? Why is everything so complicated right now?” She
confessed. She drank a large swig of wine and asked for a
refill.

Jared filled the glass and
kept his eyes on hers.
“Emily, I thought
this is what you wanted. You said you weren’t sure you were ready.”
He felt a twinge of anger saying it aloud. “You said you were
confused. I thought it would be best if you had space, you know?
Comfortable space, space your own.” He missed their
space.

“
Yeah.” Emily sighed. Her
eyes were on Jared’s, but he knew she didn’t see him.

“
Emily...” Jared paused and
placed a hand on his thigh. He felt the necklace case in his
pocket. “It doesn’t have to be this way, you know? We can still
work this out. We can get counseling. We can start over. Get to
know each other again. Date, maybe, like the old days?” Jared
smiled. He placed his hands over Emily’s. Her hands shook under
his.

“
Jared, I...” She lowered
her head and her eyes glossed with tears.

Jared stood from his seat and stepped
around the table. He pulled the necklace case from his pocket and
opened it. In the dim light of the kitchen, it shined like a star.
“I got you something I thought you’d like.” He smiled. He didn’t
want her to go any further without seeing it.

Emily’s eyes widened and her hands
shot to her mouth. “Jared! Oh. It’s so beautiful!” She squealed.
She looked up at him and shook her head as a tear broke from her
bright eyes and ran down her cheek. “You bought this for me?” Her
mouth kept wide in awe.

“
Yes.” He knelt down beside
her chair. “I don’t want to give up on us. I know that you’re
confused. I know that you’re unsure about us, but think about how
great we are together. Think about how much we trusted each other
and how comfortable everything was. We were perfect, Emily. You’re
perfect. I want you to have this as a symbol of how much I love
you. I want you to really know.” He pulled the necklace from the
case, unclasped it, and moved around behind her.

Emily sat silent. Beneath Jared’s
fidgeting fingers, he felt her tremble. When he finished, he moved
to the front of her and admired the diamond hanging near her
breast. “Emily, it’s—“ But she cut him off.

“
I cheated, Jared. I slept
with someone else. I fell in love with him and that’s why all of
this happened!” She shouted out and burst into tears.

Jared’s eyes went wide. His mouth fell
open and he shook his head. He felt he didn’t hear her
right.

“
I don’t know, I was just
so confused about everything. I didn’t know what to do! He just
swept in and changed everything and...” Emily paused and looked up
to Jared. She saw only shock. “Jared?”

The pipes groaned.

“
Jared. I’m so sorry. I
know you’ll never forgive me.”

“
You love him?” Jared broke
his silence, his words glossed with a spiteful hiss.

“
I... Jared, I’m so sorry.”
Emily plead behind a voice mangled by tears.

Jared took a deep breath. He heard a
sound. The rhythmic beat of music rose from down the hall. The beat
penetrated the walls and intervened in a moment that deserved
silence. There was something industrious about the sound. Jared
lifted Emily’s plate from the table and dumped the remaining food
onto the table’s surface. He swung it the plate into her head and
knocked her to the ground, unconscious. Emily laid there in front
of him with her head at his feet. He clutched the broken plate in
his hand. The necklace hung on the old wooden floor and the pipes
groaned. A rattle came from beneath the sink, a grunt. Jared knew
something stirred.