Dark Paige pt4

23.

     Lana threw open the trailer door and rushed inside expecting to find the worst, or so she thought, because she was in no way prepared for what she found.  She had expected to find Nick with Paige.  To walk in on him having sex with that backstabbing whore right in her own house but, she never thought for a second that she would instead find Nick’s dead body.  But when she looked into the living room of their dingy little trailer that was exactly what she saw.
     By the far wall of the little living room Nick’s body was slouched lazily and his face was a crushed and bloody mess.  He laid motionless as two fly’s slowly crawled through the drying blood on his lifeless face.  His cheek was gashed open on the left side and his mouth hung wide exposing his naked jaw.  As she crept closer she saw the shattered television set and his severed penis lying limp by his hand.
     Lana fell to her knees in the glass of the broken television oblivious to the shards piercing her flesh, tears streaming down her face she screamed silently in agony because the sound just wouldn’t come. 
     Her mind wouldn’t believe what her eyes were seeing.  She crawled slowly through the broken shards of glass from the busted screen and nestled next to Nick’s limp body with her head lain where she used to listen to his heart beating as she sobbed deeply.

24.

     She tried not to think about it but Paige knew it would be dark soon, an hour or so at the most.  The shadows were stretching out further now and the sun was much lower than it had been when she had awoke in the clearing.  She fought back the panic she was feeling at the thought of being lost in these woods all night.  She swore to herself that once she found her way out and had fixed things with Dave she would then find Lana and personally thank her for leaving her out here to die.

     She stuck with her strategy and continued along the creek with the flow of the water although she still saw nothing but trees in every direction.  The panic in her chest wanting her to doubt herself and just take off running and screaming wildly but dammit she had made up her mind to follow the flow of this creek and that's what she would do until the fear inside grew too large and exploded her will.  She figured she had about an hour before dark made that happen so even though she stayed resolute in her mission her feet still picked up speed.

     Just then a stray branch brought her tumbling to the ground in a frustrated pile and resolute or not Paige's eyes filled with tears.  Things had just been so bad since the fight with Dave.  The hospital, that bitch who had pretended to be her friend then left her for dead in these god forsaken woods and now the race against dark to get out of those same  fucking woods and then finally tripping over that damn branch.  It was just too much. 

     "Get ahold of yourself Lil Bit!"  She growled at herself through the tears.  "You have to go on because no one is coming to help you.  So get your little ass up and continue on for Dave and for Carrie.  For our life."

     She said these things to herself but the words seemed to come from somewhere else deep below.  It was like that when she was weak.  She seemed to reach up and push herself from within.  She guessed that was a good thing though so she never really questioned the voice within.  She listened to it now as she always did.  "Okay, I will."  She said to herself and crawled to the creek to splash some water on her face to clean the tears from her face because just the feel of them running down her cheeks seemed to repulse her right now.  They felt like weakness. 

25.

     "You couldn't hit the broadside of my wife's fat ass from across a twin size bed."  Frank slurred drunkenly.

     "I hit it just fine but it was in your tiny little excuse for a bed, which she says matches your Lil pisser,  I haven't tried yet from across it.  Maybe I will tomorrow while your at work."  Paul joked in return.

     "That's probably true you bastard.  Is that how you spend your new unemployed time?"  Frank howled back laughing.  Frank was very drunk which could only mean he was hunting.  He believed guns required alcohol and would not fire one without at least a case of beer loaded in the cooler.

     "Frank, now that's low.  You can joke about me and Sharon but the no job thing hurts."  Paul joked in return.  "Low blow man."

     "Oh, I see,  Sex with my wife - OK, Jobless jokes - too far."

     "Right,."  Paul smirked.  "There's a line.  Now gimme the keys cuz you ain't driving."

     "The keys to the Gator?"  Frank asked, pointing in the general direction of the camo Gator parked directly in front of him. 

     "All of the keys Captain Morgan."  Paul said holding out his much steadier hand.  "Gator and truck,  I wanna get us home to your big Ole princess so you can pass out and I can make a quick 50 bucks."

     "50?  Damn I know she's a big 'un but 50 whole dollars?  You must get her drunk too and then rob her cuz what you got ain't worth a tenth of that from what I've heard."

     "I told you man, Don't listen to her when she's sleeping that's a violation of her privacy.  Now gimme the damn keys before you pass out right here."

     "Your so good to me baby."  Frank slurred tossing Paul the keys and throwing far to short.  The keys fell to the ground at least five feet in front of Paul.  "But you catch like a girl."  Frank said climbing into the passenger side of the Gator and cracking open a fresh beer.

     "Ya, its not that you throw like a fairy."  Paul said picking up the keys from the brush.  "Lets get you home already before you stop being fun and turn sad."  Paul said as he started the Gator's engine and headed back along the creek back to where they had parked Frank's truck.

26.

     Dave sat back down at the kitchen table with a fresh cup of coffee.  The loaded 38 still sitting in front of him on the otherwise empty table.  He glanced at the little television and thought for a second about turning it on to pass the time but he knew he wasn't in the mood to watch it.  He couldn't keep from running over and over the last time he had waited in this same kitchen for Paige.  What had also been the last night Paige had been in this house and the very reason she was locked away in Brookside.

     It was the night Dave had told Paige about his affair with Susan that he had first met Paige's dark side.  Before that Dave had no inkling of the fire and violence inside his wife.  Sitting here now thinking of the Paige he had met after his confession sent chills up his spine and made that little gun seem insignificant.  Useless, like a toy.

     He had only met Susan a few months before that evening but the passion between them had been intoxicating.  In hindsight his marriage had been fine and he was crazy to cheat on Paige, but ever since Carrie had been born Paige had lost a little passion in exchange for her new motherhood like any woman should and Dave had gotten lost in the wildness of what he had found with Susan and had mistaken it for love.  

     That night he had decided he would tell Paige everything and ask for a divorce.  He had been waiting in the very same spot he was now for her to get home only without the gun.

27.

     Paige had come through the kitchen door carrying Carrie in her car seat and holding a bag of groceries in her other arm.  She had kicked the door closed gracefully and then flinched when she turned on the light and saw Dave sitting quietly at the kitchen table. 

     "Hey baby, I wasn't expecting you.  You scared me."  She said giggling softly at the fact that she had been so afraid of the sight of her husband, although something did seem wrong in his expression.

     Dave didn't get up to help her or acknoledge Paige in any way.  He was determined in his mission to just get this over with and return to Susan's to begin their new life together and leave this one behind. 

     He always felt so stupid as he remembered this moment.  So weak.  He was ashamed of the whole affair with Susan actually and even though later in this same memory Paige became the scariest thing Dave had ever faced in his life, here in this first part of the memory of that fateful night she was always so radiant.  So beautiful. 

     "Paige, we need to talk."  He had said coldly.

     "Okay."  Paige said quietly seeming a little disarmed by Daves attitude toward her but she assured herself inside that it was probably nothing. 

     "Carrie's out anyway so just let me put her down."  She said a little braver now and headed up to the nursery with Carrie.

     Dave got up from the table and freshened his drink.  Scotch on the rocks.  It was his Dad's drink too.  One of the only things Pop's had passed down to David.  Well that and infedelity.  Dave seemed to remember Scotch on his Dad's breath when his father had explained that he was leaving on Dave's sixth birthday.

     Paige walked back into the kitchen, "Will I be needing one of those?"  She asked motioning toward the bottle.

To be continued...