The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (11 page)

Justin couldn’t
hear her anymore.

‘It’s fine,’ she
said. ‘Let it all out.’

Justin twisted
her shirt in his fist as he cried.

‘It’s going to
be all right.’

*    -    -   
-    *

Justin couldn’t
sleep, so he decided that he would indulge in a cup of coffee while reading a
novel until his eyes grew tired. Rebecca moaned softly and turned onto her side
as Justin stood up and made his way to the kitchen in the dark. The only source
of light guiding him was that of the full moon outside shining into the living
room. He fumbled for the light switch, and closed his eyes as light flooded the
kitchen.

But if you
are aware of any sins that have not been forgiven, and you ask forgiveness for
those sins, the Lord will remain faithful and forgive you.

Justin shook his
head.
This is stupid
, he thought, although he felt a huge load off his
shoulders since his confession to Rebecca. He felt that the abortion didn’t
affect Rebecca or their marriage directly, so he could tell her about it. But
the incident with Megan could damage the foundations of their marriage, so
about that he kept quiet.

The kettle
boiled and Justin stirred the water into his one teaspoon’s worth of coffee and
three sugars. He finished it off with a good portion of milk, and on his way
out, Justin flipped off the kitchen light. As he passed the living room,
something caught his eye.

Justin froze.

In the darkness,
at the back of the living room, he could make out the shape of a man sitting on
the couch. It was too dark to be sure, but the moon cast just enough ambient
light for Justin to be certain that someone was indeed sitting there, watching
his every move.

‘Who’s there?’

No answer.

Justin’s eyes
narrowed as he tried to focus on the shape, and for a brief moment he
considered switching on the light. He chuckled at his own paranoia instead.
Becky’s
got me all worked up over nothing
, he thought as he walked back to the
bedroom.

In the living
room, a shape stood up from the couch and in the darkness took two steps forward.
Its eyes glowed brightly and it growled softly before stepping back and
disappearing in the shadows.

‘What’s wrong?’ Simon asked. ‘More
nightmares?’

‘No,’ Justin
said. ‘Just have a lot on my mind lately. It’s been a little over two months
now since the operation, and Rebecca still can’t get over it. But now that you
mention it, your question just made me realize that I haven’t had a nightmare
since the operation.’

‘It’s difficult
to lose a baby,’ Simon said. ‘Even more so for a woman than for a man.’

‘I guess,’
Justin said and shrugged. ‘It’s just hard to go on with our lives when she’s
permanently stuck in the past. I’m trying to make things better for her, I
really am. But just when I think we’re making headway, something happens that
reminds her and we’re back at square one.

‘Give her some
time,’ Simon said. ‘All wounds take time to heal. It’s only been two months
now. Things will return to normal sooner or later.’

‘If at all,’
Justin said. ‘Sometimes I just don’t understand her at all.’

Simon laughed.
‘Show me the man who understands the mind of the woman.’

Justin chuckled.
Simon knew exactly what to say to lift his spirits.

‘Tell you what,’
Simon said. ‘I’m going to a site next week. Would you like to join me?’

Justin
hesitated. ‘What are you going to do at the site?’

‘Not much,’
Simon said. ‘It’s a hardware audit mainly, but we need to also assist the
onsite techs with some of their backlog calls.’

‘And what about
Lance?’

‘Don’t worry
about him,’ Simon said. ‘In fact, it was he that told me to pick someone to
assist me, so I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.’

‘I don’t know if
it’s such a good idea...’

‘It will give
you experience beyond the scope of the workshop, and once you get your foot out
in the field, it’ll be easier to advance to your own sites. Besides, I’m sure
that you and Rebecca could use the breathing space.’

Justin thought
about it for a moment. Simon was right. Being alone to sort out her thoughts
might just be the one thing that Rebecca needed at the moment. ‘All right,’ he
finally agreed. ‘When do you want to leave?’

‘Great,’ Simon
said. ‘I’ll run it by Lance. Let’s make it two o’ clock on Sunday afternoon.
I’ll pick you up at your place and will drop you off again that following
Friday afternoon.’

Justin nodded.
‘I think you’re right,’ he said. ‘I think that some time away would do a world
of good; not only for Rebecca, but for me too.’

*    -    -   
-    *

‘A week?’
Rebecca’s voice trailed off in a frantic screech. ‘You’ll be gone for an entire
week?’

Justin sighed.
‘It’s important for my career that I go, Becky. Besides, I think that we could
both use a little breather, don’t you?’

‘Why can’t they
just get someone else?’ Rebecca demanded. ‘And what do you mean with us both
needing a “breather”?’

Rebecca wasn’t taking
this nearly as well as he had hoped. The conversation he had with her in his
mind on his way home was by far more pleasant than this one. ‘They most
probably
can
get someone else, Becky,’ he said and took a deep breath.
‘But I said that I would go.’

For a moment
Rebecca didn’t say anything. ‘You had a choice...?’

‘I
need
this, Becky. For myself. I need to prove to myself that I have what it takes to
be out in the field.’

Rebecca got up
from the bed and without saying a word, went to the kitchen.

Justin followed
her. ‘I just think that you need some space; for
you
; to clear your
thoughts. You know; stuff like that.’

‘Clear my
thoughts?’ she asked and clenched her teeth. She turned her back on him and
filled the basin with hot water.

Justin placed
his hands on her shoulders. She closed the tap and just stood there, staring
out the window at the darkness outside. ‘All I’m saying,’ he said and gently
turned her around. ‘Is that things have been kinda...weird between us the last
few months. I think that a few days apart could help us both get over our pain.
Don’t you agree?’

Rebecca lowered
her eyes. She nodded and swallowed hard. ‘Just because I agree,’ she said,
trying her best not to cry, ‘doesn’t mean that I have to like it.’

Justin hugged
his wife. ‘I don’t like it either,’ he said. ‘But it’s short-term pain for
long-term gain. Okay?’

She didn’t say
anything. She merely held him tighter.

*    -    -   
-    *

‘All right,’
Simon said as he heaved Justin’s bag into the trunk of his car. ‘We’re good to
go.’

Justin looked at
Rebecca and stroked his hand gently over her hair. ‘I’m going to miss you,’ he
said and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

‘It was sure
nice to officially meet you,’ Simon said and shook Rebecca’s hand. She had a
soft hand that felt like it would break if he squeezed it too hard.

‘You too,’ she
said and forced a weak smile.

‘Don’t worry
about Justin. I’ll take good care of him for you. I promise.’

Rebecca hugged
Justin one last as Simon started the engine. Justin got in, and a few seconds
later, the car drove off into the distance. Rebecca wanted to cry, but forced
herself not to. It was the first time since their marriage a little over a year
ago that they would go to bed without one another.

An entire
week to myself
, she thought.
Whatever am I going
to do?

She waved one
last time as the car disappeared around a corner in the distance before heading
back to the apartment. The living room felt cold and uninviting without Justin.
It was almost as if the place could sense that he was gone. All the colour and
life left with him.

This is
nonsense
, she thought and shook her head. She
switched on the television for some background noise before heading to the
bathroom.
A nice hot bath,
she thought.
That’s how I’m going to start
my week alone.

*    -    -   
-    *

Rebecca sank
into the bathtub filled with soft, foamy, bubbles. The warm water instantly
refreshed her and she felt a little better about the coming week that she had
to face alone. She thought about Justin’s confession about the abortion and
about how she would never hold it against him. She placed her hand over her
stomach and rubbed it gently.
To think that two short months ago, there was
life. Now there’s none.
She bit her lip and closed her eyes.

‘The thing that
gets to me the most,’ she told Justin just before the operation. ‘Is that I
still have morning sickness and all the other symptoms of being pregnant. The
problem is that I’m going through it all for nothing.’

She had to admit
that in the beginning Justin had been there for her more than she thought he
would be. But there was no denying that he started drifting away only two weeks
after the operation. He worked longer hours; slept with his back turned against
her; and even neglected some of the usual chores around the house that he
normally would do without hesitation.

A sound at the
window made her open her eyes. She stared at the window for a minute, but
couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so closed her eyes again.

Thunk!

Rebecca shot
upright and stared at the window again. This time she was certain that she
heard something. For a while, nothing happened, but just as she was about to
move, she noticed it. Outside the window, she saw something move.
It’s
impossible for anyone to be out there
, she thought. On the other side of
the window was a small shaft where the drainage pipes from all the storeys of
the building ran down into the sewage system below ground. The space was too
small for a grown man to get into. Yet, there was no denying that someone or
something was out there.

The shape
pressed itself against the studded glass. Rebecca could clearly make out little
hands and the shape of a head. She leaned forward to see if she could make out
what or who it was. The figure moved and a gasp escaped from her lips. It
slowly started climbing up the window like a gigantic spider.

Rebecca’s heart
bounced out of control. She used the towel behind her to rub her eyes, but when
she looked again, the baby-sized figure was still there, slowly making its way
to the small opening of the window at the top. Rebecca looked on helplessly as
the figure reached the top. One by one, small, thin fingers curled itself
around the opening of the window.

‘Get away from
me!’ Rebecca screamed and ripped at the towel. She leapt from the bath, and
flung the bathroom door open.

When she looked
back over her shoulder, the figure was gone.

Something caught
her eye in the fogged up mirror. It was a man standing in the hallway behind
her, looking at her. Rebecca screamed. Her blood froze and her stomach flipped,
but when she spun around, there was no one.

‘What’s
happening to me?’ she cried. She wanted Justin to be there. She needed his
presence and his protection. As quickly as she could manage on the slippery
tiles, Rebecca ran back to her room and jumped onto the bed.
What’s going
on?
She wondered as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Oh Justin, please
come home!

*    -    -   
-    *

‘You mean he
left you there for a week?’ Tanya asked. Even over the soft crackle of the
telephone, Rebecca could hear the surprise mingled with anger in her voice. ‘He
left you there alone by yourself?’

‘It’s for his
work,’ Rebecca tried to protect him. ‘He also believes that the time apart will
bring closure to the miscarriage incident.’

‘Like
that
makes it better.’

‘Well...’

‘The hell it
does!’ Tanya snapped. ‘You don’t cut off your hand to get rid of the pain in
your foot!’

Rebecca
chuckled. Tanya always did have a way with words. ‘I’ll be okay,’ Rebecca said.
‘It’s just for the week.’

‘Still,’ Tanya
said. ‘I’d like to have a word or two with that man when he gets back.’

Rebecca smiled
at the mental image. She hesitated a moment. ‘Tanya,’ she said and paused.
‘There’s something that I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.’

‘Is Justin
hitting you?’ Tanya snapped and Rebecca almost choked on her tea. ‘Because if
he is, I’ll—’

‘No!’ Rebecca
interrupted. ‘He’ll never do anything like that in his life. But something is
definitely bothering me.’

There was a
silence for a moment and Rebecca almost thought that Tanya had put down the
phone. ‘Why? What’s wrong?’

‘I’m not sure,’
Rebecca said, trying to weigh her words before speaking. ‘For the past few
months I’ve been…seeing...things.’

‘Seeing things?’

‘Strange
things,’ Rebecca said.

‘Like...?’

‘Like the
paintings that have been removed from the wall, but when I look again, they’re
back where they’re supposed to be. Sometimes I see shapes out of the corner of
my eyes, and other times I can see them clearly.’

‘You lost me
somewhere at the word paintings,’ Tanya said. ‘Take a deep breath and tell me
what’s going on.’

‘Strange things
are happening in this apartment, Tanya. But I’m not sure if it’s really
happening, or if it’s all in my mind.’

‘You need to get
away from there for a while, Becks,’ Tanya said. ‘Why don’t you come over for
the week and stay with me? Just until Justin comes back, at least.’

‘Thanks for the
offer,’ Rebecca said. Tanya was a good friend and she really liked her company,
but she wouldn’t feel comfortable sleeping over at another place other than her
own without Justin. ‘But I’m sure that I’ll be fine.’

‘You sure?’
Tanya asked. ‘Because you don’t sound at all “fine” to me at all.’

‘Just some
jitters,’ Rebecca said, trying to re-assure her friend. ‘I’ll get over it,
don’t worry.’

‘Well, if you
don’t get over it, you let me know, okay? My offer stands. Always.’

‘Thank you,’
Rebecca said, and after some light-hearted conversation to lighten the mood,
Rebecca hung up and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

*    -    -    -
   *

Rebecca was fine
for most of the evening. She watched some television while eating a bowl of
macaroni and cheese. It was when she got into bed that the loneliness suddenly
overwhelmed her. She placed her hand on the empty spot where Justin always
slept and fought back the tears.