Sheep's Clothing by Gary Lewis (dark books to read TXT) 📗

Janice wasn't halfway done with her meal when David started scooping his fork around the final portion of his. She raised her eyebrows, as if studying a strange alien creature. "Hungry?"

"Haven't eaten since yesterday," he mumbled while scarfing down what was left.

She nodded in still unsteady understanding.

"It's just so hard for me to wrap my head around," he said with a shake of his head.

"What? Sarah?" she asked. "I'd be surprised if anyone could."

"I mean, Sarah?" David asked raising his hands in the air. "Can you really picture her doing all that?"

"Oh. Kill people?" she asked. "Lie about her whereabouts?" Janice shook her head and glanced away. "Never." 

"I guess I see where you're coming from." David's eyes lowered to his plate as he stacked the dirty silverware on top and carried it to the sink.

The many days of tension had accumulated in Janice's skull. It pressed against the inside of her eye sockets, wrapping around her forehead in a constant throb. "I don't feel good," she said, scooting her plate away. David quickly returned to the table.

"You done, Jan?" He reached for her plate slowly as he looked down at her.

Janice looked up at him from between her fingers, now wrapped around her head. "Yeah. I think I'm going to lay on the couch," she groaned. Her migraine began to spread from her head to her stomach in a heavy nauseating wave of pressure that throbbed hot from her eyes.

As David lifted the plate and strolled to the garbage can, his tone softened even more. "Would it be okay if I stay here for a little while, Janice?"

"Why? Are you okay?" she asked, squeezing her forehead as she imagined that she could place ice cubes behind her eyeballs to sooth the ache.

David's eyebrows lifted with sincerity. “I just want to make sure that you are.” His face drifted toward the television still playing in the living room. He then slowly brought his eyes back to hers. "The truth is, Jan... I've missed you a lot."

Rummaging through her mixed bag of feelings was the last thing she wanted to do, but staying a little longer sounded good at the time. Her headache was growing by the minute. "Sure. Can you get me a cold, wet washcloth, please?" she asked as she rose up from her seat to stroll into the living room. David's footsteps tapped up the stairs as she laid on the couch and closed her eyes.

Janice's mind raced with memories and thoughts that combined together and broke apart, spilling out a wide array of feelings as time became lost to her.

###

An annoying ringtone continued to get louder as Janice rubbed her groggy eyes, focusing in the dark room. The brightly lit screen of David's phone slightly lit the living room from where it still rang on the glass table. A form rolled over on the other couch as David stretched to slowly sit up.

"What time is it?" he asked in a weak tone.

Janice looked around the dark room for a few seconds. "Your phone was going off."

David sat up with a lean forward and lifted his phone. "It's 8:30. I just fell asleep about an hour ago," he said, his bright screen now shining in his face.

Janice stretched her arms and legs with a long yawn. "Well, I feel a lot better now."

"It was Sarah," he mumbled before pressing the phone to his ear.

Janice reluctantly remained silent as David returned her call. "Hey, what is it?" he asked. Her undiscernible words blared from his speaker with a scolding voice. "Alright. Alright. Just calm down. Are you okay?" David asked. Her shouts became louder as David pulled the phone several inches from his face with a wince, finally hanging it up.

Janice felt a warm concern wash through her face as she looked into David's troubled eyes through the dark room. "Are you okay, David?"

"She's fine. Something set off the trap behind her house and she thinks it's still out there."

Janice sat up to listen. "That's not what I asked though," she whispered just hard enough for her voice to traverse the room. As David drew his face back to her, barely lit by the moonlight that cut through the crack in the thick curtains, she scooted to the end of her couch closest to his. "I want to know if you're alright." Janice cautiously reached her hand out to his armrest. She felt his fingers brush against her palm until they clasped between hers with a gentle but firm grip.

"You're going, aren't you?" she asked. Through the darkness she could see David rubbing his hand over his face before brushing it through his hair. "I have to," he said with a firm whisper.

Her wounded soul tried to justify letting him go. He didn’t just ruin my life. He did so with Sarah and they kept it from me this entire time. She huffed down at the dimly lit, dark green carpet before raising her eyes back to the moonlit gleam that still shined across his tired face. They even joked about it. Her resentful thoughts clashed with the very real possibility of losing him forever as the memories she still held onto began to tug from her heart.

As Janice looked back into David’s exhausted face, his concern still burned brightly in his deep blue eyes, focused only on her.

“David,” she said hesitantly as her mind tried to hold back the words that her heart continued to speak. “There’s something I need from you.”

His solemn eyes spoke to her before his words. “Anything, Jan.”

She stared back with open eyes as her slow, deliberate words expressed the severity of their meaning. "Can you promise not to hurt me like that again, David?"

He stared back at her through the dark living room.

"David... It's the only thing I need to know."

His words rang with a solid certainty. "I promise, Jan."

"Are you sure?" she asked again.

His voice grew deep and calm as he stared back into her eyes and gripped her hand tighter. "Yes,