The Fight
Samuel mentions a disease called Noctis Dermis. It's completely made up for this story.
Samuel POV
Everything was supposed to go perfectly this morning. There was supposed to be no fighting, no petty arguments, no missing items, nothing. But I should’ve known; I never get that perfect morning. It started off well; when I woke up, Alice seemed to be in a good mood.
My youngest, Vita, wasn’t awake while my eldest, Eliza, was almost ready to get on the bus. Alice even told me that she took her pills! It’s unlike her to remember that without one of us telling her, but I wasn’t going to make a fuss about it.
She has been acting slightly strange, though; the meds should help her, but they don’t seem to be working that well this time. I attributed it to her staring problem; it mostly happens when she zones out.
I should’ve known better. I had stepped in the bathroom, preparing to brush my teeth, when I heard the rustle of the bed. I glanced at her as she made her way to the edge of the bed before looking away again.
She didn’t say anything for a while, letting me continue with my routine until I heard her clear her throat lightly. “Sammy?” she called softly. I looked at her, noticing the impatient tapping of her foot as I came back into the room, crouching down in front of her. “What do you need, my dear?” I asked.
Her eyes weren’t focused on me as I waited for her to ask her question. She was more focused on what was happening outside than in here. I took Alice’s chin in my hand lightly as I forced her to look at me.
“Alice?” I call as she lets out a small sigh. She was shifting uncomfortably, a clear sign she wanted something. I noticed her gaze flicker over to my briefcase as I sucked in a sharp breath. Please don’t ask me to stay.
“Do you have to go to work today?” she asks hesitantly. I feel my heart drop as I stand, dusting off my pants legs before leaning against the wall. “You know I do. I have to prepare for that big business meeting, remember?”
She sucks her teeth at me when I say that, but she doesn’t comment as she plays with the hem of her shirt. “Why can’t you spend time with the family instead?” she whispers. I give her a sympathetic sigh as I run my hand through my hair.
“I’d love to spend more time with you all, but we also need to continue living in our house without any debt or mortgage problems,” I remind Alice. She doesn’t say anything more as I move away, grabbing my tie and beginning to put it on as I face the mirror.
I thought she would learn that staying home wasn’t an option anymore after the first few times we went over this. I glanced through the mirror, seeing if Alice was okay as I noticed the quickening rise and fall from her chest.
“Spit it out,” I say as Alice looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “It’s nothing,” she says, but it’s obvious she’s lying. I turn to face her, crossing my arms over my chest as she sighs.
“Do you not want to be a husband anymore?” she asks suddenly, the words barreling out of her mouth faster than I could comprehend. My eyebrows slowly raised as realization of her words took over.
“What are you talking about?” I ask incredulously. “You know what? Don’t answer that. Stop putting words in my mouth, Alice. I’m not in the mood today or any other day for that matter.”
Her nostrils flare at my words as she stands quickly. “You’ve been spending so much time at work, it’s like you don’t care about this family anymore!” she exclaims.
“Every time I ask you to stay home for one day, you always say no. I just want to spend time with my husband, but it’s obvious you don’t feel the same way.”
I open my mouth to respond, but she silences me with a look before fitfully sitting back down, crossing her arms and pouting. “Go to work; I don’t care. You never cared for me, so why should I for you?”
I stare at Alice in disbelief as she glares at me. “Alice,” I say as she shakes her head. “You always want to ruin my life,” she says. She is acting like a child right now. I glance over to the pills on my nightstand, finally noticing that they’re exactly where I left them last night for her.
She didn’t touch those pills. I look back over to her, flexing my fingers anxiously while trying to choose my next words carefully. “You say you don’t care if I go to work, but it’s obvious you do. How about you go job hunting again so I don’t have to work overtime at the office?
That way we could spend more time with each other instead of what we have now,” I say calmly. Her eyes widen at the prospect, but I ignore it as I bend down, grabbing my briefcase from the floor. I know she’s probably thinking of different ways to pin this on me, but I don’t feel like hearing it right now.
I gather the rest of my things, glancing at Alice out of the corner of my eye as her grip on the pillow gets tighter. I straighten up, heading over to the door, but before I can open it fully, I feel something soft hit the back of my head at full force.
I turn to see Alice with her hands clenched into fists and a pillow on the floor. “Really? That’s what we’re doing right now?” I ask, picking the pillow up and throwing it back on the bed beside Alice.
“Are you going to continue to be childish?” I ask her, trying to add some sort of playfulness to the atmosphere before I leave. I watch as she walks over to me, putting both her hands on either side of my waist as she pins me to the door. I look down at her, watching as she slowly looks up with a crazed look in her eyes.
This isn’t my Alice. “Stay,” she ordered through gritted teeth. I looked at Alice precariously, giving her a soft peck on the cheek as I felt around for the doorknob. “I wish I could stay, Alice. Believe me,” I said sincerely.
I opened the door, moving Alice softly as I headed into the hallway. This morning was not going as I planned, and it seems to just be getting worse. All of a sudden, I felt hands on the back of my shirt, yanking me back before slamming me into the wall, my glasses falling onto the ground and cracking a bit.
I watched as Alice kicked the glasses away, giving me another hard shove against the wall as she got in my face, that look in her eyes causing a shiver to go up my spine. “You’re fucking cheating on me, aren’t you?!” She screamed in my face.
My ears started ringing painfully as I glanced over to the living room. What if the kids are in there? I reluctantly push Alice off forcefully, trying to get her away from me. I try to keep walking, managing to make it into the living room of our apartment before Alice is up on me again.
Alice spins me around before punching me straight in the jaw as I stumble back. I slowly begin inching my way away from her, trying to avoid any more hits as she stalks towards me like a predator.
I hate treating her like she’s a wild animal, but I can’t help it when she gets like this. “Stay home!” she yells, her tone pleading. My resolve doesn’t break as I shake my head quickly, letting her know I’m not budging about this, but she only gets angrier from that.
“You’re probably going to work and bending some bitch over your desk, huh?! Is that what this is? A fuck fest?” My eye twitches when Alice says that, but I choose not to respond back as I continue to inch closer to the door.
I can feel myself shutting down like we’ve both done so many times in the past. I watch the way Alice points towards the door, still screaming at me, but I can barely hear her anymore. The insults begin blending together, and I ignore them all as soon as I see my daughter, Eliza.
She’s sitting on the couch, her body shaking slightly, clearly scared of whatever outcome could come from this and what her mother might do to me. I try making her feel better as she looks up from her spot. I give her my best “it’s going to be okay” look, but I can tell it doesn’t do a lot as she shrinks into herself even more.
I hate having to comfort her over this, over Alice’s neglect to prioritize her health for our family. I love both of my baby girls; it pains me when they seem upset or confused, on the off chance that my youngest feels that way.
Eliza’s staring at me again as I make a head gesture directed to her room. Alice is primarily blocking the hallway that would lead to the girls’ room, but I don’t care; the sooner she’s out of this situation, the better.
I watch as Eliza slowly stands, grabbing her bag and scurrying out of the room as she ducks away from her mother. Fortunately, Alice doesn’t pay her any mind as she continues to glare at me, her eyes darting around the room frantically.
Probably searching for something to stop me from leaving. Her eyes continue searching, her movements frantic as my back hits the front door. She decides to opt for more brute force as I’m shoved against the door more now. I don’t want to push her away, so I let her keep me there.
“You. Will. Stay,” Alice seethed. I take a deep breath, willing my tone to drop an octave as I slowly raise my hand and place it on her cheek gently. She looks up at me, her face filled with confusion and anger as I begin to gently stroke her cheek.
“Alice,” I call as she looks up at me, her face softening a bit but not completely. I feel her leaning into my touch, a burning sensation beginning to crawl up my throat. I hate having this power over her. It sickens me.
“I know my going to work isn’t your favorite. You’d rather I’d stay home, right?” She nodded as her hands slowly slid down and returned to her sides.
“Well, only one of us has a job, and I need to provide for the home. To make sure our daughter can go to school, to make sure our other daughter can be happy at home. To make sure we have food in the fridge. But you want me to take a break, right?” She nods.
I kiss her cheek and sit her down on one of the kitchen stools as I smile at her and back up towards the door. I take one glance at Alice, the innocence and calmness in her eyes trying to pull me back in, but I can’t, and I wish I could.
I kiss her forehead before opening the door quickly and bolting down the apartment stairs. I can hear the angry yells of Alice as they slowly fade into the distance. I don’t think I could handle it if I heard her begin to sob.
I stopped in my tracks as soon as I got to the ground floor of the apartment building. I begin walking again, trying to catch my breath and stay away from the nosey neighbors who might start sticking their heads out if Alice comes down here.
The walk to my car felt longer than usual; a few people waved at me, and I forced a smile at them, not wanting them to see the slight shaking in my hands. It’s weird how everything at home is crashing down onto me and everyone out here seems so…peaceful.
When I reach the car, I slide into the front seat, resting my head on the steering wheel as I try to get my body back under control. It takes a minute, but I’m glad when my heartbeat seems close to normal as I look up.
I find the window that leads to our apartment as I try to see if my daughter is there. That’s the only window that looks out to the parking lot, and she’s usually somewhere near there. Luckily, she didn’t disappoint, as I see her sitting there, staring back at me.
Vita has Noctis Dermis; we call it Ash Skin. It’s harmless, like albinism but backwards. She has cracks in her skin, and she’s ash black, but she’s still my little girl.
The giant holes where her eyes should be are replaced by small yellow lights, a side effect of her condition. I’m pretty sure she’s looking at me as I wave to her.
She doesn’t do anything back for a moment before giving me a small peace sign before hopping off the window and closing the curtains. I let out a heavy sigh, shooting the apartment one last glance before I start the car and start heading to work.
