Leather Bound

by Kyle Robinson

  He popped open the character folder and created some of the characters that would make up the story.

  Chapter 13

  “Did you finish your work for the day already?” Jen asked him as she rounded the corner.

  “Yeah,” Tom started from the recliner in the living room. “I developed the characters and set up the first few chapters. I wrote close to 1500 words too.”

  “Good for you.”

  “Yeah, I don’t quite feel it yet, but I think I’ll get there. When I do, I think this thing will get off the ground quick."

  “Good. Have you learned anything else from that?” She pointed to the leather-bound book in his lap.

  “Not yet, I’m going to read a little today. Are you going somewhere?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got to go to the store.”

  “I’ll see you when you get back.”

  She leaned down and gave him a kiss. “Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone.”

  “I will try not to.”

  Tom watched her as she left and then he leaned back in the chair. He flipped the book open where he left off and started reading.

  ****

  I realized just how different I’d been my entire life, when I got a job driving a truck. I didn’t want the job, god knows I didn’t have a real career path ahead of me though. Instead, I saw the option to make a decent amount of money for both me and my family.

  I would always roll out on Sunday afternoon and I’d almost always make it home by Friday evening. I didn’t mind my job, but those hours on the road can get to someone. It was enough to drive a man insane. Sometimes I think it did.

  It was constant rubber to pavement as I travelled across the country. I saw a lot of things, and made a few friends along the way, but it was one night after dropping off a load, my life changed forever.

  On this night I was lying in the truck, relaxing. I thought about going to a payphone and calling my wife. However, I changed my mind. Instead, I walked down to the local bar and got a drink.

  “What will it be?”

  “Give me a jack and coke.”

  “Coming right up.”

  I sat there and scanned the packed bar as I waited for my drink. A young woman walked over and sat down at a stool next to me. She sat there quietly, lost in her own thought. Once the bartender brought me my drink I struck up a conversation.

  “Nice night for a drink.”

  “Yeah, I thought so too. What brings you out?”

  “Job, I’m on a layover for the night and leaving out in the morning.”

  She took a sip. “That’s cool, what do you do?”

  “I’m a truck driver.”

  “That’s interesting.”

  “Yeah, it can be. Most of the time though it’s lonely.”

  “I believe that. Does anyone ride with you, or do you have family back at home?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I make it home to see them pretty often.”

  “It’s nice to have someone to go home to.”

  I picked up on the sound of her voice. “You don’t?”

  She shook her head and took another drink. “No, almost all of my family is dead. I’ve been alone for most of my life.”

  I stared across my glass at her. “Sounds like we’re both of the lonely sort tonight.” I picked up my glass. “A toast, to being lonely.”

  She cracked a smile and picked up her own glass. “To being lonely.” She said. We toasted and drank.

  “Would you like to keep me company?” She asked.

  I should have said no. I had a wife, and should have had the will power to turn her down. But I couldn’t. She took me by the hand and led me away. I followed her to a hotel right across the street. She led me through the lobby and up to the 5th floor of the hotel. We went into the room closing the door behind us.

  It was hot and heavy. I’d like to think maybe it was a little love, but I know better. There was a lot of lust that night and I understand that. I mean what are we if we’re not animals on some level.

  The next day we got up, and I went to leave the room. It should've been that simple. In fact, looking back at it, there was a clear divide in my choices. One way, things go on being normal. The other, we end up in our current situation and I write this book. You can guess which path we walked down.

  Before I could go, she stopped me. “Where are you heading?”

  “I’ve got to get another load then I’m heading back home.”

  “Which is where?”

  I didn’t like where it was going but I broke. “Toward Missouri.”

  She flashed the sly smile at me. “Do you think I can catch a ride?”

  This is another time I should have said no. But, I didn’t think it would hurt. Plus, I didn’t want anyone to find out about our one night stand. The kids would look at me different, and not to mention their mother, I could only imagine what she would do. Against my judgement I let her load up in the truck. I picked up my return trailer, and I started off toward the gateway city of St. Louis.

  The whole way we drove along, talking about different things which included life and the things we’d been through. She’d had it rough. I sympathized with her and tried to make her feel welcomed, almost loved. In the back of my head though, I continued to question myself. What if they find out? What if someone realized that I’d cheated? Questions like this haunted me as I crossed the state line into Illinois. We pulled to a gas station and got out.

  “I’m getting something to snack on. If you want to use the bathroom now would be the time.”

  I ran into the store, grabbed a bag of chips and a soda. As I walked back to the truck, I couldn’t shake the idea that someone would catch us. I crossed the parking lot and noticed the bathrooms a little way from the main station. It was then an idea hit me. I went to the bathroom and waited outside.As I did I scanned the parking lot.

  It was empty, almost eerily empty for it being that time of day. I waited for her to round the entrance as she did I caught her.

  “Fancy a quick one in the men’s restroom?”

  She eyeballed me a little. “Why not in the truck?”

  “What are you afraid to get caught?” I said pitching a smile.

  She licked her lips and without hesitation walked into the mens’ bathroom. We went into one stall. I locked the door behind us and before I knew it she turned around, pants around her ankles.

  “Give it to me.”

  So I did, I fucked her like I’d never fucked anyone in my life. Sorry for the corse language but the truth is there isn’t another adjective that sums up the feeling I had in that stall. As we both reached orgasm, I took the opportunity and slammed her head off the back of the toilet. It was quick and at first I didn’t think it worked but I realized that I had to have hit a sweet spot. She collapsed. I reached down and felt, she had no pulse.

  I listened to the world around me. No one had come into the bathroom that was luck in my favor. I felt exhilarated, and I knew my problems were now laying in a heap with her. I picked her up, trying to avoid the blood and sat her on the toilet. When I knew she wouldn't fall, I left. I hopped in the truck and headed on down the road. News didn’t travel then the way it does now. Even still, I couldn’t help but smile knowing I could get away with it. Hell, that I could get away with anything I got away with makes me smile.

  The part I think would shake most people though, I killed this woman and hadn’t even learned her name.

  ****

  Tom put the book down not even realizing that he had tears in his eyes. In fact, by the feel of it he’d been crying for quite some time. As he sat up and went to the kitchen, he heard the door open. Jennifer came in and looked at him.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I was just reading that book, I gotta admit, it's dark.”

  “What happened?”

  Tom took a breath trying to figure out how to tell her what he’d read. “I met his first victim, and I didn’t even know her name.” He felt the tears coming ba
ck to his eyes, and he didn’t even know why.

  Chapter 14

  That night Tom laid in bed staring at the ceiling. Jennifer propped herself up on her elbow.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yes, and no.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can’t shake the image of that woman’s murder. I didn’t even learn her name, because he didn’t know it, and he didn’t even care."

  “Monsters are evil sweetheart, you know that.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t help but believe this was more than your typical monster.”

  “I wouldn’t think about it too much. I’d say you need to sleep.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Tom laid there replaying the images from the book. It took a while, but he drifted off into a very uneasy sleep.

  ****

  Tom stood in a gravel parking lot. He walked along, hearing the gravel roll under his feet. It made him uncomfortable, but he didn’t know why.

  His footsteps almost echoed out of the gravel as he walked toward a faint glow of lights. Each one made him more and more uneasy. He kept walking forward though, hoping that it would soon make sense.

  The lights illuminated a gas station ahead of him. Then the lightbulb went off and he wanted to scream, to wake up somehow but he couldn’t. Instead, he kept moving. He walked into the store section and looked around. It was empty.

  “Can I help you, sir?”

  Tom turned and saw a man standing behind the counter with a smile on his face.

  “No, I’m kind of lost.”

  “What is it you’re looking for?”

  Tom hesitated for a second. “I’m not sure.”

  The clerks’ smile faded a little. “Are you okay, you don’t look so good.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Where is your bathroom at?”

  The clerk pointed out the window over his shoulder. “You passed it on the way in. Should be unlocked if not, just let me know.”

  Tom turned and walked out of the store and back toward the gravel parking lot he’d started on. As he neared the bathroom, he glanced behind him into the empty parking lot. Once inside the bathroom, he had to squint to see the surrounding room.

  What in the hell is going on with me? He went to the first stall and opened the door. There was nothing. His heart beat a little faster as he went to the second stall which didn't hold anything. When he pushed the door open to the last stall, he almost screamed.

  A woman sat over the edge of the toilet seat. Her head hung down to the side. Tom looked close and saw what looked like her jaw cast over to one side. He covered his mouth and backed away. He made it to the door as the head turned toward him.

  It snapped around backward and she smiled. “Did you miss me?”

  “I don’t even know—”

  “You fucked me and killed me. How does that make you feel? Like a real man?”

  She laughed. Tom slammed the door and went to run but he couldn’t move. The door swung open, and the body was closer, on all fours on the ground. He tried to slam it again but it wouldn’t close.

  She crawled up his leg to his midsection, climbing to her feet. Once there she whispered in his ear. “I hope this is as good for you as it is for me.”

  His vocal cords broke and he let out a scream.

  ****

  He sat bolt upright in bed. He was sweating and his heart was pounding so hard he could hear it in his throat. Tom tried to catch his breath as he looked over, noticing that Jennifer was still asleep as he got to his feet. He felt the overwhelming fear he’d just experienced gripping him again. Tom tried to move, but it was as if all of his strength had been taken from him.

  What are you going to do? He thought as he exited the room.

  “I think I'll write. It’s the only way my mind will shut off.”

  He ambled down the hallway and into the office, closing the door and sat down at the desk. Once the computer was on he opened the project and stared at the blank page. How will I start? He thought.

  Before he realized it, the sun was coming up.

  Chapter 15

  “Honey, wake up.”

  Tom woke with a start. He looked down and saw the marks of drool on his desk. He wiped his face and started to wake up. “What the hell happened?”

  “I guess you came in here last night and wrote. I don’t know how far you made it before you fell asleep.”

  His mind was catching up, and he remembered the nightmare he’d had before he came into the office.

  “Last night was awful.”

  “What happened?”

  He hesitated. Tom didn’t know if he wanted to tell her about the nightmare. He glanced at the book on his desk and back at her.

  “I told you about the murder in the book yesterday, right?”

  She nodded.

  “Last night, I had one of the most vivid and horrible nightmares I’ve ever had. I was in the gas station where she got murdered. But it was all different.”

  “Different how?”

  He stopped, in the years they’d been married he’d learned that there were things she didn’t care to hear about how he thought, or dreamed. He was sure that this fell on that list somewhere.

  “I don’t want to bother you with it.”

  “Look, if you don’t tell me it will eat at you and you won't be able to focus. So, why not just get it all out in the open and it will make both of us feel better?”

  He paused and took a deep breath. “This women’ dead body spun around and crawled toward me. She talked to me. She climbed up my legs and got to where I could hear her voice in my ear. By that time it was too late. That was when I woke up and came out here. My mind was racing a million miles an hour, I didn’t know what to do. I wrote to calm down and I guess I fell asleep out here.”

  She leaned back in the chair and looked at him. “That sounds awful.”

  “Yeah, it was a long way from the most pleasant experience in the world.”

  She glanced at the book as they sat there.

  “So are you done with that book?” She asked.

  “No, I am going to finish it.”

  “Are you sure?” She said. He thought he’d heard some hesitation in her voice but wasn’t sure.

  “Yeah, I'll go upstairs and lay down for a while.”

  “Okay.”

  ****

  He woke up a few hours later, feeling better. But, he was happiest that he’d slept with no nightmares. Tom got out of bed and went downstairs. When he reached the living room, he found Jennifer reading a book.

  “How did you sleep?”

  “Okay. I feel better. I want to get some work done.”

  She smiled at him. “Good.”

  He walked down the small hallway and into the office. He took a seat at his desk, realizing something was off but he couldn't put his finger on it. Then it hit him.

  “Where is my book?”

  “What?”

  “Where is William’s book I got in the mail?”

  She leaned into the doorway once she reached him.

  “I got rid of it.”

  He spun around. “You did what?”

  “I got rid of it, it wasn’t helping you work on your book and you need to focus on that first.”

  He turned in his chair. “I…”

  “Look I did this for you.”

  He stood up rubbing his head. “Are you fucking insane? How could you get rid of MY stuff?”

  “I..” It was her turn to trail off.

  “I don’t give a damn what you were doing. The fact is that was MY book, and you took it upon yourself to throw it out. What the hell were you thinking?”

  He slammed his fist into the wall.

  “Where is this coming from?”

  “You want to stick your nose into my problems and it pisses me off.”

  “You know it was this attitude that caused us to lose—.” Her voice came out cool almost like ice, but he cut her off before she could finish.

  “
Don’t you fucking bring that up right now.” He swung back and hit another spot on the wall.

  “You know what, I getting my stuff. Whatever is going on with you right now I don’t want to be around. If you think you can calm down, then we’ll talk.” She turned and walked back down the hallway. He watched after her.

  He wasn’t able to talk but his mind said it for him. Where the hell did all of that come from? She throws out my book, then doesn’t understand why I get mad. Then she has to bring up the damn kid.

  He heard her shuffling upstairs. It wasn’t long until she came back with a small duffel bag.

  “Were you expecting to leave?” Tom asked her.

  “I’ve always had it packed in case I needed to leave, if you ever got like this,” She waved her hands up and down. “I won't be around it ever again.” She turned and walked toward the door.

  “Then good riddance damn you.” He yelled at her as the door slammed behind her. He stopped and took a breath, then he screamed at the wall.

  Chapter 16

  Tom stood in the now empty house in shock. The entire room around him seemed like it was full of acid, it made it hard to breathe. The room went red as he felt the tears come to his eyes. He let out another scream as he tried to stop the tears from falling.

  “Fuck her. If she can’t understand why I’m upset then I don’t want her here, anyway.”

  He sat down on the couch and stared at the wall. All he saw was red and black spots as he tried to get himself under control.

  “Did she take the damn thing with her?” The realization hit him. He didn’t think she would have. The question was where would she keep it. A little voice in the back of his head piped up; The Bedroom.

  “That makes perfect sense. She probably hid it somewhere in her drawer.”

  He marched into the bedroom to her dresser. Once there, he dumped the contents on the bed drawer by drawer. With each empty drawer he got angrier. He got to the last one and dumped it out, in the center of it wasn’t his book but was a small book that belonged to Jen.