The House in the Hills

by The House in the Hills (retail) (epub)

  “What do you mean?” Harmony asked, getting that sinking feeling of guilt. She couldn’t stand it but she knew it was time and there was no way to avoid this. The chickens were coming home to roost and there was no way to stop them.

  Marc’s reply was swift and effectual, “Chef Durand?”

  Harmony blanched but she just couldn’t admit this just yet. “What…? Chef Durand? Why would you…?” She stopped talking, not really knowing where she could go with this. She had nowhere to go, though. She was being backed into a corner.

  “Don’t play coy with me, Harmony. I know.”

  “You know what?” she asked, still not wanting to get into this, still trying to sidestep it.

  Marc took a breath and said, “I know about him. I know about you and him. I know about your affair.”

  Harmony’s heart was beating so fast she thought she might pass out. She wanted to run but she knew she couldn’t. This was it. This was the moment she’d dreaded for years. She told herself to just get through this as best she could and let whatever happened, happen. But she refused to look at him.

  Marc continued, “I know you didn’t break your wrist by falling in the kitchen. You broke it because you fell off the table when he was fucking you.”

  Harmony gasped. How did he know all this?

  Marc went on, “And that’s why you became a food blogger because you were too embarrassed to go back to work after that.”

  Harmony was absolutely mortified. So, here it was after all this time; it was finally out in the open. Marc knew she had cheated on him and he was really upset over it, deservedly so. She stared at him, then away and mumbled, “How did you find out?”

  “That waitress you were friends with called me and told me,” he said and didn’t take his eyes off her. “Listen, I feel bad to have to be the one to bring it up but it’s been three years since it’s happened! I am sick and I am tired of pretending that the perpetual elephant in the room doesn’t exist. It’s there and it’s big and it wants attention. It’s time it has the attention it deserves.” He paused and glared at her. “Especially now when you’re going through this act of accusing me of something I’m not even doing and then trying to force me to evict someone because of it.”

  Harmony blanched.

  “So, yeah, I know,” he said. “And I have known for years, Harmony. And that waitress is the reason I know.”

  “That figures,” Harmony said, thinking about that waitress. She was one of those “nice” people who everyone thought was so wonderful and yet was always the first to stab you in the back. Harmony had been leery of her and had kept her distance, but apparently, not enough. She turned back to Marc and said, “Well, she always did have a crush on you. Did you sleep with her to get me back?”

  “I didn’t,” he said. “She’s not my type.”

  They stared at each other for a few, long hard seconds. The cat was out of the bag and they were in the showdown Harmony had avoided for so long. Yes, what she had done was wrong, so, so wrong, but she had taken her shame and buried it and prayed that Marc would never find out. It had been a mistake and an embarrassing one at that. She hadn’t wanted to drag him into it and make him feel bad. She loved him and felt so much remorse for her actions that it ate at her. And she always felt he might cheat on her to get her back. And she knew she’d have a very hard time dealing with that.

  She became uncomfortable as he continued to stare at her, so she broke the silence, “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Why didn’t you?” he retorted.

  Harmony looked away again and said softly, “We all have our secrets.”

  “True,” he replied, nodding.

  She turned back to him. “What do you want me to say?”

  “That you’re sorry! That you made a mistake!” He shook his head in frustration. “That’s the sort of thing you say when something like this happens!”

  “Well, I am and I did,” she replied, feeling herself want to cry. She hated the look of hurt on his face and that’s all she had wanted to avoid, hurting him. And it had been a mistake she’d been sorry for since the moment it was over. She added, just to try and make him feel better, “Besides, it wasn’t good at all. With him, I mean.”

  “Well, that’s what you get for screwing around on your husband who loves you,” he retorted and glared at her. “When I found out about it, I thought I’d die.”

  Harmony looked away, feeling so low and so awful she couldn’t look him in the face.

  Marc continued, “The thought of some asshole fucking my wife did not set well with me. At all. And you know, I’m not a jealous person and I’m not vindictive, but it was too much for me to take.”

  It was true. He wasn’t a jealous guy. He was probably the nicest guy she knew.

  “I wanted to rip that asshole apart,” he said, giving her a hard stare. “And I did.”

  Harmony finally turned back to him. “You did what?”

  “I beat the shit out of him,” he said.

  She gasped. “Marc!”

  “Oh, come on,” he said. “You think I was just going to let it go? No, I was not. I bided my time and one day I ran across him in the parking lot of one of his fancy restaurants. He didn’t even know who I was. And then all I had to do was get him riled up enough to throw the first punch. And then I gave him the beat down he deserved.”

  Harmony just stared at him. She’d never known him to be violent. This was a new Marc she was seeing for the first time. And she kinda liked it. She never imagined him doing something like that, something so masculine and raw. It was almost a turn-on.

  “Don’t you remember that day I came home and my face was bloody and bruised and you asked what had happened?” he asked.

  Harmony nodded. She did remember. She had had been very troubled by his face and had asked him what happened. And he had told her: “That asshole at work finally talked me into working out with him and they had a boxing ring there and… Well, you should see the other guy.” He’d laughed and Harmony shook her head at him and said, “Oh, sweetheart, oh, baby, you look so awful! You poor thing!” Then she’d gotten the first aid kit out and cleaned his wounds, telling him he had to grow up sometime and stop acting so immature. “Just because there’s a boxing ring there doesn’t mean you have to use it!”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Harmony asked.

  “I felt a little remorse over it, to be honest,” he said. “And I couldn’t bring myself to talk about it. And I thought you would eventually confess and then I would tell you. And I waited and waited and you never did.”

  “I just wanted to spare your feelings, Marc,” she said. “I didn’t want you to get hurt. I never meant for you to get hurt.”

  “Well, too late for that,” he said. “I guess I thought if I brought it up you might run into that asshole’s arms or something. So, I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want us to break up over him.”

  Harmony nodded. “Neither did I, Marc. That’s why I never said anything.”

  “One of the main reasons I wanted the house here was because I wanted to get away from our past,” he said. “I wanted to be done with it. After you cheated, there was a blip in our marriage and you can’t deny that.”

  She nodded. She’d noticed it, too. In fact, she knew she was the one responsible for it and it made her feel guilty on an almost daily basis.

  “And I wanted us to get back to the way we were,” he said. “I didn’t want to break up. I wanted to move forward. And I just kept it together by remembering the first time I saw you.”

  She stared at him and nodded slightly, remembering herself.

  “You were at the bank back home and you were just so sweet and nice and just a little shy,” he said. “A killer combination, by the way. And I kept trying to talk to you and you kept sidestepping me at every turn. And that made me want you more.”

  Harmony smiled at him and remembered the flowers he’d sent the day after they’d m
et. They were the prettiest bouquet she’d ever seen and had a simple note: “If ‘yes’ please call my number. If ‘no,’ thank you for being so nice.” She had made him wait three days and then she’d called on the fourth day. And all she said was, “This is Harmony.” And that had been that. They’d been together ever since. And mostly happy.

  “I’m so sorry I’ve been so awful,” she said quietly.

  Marc nodded. “I never stopped loving you, though. And I wasn’t that angry at you. Mostly at him, that pig chef. He just took advantage, didn’t he?”

  Harmony didn’t know, not really. Had the chef taken advantage of her? She couldn’t say for certain. All she knew was that it had been a mistake and now here she and Marc were, reeling from the infidelity. She stared back at him and felt herself breaking down. The tears streamed down her face which was flushed with the embarrassment and unease she felt at having been confronted on her infidelity. But it was the look of hurt and disappointment on Marc’s face that made her feel worse. She knew he’d be like this and she had just wanted to avoid it. She loved him and only him and she’d made a huge mistake, one she couldn’t really ever make up for. And she’d always feared he would leave her over it and rightfully so. As she stared at him, she began to babble, hoping some of the words that came out of her mouth made sense, “I am sorry, honey. I don’t know why I did it. He was just always flirting with me and flattering me, telling me I could really go places. I feel like I got played and it was so embarrassing!”

  She paused and cried even harder. Marc stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

  Harmony wiped her face off with the bottom of her t-shirt then continued, “I’m so sorry! I hated myself and I thought if I told you then you’d leave and I would have fucked everything up by my stupidity. I was so ambitious then and it just came back on me. Everyone at the restaurant was talking about us and laughing and it was just so awful.”

  Marc nodded. “I know and I’m sorry you went through that. And I should have known you’d never confess. I know how you are. You don’t throw everything out there and let the chips fall where they may. I know you’re not that kind of person.” He stopped talking and just stared at her before continuing, “Listen, it’s over and, honestly, I’ve been over it for a while now. I only wanted you to admit it. That’s all.”

  Harmony nodded that she understood but she couldn’t stop crying. All those years of waiting for this moment had really been tortuous and now she was overwhelmed by emotion.

  “Oh, Harmony, don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry, sweetheart.” He got up and went to her then took her in his arms, hugging her tightly and with love. “Let’s just forget I said anything. I just got pissed that you’d think I’d have sex with the first woman who batted her eyes at me. Do you know how many women bat their eyes at me on a daily basis? A lot! I’d be Don Juan by now if I followed through. Or I’d have a venereal disease.”

  Harmony laughed a little and said, “Do you forgive me? If you don’t, that’s okay. If you want me to leave, I will. I know it was wrong and I can’t take it back. I just thought if I swept it under the rug it would disappear. I’m sorry about that, too. I really, really am.”

  Marc nodded. “I forgave you a long time ago. I mean, I was angry and hurt when I found out and then… Well, you never told me and I just waited and waited and then… Well, it never seemed the right time to bring it up. I knew by the way you acted that you were sorry. But I just needed you to say it. I needed to hear it.”

  Harmony smiled at him. He was too good to be true, this man. He always had been, always had been the best. She didn’t know why she was so lucky to have such a good, kindhearted man, but she was grateful she did. And the chef she’d cheated on with meant nothing to her. Not really. He was just always after her, wearing her down, filling her head full of flattery, just like he’d done so many other vulnerable women, she presumed. She’d just fallen for it, for some reason. Maybe because she and Marc had been together so long. Maybe because she and the chef had gotten along really well and he made her see herself in a new light. But it was just a façade; he just wanted to put another notch in his bedpost. That’s what she told herself anyway, to distance herself from the situation. She’d also convinced herself that she’d gotten played and played hard. It was mortifying when she thought of it, so she didn’t think of it all too often.

  She took his hand and kissed it, then said, “I’m so sorry, baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I would never want to do that.”

  He nodded and she tiptoed to kiss him. She kissed all of his face, then his lips. He responded and kissed her back, taking her face in his hands and concentrating on the kiss, which deepened and elicited a deep, soft moan from Harmony. He kept kissing her as he walked her backwards over towards the bed, then laid her down on it. They began to make love, freeing themselves from the pain and began to let go of what should have been let go a long time ago.

  They went at it hot and heavy for a good few minutes, undressing one another as they did so, until… Harmony looked up and saw a very beautiful woman, right there, right beside the bed. The woman was dressed in a very seventies style fashion. Her dress looked like a Pucci and her makeup was heavy but very well done, like she’d just stepped off the page of a seventies fashion magazine. She was tall and she was thin and she was downright beautiful and sophisticated looking. Her blonde hair was styled into this gorgeous big bouffant. She was smoking a cigarette and holding some kind of drink in a highball glass. She didn’t say a word and she didn’t move at all. She just stood there, staring down at Harmony with a look of curiosity. Then she, all of a sudden, smiled at her, as if she very much approved of what Harmony was doing.

  The scream erupted from Harmony’s throat so fast and furiously, she felt her vocal cord tear a little. It hurt.

  Marc pulled back and looked around in fright. “What the hell is it?” he asked.

  But there was no longer anyone there. The place where the woman had stood was now empty. The woman was gone and Harmony was in a wild panic.

  “There was a woman standing beside the bed!” Harmony screamed. “Right there!”

  She pointed. Marc got up and looked around. Harmony pulled the sheet around her and watched as he opened the closet door, went in and then came out. Then he went into the en suite bathroom, then came out a few seconds later. Harmony watched him, the terror filling her body and mind. He bent over and picked up his pajama bottoms and slipped them on then he started out of the room. She stared after him.

  “Where are you going?!” she screamed.

  “I’m going to check the house!” he exclaimed, obviously exasperated. “What do you think?”

  “No, don’t leave me!”

  He ignored her and left the bedroom. She shook with panic and looked around, found her t-shirt and pulled it on, then jumped up off the bed, following him.

  Harmony raced down the hallway and then into the living room. It was very quiet and dark. She looked around, still panicking, then out the glass doors. The pool light was on and it threw shadows all over the backyard, making everything seem almost serene, but creepy. She shuddered.

  Marc came up quietly behind her. Harmony didn’t notice him, as she kept looking around to see if she could find the woman.

  Marc said, “There’s no one here.”

  Harmony jumped and screamed. Her heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to fly out of her chest and hit the wall, then slide down it, leaving a bloody, awful mess. She turned to Marc and screeched, “Fuck! You just scared the crap out of me!”

  “You have got to stop watching so many horror movies.” He shook his head at her. “I repeat, there’s no one here.”

  “I swear I saw her!” Harmony said, almost at her wits end. “She’s here somewhere!”

  “What do you want me to do? There is no one here!”

  “Shut up,” Harmony hissed and felt herself try and go back to normal. She was still shake
n, but her heart rate was coming down.

  “You seem to be in a nervous jerk right now. You probably just imagined it. You’re okay now. Let’s go back to bed.”

  “That is so unbelievably patronizing, asshole,” she hissed at him. “I’m not some hysterical woman! So, fuck you! I saw someone! She was here and…” She stopped talking and looked around. Where was she? Where did she go? Where could she have gone? If she’d gone out either of the exterior doors, the alarm would have gone off. If she’d gone into another room, Marc would have seen her. She couldn’t have just disappeared into thin air, could she?

  “Where is she now then?” he asked, eying her.

  “How would I know?” she hissed.

  Marc crossed his arms and said, “So, if you saw someone, who was it? Who was this person who just entered our house and stood beside our bed as we were having sex? Who was she?”

  “I don’t know! I didn’t ask her for an I.D. or anything!”

  “I think it’s your nerves,” he said.

  “It is not my nerves, you asshole!” she yelled. “That woman was here and she looked…” Harmony stopped and thought about it. She looked like a fashion model from the seventies. How could that be? Maybe she’d been on her way to a retro party or something? Harmony’s mind began to race with all the different scenarios of what, and who, this woman was. Maybe she was seeing things. Maybe Marc was right. Maybe her nerves were so frayed from all this baggage they had played a trick on her. But that woman had looked so real and damned if she hadn’t smelled the cigarette smoke lingering in the room once she disappeared.

  She stopped thinking and decided that she was, indeed, losing her mind. She had to be. This wasn’t right and it wasn’t real. Great! Now she’d probably have to go see a psychologist and get on some anti-depressants. Double great! Her life was just fucked, wasn’t it? All because Marc had insisted they move into this stupid house and take on a big mortgage that she, quite frankly, didn’t think they could really afford.