After My Husband Left Me Alone with a Brain Injury I Stopped Waiting for Him to Come Back Chapter 03

After My Husband Left Me Alone with a Brain Injury I Stopped Waiting for Him to Come Back Chapter 03

The next morning, I woke to a terrible pain in my stomach.

A light rain was falling outside.

The apartment was still dark, and my phone had only thirty percent battery left.

I crawled into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

The food in every container had gone bad.

The milk carton had swollen even more, and a layer of white mould had spread across the fruit.

I covered my nose and pulled the fridge door wider.

A foul smell hit me so hard that I gagged and sank to the floor.

I didn’t know what I could eat.

There were no biscuits in the cupboards and no bread on the table.

At the back of one cupboard, I found a bag of sweets.

I tore it open and put one in my mouth.

It melted quickly, but my stomach was still empty.

I rang Kevin.

“Kevin, the food’s gone bad.”

I could hear the wind off the sea on his end of the call, along with the baby’s laughter.

Kevin answered quickly.

“Allison, why are you ringing this early?”

“The food’s bad. I can’t eat it.”

“Did you take out the wrong container?”

“No. It smells bad.”

“Hasn’t the fridge been working fine?”

“It’s not cold anymore.”

Kevin went quiet for a moment.

“Are you trying to make me come back again?”

“No. I’m hungry.”

Erin took the phone from him.

“Allison, this is too much.”

I froze.

“What did Allison do wrong?”

“Kevin, the baby and I finally get to go away on our own for once, and you’ve been ringing from morning to night. Won’t you be satisfied until you’ve made him come home?”

“You and Kevin and the baby aren’t a whole family.”

The moment the words left my mouth, even I went still.

The other end of the call fell silent.

I heard Erin’s breathing turn uneven.

Kevin said my name.

“Allison.”

I gripped the phone.

For the first time, I didn’t apologise straight away.

“I’m your wife. You said I was.”

Erin spoke softly.

“But you can’t even look after yourself now.”

“I can.”

“Then why can’t you even heat your own food?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Kevin cut in.

“Erin, leave it.”

Then he spoke to me.

“Go and find something you can eat. Stop ringing me all the time.”

“There’s nothing here I can eat.”

“Then drink some water.”

“There’s no water either.”

“How can there be no water?”

“Nothing comes out of the tap.”

I heard a small sound on the other end.

When Kevin spoke again, his voice was tighter.

“Go to the water purifier and turn on the dispenser. Get some water from there.”

“There isn’t any.”

“Try it again.”

I crawled over, turned the tap and held my hand beneath the spout.

“There’s no water.”

Erin said, “Did she turn it on and then shut it off again?”

“I didn’t turn it off.”

“Kevin, can you hear this? It’s always the same. She says there’s nothing there when really she just wants you to go back.”

Kevin’s voice went cold.

“Allison, enough. If you carry on like this, I really will leave you.”

My fingers loosened around the phone.

“You’ll leave me?”

“I’m only trying to teach you to manage on your own.”

“You don’t want me anymore?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Erin spoke softly beside him.

“Don’t let her get to you. She always says that because she knows it’ll make you stay.”

Kevin was quiet for a moment.

“Allison, don’t ring again.”

“But I’m hungry.”

“Wait until we get back.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“Can I open the door and find someone?”

“No. It’s dangerous outside.”

“Then what do I do?”

He didn’t answer.

The call ended again.

I sat beside the cupboard, staring into the darkness.

By noon, I was desperately thirsty.

Then I remembered there was water in the toilet cistern.

I took a spoon and scooped water out of it again and again to drink.

Then I remembered how Kevin taught me every day who everyone was.

“This is me. This is Erin. This is your home.”

I remembered all of it.

But there was one thing I could never understand.

Why did he always leave when I was most afraid?

That afternoon, I saw the kite outside again.

The red kite skimmed past the window, the string at its tail snagging on the outside of the frame.

I reached out to touch it, but the glass kept me from reaching it.

The pain in my stomach kept getting worse.

I pushed myself up against the wall and tried to get to my phone.

I made it only two steps before my legs gave way and I fell.

My watch struck the tile, and the screen lit up with Kevin’s photo.

I pressed the call button.

This time, no one answered.

I tried again.

Still nothing.

I curled up beside the wall, clutching my stomach, and tried to reassure myself.

“Kevin will come back. He’ll be back tomorrow.”