The Demon Lover: The Sequel

Kathleen Louise Drover was left with images of whom she once was and who she is now slowly fading away. The person she once loved had come back into her life, beginning with a single letter, in a single moment. She now asked herself, how could I have made that promise so many years ago, he was supposed to be dead and I left him behind all those many years ago. She continued to ponder the thought of what if I would have just stayed home and not made that visit, I forgot this promise, I forgot the day, I forgot him; but he never forgot me. I don't know what to do anymore, she thought to herself. He's a ghost, he's a figment of my imagination this can't be real, God please don't let this be real. Let this be a bad dream, let me wake up in my old bedroom on the floor next to the old desk. Just get me out of here.

But this wasn't a dream at all, in fact it was as real as you could get and the proof was him entering the very room she thought to be fake. "Hi Kathleen, it's been awhile since I last saw you. You were a young girl and we were so in love, but it seems your love has faltered and the promise you made so many years ago obviously meant little." He said. She just stared at him wanting so badly to scream. He continued to say, " But I'm back and we can have what we once had before, we can live out the dreams and plans we had, we can have it all if only you were to choose me. But to be fair I will give you the decision to make on your own, you can stay with me and build on the love we once had or go back to your husband and sons," he said with a hint of sarcasm. In astonishment she replied, "How did you know I was married? How did you know about my family? You've been gone for twenty – five years, you couldn't possibly have known." But there was little he didn't know about Kathleen, he had been watching from afar for years. So he continued on, "Kathleen with this decision comes a price and the question is how high of a price are you willing to pay. I love you and at one time you loved me too, but if you choose to leave me, the price to pay will be the happiness of those you love most as well as your own." Kathleen couldn't hold it in anymore, the desperation and fear had hit an all time peak, and she screamed, "Why are you doing this to me?" he simply replied, "I love you! Just think about what I said" and with that he left her to think.

Kathleen was left with only her thoughts to keep her comfort, but she soon realized that what once seemed so clear had suddenly become so blurred. She could feel the darkness setting in, the dampness of the room and the rope that held her captive now, had actually been there all along and now she didn't know what to do. Lost in thought she questioned so many things, "Do I really love him still, did I love my husband when I married him or did I marry him to suppress these feelings that never truly left." But no matter the question she knew the truth, even with the doubt he put in her mind, he was only right about one thing and that was how she once felt. She did love him but that was in another lifetime and now she had a family, she had people who needed her and she needed them. They loved her and she loved them; even though she could imagine that she could deal with a life of no happiness, she could never let her family live without it. Was the price to high to pay, of course it was, but she knew that the one thing he had been wrong about was the one thing she could use against him, and that was the fact that she was willing to do anything to get back to her husband. He was everything she ever wanted in a man and he picked her up and put her back together again when all had seemed lost. It's then that she realized she had known the answer all along, now she just needed him to walk back in so she could tell him.

About two hours later, he came back asking "have you made your decision yet?" assuming that he thought he already knew her answer. Kathleen Louise Drover told the man, "I'll stay with you because you are right I never stopped loving you, my feelings never faltered I simply tried to replace you, but I should have waited like I promised" and with this he untied her. He began to talk about the plans and dreams they once had that they could now fulfill. "Remember the dream house we designed with intricate details; I found the perfect place to build it. All these years we lost being together we now have the chance to start again. Just remember I'll always love you Kathleen, and anything you want is yours. Kathleen I know you just gave up a family but we can create one of our own the way it should have been all along, I just want everything to be perfect." All she could do was smile and agree with his plans, but inside she was screaming and nothing was as difficult as when he kissed her because she had to fake that she truly loved him, when all she could think about was her husband and sons, but this was something she would get through, no matter how uncomfortable it was."I love you too and everything you want I want with you too, that's why I stayed. So let's not mention the family I once had instead let's focus on the family we'll have." She replied. With this they walked out of the dark, damp room she had been in for hours.

Kathleen looked around only to realize that they had been in her old house the entire time, how could she have forgotten what the basement looked like? He went upstairs to use the bathroom and finished cleaning up the room, only to hear the front door begin to creak, all he could think to do was scream" Kathleen Louise Drover where are you going as he appeared at the top of the staircase." Kathleen replied, "I was just going to go to the store and pick up some groceries for dinner tonight, I figured we could eat by candlelight and I could cook something special to signify the first night of the rest of our lives together." He simply smiled and ran down to kiss her once again, "I already stocked the cabinets with food, maybe you could make an Italian dish, and I haven't had your food in years. I can still remember what it smelt like, the scent of fresh tomatoes from your garden and a hint of garlic. Adding in the angel hair pasta you made yourself it was as thin as a piece of thread and looked like a picture out of a cookbook. Maybe you can start there." Sure she replied. So together they entered the kitchen and began to cook.

She knew that she would wait for the perfect moment to escape, and that moment came about two weeks later on a sunny Monday morning. The night before they had drank about two bottles wine or so he thought; she actually hadn't drank any. She woke up at around eight in the morning to find him passed out, so she gathered a few things and began to head towards the stairs, but by the time she had her foot on the first step to walk down she could feel a pair of eyes on her. Knowing if she turned around she would never leave she began to run, but instead fell down the stairs and by the time she started to stand up, he already had her by the arm. She screamed, "Just let me go, let me leave." And he replied, "I would but remember you made a promise and this time you're going to keep it." She kicked him and he began to swear as a struggle ensued that lead to the kitchen, both had lost it. In her eyes was desperation and in her heart was a willingness to fight and do whatever it would take to get back to her family no matter what. But in his heart was a need to claim her as his own, to keep the love he once lost. The question was did he really love her or the idea of having her as his own. She knew that the only way he would keep her here was if he killed her but she was tired of faking and this is what she would have to do to leave. She grabbed an iron pan and began to swing at him, striking him in the back several times, but no matter what he just kept getting back up and overpowering her. Finally she realized that if she grabbed a knife he would have to back away or so she thought, only he grabbed one too. Now they each had each other at knife point and the question was who was going to strike first? After several pokes to each other they charged and ended up stabbing one another in the abdomen only to fall down and pass out in each other's arms.

"Where am I, who am I, what happened, why do I have blood on my hands, and why do have knife." All I remember is screaming, I feel all this pain and see all these bruises but how did they appear. Am I dreaming, am I dead, where am I and who's arms am I in? I can't make out very much; all I hear is a ringing in my ears and someone breathing but is it me?" Suddenly I heard footsteps approach, they sounded familiar, footsteps I must've heard over a thousand times, and footsteps I used to hate to hear. Then it hit me and I remembered everything, the past two weeks were a living hell and finally I was free from it all. Those were the footsteps of my husband and sons, and I had never been more happy or joyous to hear them. I felt the warm and gentle touch of the hand that I longed to feel for a long time, heard the soft, sweet voices I had longed to hear for two weeks, and finally it was all here, the very people I tried to save were now here to save me. I was left with another cut, it would remain a memory of the man I once loved and lost, but it would also serve as a reminder of how much I really did love my husband and sons. It symbolized the strength I never knew I had and how I finally overcame a past that haunted me. I know who I am, "I am Kathleen Louise Drover," and surprisingly I'm alive.