AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey everybody! I saw Secret Window again last night and was very inspired. Did you know that if you sit through the credits, at the end, Johnny sings Shortening Bread? It's really cool! Anyways, I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and reviews would be much appreciated! My favorite colors are mint green and black, just so you know. Also, I do not own I Promise I Will, by Stacie Orrico.
Will I take tender care of you?
Take your darkest night and make it bright for you
Will I be there to make you strong and to lean on?
When this world has turned so cold
Will I be the one that's there to hold?
Will I be there when you call me in the middle of the night?
Will I keep the rain from falling down into your life?
I promise, I promise
I promise I will
And I love you more every day
And nothing will take that love away
When you need someone
I promise I'll be there for you
I promise
Mort watched his lover sleep, a small smile upon his face. Sunlight was seeping through his window, indicating it was around ten in the morning. Madison's face was against his shoulder, her left hand upon his chest. His arm was still wrapped around her waist, his hand on the small of her back.
God, she's beautiful...
Madison blinked her eyes a couple of times, and smiled when she saw Rainey smiling down at her. "Good morning."
"Good morning, Maddy," he said, giving her a quick kiss. Suddenly, his face fell and his eyes became filled with concern. "Did... did I hurt you? Last night?"
Madison furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Not that I know of..."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean... it was your first time...?"
Madison felt a soft blush tickle her cheeks although she did not know why. She was proud to have been a virgin... and yet, she felt herself embarrassed at his slight accusation. "I won't be able to walk right for a couple hours, if that's what you mean."
"So I didn't hurt you?"
She shook her head against his shoulder and he replied, "Good."
"Hey Mort," Madison said, although her voice was now soft and a bit nervous. "Can I ask you a question... and you don't have to answer it if you don't want to... I'm just curious, that's all..."
"Yeah," Mort replied reassuringly. "You can ask me anything."
"Could you possible tell me about Amy?"
My heart stopped as I awaited his reply. Did I go too far? Oh, I didn't mean it...
"Amy and I met fifteen years ago at a local cafe in the city," Mort began and my heart beat decreased a little. "When I saw her, I knew she was the one, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Six months later, we were engaged, and six months after that, we were married. We had the perfect marriage, you could say, filled with love and care..."
"Anyways, about four years into the marriage, Amy told me that she was pregnant." My ears pricked at this and he continued. "I was so happy. We lived in a big house, and I began to decorate the room for him and everything...
"One night, Amy came home crying. I asked her what was wrong... and she told me that she had lost the baby. We cried together. The incident brought us closer together..."
"Four years after that, I began to drink. I was so stressed about this book that I hadn't published yet, and Amy was giving me a lot of flack... I isolated myself in my den, only to come out for food, drinks, and to use the bathroom..."
"Two years after that, my friend came and told me that he had seen Amy with another man at the movies." I could hear his voice crack just a bit, so I put my arm around him, patting him on his back for support. "I didn't believe him, and even if I did, I wanted Amy to know that I trusted her. A couple of weeks later, a different friend told me that he had seen the two at a motel... and, I found them. Together. I moved out within the next week."
"Oh, Mort," I said, trying to sound as reassuring as I could. "I am so sorry. I-I can't believe she would do something like that..."
"I suppose it was my fault," he said, more to himself than to me. "I mean, I had isolated myself..."
"But that doesn't give her the right to sleep with other men," I replied. "Even if it was just the one." Another question flashed through my mind. I was hesitant to ask, but I needed to know. My voice low, I asked, "Did you kill her?"
His chocolate eyes searched mine as he tried to think of something to say. Finally, he shook his head. "It wasn't me... but it was me."
I furrowed my brow. What the hell did that mean?
"I mean," he slowly said, running his fingers through his hair. His face drooped with guilt, and my heart stopped. "I mean physically, I killed them, but mentally, I didn't." His chocolate eyes searched mine, begging for forgiveness. "Even though I was the one who killed them, my mind didn't know."
And suddenly, I knew what he was saying. He was skitzophrenic. He couldn't help killing them; a voice in his head told him to. I pulled him into a hug, which must have taken him by surprise because he stiffened, and slowly relaxed.
"You believe me?" he asked quietly and hopefully, after I broke the hug.
I nodded, a smile on my face. "Mort, when I said I loved you, I meant it. It wasn't your fault that you killed those people and I respect you so much for being honest with me. The people in town are dumbasses for making you stop going into town, making you isolate yourself... I do have one question, though, and that is; do the voices ever come back?"
"Right after the incident with Amy, they did," he replied, "but a week or two before you came, they disappeared... and I haven't heard from them since."
I smiled and said playfully, "Well that's good to hear. I wouldn't want them to come after me."
Rainey smiled but kept his eyes serious. "I would never hurt you," he replied, gently caressing my face with his hand. "I would rather kill myself then lay a hand on you... in a harmful way, that is."
I chuckled and pulled him into a kiss, knowing that what I told him was completely true and what he said, he truly meant as well.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey everybody! This is not the end! A couple more chapters to go, savvy? Please review! Poll time- okay, what's your guys' birth stone?