There Is No One Else

The footsteps grew louder with each thump. She was getting near and he knew it. It was her. He could smell the strong spearmint scent of the mouthwash that she always used. Only she would escape from jail and come back here after everything that had happened. Only she would descend the stairs like that, resting both feet on each step before descending to the next.

The staircase creaked as it did that day when Enzo was arriving home from work. The weight of working at a funeral home had finally caught up to him. He would go to work clear-headed and return feeling hollow and trapped. But at least it paid the bills and, since his uncle was his boss, he would have work until he died.

The small row house was empty and quiet, save for the sound of the TV broadcasting the evening news in the background.

“Mary?” He called out to no response.

On the second floor, the hallway that led to the bedrooms was eerily silent and dark. If it wasn’t because he had seen his wife’s car parked outside he would have thought nobody was home.

He walked further into the dimly lit corridor and, once his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw that his son’s bedroom door was completely shut.

“Mary?” He called out again and this time he heard something that sounded like a wail followed by hissing.

Enzo felt a lump forming in his throat. He could only hear his fast heartbeat as he swung Benji’s door open with trembling hands.

“Mary, what are you doing?”

His son was lying on the ground, on top of the car-shaped rug next to his bed. Mary was crouching down in front of him with her hands pressed against his small wrists so he wouldn’t let go and he had scratches and red spots all over his arms and legs.

“Please stop!” Enzo begged.

Once Mary turned to look at him and let go of Benji, he flung himself over his crying son. His biceps burned as he lifted him up.

“What happened?” He asked Mary, who stood motionless in the doorway.

“It’s nothing.” She said while staring at her hands. Her hair was messy and her clothes were wrinkled and wet. “He was being naughty…He was asking too many questions. He wouldn’t tell me– The voice told me to– He is evil.” Mary started pacing around the room as she spoke.

“Come on, buddy. It’s okay.” He carried Benji out of the room and into the bathroom, where he examined his body for signs of other injuries but, despite some more scratches, he looked fine.

“Everything will be all right. It’s okay.” He said, wiping away his son’s tears.

“Enzo! Are you there, honey?” Mary said, bringing him back to the present. She was closer to the end of the stairs now. “I just want to talk!”

Those were the exact words that Mary had said a few hours after the incident with Benji. “I’m very sorry.”

He wanted to strangle her or at least call the police. She had beaten her child and who knew what she would have done to him if he had arrived just a few minutes later.

“It’s all right. Just don’t let it happen again, okay?” He answered instead.

“He wasn’t listening to me. He–He wouldn’t do what I said.”

“What did you tell him?” He asked even though he knew the answer already. It was always the same one.

“He wouldn’t tell me who was the whore you were cheating on me with.” Mary snapped, confirming his suspicions.

Enzo couldn’t remember when was the first time she came up with the idea that he was cheating on her. It had been a very long time ago, when their son was just a baby. But, even after all this time, she never seemed to get over that idea.

“There is no one else.” He felt like an answering machine every time he said those words. A recorded message to play whenever she asked about it.

“Okay.” His wife said and disappeared to the bedroom.

He wondered how long it would be this time before she reacted again.

–

Another step squeaked. Mary was now on the last step of the stairs. She put one foot in front of the other and was about to touch the ground when she stopped and turned to look at Enzo, who had stood paralysed since the moment he first heard her voice.

“There you are!” She said but didn’t move. “Didn’t you hear me?”

She looked different from the last time he had seen her. She had big bags under her eyes and her hair was turning grey. Her posture was also different. From the waist up, her body leaned slightly forward. But it was her nonetheless.

Enzo felt cold sweat trickle down his forehead and he couldn’t stop shivering. He hadn’t felt like this since the afternoon when it all changed. He had tried to forget about it but the memory always came back to haunt him. The beating and the yelling, and how no one did anything other than stare.

He never understood why his life turned out like this. He hadn’t been a loner as a kid. It was always easy for him to make friends and speak up. He was never afraid of fighting for what he believed in and for those who mattered to him. And when he first met Mary, she was an outgoing woman who always smiled and was fun all the time. Everyone loved her and he wasn’t the exception. He fell in love with her as soon as he met her and, two months later, they were getting married.

It wasn’t until Benji was born and they had been married for two years when he first felt that odd feeling. It wasn’t fear, no. It was as if something inside him was warning him of something. He didn’t listen to it, of course. He was crazy. How could a perfect woman like Mary do anything imperfect?

But when he least expected it, that moment came. And then again and again.

–

“Talk to me!” Mary finally crossed the last step and her bare feet touched the floor. She walked slowly towards him, her skin so pale that he could see the veins underneath. She looked frail and wore a stained medical gown. She had needle marks on both of her arms, her fingernails were bitten and she had bruises on her legs.

She looked like a monster.

“Did you miss me?” She asked, just a few steps in front of him.

Enzo wanted to run. He could push her and she would fall helplessly to the ground. Then he would get out of the house and call the police. Except he couldn’t move. Or talk. His only movement was his chest expanding and contracting with every breath he took.

She was getting closer now.

And there was something about that look in her eyes…The same look she had that day when he got back from the airport with his sister, Emily.

“WHO ARE YOU CHEATING ON ME WITH?” Mary had shouted as Emily crossed the front door. “IS THAT HER?”

“Mary, stop! This is Emily, my sister. The one who lives in Scotland that I told you about. She came to stay with us for a week.”

“You have no sister called Emily, you bastard!” Mary snapped.

“I do! We talked about this yesterday.”

“Take one more step and I’ll rip your hair out.” She said, looking at Emily.

Enzo turned to his frightened sister. “I’m really sorry, I don’t know what’s up with her lately. Let me take you to a hotel…It’ll be better for all of us.”

Out of nowhere, Mary approached them and slapped Emily in the face. A clean slap that made his sister stumble backwards while her hands flew to her cheek.

“Let’s go. Now!” He told Emily and ushered her outside.

“Crazy bitch.” Emily whispered as they were getting in the car.

“I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING! GET AWAY FROM HIM!” Mary shouted from the front door.

Enzo was glad that Benji was at a sleepover at his friend’s house. He would have never left him alone with her acting like that. Not after that one time.

“How do you put up with this?” Emily asked as they were on route to the nearest decent hotel in town. “She’s clearly unwell.”

“Does it still hurt?” He pointed to her reddened cheek, trying to evade the topic.

“Not so much any more. I’ll put some ice on it once I’m checked in.”

After a few minutes of silence, Emily said: “Enzo I’m being serious. She’s crazy.”

–

Mary’s head tilted sideways as she looked straight at him.

“Where’s my son?” She asked.

“He’s in daycare.” He couldn’t find the strength to lie to her.

“Are you enjoying my house?” Her eyes scanned the room. “All of it for yourself and for whoever you bring.”

“It’s my house too, Mary. We’re still married.”

The house had been a gift from Mary’s parents when she graduated from university and, once they got married, they decided to keep it and raise Benji in it. It looked like the kind of house you built a family in. Not so big that they would need help but not so small either. There were good enough schools around and the neighbourhood was quiet and safe. But the cherry on top had been the house’s proximity to the park. Both Mary and him loved to take walks around it and be surrounded by nature. They had planned to get a dog so they had another excuse to go there, although that never happened.

The house was meant to create cheerful memories. And it did. At least until that day.

The day when Mary had her worst episode. The one that changed it all.

The three of them had been on a relaxing walk, the sun was starting to set and the park was bustling with parents looking at their children play, when Benji’s toy fell to the ground.

Enzo went to pick it up when a nice woman, with her own baby in her lap, grabbed it for him and gave it back with a kind smile on her face.

“Thank you.” He said and smiled back politely.

“Is that her?” Mary asked once they had walked a little further, Benji chasing birds a few steps ahead.

They had had a few peaceful months but Enzo’s hopes of finally having a normal time with his family faded all of a sudden, and that strange feeling settled in his chest once again. He remained silent, hoping that if he ignored it she would too.

“I asked you a question.” She said with a tone of passive aggression.

“No, I don’t know who she is.” He sighed. “There is no one else.”

“What was it with all the smiling, then? Do you think I’m stupid?”

“I can’t do this, right now. Can’t we just have a nice walk?”

“Of course! Evading the issue like always.”

They wandered around for a while and, just when Enzo thought the matter was postponed for another time, Mary finally snapped.

“GIVE ME MY SON, NOW!” Everyone around stared at them, wide-eyed and scared. But no one as scared as how he felt. No, not scared. Worried. For his son, not for him.

“It’s time to go, Benji. Come on.” He picked him up and started running away as fast as he could, being careful not to trip with his son in his arms. He said nothing as Mary’s yells came closer and closer. She didn’t need to run much to catch up to him. She was fast.

“YOU NOT ONLY SLEPT WITH ANOTHER WOMAN, BUT YOU WANT TO GIVE HER MY BABY TOO?”

“What are you talking about, Mary? I never said that.”

He turned around and found Mary very close to him. He didn’t have time to think before her fist connected with his face. Once. Twice. Three times. Black spots clogged his vision but he never let go of his son, whose cries were the only sound that kept him going.

“GIVE ME MY SON!” She took him away from his grip and set him on the ground next to her. Then she turned to him once again and he felt like throwing up. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, the feeling in his chest as present as it had never been. But why? She had never hurt Benji since that one time. He was safe.

He now realised that the dread he always felt was not only for his son but for him too. He feared that something would happen to him and he couldn’t defend himself or his son. It had always been that.

He was scared of his own wife.

–

The memory of the incident at the park still caught up to him every day. Even more now with Mary looking directly at him like that.

She clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white. Her hands trembled and a chill ran all the way through Enzo’s spine as she raised her right arm to strike. He closed his eyes, hoping the pain would knock him out. But then, he heard the sound of several sirens in the distance.

The police were coming for her!

He couldn’t finish the thought when he saw Mary’s fist punch him in the face many times. He fell to the ground and his vision began to blur. He felt pain as he had never felt before. He thought about Benji. What would become of him? He should have done something before it was too late.

He began to drift off as the sirens echoed in the distance. Were they getting closer or moving away?

His thoughts vanished and he fell into a deep sleep before he could figure it out.