Vicky was worried about my head injury and wanted to stay over and sleep on my couch, but I convinced her it was a bad idea.
Of course, I'd love her to spend the night but I knew she had an early court date in the morning and she had babysat me for eight hours and I was obviously fine.
Sure, my head ached a bit and my scalp wound was tender, but that was to be expected. I felt I had taken up enough of her time and frankly, I wanted to impress her not to turn her into my nursemaid.
I promised I'd phone her at nine am in the morning so she could relax and go about her daily routines. It touched me she was concerned about my welfare but wanted to assure her I wasn't high-maintenance.
Yeah, a lot of it was ego and male pride, but I wanted her to be attracted to me but not in a maternal way.
I stood in the doorway and waved as she drove off into the night, but didn't relax until I saw her tail lights disappear into the darkness.
I was torn―I wanted her to stay but consoled myself this was really the best way. I wanted our relationship to be a union of strengths with neither of us clinging to the other out of weakness or fear.
I made a coffee and sat before the fire musing about the two strong women in my life―the one I admired and the one I feared.
I had always tried to avoid directly confronting Marianne because I know how spiteful and vindictive she could be.
If she found out I was seeing Vicky I wasn't sure how she'd react but I was sure it wouldn't be pretty.
I drifted off into a peaceful sleep but after a while I was uncomfortable and tried to sit up but couldn't move. My hands and feet were bound.
I struggled to free myself but couldn't escape my bonds and that's when my blood froze. Sitting opposite me on the sofa chair was Marianne, a malevolent smile on her face.
"Poor, poor, Mark―you didn't think you could get away from me so easily, did you?"
I saw the hatred that contorted her features and was so terrified I couldn't speak.
"It was thoughtful of you to light a fire, Mark," she said in a syrupy voice, "You saved me the trouble."
I looked at her confused, but she ignored my expression and instead concentrated on the task at hand―heating the fireplace poker.
It was already red-hot and glowing .
"I told you," she said in a sing-song, little girl voice,"you and I are meant to be together and the only way other women will know you're my property is if I brand you."
She held up the glowing iron and I could feel its heat on my face.
"No, please don't, Mar," I pleaded.
"Stop whining like a sissy―I warned you what would happen if you crossed me. It'll be over in a a minute and then you'll bear my mark forever.
"Please, Mar―listen to reason. You can't do this. I'll do whatever you say."
"You had your chance, Mark, but I'm sure you'll be more willing to obey after this."
She picked up the iron and advanced toward me, holding it out in front of her like a sword.
I made one last frantic attempt to get free but the felt the searing pain and smelled the stench of burning flesh.
I blacked out and awoke dripping with sweat on the floor of the den.
"It was sleep paralysis, Mark," Simon Becker explained the following morning. "It's a common occurrence that often accompanies night terrors."
"That's not reassuring―I thought the Zoloft would prevent these frightening experiences."
"It's not a panacea and you're on the lowest possible dose. I think we should look at a increasing the tablet to 50mg daily and if the symptoms persist, it should be taken twice daily instead of just once."
"I'll have to think about that," I replied.
He stared at me compassionately. "You may not want to take the drugs but there's another possibility here. The anti-depressant may have calmed you and allowed your repressed emotions to come to the surface and now you have an opportunity to confront your unresolved emotions toward Marianne."
I instantly got my back up.
"This was exactly what I didn't want," I told him. " what I did want was to exorcise Marianne from my life, not reconcile with her."
He shook his head. "You don't want to just anaesthetize the feelings but delve deeper into the underlying issues that have been haunting you. That's how you lay her ghost to rest."
I hated what he said. I didn't want to face an ugly truth, especially if it was my own sin.
