Encino-M.J

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

"Stop it. Get off,"

Althea whimpered softly as she withered in bed. Her eyes were closed tightly and despite the cool satin sheets that draped her body, her skin felt clammy.

Her body was in a deep state of sleep but her mind was flashing with images of the night that was supposed to be a peaceful moment by the pool that could have ended up being her final and fatal night at Hayvenhurst.

Althea would never forget how terrifying his eyes looked and how repulsive it felt to have his weight on top of her. She'd never been so scared in her life.

"Get off me! Stop! Get off!"

The commotion of his wife moving around in bed slowly woke Michael and he rolled over, gently stroking her back.

The touch only caused Althea to jolt up in bed.

"NO!" She screamed.

Alarmed, Michael sat up in bed and turned on the lamp sitting at their bedside table. He sighed softly when he noticed tears streaming down his beautiful wife's face.

"Baby, what's the matter?" He cooed softly.

His wife only blinked away her tears and reached over, hugging him tightly. Her tears stained his satin pajama shirt but Michael didn't mind one bit.

"Oh Michael, " Althea sighed into his neck feeling a sense of instant relief as he stroked her hair. "It was an awful dream,"

She instantly regretted her words, knowing that her husband would want to discuss what she'd dreamed about. Althea would never admit to him that this dream had truly happened nights before.

"Let's talk about it, sweetheart,"

Althea pulled away and pushed her tears from her face with her thumb.

"I-I dreamed that we moved into the new house and there was this- this burglar that broke in. He- he got on top of me and I didn't know what he was gonna do. I was so scared, Michael," She replied.

It was an elaborate yet timely lie. In several hours, they'd be packing up their belongings and moving out of Hayvenhurst for good.

Moving day jitters could not appear suspicious.

"Aww, baby," Michael sighed. "Nothing like that's going to happen in our new home, I promise. This place is going to be our haven and I'm going to do everything to make sure nothing or nobody disrupts that, okay?"

His wife nodded and Michael leaned over, kissing her sweetly. Althea smiled softly.

"I'm sorry for waking you up, honey," she apologized, pulling the sheets up to her chest.

Michael smiled and kissed her again.

"Baby, I don't care what hour it is, if something is botherin' you I wanna know,"

Althea's eyes felt heavy with sleep and she lay on her side staring into Michael's ebony eyes. The glow of silver moonlight peeking from the bedroom curtains made them twinkle.

"I love you so much," She smiled, placing a hand on his cheek.

Her husband chuckled and grabbed hold of her hand, placing a kiss in her palm.

"I don't think so," He chided. "Not as much as I love you,"

Althea gave her eyes a playful roll.

"We'll argue about this in the morning. We've got a long day ahead of us,"

They snuggled up to each other and drifted back into a deep sleep and when the morning came, Althea was feeling very optimistic about their move.

She woke to boxes scattered on the floor, mostly filled with Michael's books and miscellaneous knick-knacks, and the closet nearly bare. The room almost looked the way it had the night they'd first moved in.