Love garden

Charles

Note: please read description for context

  "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU" Charles screamed as he tore the photos of his wife and him from the wall, the glass of the frames shattering. He passed across the glass, stabbing him in the foot, but too torn to care about the pain. "WHY? WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE WRONG? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS" he began to question everything. This wasn't the first time. Nancy was known to be a flirtatious and flamboyant person, but with a respected and professional etiquette. There had been previous rumours of her sleeping with other men, but none of them came to his eye until now. Nancy had been wed twice before Charles, despite her young age of only 24. "Charles... please" Nancy sobbed in the corner, despite knowing what she did was wrong "you are well aware that I had no I'll intentions, I just needed something more" she pleaded. "NEEDED SOMETHING MORE? WHAT MORE COULD YOU POSSIBLY NEED?" "I HAVE PROVIDED EVERYTHING FOR YOU, A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD, A MEAL AT THE TABLE EVERY DAY ON TOP OF ME WORKING AND YOU STILL HAVE ENOUGH GREED TO SEEK MORE?" He snapped at her. "WHY DO YOU DO IT? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE BY DOING THIS?".

Nancy slowly stepped back into the kitchen, further away from the stairs so the children could not hear them fighting. Nancy heard the children's feet feet crossing the floor upstairs and she rushed to help them back to bed, wiping the tears from her eyes. Charles rushed into the kitchen, trying to contain himself from having another outburst of rage whilst his two innocent children lay in fear upstairs. Once the children were settled and back into their beds, she came back down the stairs, closing all of the doors that could let the children into the kitchen. Charles stood there, face filled with red, appearing as if someone had stained his face in blood. "I'm sorry" Nancy said, in a sincere tone. After a moment of thought, he spoke "No, no your not. If you truly loved me, you would have spoken to me. You would have sat me down and explained that you weren't happy anymore, that you needed a break, then none of this would have happened" Nancy hung her head in despair as Charles looked out of the window that over looked the porch that wrapped around the house, feeling as if there was someone around the corner. "Charles, please understand that I had no intention of hurting you, or the girls, but I just can't take it anymore"

Charles needed to calm down. He grabbed his coat, scarf and keys and slipped out of the house before the argument became physical. He slammed the door behind him and jumped in the car, with no intention of knowing where to go. He placed his head on the steering wheel and sat there, sobbing, but still trying to maintain the last shred of dignity and reputation that remained. He switched the engine on and pulled out of the driveway. The street lamps were now turned off given the late time and were slowly passing over his head as he drove down the street. He continued down the street following the endless twists and turns of the country lanes and the darkness of the woodland that began to engulf the car.The roads seemed like an endless with the road markings flowing underneath the car. "Why, why did she do it?" Charles questioned to himself. He had never done anything of the sort, always provided for Nancy and the girls, and trusted her despite all of the rumours that followed in Nancys shadow. He had always met Nancys every need and yet she still craved the thrill of causing someone so much pain and misery, even her own daughters, who would now have to live in a torn up home with a supposedly "innocent" mother.

He continued down the road, looking at the nature that passed by. The endless lakes glimmering in the moonlight, the owls flying above his car, the tunnel of trees that had now absorbed his car. It seemed endless. Like a repetition of such beauty, yet such misery. As Charles neared the end of the road, he spotted the glowing lanterns dotted along the road. He slowed the car and approached the sign which read "Love garden". His head snapped around as he saw the headlights of another car approaching his car and pulled away in haste to allow the other car entry to the peculiar gardens and pulled away. As he neared the end of the seemingly "endless" road, he noticed in his rear view mirror that the same headlights were approaching the back of his car. His thoughts began to pile up, fear spilling out from behind his eyes in the form of tears.

He pulled in to a rest stop off the side of a highway that lined the back of the gardens. He approached the front desk ringing the bell to call for an attendant. He looked around, feeling as if someone's eyes were focused on the back of his head. He watched the headlights of a car pull into the car park. He rung the bell again, and again, and again until the attendant came out, with a frustrated and tired look in his eyes. "What" the attendant asked. "Please sir, do you have any rooms available, I can not return home, not for tonight anyway". He sat at the desk, evidently annoyed at the time of his check in. "We have two rooms, but it's gonna cost ya if you want the tv to work" the desk attendant replied, clearly wanting to go back into the other room and get back to his sleep. "No, it will be fine, I don't require a tv" he replied, just wanting to get to his room before the person in the car approached him. "How long are you planning on stayin'?" He questioned. "A couple nights, 2." He replied "actually, make it 3". He placed the money on the desk and pushed it towards the attendant. "Keep the change" he said, as the attendant turned to get the key for the room. He snatched the key from the attendants hand and rushed down the hallway until he approached the door of the room. He grabbed the key, placing it in the lock frantically as he heard the bell at the front desk ring, and the attendants frustrated footsteps soon followed. He twisted the key until it unlocks, bursted through the door and slammed it behind him. He threw himself on the bed and eventually fell asleep, without closing the curtains.