Someone Hiding in the Shadows...

115 - Oil on the Tiles

I walked back into the kitchen and the knife had disappeared!

Where the hell had it gone? I felt a dryness in my throat and a sick feeling come over me, as my eyes started to well up

Frantically, I opened every single cupboard, searching until I found it. There it was, in the knife block in one of the upper cupboards. This made little sense! I was not imagining it. Who was trying to make me lose my mind until I lost my grip on reality? Whoever they were, they would not win. Could it be Theodora was behind this? I knew what I had seen; what was real and what was not. Focus. Breathe. Keep it together.

Determined, somehow I got my head together. In a robotic trance, I placed in front of me the raw ingredients to make spaghetti bolognaise. Automatically, I poured the olive oil into the pan and browned the meat. One of my favourite songs was playing from my mobile but it failed to move me as it usually did. As the song came to an end, I glanced at my watched to check the time. Realising the news bulletin was due, I switched on the television in the kitchen to find the headlines announced.

"Judge Barnett has stepped down as senior judge in the Principal Divorce Registry today over allegations of voyeur tendencies and blackmail."

Things can change, when you least expect it.

Oh my God. I recognised that name. That was the Judge I had spotted on Jarod's lap top on Skype. The day after being drugged. I staggered, holding onto a work top to stop myself falling. I didn't like the sound of this. It felt too close. Too uncomfortable. Too familiar!

"There is also a rumour that he has been mentioned in a divorce petition for drugging and forcing a wife to have sex, that was broadcast over the internet. Video footage was discovered afterwards by the wife."

I went to the sink and threw up. I felt disgust and hatred at Jarod. The thought of someone watching us, being intimate. Something so private, so personal. I felt so cheap. So invaded. Some inner sense told me, this had also happened to me. All the pieces were slotting into place. How my body ached the next morning. I felt so embarrassed. How could Jarod use me like this? How could I choose someone so wrong?

Wiping away tears that were falling down my cheeks, I forced mysel to turn round to face the screen. What else they were saying?

"News just in, Judge Barnett has just released a statement a few moments ago through his family Solicitor, Judge Barnett completely refutes these allegations. However, he has decided to retire, to spend quality time with his family. Judge Barrett is currently holidaying abroad with his family."

In a daze, I made my way over to the stove. Like a robot, I picked up the bottle of olive oil and was about to carry on cooking when the bottle slipped from my fingers and made a banging noise as it landed on the floor. Still in one piece, the oil leaked out on the tiled kitchen floor. Mesmerised, I watched as the oil gravitated towards the grout between the tiles. I felt my heart stop as I stepped away from the liquid. It was clear but last time I had seen this it was mixed with blood. I stared, half expecting the red to start appear as I gripped the side of the work top. No, the blood appeared in my dream I had previously, that wasn't real. This was real. Yet I feel rattled, what if the dream was a premonition?

For crying out loud, when would this day to end? How much more was I expected to take?

The bottle and its contents remained where it was; the thought of clearing it up discounted, as I had no inclination to do so. I went back to the hob and turned the knob to off; cooking dinner had lost its appeal, as I collapsed onto the kitchen chair.

Thoughts went round and round in my head. The cogs going faster and faster. The news item details repeating again and again, making it feel as though my head would burst.

Edit 2.5 August 2017 PAL EDIT

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Kimberley S B Lieb

I have dedicated this chapter Sidney-C-Grey who is was spotlighted on the Next Big Recognition.  This seems a great way to support my fellow Next Big Recognition colleagues.  Check out DawnStarling if you are interested.