September 2020 Writing Prompts

Day 11 - Wedded

TW - Mentions of abuse and suicide. I'm not gonna go into too much detail with it, but it's not terribly graphic.

The two had been wed barely a year ago. At first, everything was great. The honeymoon was the best week of the duo's lives. They had spent it in Hawaii, like most couples do. It had been a week of excitements one after the other. Maybe that's why they hadn't fought that week. Maybe they really had been happy. No one could be sure.

No one was sure when they started drifting apart. Some claimed it took a few months, others thought it had started the week they had gotten back. Honestly, if you asked me, it happened the instant marriage had been proposed.

It definitely became more apparent when he started bundling up, despite the fact that it was July and was the middle of the hottest summer in the past three years. He didn't go to the pool, despite formally being the captain of the swim team in both high school and college. Instead, he spent time inside or on a lawn chair watching his friends in the pool, covered almost head to toe despite the almost 100 degree weather.

His friends noticed this change. For a while, they asked if he was alright and if he needed help. Each time he'd smile brightly and say no, that his skin was super sensitive or that he just wasn't feeling like swimming. Each time they got the same answer, their suspicions dimmed and eventually they stopped asking questions entirely.

It was almost shocking how easily they bought his lies. How quickly they dismissed his pain. I suppose it was his fault, though. Had he tried more, maybe they would have caught on sooner. Maybe his story wouldn't have ended the way it had.

Summer eventually came to a close and fall came to quickly take its place. The young man still bundled up but now it wasn't out of the ordinary as it had grown quite chilly quite fast. He tried to spend as much time as he could at work. His coworkers were beginning to notice.

The marriage had seemed like it had happened years ago, though it had only been six months. John often came over to my house. When we were together, I could see him relax. I should have seen the signs.

I, like everyone who cared about John, blamed myself. But maybe it was more my fault than anyone else's. I was the one who introduced him to Karen, after all. I was the one who made him give her a chance. I should never have introduced them.

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Christmas Day was normal. We were all celebrating with our families the narsisstic pleasures that society allowed us to indulge in once a year. Because of this, we weren't thinking about John. Maybe if we had, he would still be alright.

I didn't expect to get the call. To be honest, I didn't really know he considered us that close. That should've been the only thing that surprised me, but no.

"Oliver Topps?" A gruff male voice spoke.

"That's me. Who's this?" I asked shortly. I had been laying in bed, scrolling through youtube before the call had interrupted me.

"Officer Lewis of the BPD. You're friends with a John Staton, correct?" He asked procedurally.

I felt my face fall. "Yeah," I finally said, sitting up. "What happened?"

Officer Lewis paused and it took him a moment to speak. "Mr. Staton was found dead in his house twenty minutes ago. The investigation is still underway, but it looks like suicide."

That numbing feeling that filled me as he said that would haunt me for months to come. "D-do you know why?" My voice broke as I spoke softly.

"We aren't sure." Officer Lewis spoke. "We haven't found anything definite yet."

Honestly, I shouldn't have been as shocked as I was. I still think that, no matter how much time has passed. It was undoubtedly a set of events that could have been easily avoided if I hadn't been so adiment about setting John up.

Later, they finally had a reason. Karen had most likely been physically abusing him since almost the week they had gotten back from their honeymoon. It was why he had been covering up so much. It also explained why he came over so much and why he stayed at work so late.

I'm not going to lie. John's death was a horrible thing and I don't think I'll ever stop blaming myself. But I'm starting to get out of the house more. Talk to people, socialize. Things that I haven't done in almost two years. 

I think I'm going to get over it. After all, if I didn't John would be dissappointed.

Twas sick yesterday so I didn't write this. Today's prompt should be posted later.