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Cabin Fever

“It’s just for one week, baby. I need to detach myself from reality a bit. With work and stuff, I’ve been a bit stressed lately,” I assured Annie, kissing her on the forehead. She raised an eyebrow.

“Stressed? Charlie, you’re a waiter. How stressful is it to deliver food?”

“Stressful enough thank you very much. I don’t appreciate that by the way, I have to start somewhere.”

“All right, all right; I’m sure you’ll be a head chef within the next month.”

“Gosh, you always get so sarcastic when you’re trying to hide your emotions.”
Annie opened her mouth to protest, but I cut in, “Don’t even try to pretend that you’re not going to miss me. I can see it your face, Annie. I know you too well. Now give me a kiss, I need to set off in a minute.”

“Oh, OK.” Annie wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned up to give me a peck on the lips. Without warning I bent down and scooped her off her feet, “Oh!”
“I mean a real kiss.” I said, pressing my lips against hers and parting them. I’d been with Annie for four years now.

When I was fifteen, I sat next to her in English and while Mrs Roberts nattered on about the difference between a verb and an adverb, I pushed a note to her asking her to ‘Be mine.’ And she has been mine ever since. I put her back on her feet and she wrapped her arms around me again, burying her face into my shoulder and inhaling.

“I will miss you, honey. Be sure to ring me the second you get back.” She urged.

“As if I wouldn’t.” I said with a smile. After one final squeeze I got into my car and pulled out. I watched Annie’s reflection in the rear-view mirror as she waved goodbye and I felt a small twang of guilt. She was quite pretty, my Annie. She had short, blonde hair, brown eyes and a fair sprinkling of freckles. I hadn’t been with her for four years because of her looks though. She shared my sense of humour and was a strong-spirited girl, for which I admired her. We got on well. Still, I couldn’t help but look forward to my destination. This summery week I was going to spend in a cabin in the woods, distancing myself from everything in my current life. Well, almost everything. I needed a release and this trip would surely do it.
The drive was only a couple of hours but I hadn’t brought any entertainment along and had vowed to spend the week from any technology. I was so bored from doing nothing but stare at the road for two hours that when the cabin finally came into view I was utterly relieved.

As I drew closer and noticed the car outside the cabin, I grew even more excited. I parked up and headed to the front door, I reached for the handle but it was then opened for me. Yes -- I know told Annie that this trip was for some ‘alone time’ and yes – I know it was a lie. You probably already know what’s coming, and I should probably feel quite ashamed, but looking at Megan leaning against the door frame in nothing but deep red lingerie, it was hard to regret my decision.

Megan grasped my shirt at the front and tugged me inside. She shut the door with a bump of her hip and strutted towards me, “God, I’ve been waiting for you for so long. Now you’re here, let’s give you a welcome to remember.” She jumped onto me, wrapping her legs around my middle and kissing me with passion. We stumbled towards the bedroom, her beginning to undo the buttons on my shirt and as we entered the bedroom, locked in a deep kiss, I shut the door with a kick.

I was under no illusion of being in love with Megan. I was well aware that what we had was based on lust. She had curves in all the right places; toned, caramel skin; deep, chocolate eyes; thick, long, dark hair and full lips. She was a waitress where I worked and from the day she started I fantasized about her. I tried not to but she really was quite irresistible. One night, we were locking up the restaurant and she confessed that she was attracted to me.

“I know you have a girlfriend,” She had said softly, cupping my face in her hand, “But I just can’t fight it anymore, Charlie. I want you.” She placed her hand on my chest and put her face next to mine. “Don’t you want me, too?” She looked from my eyes to my mouth. The aroma of her perfume was slightly dizzying and before I knew it we were interlocked in a kiss and starting to undress. That’s how it all began, just two months ago. The cabin was her idea, too. “Wouldn’t you love to get away for a while, just you and I? It would be a week of passion away from the over-protective eyes of that girlfriend of yours.” Honestly, I loved the idea. I lacked spontaneity in my life, never really daring to do anything. I loved Annie, but being with her was practical and our relationship was mundane. Being with Megan injected some much needed excitement into my life. I felt bad about it when I was away from her, but when I’m in her presence I feel like I’m under some kind of spell. I’m trying to make it seem like Megan’s fault but there’s no escaping it by attempting to push the blame on her. I’m the one in a relationship – I’m a terrible person.

Megan rolled off me, panting heavily. She giggled seductively and turned to lie on her side, propping her head up with her hand and looking me in the eyes.
“Mmm,” she breathed, circling her fingertip on my chest, “we’re so good together.” Megan paused for a second. “I’m gonna go take a shower.”
“Alright,” I replied, watching her as she strutted from the room. I put my clothes back on and went to lounge on the sofa. I would’ve loved to watch some television, but there was just a large fireplace. So I threw some logs on it and watched it burn. I didn’t mind that much, I loved watching fire crackle. The flames danced, licking upwards, reaching, and hoping to discover something new to destroy. I stared into the vivid oranges and yellows that engulfed the logs, stared until my eyes started to hurt from the light.

“Are you crazy, Charlie?” Megan asked, incredulous. I’d been so entranced by the fire that I jumped up in fright when she spoke. She stood at the doorway in a towel with her hair dripping wet. “It’s boiling outside, what have you got the fire lit for? We have to wait for it to burn out now, great. I was hot enough already.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t think. I just like the atmosphere it creates. I’ll open the window.”

“I think you better had; it feels like the Earth’s core in here.” Megan wandered over to the large, wall-mounted mirror and rubbed at her hair with a towel, doing her best without a hair dryer to aid her. “I like this mirror. Look at the detail on the frame.”

I joined her, touching the carving on the frame. “Yeah, it feels like it’s been hand carved.”

“Oh, Charlie, look.”

“Hm?” I followed her gaze and she was looking at our reflections. Her hair looked full and velvety even when it was damp. I suppose that I was quite attractive, my light blue eyes contrasted with my jet black hair which was styled in a messy way. I wasn’t overly muscular, just a little toned.

“We’re cute together, don’t you think?” She linked arms with me and smiled at herself.

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“You suppose?” Megan sighed and turned to face me head on. She held my face in both of her hands and fixed her eyes on mine. “Charlie, I can’t take this anymore.” I blinked blankly at her.

“Can’t take what?”

“This isn’t what I want! The sex is great, sure. But I feel emotionally drained and it’s tearing me apart.” Her eyes started to well up, and quite frankly I was quite taken aback.

“Megan,” I spoke slowly, “what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I hate being the bit on the side. The longer I’m with you, the longer I want to stay with you.” The tears were now running down her cheeks and I struggled to find fitting words.

“I’m with Annie,” was all I could think of to say.

“I know! Every time I see you with her it hurts me. I want to live in your house and cook your food. I want to be your girlfriend.” She kept on staring, with her big puffy eyes. My state of shock and confusion changed to anger. Why was she saying this? From the start, all that we’d had was merely sexual. Now she was dropping this bomb shell on me, and I didn’t want it. I didn’t want her. As I said, Megan was extremely sexy, I can’t resist touching her. She was definitely not somebody to remain a long-term fixture in my life though. I ran through future scenarios in my head, what if she threatened to tell Annie? What if she carried on pestering me? There was no way I could carry on sleeping with her now and avoiding her was inescapable; I worked with her. I’d have to quit my job.

She carried on looking at me, expectantly, “Say something, then!” I made a breathy spluttering sound while I thought of what to say.

“I need to go for a walk. I need time to think.” I hoped to God that she wouldn’t follow me, I needed actual alone time now. She made no protest; she dropped her hands from my face and just stood, immobile. I hurried out of the front door and headed into the woods, my hands shoved in my jeans pockets and my eyes on the ground. I thought of Annie. Why had I been so stupid? Obviously, this situation could now bring only trouble. I’d end up with no girlfriend and no lover. I’d deserve it, too. I reached the river and lay down on the river bank on my side, looking down into the waters and hoping that my problems would solve themselves. It was very relaxing, listening to nothing but the trickling of the water.

I sat, bolt upright, breathing heavily, still hearing nothing but the river beside me. I’d fallen asleep and darkness had crept up on me. “Damn it!” I exclaimed, staggering to my feet. I felt terrible; I hadn’t slept well at all. I still had no idea what to tell Megan but I’d clearly been gone long enough, and the feelings of shock and anger had faded, so perhaps I could think more clearly now. I walked at a brisk pace back towards the direction of the cabin; I was almost at a jog. The cabin came into view and I could see a faint glow emanating from the window, I was surprised that the fire was still going. The front door was left ajar, I was sure I’d closed it, though. Maybe Megan had gotten too hot waiting for the fire to burn out and opened it. As soon as I entered the cabin I knew something was wrong. The heat was immense and the roaring of the fire was much louder.

“Megan!” I yelled, running into the living room. “My God!” My hands flew to my mouth and I staggered backwards in shock. The sofa was swallowed by flames. “Megan?! Where are you?!” I coughed and scanned the room. I made to go around the sofa to get to the kitchen but I stopped dead in my tracks. My mouth opened; my chest heaved; my eyes welled up and I felt sick to my stomach. Megan’s body lay, engulfed in flames, a burning log rested on her stomach, but that wasn’t the only part. Her head and torso were lying in a pool of blood, what I could make out of her face through the flames was hardly recognisable through the blood and bruising, but most shocking of all was the poker that had impaled her chest. It baldly protruded up from where her heart would be, sealing this package of horror.

“Charlie?” I looked towards the doorway, looking for the source of the voice.

“A-Annie?” I managed to splutter. “What are you doing here?”

Annie looked completely oblivious to the surrounding chaos and approached me with her arms wide and a smile on her face. “Oh baby, I missed you so much already, I had to come and see you.” My breath was coming out in hitches, at first when she put her arms around me I didn’t know how to react. Then utter relief swept over me. I clutched to her, I sobbed into her shoulder and ran my fingers through her hair. I raised my eyes to the wall opposite and again looked at the reflection.

The man looking back at me was clutching to nothing. He stood, wearing a blood stained shirt and a gaunt face. I walked forwards, my arm outstretched to touch the mirror’s surface but when my hand made contact, I drew back my hand in shock from the sharp sting. I dropped my eyes to my hands. They were red. Red from burns and blood.