I see the way you're looking at me, but let me tell you:
You would have done the same thing if you were me.
I tell you, it has been a very trying time for me these past few days. Before you make any judgments, sit and listen for a bit, as if you have any choice. I know you're hired for this sort of thing, but hell, we might even learn something from each other. You just sit and listen to my story. To my.. testimony.
I am, what you would certainly call, a normal man. I am 23 years of age, and was working my way through college. It was for her - my wife, Ellen. Before I met her, my life was nothing. The day I proposed to her, in the cherry orchard.. it was like a dream. I recall my absolute happiness when she said yes. Before her, my life was nothing. I can barely remember how it was before she came into my life. Her beautiful blonde hair and brown eyes made my heart melt every time I looked into them, even if she was sleeping.
I see you have a wedding ring. Do you remember the day you proposed? Well, you know what I mean then.
It was a perfect wedding, sun shining, sparkling on the ripples of the ocean. She always wanted to get married on the beach, you know. Ellen was the envy of all the men there. I am certain they were jealous when we kissed, said our I-dos. I was late for the wedding, but she forgave me, bless her soul. The honeymoon was in the Honeydale Motel, room 119. That is when our daughter, Grace, was conceived. I named her, and it turned out to be a perfect name for the angelic child. I didn't know how I was going to support them both, but I found a way. I had to find one. I couldn't let the love of my life down.
So one of my neighbors, Trey, helped me out a lot. Loaning money here and there, coming over for dinner every once in a while, as neighbors should. A good neighbor is always appreciated, they help you get by. But by the time I had been able to handle myself financially on my own, I decided the fellow was acting a bit too odd for my tastes. Staring into my window. Into our window. At first it was okay, but then.. well, I had to get the police involved, didn't I?
Anyway, at that point I had a wonderful job - It paid very well, and I think it is safe to say I was "moving up." What kind of job, you ask? Well, I don't think that matters, it was a job. And I was supporting my family. I eventually managed to put a down payment on a wonderful house in a great neighborhood, very protected, as the police station is a mere block away from it, so I never really thought about investing in an alarm system. Literally, at any given moment, a cop car is driving past. If you have trouble, you go out and shout about it. They'll be there - as you may know, Cops generally have nothing to do around here.
Ellen, though slightly upset about not having an alarm system, remained a housewife, taking on the primary duties of raising Grace, though they still both loved me so. I provided what I could, and we always had enough to get by. Such was my perfect life with my beautiful wife, until all of the sudden, things started to change..
I suppose it all started about a week ago. I had a wonderful job, and I was even going to get promoted! More money would mean more luxuries, so you can see that I was excited. That morning I found all my telephone wires in the house to be severed, it seemed, by rats. I certainly couldn't afford to repair such a thing, so I was hoping a raise might help that. At that point, my daughter was two years old. Grace. It was the kind of name that really fitted her. Her blonde hair and light blue eyes.. she was so elegant.. always exploring, always wandering around. I swear, she was a magnet for trouble. Where was I? Oh yes, I had just finished getting ready for work after a hearty breakfast that my wife, for some odd reason, had decided to prepare earlier, and was on my way out the door. As usual, I kissed my wife and daughter. It gave me security knowing there were always two people that loved me, you know what I mean? Grace ran off to play (she's very energetic, you know,) and my wife, as usual, asked me what I wanted for dinner that night..
I suppose it was hard on her, leaving her with Grace, morning to night, 5 days a week..
So many things could happen.
Sorry about that. I told her to surprise me - as I usually do - and kissed her. I could have swore a teardrop fell down her cheek, but I couldn't imagine why. Like I said, our life together was perfect, just as I intended it to be. I walked down the driveway to my car, and the damned thing's alarm went off. Silly me, I forgot to turn it off! I am normally very careful about that sort of thing. Anyway, I drove to work, parked in my normal slot, and got on to business as usual. Most of the guys were acting rather strangely, now that I remember. They all seemed distant, and any attempt that I made to talk to them seemed to fall on deaf ears. Of course, in my line of work, you don't get much talking period unless it's to a customer, however, a friendly "Hello" never hurts, does it? I suppose there was a bit of bad blood around the office. But I did my best up there. I swear, the manager kept calling my name over and over again, and when I'd answer, he would just look at me once and then overlook me like I wasn't there! It was like he had never even met me, and just yesterday he had talked to me about a promotion! I even heard that he marked me "Absent" for that day while I was there working harder than ever. This, you might say, upset me, so I left about 30 minutes earlier than I normally do that day. Imagining the joy Ellen would have upon my early arrival, I got home. When I entered, it was a troubling sight, Ellen was hugging Grace in her arms tightly while tears were pouring from her eyes. I of course, rushed to her side. She suddenly quit crying, and looked at me meaningfully. I asked what was wrong, and she said "Nothing, dear."
If only I had known.
I assumed that there was some kind of behavioral problem with Grace, and sent her to bed without dinner, as my parents did me as a child. Grace was acting quite strangely, but I put it down to me not being around enough. Ellen, bless her heart, was a step ahead of me, in spite of my early arrival! She made a delicious tuna casserole, which we ate. It was strange that evening, normally the dining room table is full of laughter and nonsense conversation. That day, she barely ate. She seemed to be holding tears back. I couldn't get any answers to my questions about what was bothering her, so naturally I blamed myself for the problem. I figured it was because we had grown so distant.
We never really had time for each other...
So I decided to make time.
That night, I decided I would try to "rekindle" things, so to speak. I don't really want to go into the details, but I think she was holding in a lot of sexual tension. I lit some candles, got some lotion, and put on her favorite song: "Stairway to Heaven." For some reason, she wanted none of that! Out of all the times we had made love, she never screamed like that before. It was a primal scream, and I'm surprised Grace didn't wake up! Doesn't it just get your blood pumping when a woman screams? She struggled so, but she has told me before that she likes for me to hold her down. I must say, she enjoyed it nearly as much as I did - to make a long story short, it certainly was "an experience."
I'm sorry, I see you are a bit disturbed. Perhaps I should have kept my sexual life out of this discussion.
Anyway, everything was fairly normal up to that point. About 12:00 a.m., I heard a bang on the door. A man was standing in the doorway, holding a gun! It seemed that he was pointing it at me, while I slept. It was like he was waiting for me to awaken! He then had the audacity to tell me to get out of his bed, get away from his wife. His wife! I figured this man was insane, so I abided by his wishes. I'm sure you know all too well what an insane man can be capable of - I certainly do. I remember thinking that he must have been an experienced criminal, to get past the constant stream of cops around the place - or perhaps even an escaped convict. He turned on the light. It was Trey! I was very upset that he was here, as I said, he was a rather odd fellow, and I didn't honestly think a gun was safe in his hands. And speaking of which, I noticed that his hands had terrible rope burns on them. Perhaps he had escaped from somewhere, and was seeking to hold my family as hostages? Then the most painful moment of my life took place: My wife - My dear Ellen - Rushed into that madman's arms, saying that she loved him and missed him!
I have never felt a betrayal so fierce..
I looked closer at the gun, and found that it was one from my gun safe. I didn't know how this man found the key, but I hoped that he didn't notice that, just the previous night, I had unloaded all the guns and placed the ammo in a lock box (in fear of little Grace injuring herself somehow.) Just as I was thinking of a way out of this horrible situation, and wondering why Ellen had done what she just did, Grace ran to that lunatic and actually called him Father! What had Ellen done? How long had she had this secret marriage?! How long had she known that that man was Grace's father? I lunged at the madman, pushing Ellen and grace to the side, and wrenched the rifle from his hands. Thankfully, it was unloaded. A swift strike with the butt of the rifle knocked the man out cold.
They all had to pay..
The lock box with the ammo that I had, in a very timely manner, locked in it the night before was underneath my bed. I took the rifle to the bedside, and loaded it with three shots. Both Ellen and Grace were crying.
"You leave daddy alone, you horrible man!" Grace was certainly aware of something I wasn't. Ellen proceeded to yell as well.. "You terrible man! We were perfect! Why did you do this?! How dare you act as though you are my husband! How dare you act as though you are her father! He.. he never did anything to you!" She indicated the crumpled heap on the floor. " You can't just kill someone because they have a life that you want! And no matter how much you force us to act like it, we never were and never will be your family!"
"Ellen.. is this true? Is he really your husband? Is our Marriage a false one?.. Is this man Grace's real father.. and do you not love me?" I said.
"Yes! I never loved you! I don't even know you!"
She said those searing words with such venom, such hate. Such a betrayal had me reeling. All that I had worked for in two years! My perfect life! All shattered by..
By this man.
Without hesitation, I shot the man in the face with the rifle. He deserved it, of course. I took his life because he took mine. Ellen screamed when I murdered that filthy rat. She loved him more than me, her husband. And Grace was that.. that thing's child. I was so enraged.
When I shot him, Ellen weeped so! Grace shouldn't have seen that sort of thing at her age, but I will admit, rage was getting the better of me. What Ellen said afterward pushed me over the edge..
She said she hated me. She said that she would rather die than live with me. She called me Trey.
I blacked out, and when I came too, I had killed Ellen, and poor Grace.. My rage had got the better of me.. so I am here today a broken man.
The authorities took me away, which is to be understood. However, for some reason they call me insane and say that I tried to take that man's place. I assure you, that is certainly not the case. I was already in that man's place, he had taken mine for years. Don't you see? They seem to be confusing me with him. They should know good and well I am who I say I am. Besides..
You would have done the same thing if you were me.
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