Prompt: A Stolen Ring, A Fear of Spiders, A Sinister Stranger

I should have know not to trust the

Promises,

Smiles,

Laughs,

Touches.

Everything about him brought with it safety and happiness. Every time I saw him, all that was wrong with the world was right.

I was blinded. Too blinded by

Him.

Love.

Ignorance.

Need.

Mother had been right. My friends had been right. Everyone around me—even him—they'd all been right while I was wrong.

I advocated for him. "You're all wrong." I'd say. "You don't understand him the way I do!" And they'd respond with agreements. Yes, they didn't understand the inner workings of a psycho, and they didn't understand how an obedient girl—a likeable girl—like me could end up with him.

They said he'd be my downfall.

He said he'd be my downfall.

And I laughed. I laughed at them all, and now I'm trapped in a hell of my making. My fingers twist around the ghost of a ring that once wrapped around my finger. It was the one he'd given me only a week ago. A beautiful night, with a beautiful dinner, ended with a beautiful proposal. I was happy.

We were happy.

So what went wrong? Where along the line did I screw up? How can I make things right?

These questions often swirl in my thoughts, turning, turning, turning over awaiting the answer to fit together the pieces of the puzzle. No answers come, though. I've learned that they probably won't ever come. Not until he comes, which is exactly once a week.

In between those long hours and boring days I sit curled against a wall, making friends with the spiders in the room. We used to have a hate/hate relationship with one another. When they're all you have as roommates, you grow less picky.

Before things happened, before they spiraled out of control, I led a great life. A graduate at Stanford, a spokesperson for athletics and the well being of the athletes. I loved my job, and the people I interacted with. I loved it even more when he joined the team I was assigned. We spoke. We laughed. We kissed. We made love. We did all the typical things a couple would do, and we did them better than all the rest. He was my world. He was my love. And now?

The door creaks open, drawing my tired gaze to the door. A smirk tilts up the corner and I shudder, pulling my knees tighter to my chest.

Now, he was nothing more than a sinister stranger.