Martha wakes up in a hospital bed.  She hears the monotone beeping of the machines in the background.  She notices the IV inserted into her hand.  Her head is pounding with pain as she tries to sit up.  Realizing that she can't sit up without getting dizzy, she lays back down, her head hitting the soft white hospital pillow.

“Take it easy Martha.  You passed out in the bathroom at home and hit your head on the toilet.  You should not be getting up.” Martha hears Jasper’s voice, but it’s muffled.  She tries to look around, still undecided on where she is.

“Where...I...”  She still can’t talk right.  Her head is pounding so much.  She feels like her brain is going to explode out of her head. She has a dizzy spell as she tries to sit up again and crashes back into the now flat pillow.  

“You are at the hospital.” Martha feels Jasper’s hand on her arm. His other hand is behind her head trying to fluff her pillow gently.

“Tee...ter…” Why can’t she talk?  Did someone drug her?

“The boys are with Ms. Flicket.”  Ms. Flicket, Anne, the secretary from school lived in the level below Martha and Jasper.  Whenever they were in a pinch for a sitter, Anne was always there. She was Martha's best friend.  She was the one who watched the boys when Martha had her miscarriage.  She was great with them. The boys never admit it, but they like going to her apartment sometimes. They just never want their friends to find out.  They would get teased at school if their friends knew they went to the secretary's house to hang out.

Martha closed her eyes feeling a little relieved.  She still didn’t know what was wrong with her, but her family was safe and that was all she cared about.  The last time she was in the hospital, she was having her miscarriage. She remembered the same monotone beeping sound of the machines.  The IV in her hand, the same one as a matter of fact.  The hustle and bustle outside in the hallways. She never liked hospitals, but this time she didn’t have a choice. She cracked her head open on the toilet seat and needed five stitches.  They also diagnosed her with dehydration and that’s why she fainted.

Martha fell back asleep and let her dreams take her away.  

She was staring out of her bedroom window. The fog outside was so thick that she could barely see.  She started moving closer to the window, but it didn’t feel like she is walking. She looked down and her legs have been suffocated by the fog.  Chill begin to take over her arms and rise up to her back and neck. The hairs on her neck stand up as she kept moving toward the window. She moved through the window into the darkness.  The window disappears and she is outside alone. She looked around and the fog began to dissipate at the end of the street. Martha didn’t want to go, but the fog grabbed her legs and pushed her toward the clearing.  Closer and closer she got, yet it seems to get farther away.

A figure appears and her skin tingles.  It’s the same figure she saw in the street the other day.  Except this figure was different. It was bigger and it seemed like it had power over her mind.  The fog pushed her closer, and now the wind picked up. The figure stared at Martha with its hollow eyes.  Dark and mysterious, but she couldn’t look away. His intense blank stare burned into her eyes. She was so close to the figure that she could smell the motor oil aroma coming off it’s lanky statured frame.  The wind picked up more speed and it took the breathe away from her. Her throat got tight and it began to close. The figure rose its arm and it’s hand came toward her. The hand is all skin and bones, and the fingers crack with each moment. The painful crackling of the frail, but strong claws grabbed Martha’s neck.  She can’t breath. She is gasping for air as she started to see headlights in the distance. It’s the white truck. The lights get closer and closer. The claws grab her with more strength and the fingers start to pierce her throat. The truck gets closer. The engine gets louder. The motor oil stench fills the air. The truck is almost on her now.  The noise of the engine fills the room. The truck doesn’t stop.

Martha wakes up in a puddle of sweat on the hospital bed, her face pressed against the guard rail.  Her head was still pounding, but it is more dull. She peeled the sheets off of her damp skin and looked over.  She saw Jasper sleeping in the chair next to her bed. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, but they felt numb.  She shook them out to get the feeling back. She really had to pee and she couldn’t hold it much longer. She stood up and almost fell over, grabbing the side of the bed to keep herself from falling again.

She debated whether or not to call for a nurse and let Jasper sleep, but Martha was too stubborn.  She thought that nothing was really wrong with her.  She just had a couple of stitches, she can take care of herself. 

Martha noticesd that she was attached to an IV.  She grabbed the mobile hanger and slowly walked to the bathroom.  She didn’t wants to disturb Jasper by asking him for help so she just grabs anything she can for balance.  She can definetely take care of herself.

She managed to make it to the bathroom without falling and relieved herself with a happy sigh.  Her legs are starting to feel better too. She started to feel the pins and needles in them, which means her blood is flowing nicely.  She looked over and saw a bathtub in the hospital bathroom. She could use a bath after her long morning and the fact that she sweated her cleanliness away.  She finished up on the toilet and started filling the tub with water. Steam started filling the room and Martha started to feel more relaxed. She remembered Jasper telling her something about stitches so she heads to the mirror to see them.  She felt for them and finds them above her left ear. Well, she felt the bandage that was covering them.  Not so bad. She could always hide them with her hair.  Then nobody at school would ask questions.  She didn't want pity or worry from anyone, she was a strong woman.

The last thing she remembered before she fell was looking at her phone’s messages.  She couldn't remember what the message had said, but it must not have been good.

While the tub was still filling with water, Martha loved how big hospital tubs were, she stepped out of the bathroom to find her phone.  She was careful trying to be quiet as to not wake Jasper. She didn’t want him knowing what she was looking for on her phone. She looked around the room and saw nothing.  No belongings that belongs to her or Jasper. Her phone must still be on the kitchen counter at home.

She went back into the bathroom and undressed.  She knew she wasn't suppose to get her stitches wet, so she was super careful about them.  The steam felt good even before she got in. After finding some epsom salt under the sink and adding it to the hot bath, Martha got in.  Her worries seemed to float away. The messages that she’s been receiving on her phone melted from her memory. Her pounding head was seizing a little and it was finally manageable.  She was careful not to get her IV wet as well, but will still able to sit back and relax.

The door opened and Jasper walked in. “Are you OK in here?”

“Yeah, I am just relaxing a little.  It’s been stressful lately.”

“Can I come in and talk?  How does your head feel?” Martha is glad that Jasper is with her to take care of her.  Even though their sex life was diminishing, she still felt that he cared for her a lot.  She hated having these mixed feelings, but her head hurt and she couldn't think about that right now.  She would decide what to do another day.

She sat up a little to show him she was paying attention.

“Yeah, my headache is becoming manageable.  I can start thinking straight.”  It was partly true.  Her head still hurt, but not as much.  She could think, now that she knew where she was. 

“Do you remember what happened before you fainted, Martha?”  Jasper sat on the side of the bathtub, giving him a full view of Martha's naked body.

Martha shifted a little, starting to feel uncomfortable.  She started to get nervous.  Does Jasper know about the messages? Is he testing her?  She couldn't even remember what the last message said. 

“All I can remember is that I started making breakfast and I started to feel sick.  I ran to throw up and then it all went blank.” Martha couldn’t bare to tell him about the message.  She wanted to fix everything and Jasper would never have to know. She’d rather live with the guilt than break Jasper’s heart.  

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Not 100%, but the nausea is gone.  This IV must be doing good for me.”  This was in fact true.

“I am glad that you’re OK.  They recommended you stay overnight in case you got a concussion, and to stay home from work for a few days.  I will ask off of work and I can stay home to take care of you.” Jasper was so sweet. Martha doesn’t know now why she ever thought about having an affair.  It was a stupid idea and she had to end it. Jasper was the one here taking care of her, not Richard. Jasper was the one who brought her here in her time of need, not Richard.  It has always been Jasper.

“Will you stay overnight with me?”  She looked at him with sad puppy dog eyes.

“I will call Anne and see about the boys and then I will talk to the front desk, but I don’t see how it would be a problem.”

Jasper left the bathroom and Martha got out of the tub.  She carefully stepped over the side so she wouldn’t get tangled in the tubes that were attached to her arm.  She grabbed the towel that was hanging next to her and started drying off. She started looking through some cupboards and found what she was looking for.  She hadn’t brushed her teeth this morning and her mouth felt like there was gritty sand sitting in it. She unwrapped the toothbrush and toothpaste and headed to the sink to brush her teeth.  Dunking her mouth under the running to rinse made her feel like a new woman. She spit one last time, brought her head up, and looked into the mirror.

Standing behind her in the bathroom doorway stood the figure that’s been haunting her.