A Penny Down the Well: A Short Story Collection of Horrifying Events Read Online Free PDF Page A

listened in the
silence.
    “ The past few nights when
I’ve been in bed, alone, I just think... did this all have to
happen this way? Why is everything so complicated right now?” She
confessed. She drank a large swig of wine and asked for a
refill.
    Jared filled the glass and
kept his eyes on hers. “Emily, I thought
this is what you wanted. You said you weren’t sure you were ready.”
He felt a twinge of anger saying it aloud. “You said you were
confused. I thought it would be best if you had space, you know?
Comfortable space, space your own.” He missed their
space.
    “ Yeah.” Emily sighed. Her
eyes were on Jared’s, but he knew she didn’t see him.
    “ Emily...” Jared paused
and placed a hand on his thigh. He felt the necklace case in his
pocket. “It doesn’t have to be this way, you know? We can still
work this out. We can get counseling. We can start over. Get to
know each other again. Date, maybe, like the old days?” Jared
smiled. He placed his hands over Emily’s. Her hands shook under
his.
    “ Jared, I...” She lowered
her head and her eyes glossed with tears.
    Jared stood from his seat
and stepped around the table. He pulled the necklace case from his
pocket and opened it. In the dim light of the kitchen, it shined
like a star. “I got you something I thought you’d like.” He smiled.
He didn’t want her to go any further without seeing it.
    Emily’s eyes widened and
her hands shot to her mouth. “Jared! Oh. It’s so beautiful!” She
squealed. She looked up at him and shook her head as a tear broke
from her bright eyes and ran down her cheek. “You bought this for
me?” Her mouth kept wide in awe.
    “ Yes.” He knelt down
beside her chair. “I don’t want to give up on us. I know that
you’re confused. I know that you’re unsure about us, but think
about how great we are together. Think about how much we trusted
each other and how comfortable everything was. We were perfect,
Emily. You’re perfect. I want you to have this as a symbol of how
much I love you. I want you to really know.” He pulled the necklace
from the case, unclasped it, and moved around behind
her.
    Emily sat silent. Beneath
Jared’s fidgeting fingers, he felt her tremble. When he finished,
he moved to the front of her and admired the diamond hanging near
her breast. “Emily, it’s—“ But she cut him off.
    “ I cheated, Jared. I slept
with someone else. I fell in love with him and that’s why all of
this happened!” She shouted out and burst into tears.
    Jared’s eyes went wide.
His mouth fell open and he shook his head. He felt he didn’t hear
her right.
    “ I don’t know, I was just
so confused about everything. I didn’t know what to do! He just
swept in and changed everything and...” Emily paused and looked up
to Jared. She saw only shock. “Jared?”
    The pipes
groaned.
    “ Jared. I’m so sorry. I
know you’ll never forgive me.”
    “ You love him?” Jared
broke his silence, his words glossed with a spiteful
hiss.
    “ I... Jared, I’m so
sorry.” Emily plead behind a voice mangled by tears.
    Jared took a deep breath.
He heard a sound. The rhythmic beat of music rose from down the
hall. The beat penetrated the walls and intervened in a moment that
deserved silence. There was something industrious about the sound.
Jared lifted Emily’s plate from the table and dumped the remaining
food onto the table’s surface. He swung it the plate into her head
and knocked her to the ground, unconscious. Emily laid there in
front of him with her head at his feet. He clutched the broken
plate in his hand. The necklace hung on the old wooden floor and
the pipes groaned. A rattle came from beneath the sink, a grunt.
Jared knew something stirred.
    “ You did this, Emily. We
had everything and you didn’t think it was enough.” Jared stared
down at his unconscious wife, entranced with madness.
    A voice came from below
the sink. “Give… me… your… metal.” A grainy rasp.
    Jared looked