SHADOW

The past year had been tough on Claire, her travel agency hadn’t been doing that well and her husband Tyler and her had been having problems, and whether their marriage would last or not depended on how their one-week getaway went. Claire couldn’t blame Tyler, with her agency almost going bankrupt she hadn’t paid much attention to him, hell she couldn’t even remember the last time they had a decent chat. Her relationship would’ve been doomed had it not been for both her and Tyler’s parents. He was only going on this trip for their parents’ sake. Claire was determined to do everything she could to save her relationship.

“Are you done? We should get going”. Claire nodded. Their journey wasn’t long, first they’d have to catch a flight to Montana and then they’d have to be on the road for an hour before they reached the small cabin near the milk river in Glasgow. 

The ride to the airport was mostly silent. Every time Claire tried to start a conversation Tyler shot her down. 

Tyler mostly slept through the flight and in a way Claire was glad, she didn’t think talking to him in a plane full of people was a good idea. 

The couple made light conversation in the taxi, mostly because Claire wasn’t backing away and Tyler didn’t want to completely ignore her in front of the taxi driver. 

“you kids be careful alright, the river is very deep, don’t go in unless you know how to swim”. The taxi driver advised with a kind smile. “we’ll be careful”. Claire spoke returning a smile.

The owner of the small cabin greeted them outside, the cabin was beautiful and small, perfect for a getaway. “I’ve stocked the fridge and bought any other supplies you may be needing, this cabin is slightly isolated from the city so it might be difficult to go back and forth, the rented car is in the garage if you need to use it”. Tyler nodded firmly before shaking Mr. Newman’s hand. 

The both of them saw him out before returning to the living room. “I’ll take the small room”. Claire’s head shot towards Tyler when he said. He was already walking towards the big room to keep her bags. Claire followed him without delay. “we can’t even stay in the same room now? Tye, I’m trying here but you have to meet me halfway there”. Dropping her bags on the bed Tyler turned to face her. “There’s nothing left to work on, Claire. We haven’t slept in the same room for months, we shouldn’t start now”. With that Tyler walked out of the room leaving Claire in tears.

For the rest of the day the both of them stayed in their rooms. Claire came out of her room an hour before dinner time. She quickly whipped up some spaghetti and salad. 

Mustering up her courage she knocked on Tyler’s door. “Dinner’s ready”. There was some fumbling before Tyler opened the door. “Go ahead and eat, I’ll be there in a while”. He didn’t wait for her to respond before he closed the door. Sighing Claire went back to the kitchen. She had set two plates on the table on either side of the table. Leaving the food on the table she walked into the living room and turned on the TV. Deciding to wait for Tyler instead. 

An hour had passed and Tyler hadn’t come out of his room. It was clear, he wasn’t coming out while she was there so Claire went back into her room. She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. Not wanting Tyler to hear her Claire hopped into the shower. 

Slipping on her silk robe Claire opened the window. The river wasn’t far from the house, there was a beach chair kept just next to the window. Slipping on some socks she grabbed a blanket and jumped from the window. It was pitch black outside, usually she wouldn’t have dared to come out at this time of the night but her mind was too occupied to think of anything else. Setting the huge blanket on the chair she snuggled into the warmth, she was going to stay for a while then go back in.

Tyler came out once he was sure that Claire had gone into the room. He sighed seeing the two plates on table. The spaghetti was no doubt left untouched. He just wanted to get it over with, he had already said much more than he wanted to. Last year had been hell for him, so many arguments, so many nights spent waiting for Claire to come home. He had tried to hold on but it was too much and he wasn’t sure if he loved her anymore. 

When Claire woke up she was freezing. She had fallen asleep on the beach chair. Collecting the blanket, she quickly went into her room and closed the window. It was still early in the morning so she went back to sleep.

Frequent knocking on her door woke Claire up. In her half asleep state she opened the door. Seeing his wife failing to keep her eyes open Tyler almost smiled. “breakfast is ready, I’m going into town to see if they have any art supplies, you need anything?”. Claire’s sleep was long gone. “can I come with, I want to see the city”. Tyler took a moment before replying. “Get ready and have breakfast”. Claire hurried to get dressed. Throwing on a pink sun dress she applied some lip gloss and eyeliner before walking into the kitchen. Eggs, sausages, bread and coffee awaited her at the kitchen table. Claire couldn’t remember the last time Tyler had made breakfast for her. She took her time with her breakfast before knocking on Tyler’s door. 

Turns out Glasgow had a lot of history lessons to offer. They had a great time, the tension between them momentarily forgotten for a few hours.

“Claire, I have to tell you something”. Tyler spoke as soon as they entered the cabin. “yeah what is it?”. Now that he was staring into her light brown eyes Tyler wanted to back out but he knew better. He took a deep breath before saying “I talked to a divorce lawyer”. Claire’s eyes widened. Swallowing the lump in his throat Tyler continued to speak. “I talked to her a week before we came here, if the divorce is mutual then it can be done in a year so I want to start the process as soon as we go back”. Claire couldn’t believe it. “Tyler we just got here, can’t you give me another chance? I’m trying here-”. “I can’t do this anymore Claire, I’m sorry”. Claire took in a deep breath. “is there someone else?”. Tyler’s jaw clenched. “no there isn’t. Claire I’ve been trying to make this relationship work for a year now. How you’re feeling now is how I’ve been feeling for over a year. I just can’t do it again!”. Claire went quiet, he was telling the truth. Their relationship had failed because of her. “I’m sorry Claire, you and I have been living different lives for quite some time now and I think it’s time that we went separate ways” Claire sat down on the couch. “you don’t have to think about it right now-“. “No. you’re right, its time. You don’t deserve this”. There was a pause before Tyler spoke. “We don’t have to leave right away, our parents are expecting us to stay here the week so it’s the least we can do for them”. Claire nodded. “we can stay”. Without another word Claire went into her room. 

The next morning Claire woke up with swollen eyes, she didn’t feel so great either, she cried herself to sleep last night so it was expected. 

After taking a warm shower Claire looked in the mirror to see if her eyes looked better. What she saw made her gasp. There were bruises on her arms, neck and chest. They were all red and what scared her the most was that it looked as if someone had touched her. There was no way, she had locked the door in case Tyler came to check up on her and the window was bolted. Rushing out of the bathroom she checked the door and the window, everything was locked and her room looked fine too. Claire tried to convince herself that it was an allergic reaction but she knew that something was wrong. 

Claire was watching a football match when Tyler came into the living room. “Is it the giants?”. He asked excitedly sitting down on the couch. Claire sat up to give him more room. Tyler turned to Claire. “I can leave if you want”. Turning to face him Claire smiled. “No that’s okay, we’ll have to be in the same room one way or the other”. With a nod Tyler focused on the game. 

Somewhere in the middle of the night Claire woke up, she was shivering from the cold. She tried reaching for the blanket but all that she touched was wet grass. Realizing she wasn’t in her bed Claire jumped up and realized she was just outside her room, the place where she had slept the day before. She immediately tried to open the window but it was bolted. Sensing someone standing behind her she slowly turned around. What stood in front of her made her want to scream. It was a shadow. It towered over her by a foot. Claire lifted her head to see the things face but there wasn’t anything. No features of any sort, just a shadow. It inched closer to her making her breath hitch. Its face was just inches away from hers and she could feel cool air brushing the side of her face. Darkness was clouding her vision but right before she passed out she heard the shadow whisper her name. 

The sun’s rays woke Claire up. Remembering her nightmare, she sat up only to find herself by the riverbank, right outside her window. Claire quickly tried to open the window and this time it opened. She ran to the bathroom. Her hands shook as she tried to wash her face. She had to get out of there as soon as possible. 

Tyler was in the kitchen when Claire came out. She couldn’t tell Tyler what happened exactly, he wouldn’t believe her. “Tyler”. Tyler looked up from the frying pan. “sit down, pancakes will be ready in a while”. Claire slowly rubbed her arms. “Tyler can we leave today? I’m really missing home”. Tyler set down the pan. “are you sick?!”. He asked with worry. “I’m fine, this place just doesn’t feel right to me”. She spoke honestly. “I want to go back as well but then our parents’ will ask why we came back so soon”. “I’ll just tell them I missed home. Can we please just go?”. She pressed on. “I don’t want to give them a reason to keep telling us to try harder. How about we just stay for three more days and then we leave?”. He offered. Claire swallowed the lump in her throat and muttered a small ‘okay’. 

That night Claire slept in the living room with all the lights on.

A loud noise had Claire jolting up from her slumber. All the lights in the living room were out. She tried to switch on the lamp but it wasn’t working. Feeling like someone was staring at her Claire turned to see the shadow standing in front of the door. She ran to her room and slammed the door shut. Her room didn’t have any lights either. Just as she tried to reach the switch she was pushed from behind. She had to get out. When she tried to stand up the lamp kept at the side table came straight at her. Whimpering she backed herself into one corner of the room. That didn’t stop the destructions, everything in the room was either thrown around or flipped over. Claire kept her ears covered with her hands while she silently cried for help. 

It was ten in the morning and Claire was still in her room. Tyler knocked on her door. When there was no response he opened the door to see if she was sleeping but the sight which greeted him made his stomach drop. The entire room was trashed and Claire was passed out on the floor. “Claire! Claire open your eyes”. Keeping her head on his lap he tapped her cheek trying to wake her up. “something…”. Claire mumbled. “what? Claire open your eyes”. He called her again. “something is here”. She whispered to him. Tyler picked her up and carried her out of the room. 

The doctor had said that Claire was dehydrated. That was all they could say, after she was put on IV for two hours they released her though she kept slipping in and out of conscience. “Claire, we’re here”. Tyler spoke but she was fast asleep so he carried her to his room instead. He didn’t know what was happening, he just wished she would wake up. Their flights were booked for tomorrow; he didn’t want to stay there when Claire was like that. He just hoped she would be feeling better the next day. 

It was only 3 am in the morning and Claire was still sleeping. Tyler was with her the whole time. 

He was in the kitchen getting some water when he heard Claire call him. Immediately keeping the glass down he rushed towards the voice. He slowly opened the door of her room, the place was as it was when he found Claire except now the window was open. Claire’s voice was coming from outside the window. “Claire?”. Tyler called, cautiously approaching the window. Just when he was about to touch the window someone grabbed his arm. It was Claire. “Claire! What..” “we need to get out of here”. The fear in her voice compelled him to do as she told. “what’s going on Claire?” Tyler asked as they ran out of the room. “something is in here” was all she managed to say before the TV crashed into the door just inches away from their face. “upstairs, now”. There was nothing but an attic upstairs but it was their only shot. Getting in Claire had almost managed to close it behind them when out of nowhere a stone came and hit Tyler straight on the head. “Tyler!”. Claire quickly bent down to help Tyler. “I’m fine”. He tried to assure her but he was bleeding and he had trouble focusing. Suddenly the door of the attic started shaking silently. Claire knew it was angry. One glance at the door and one at Tyler was enough for her to make her decision. “Tyler, Tye, listen to me please”. She caressed his cheek trying to make the most of the time she had. “I love you, Tye, I love you so much and I’m sorry for everything, for being the worst wife and, for everything”. She spoke before kissing his forehead. “what, Claire what-”. Before he could complete his sentence Claire was out the door, she locked the door from outside before turning to face her doom. She was frightened to her core but if she could save Tyler then nothing else mattered. Everything around her was silent as she made her way to her room. There, outside the window, the shadow stood by the river bank waiting for her. It only wanted her, not Tyler. Climbing down the window Claire hesitantly made her way towards the shadow. She didn’t know what was going to happen but she knew Tyler would live and that was enough. 

Tyler kicked the door again and again trying to open it. whatever Claire was going to do he knew it wouldn’t be good for her. He was fooling himself thinking he was happier without her, the past few days were the best days he had in the past year. Claire got carried away with work sometimes but she always loved him and he had forgotten that. Another kick was enough to break the lock. When he went to her room the window was still open and his instinct told him she was there. Without thinking twice, he jumped out of the window but there was no sign of her. He turned to leave but the footprint by the river bank stopped him. His eyes widened as he realized where she was and so, he jumped in. The river was deep, he searched and searched until he found her. He grabbed her hand and tried to pull her up but it wasn’t working. He pulled and pulled but something seemed to be pulling her back, Tyler refused to surface without her and he was losing his breath as well. Just when he thought he’d loose his breath he was able to pull her out of the river. “Claire”. Coughing out water Tyler performed CPR on her. “please god…no”. minutes had passed and Tyler hadn’t stopped. He only stopped when Claire coughed out the water in her lungs and started breathing again. “Claire, can you hear me? Claire!”. 

It had been days since that night. Claire has slipped into a coma and Tyler never left her side. As soon as the doctors gave the green light he brought her back to New York. He hadn’t spoken a word of what happened in Glasgow, he couldn’t. 

“Go and freshen up, I’ll stay with her”. Tyler’s mom spoke softly. He nodded before going to the washroom. 

“where is he? Cassie where is he”. Hearing Claire’s voice Tyler rushed into the room. “Claire!”. Claire’s eyes were watery as she rushed into his arms. He hugged her as tightly as he could. “I Love you sweetheart, I love you so much”. He whispered kissing her head. Claire’s sobs only got louder hearing that. “I love you too, Tye”.