I’ve always described my husband Derek as a bit of an introvert but that’s not entirely correct. He’s gregarious, funny, and charming but you really have to break past an initial layer of shyness to get to the real him. I laugh because if we hadn’t started talking through text first I doubt I would have discovered that part of him. He really brought his whole self to our date and it was history after that. He’s had his core group of friends for awhile but after we moved out of state for work he has definitely struggled.
I always made friends pretty easily and love meeting people. He was fine for a time coming to events and hanging out with my friends but after a year or so he said he started miss having a regular friend group of his own. His other friends would visit but they were far and I sympathized. I encouraged him to get out there in some hobby groups of his and to be fair he really did but nothing resulted in anything long term outside the days the groups met up.
“Oh! Didn’t you say he always wanted to learn how to DJ!?” My friend Cindy exclaimed. She was one of three women I met up with regularly for book club.
“Yea, I think he makes really good playlists but I think that obsession comes from what he thinks was a missed opportunity.”
“What’s stopping him now?” Sarah asked as she sat back and brought her wine glass to her lips.
“Mostly money. We’re just in catch up mode from school right now so not a lot of extra spending cash.”
“I thought so but that’s why I asked” Cindy said “Because I know of a club that meets up every Friday night, brings their equipment and practice. My sister went once but said it was wasn’t her scene. Knowing her she probably took a little longer than she preferred to catch on but since most of the equipment is provided that’s a major barrier gone!”
I was pretty excited at the news but that paled in comparison to to the glee on his face. His first night out he couldn’t stop talking about the group, how talented everyone was, and that the whole mood of the room changed when he got the chance to practice with one of his playlists.
“Honestly, they were welcoming but a bit distant when I first came but I think I really won them over! They even meet once a month for dinner. One of the guys said a lot of people usually disappear after the first month but they hoped I would come back and become a regular member!”
For the next couple weeks things were great. I saw a shift in his mood for the better and he carried himself with so more confidence. I went ahead and told him we could forego our usual date night so he could go to the first dinner with his new friends. I think he went through multiple outfits that night before I just grabbed a button up off the floor. Selfishly it was my favorite of his.
“Don’t stress over clothes. They obviously like you for you and your taste in music. Besides if it was all about your clothes they would have kicked you out a long time ago.” I chuckled and gave him a kiss.
“you just don’t understand the geek chic look I’m going for. Not everyone understands fashion, it’s ok.” Derek smirked and returned my kiss then head out. He checked in later in the night to let me know they had talked him into going to a small venue where other musicians, DJs, and professionals frequented. I wasn’t familiar but I recognized I didn’t know much about the underground music scene here. Derek returned at around 2 am, a bit disheveled, but had clearly had fun. A couple of his friends had driven him home and helped him up to our door.
A striking couple, the man introduced himself as Jamie and a woman, who I assumed to be his girlfriend, said she was Natalie. She, wrapped herself around Jamie’s arm as soon as they got Derek to the door and apologized for letting him have a bit too much fun. I told them it was more than fine and reached out to help him inside. Before he crossed our entryway Jamie grabbed his arm and dropped keys into his hand.
“Don’t wanna forget this. We car pooled and your car should still be at the restaurant. Thought it would be less of a hassle since it’s closer to you guys than whatever club we ended up at.”
I thanked them and could smell the faint scent of alcohol as I helped Derek inside. We headed toward our bedroom and he recounted the parts of the night he could remember. I noticed as he talked that he kept massaging between his neck and right shoulder. I asked him to let me see and gasped.
“Jesus, what happened Derek? This is horribly bruised. If someone tried to give you a hickey they did an awful job.” There was even specks of blood on his collar.
Derek looked at me confused. He honestly had no idea anything was even there other and thought it was just sore from a drunk incident.
“The place was pretty rowdy and I do vaguely remember a sharp pain and my vision spinning. Before I knew what happened Natalie had me sat down on one of the couches. People were were pretty riled up and tried to get me to celebrate someone’s birthday or something but Jamie got them to leave me alone while I got it together.”
I was relieved he was okay but didn’t feel great that he was hurt for god knows what reason and decided to leave it alone so we could get some sleep. The next few days were definitely odd to say the least.
On the first day after his night out Derek could barely keep his eyes open and kept complaining about how bright everything was. He was usually an all blinds fully open as much as possible kind of guy, much to my chagrin. I thought it was also odd because it wasn’t particularly bright out that morning but I passed it off as a hangover.
The second day he had trouble staying awake during the day. Derek was never a morning person and always a bit of a night owl but this sluggishness seemed extreme. He was fully awake by the evening throughout the early morning. Since we weren’t sure what was going on yet he was able to get accommodations to work his new odd hours. Since he worked from home it wasn’t too much trouble. It would have to do until our doctor could come back with anything useful.
On the third night we were out on a date but he didn’t eat very much. He said he was fine with a couple drinks and an appetizer he barely ate any of. On the fourth night his normal chestnut skin had become washed and dulled of color. Even his usually bright brown eyes had lost some of their luster but were simultaneously sharper; more focused. It was like he watched where you were headed instead of where you currently were. On the fifth night Derek had accidentally broke every glass he held while doing dishes and on the sixth he started to complain how dry his throat was. No matter how much he drank and tried to eat he said he didn’t feel satisfied.
It was on the seventh night that his friends showed up to pick him up for another “Jam session”. They had never done this before and I wasn’t too keen on him going since we still had no idea what was going on but it also seemed like a night out would do him some good. Honestly, I also felt like I needed a break to decompress and think of what else we could do to find out what was happening. I fell asleep faster than I intended and was startled awake by an urgent rapping at our door. I went downstairs and saw Derek through the peephole and opened it.
I covered my mouth in horror. Blood stained Derek’s shirt and as my mind came back I saw it was on his face as well. He braced himself on the door frame and said “Hey, can I come in?”
I don’t know what it was but despite my love for this man something visceral in my body kept my mouth shut. I just stared for a few moments and slowly closed the door. He knocked again.
“Please Trish. Let me in. I just want to talk. I just. Look I know this sounds weird but if you come to the club with me you can find out what’s going on with me. They said they’d make an exception for you and let you inside.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. I barely heard what he said over the voice in my head screaming for me to keep him outside. I sat on the ground and stared ahead as he kept knocking and trying to convince me to go with him. I finally found it in me to creep back upstairs, I thought I was quiet, didn’t make a sound, but he raised his voice for me not to go.
I’m sitting in our room now and I’m absolutely terrified. I don’t know what to do. I drew our blinds closed because not long after being up here I heard a soft firm tapping on our bedroom window. I turned and saw Derek, effortlessly hanging from the outside wall, his eyes no longer pleading but sharp and hungry. I couldn’t think while those eyes dissected me. I don’t know what to do. The voice in my head telling me to keep him outside is getting quieter while his voice is ever more prominent.
Tap Tap Tap “Trish, love, tell me I can come in”
Tap Tap Tap “Let me in, Trish.”
Tap “Let” Tap “Me” Tap “In”