Part 3:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/189015o/my_husband_went_to_india_two_weeks_agowhat_came/
I’m scared.
I’m writing this from the bathroom right now. I’m pretty sure he was asleep when I got out of bed, but I don’t know how long I can stay in here without making him suspicious if he isn’t. I fear that the man I married isn’t the man laying on our bed right now. I just want someone to tell me that I’m crazy or that this is all part of some fucked up dream I’m having right now that I’ll soon wake up from.
Couple years ago I was at the lowest point in my life. My mental health was down in the gutter and I had started to isolate myself. I never had many friends to begin with and the few I did weren’t really friends as much as superficial acquaintances. I was born and raised in a small town in Missouri, and moving to Los Angeles, California for college had seemed exciting at first but it all came crashing down when the loneliness of it all set in. I had a hard time socializing and spent my college years without really going out much or making any friends.
I had pretty much lost a lot of my social skills and had started to become bitter. I would spend a lot of my time on the internet, complaining about the way the world was and scroll for hours without really feeling any sense of joy. There were days I would completely dissociate for hours at a time and at night I would break down crying.
Things got worse for me when I signed up for a dating app. At first, it seemed exciting. Scrolling through a sea of men, I found myself fantasizing about potentially breaking out of this lonely hell. But what I really got out of the app were self esteem issues and a feeling of disgust directed towards myself. I had gone on dates with people I wasn’t really attracted to out of desperation and when things led nowhere I felt disgusted with myself. At this point I had completely withdrawn from society and my grades started to suffer as I did just the bare minimum. I had stopped caring for myself. All I had was my part-time job and an empty life.
That’s when I met Jay. My phone popped with a notification, telling me that I had another match. It didn’t really matter much to me at first as I was used to things going nowhere on those apps. But Jay felt different.
Jay was an immigrant; he had been in this country for two years at that point, and he too had a hard time socializing. Work and education and taken up most of his time and much like me, he hoped to find a way out of the loneliness through the app. But struck me about Jay was his optimistic way of looking at things. He was a man who would looking at the good that would come out of a situation and wouldn’t let it bring him down. It felt like a bright light had been lit in my dark world, and now all that mattered was that I spend every second with him.
Five years later and we were both happily married. I was so happy that the past felt like the shadow of a bad dream that had long faded. Jay and I worked hard to pay the bills, but we cherished every moment we had together. We also got a little kitten- the sweetest little orange goblin. We called him Maximus.
Two weeks ago, after my shift ended at the grocery store I worked at, I found Jay in the kitchen. Instantly, I knew something was wrong. His eyes looked distant, as if he had learned of something troubling and he looked at me, hesitant.
He told me that his father back in India was really sick, and that he need to go visit him. I comforted him and even though I was really reluctant to let him go, I knew that it was something he had to do. I wanted to go with him but he refused. We couldn’t afford it, and he told me that he wouldn’t be long there but I assured him that he should take as much time as he needs and I’ll be here when he comes back. He left the same night, leaving behind Maximus and me in this empty home.
We talked on the phone every night. I wanted to facetime him everyday but he was in a rural part of India, where it was difficult for him to connect to the internet. I picked up more hours during this time, knowing that he wouldn’t be there when I get home. But when I did get home, I’d looking forward to our calls. When we weren’t talking, I’d take the time to play with Maximus but it felt like he really missed Jay much more than I did, meowing every night, looking for him.
Four days ago, Jay called me to tell me that his father was recovering and that he would be fine. This was great news and I got really excited when he told me that he was coming back the next day. I took two days off. I went a little overboard with decorating the house for his arrival. I also made chicken alfredo for dinner, a recipe he loved.
I drove to the airport to pick him up and found him waiting for me outside. The second he got in my car, I felt wrong. I can’t really find a word for it, but I will try to describe how it felt. I remember chills running up my spine and I felt the urge to shield myself, I felt uncomfortable around him. He greeted me but it felt very unenthusiastic, like he didn’t care to see me at all. I brushed it up to exhaustion and let him rest in silence as I drove us home. He never tried to make conversation or sleep, or really do anything the entire ride home. He just sort of stared out at his feet the entire ride.
When we got home, I remembered Maximus and I was excited to see his reaction to Jay coming home, but when we got in the apartment, Maximus was nowhere to be seen. I called out his name, and went into our bedroom while Jay lurked in the kitchen. I found the cat hiding under the bed and I tried to get him to come out but he just wouldn’t. I heard footsteps behind me and stood up to find Jay there. I laughed and tried to get Maximus to come out again but this time he hissed at Jay and me before running out the bedroom, scared. I tried to ignore this but I couldn’t.
I asked Jay if he needed a shower but he refused. We went straight to dinner and he was eerily silent again, just staring at the food. I asked him if everything was okay and he just mumbled a “Yeah”, and began to eat.
At bedtime, I climbed up to his chest and he seemed confused for a second before easing up. I figured that he was tired, trying not to think about Maximus and how scared he seemed and pushing my own feelings down. I was just happy that he was here no matter what. I closed my eyes, trying to listen to the sound of his heart when I heard… nothing. I adjusted my head a little, trying to listen for it but again, I heard nothing. I looked up at Jay and he was asleep, so I decided to try to get some sleep as well.
I’m not religious, but I said a little prayer before sleeping because I was a bit scared. I didn’t turn the lights off since he didn’t seem to mind either.
That night, I had terrible dreams. I heard this drumming in my dreams, along with the sounds of bells ringing violently. I heard a woman’s scream and then a child’s. Shadows formed by a fire, casted the shape of a skinny man on the wall. And then, the shadow grew horns. I jolted up. Jay was no longer in bed.
I had the worst headache of my life that morning. Jay wasn’t home. I went to feed the cat, but Maximus didn’t run up to me as he usually would when it was feeding time. I filled his bowl and then went looking for him. I found him hiding under the couch. I tried to get him out again, but he scratched me, hissing and then running into the bedroom. I had a sinking feeling in my gut and I called Jay. His phone rang and I heard it in the bedroom. Wherever he was, he had left his phone behind. I stayed up all day waiting for him, eventually falling asleep on the couch. My head was killing me.
I woke up in the dark. I had slept through the day somehow. My head throbbed and I woke up to Jay standing over me with a smile. I flinched and sank away. The smile disappeared as fast as I did, changing to a more neutral expression. That smile, it wasn’t like him. It was too, fake, like he was mimicking something he didn’t understand.
I asked him how long he had been standing there and where he’d been all day. He told that he had a few work related errands to run. Yes, he literally said he had “Work related errands to run”. He gave me another vague reply when I pressed him about it. I asked once again, if he was okay and he said he was, and that he was just tired. I asked him if he knew where Maximus was. He laughed and said that he was probably around the house, somewhere.
“I got you a present.” Jay said, and then that fucking smile started to creep on his face again, sending shivers down my spine. It was like the smile of a predator, comforting prey into a false sense of security. “But… you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
And with that, he got closer to me his eyes lustful. I backed away, feeling uncomfortable. I told him my head hurts and that I’d much rather prefer to take a few painkillers and sleep it off. He smiled again, but there was rage behind those eyes. I don’t know how, but I could see a boiling anger. Like he was toying with the idea of snapping my neck. The smile widened and he went into the bedroom, laying on the bed.
I went in and he seemed fast asleep. He was snoring loud, while still in his boots. I didn’t dare wake him at this point.
I went into the bathroom to take my painkillers and that’s when I started writing this. I really don’t know what’s going on and I would really appreciate some help here. Am I being too paranoid? My head hurts so fucking much right now that I’m crying. I’m really scared and I don’t know what’s going on. Any advice will be helpful here.