The Sabbath Read online

  Once there, she filled an empty cup with a little water from the bucket and brushed her teeth over the sink, careful not to waste any water. She removed her clothes and took the cup and the bucket of water into the bathtub with her.

  Standing close to the bucket, she dipped the cup into the water. Stretching her other arm so that her hand and fingertips dangled over the bucket, she poured the water over her head. The water ran off her head, over her shoulder, down her arm and back into the bucket.

  Setting the cup aside, she grabbed a clean washcloth from the railing and dunked it in the water. To keep the bucket of water as clean as possible, she stepped back to scrub her body with soap.

  “What a jerk,” she said absentmindedly.

  Grabbing the cup, she rinsed herself until she was clean. Oh there’s still some water left. Taking the bucket from the tub, she set it aside for the next person.

  Lana hoped taking a bath would help clear her mind, but all she kept thinking of were the many ways she planned on ignoring her boyfriend. She stared at herself in the mirror, contemplating whether she should have taken her grandmother’s advice and gone home.

  As often as she had tried to get through to Cory, she always got shut down. But this time it was different. It wasn’t what Cory said that had made Lana upset, but it was the way he’d said it. The hatred in his eyes…the anger in his voice seemed almost identical to the time when he had lashed out at Isabel. Keeping his emotions bottled up on the inside was poisonous to their relationship, and Lana wasn’t sure if she could go through that scenario again. Wrapping herself up in a white towel, she walked back into his room and locked the door.

  Once dressed, Lana sat on the bed and pondered calling her grandmother, but she already anticipated what she would say. Maybe she’s right; the only person who ever got through his stubbornness is missing, so there isn’t much I can do anymore…yeah, Grandma is right, it’s time for me to go home…there’s nothing here for me anymore.

  Jumping up and grabbing all of her clothes from the closet, she tossed them onto the bed and went back to the closet for her suitcase. Gotta call Grandma to arrange my travel back home, she thought while stuffing her luggage with clothes. Lana had her mind fixed on leaving Cory this time and wanted to do it quickly, before anyone or anything convinced her otherwise.

  As hard as it may have been, Lana had lost hope. Perhaps there were some things even love could not overcome? Even though they were not on good terms, Lana realized she had to figure out a way to break the news to Cory without him persuading her to stay. But before she could think, there came a knock on the door.

  It was him.

  “No matter what, no matter what, you’re leaving!” she declared to herself in preparation for her final talk with Cory.

  An awkward tension greeted the two as soon as Lana opened the door. Although Cory had no problem stirring up trouble, figuring out how to solve it was never his strong suit. It was hard for him to express his feelings because he was always afraid of putting himself in a position to be hurt. Yet, Lana hated when Cory remained aloof, since she always told him everything going on with her.

  Cory understood he could not fix things with Lana without communicating his feelings, and he prepared himself to give her the bare minimum. He had stayed up all night planning on what to say, but when he saw Lana’s blank face, he froze. Cory cracked a grin; he figured his charm would win her over.

  Is this guy serious? she thought.

  “There’s nothing funny, Cory,” she sneered.

  Cory straightened his lips, removing his smirk.

  “Sorry, I know…Baby, can we talk?”

  “We talked yesterday. Remember?” Lana scolded, turning away and walking toward the bed.

  Cory followed and stopped short when he saw Lana’s clothes and open suitcase spread out on his bed. Glaring at his closet, he noticed she had taken all of her belongings. If she were to leave, it would be for good. He stood still as Lana continued packing.

  “What are you doing?” he asked not moving a muscle. Cory already knew the answer, but he wanted her to say it.

  Lana stopped to stare at Cory. His face showed more confusion than anger, and she’d expected as much. Lana had been living with them for over a year now, and after all the fights they’d had in the past, she had not once acted on her thoughts of leaving him.

  Tell him you’re leaving. She opened her mouth, but words wouldn’t come out. This would be harder than she imagined. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him, so she ignored him and continued packing.

  “Why?” Cory choked, “Why are you doing this?”

  Putting her head down, she avoided any eye contact because she would as usual gravitate toward him and that was the last thing she needed. Stay strong; stay strong, she repeated to herself.

  Tilting his head toward the ceiling, Cory puffed his cheeks full of air and blew out his frustration.

  “So you’re leaving me?”

  Bothered greatly by Lana ignoring him, Cory walked over to where she stood packing and pressed his face in front of hers.

  “You’re really leaving, Lana?” he implored.

  Lana brushed him aside and moved to the other side of the bed. She saw the hurt in his eyes and how much her pending departure was destroying him.

  “Cory…stop. Don’t make this harder than it already is,” she finally blurted, fighting back tears.

  He blinked at Lana; he couldn’t understand why she was doing this. The fight last night was nothing compared to what they’d been through together. Straightening his back, Cory nodded then sucked his teeth.

  “Cool, cool, cool. All right - let me help you pack.”

  He snatched her clothes and started stuffing them into her suitcase.

  Lana grabbed his arms, “Stop! You’re ruining my clothes!”

  Cory shook off her grip. He grabbed the suitcase with both hands and hurled it across the room. The luggage hit the wall with a thud, leaving behind a trail of clothes.

  Lana jumped in his face, screaming, “What the fuck is wrong with you? Don’t act like you care now.”

  A large lump crept up in the back of her throat as her eyes watered.

  Cory was also on the verge of tears. But he refused to cry over a female who wasn’t his mother, no matter how much it hurt him. Tilting his head toward the ceiling, he fought off the tears as his pride took over.

  I’m not gonna beg no girl to stay, I don’t need her…never did. No matter how many times he tried to convince himself he didn’t need Lana, he knew letting her go was a mistake, but he had no way of making her stay. And it was way past the point of apologizing.

  Turning his back to Lana, Cory plodded to the wall. It’s happening all over again, he thought. With tears streaming down his face, he pounded the wall with his knuckles until blood dripped from his hand. He needed to feel physical pain to release the colossal emotional hurt he was experiencing. Like a madman, he strode to the door and swung it open; there was a loud thud as the door contacted the wall.

  “Fine, leave! I don’t need you, Lana. You wouldn’t be the first person to walk out on me. My dad, my mom, my friends,…now you’re going to leave me, too! I’ve been through it - I don’t need you! I’m good all by myself. Leave!” Cory charged out of the room, leaving Lana inside.

  Lana stood motionless, processing what just had happened. It was the first time Cory mentioned his father, and it surprised her. She was so stunned she forgot about leaving. Although she was sure that Cory’s mother didn’t leave him, at least not by choice, his dad was a whole other story - a story Lana had never heard and didn’t expect to.

  Why was he crying? Should I leave? He told me to leave. I should leave; he doesn’t treat me like he wants me. No matter how hard I try, I still just make him upset. Anger is about the only emotion he knows how to express. Ugh, he’s such an asshole.

  Frustration, anger, and hurt easing its way back into her consciousness. With moist eyes, her mind played back all the smart-ass co
mments Cory made about her sleeping, eating, or not doing anything at all. This was his fault anyway—or so she thought. She wanted to call her grandmother, but it wasn’t a good idea. The last thing Lana needed was to give her grandmother any reason to dislike her boyfriend. For now, she would just have to deal with this all by herself.

  Not ready to leave Cory’s room, she cleaned up the mess Cory had made of her clothes. The luggage was broke. The handle had fallen off and the zipper was jagged and torn, now unable to close. Feeling defeated, she let out a huge sigh and sat on the floor. This was not how she imagined things would have ended. Closing her eyes and sighing, her head tilted back. Not having the strength to leave anymore, she just sat on the floor, back against the wall, staring at the hole Cory had just punched in.

  What do I do now?

  8

  Cory stormed out of the house, dripping blood with his every stride.

  This is so fucking ridiculous! She’s so fucking annoying. She can go; I don’t need her.

  He got into his car and sat still. Feeling crushed, he wanted to drive as far from the house as possible. But with nowhere to go, he stayed parked in his driveway, monitoring the activities of his neighbors and hoping that it would take his mind off things.

  He paid little attention to the few people out and about. His affections toward Lana still consumed him, and the throbbing pain in his hand made no difference either.

  After several minutes, the cool morning air had calmed him, but he still continued to convince himself that Lana wasn’t needed. In reality, though, he wouldn’t be able to survive without Lana.

  It wasn’t just his love for her, but if not for Lana’s modifications to their home, he wouldn’t have electricity, let alone their inventory in the cellar. Deep down inside, in a place kept hidden from his pride, he realized that he needed Lana more than she needed him.

  Buried in his thoughts, he reminisced about the first time the two met.

  ***

  It had been during his first year of university. It was exam season. Cory had just finished classes for the day and had been on his way to the library to meet his friend, so they could study together.

  They were standing in the middle of the library, scanning for a vacant spot, when his friend tugged his arm. Cory turned toward where his friend was pointing and noticed a woman sitting at a desk. Her head buried in her books.

  “Yo, who is that?” he whispered.

  Cory squinted to get a better visual, and saw Lana’s soft caramel complexion and a body that other women would kill for. Before Cory could answer, his friend was already striding toward her. He was either bold or stupid, but one thing was for sure, Cory wanted to see how things played out. While standing in the background, he watched his friend’s flimsy attempt to impress Lana with outlandish compliments. To Cory’s surprise, interrupting Lana from studying didn’t upset her, and she even entertained his shenanigans.

  Judging by her body language, Cory recognized Lana wasn’t interested, and was just being polite, so he didn’t bother saying much during their first encounter. Afterwards, every time Cory would cross paths with Lana, they would exchange hellos before going about their business.

  It wasn’t until the second semester, when Cory and Lana shared the same class, that they had their first real conversation. After a couple of assignments together, they exchanged contact information, and from there, their relationship grew as the year progressed.

  ***

  Cory smirked at the memory. Back then, Lana’s beauty attracted many men - and she often used it to her advantage, but in this present time, it was much better to stay under the radar. Cory would never forget the first time Lana had been in danger.

  ***

  On a warm afternoon, after The Sabbath, Cory had gone out for a run and returned to find music blaring from his home. It sounded like a party, and that was the last thing they needed.

  He approached his house with caution, and when he opened the door, he saw Isabel lying on the floor with a black eye and a swollen jaw. The house appeared as if a tornado had blown through the place. He kneeled down to check on Isabel. She was unconscious as he picked her up and laid her on the couch. The sight of Isabel’s fragile state made Cory furious, whilst at the same time; guilty that he wasn’t there to stop it.

  ***

  That must have been how she felt when I blamed her for mom. Shrugging off the guilt, he jumped back into the memory.

  ***

  He turned off the music and heard Lana’s terrified screams coming from Isabel’s room. Stopping to grab a knife from the kitchen, he found the door was locked, so he rammed it open. His anxiety spiked ten fold as he saw Lana lying on the bed, restrained by a half-naked man, her knees up against her chest trying to kick him away. The man was much bigger than Cory, but that didn’t matter. Adrenaline took over, and later on, all he remembered was being on top of the pervert, stabbing him in the chest, not stopping until Lana and Isabel pulled him off.

  He regained his composure as he stood over the culprit’s unresponsive body. Covered in blood, Cory wanted to hurt the dirt-bag even more, but the man was already out cold. He wouldn’t die, but with this much damage done, it would be months - if not years, before he healed or regained consciousness.

  Once everyone had calmed down, they called the police then waited two long hours for them to arrive to carry the culprit away on a stretcher.

  The defiler never got a chance to rape Lana, but ever since that day, they modified their home to be a haven from intruders. Cory now always called or texted every thirty minutes whenever he left the house, just to make sure everything was all right.

  If Lana left, he wouldn’t be able to watch over her anymore. Cory took comfort in the thought he could protect Lana in a way that her grandmother and step-grandfather couldn’t.

  ***

  His contentment faded in a flash as an old man walking past his car interrupted his thoughts. He had on a dirty white t-shirt and torn blue jeans. Judging by his appearance, the geezer was homeless. But he never begged for change. Instead, he always ranted about an upcoming apocalypse.

  Oh, this guy again! I wonder what’s he’s preaching about now?

  And for the first time, Cory was intrigued. The old man had been ranting on this same street corner since Cory was little. And with everyone acting crazy, Cory realized this was the same old man he used to bicker with his mother about, and was the one person he knew that hadn’t changed since The Sabbath.

  Hey, there must have been a reason why mom would entertain him.

  Cory got out of his car and approached the man.

  “Hey, what are you talking about?” he asked.

  The old man ignored him and kept chanting, “Lies. They’re all lies!”

  Cory couldn’t blame the old-timer for disregarding him. He had said some pretty rude things to him in the past, and now he appeared to be receiving the backlash of it.

  Cory grabbed him by the arm, “Yo, please. Tell me.”

  The old man looked at Cory and recognized the desperation written on his face. He pointed to Cory’s house and said, “All right, let’s go inside.”

  Cory wasn’t sure if it was wise to bring a homeless man into his state-of-the-art home, but he agreed to it anyway. The old man didn’t intimidate him at all. He sat the old-timer at the dining room table. Isabel and Lana were nowhere to be found when they entered.

  However, Lana walked out of Cory’s room after hearing an unfamiliar voice. She was shocked to find Cory sitting with the old man from the corner, the one who may or may not have read her thoughts that same day. Ever since The Sabbath, they had kept to themselves and had never once invited a guest over.

  What is he doing here? Lana was still upset at Cory. Instead of asking him what he was thinking by bringing a stranger inside their home, she made herself comfortable on the living room couch. She sat just far enough so that Cory’s presence wouldn’t annoy her, but close enough to listen to everything being said.

&nbs
p; “How do y’all get yo electricity?” he asked.

  “The sun,” Cory answered. “It’s all solar power.”

  The old man nodded in approval.

  “Give me a glass of water,” he demanded with a straight face.

  Cory raised his eyebrows in astonishment. He wasn’t sure if he had heard him right, “Huh?”

  “Give me a glass of water, son,” the old man repeated.

  Cory stared at him for a few seconds. This motherfucker is asking for water…like it’s free. Like it doesn’t cost fifty dollars a gallon. He really must be crazy.

  Turning to Lana, Cory saw she was just as stunned. He looked back to the old man.

  While nodding his head, the man clapped his hands.

  “Okay,” Cory replied, getting up and walking toward the kitchen. There was one jug of water left in the refrigerator.

  Okay, everybody is supposed to get two cups of water daily, so I guess he can have one of mine…but it’s not too late to kick him out though. Cory was regretting inviting him over, but his curiosity prevented Cory from giving him the old heave-ho just yet. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, he poured.

  “More,” the old man boomed when he saw Cory had filled the glass halfway.

  Cory gave him a look and continued pouring.

  “That’s your fraction,” Lana grumbled.

  Cory ignored her and handed the old man the water. To their surprise, he didn’t devour the water like a thirsty man as they had both expected. Instead he took the glass and drank the water with grace, as if he himself had an abundant supply. With a grin on his face, he sat back on his chair and said, “The truth isn’t cheap, son.”

  The old man enjoyed testing Cory’s patience. He asked Cory to sit down before continuing their conversation.

  “I’m sorry about what happened to yo momma. She was a good woman - I saw her face in you …God knows she’s the only reason I am sitting down with you right now, son. Look at how the world is today! We’ve tried to warn y’all for decades now, but y’all wouldn’t listen.

  “The Government strips us of our clothes and homes, drugs us, and then labels us crazy. And what did y’all young folks do? Yup, went ahead and believed them and ignored us when we was out there on the corner begging for somebody to listen. Son, calling someone crazy is the most ignorant thing you can ever say and yo momma knew that. I mean, yeah, she didn’t agree with a lot of things I had to say, but at least she listened.”