Forgotten Fears Read Online Free

my way,” He yelled back, giving the computer a sour glare as he jogged downstairs. His wife was waiting at the bottom, their three-year-old son, Tyler cradled against her.
    “This is the third time this month Billy,” She said as he paused to kiss his son on the head. He flicked the hallway light switch on and off then on again, not sure exactly what he was expecting.
    “I know, but they said they had fixed it last time.”
    “I told you coming here was a bad idea,” She said, giving him that look he had grown to hate.
    “We agreed this was the right thing to do.”
    “Why here? Why in the middle of nowhere?” She whispered, not wanting to alert Tyler to their disagreement.
    Because you decided to fuck your boss.
    The words almost came, and part of him wished they had, but he didn’t have the strength for another argument. Far too many of those had already happened.
    “Look, we both agreed we needed this. It’s a new house, gremlins should be expected.”
    “I hate it here,” She said, glaring at him with a mixture of hurt and anger.
    “We knew this was never going to be easy,” He replied as he stroked his son's head. “But we committed to making this work, to putting things right. Let’s not let something as minor as a power outage come between us, okay?”
    “Well, for what this place cost us, it should be problem free.” She shot back, readjusting Tyler on her hip. Billy looked at his son, who responded with a torrent of toddler babble.
    “It’s probably the breakers again. I'll go check it out.”
    He looked her in the eye, hoping the woman he had fallen in love with was still there somewhere, and one day he might find her again. But he felt only the disgust and hurt at what she had done, and quickly looked away and walked towards the basement door.
    “I don’t know why this happens so much here.” She called after him. “We never had this problem in the old house.”
    Once again, the desire to point out the reason for their move leaped into his throat, but he managed to swallow it back down.
    Not now, not again. Let us get through one day without a goddamn argument.
    “I guess it’s the price of living out here in the countryside,” He said over his shoulder as he opened the door, trying to diffuse the situation before it escalated into yet another blazing argument. He eyed the hook on the back of the door.
    “Did you move the torch from here?”
    “I haven’t touched it.”
    “You sure?”
    “I already told you, I don’t know where it is. Jesus Billy, you just don’t listen.” She hissed as she glared at him.
    He turned his gaze back to the empty hook on the door. He was finding it harder and harder these days to look his wife in the eye.
    “Well, it must be somewhere!” He said balling his fists and showing her the empty hook,  then realising Tyler was looking at him, he took a deep breath. “What I mean is, are you sure you didn’t give it to Tyler to play with?”
    “Yes. I’m sure.”
    She was giving him the usual semi-silent treatment now, responding with short, to the point answers. It was a familiar territory. “Try the kitchen,” She added.
    Ignoring the sarcastic tone in her voice, he closed the basement door and started looking through kitchen drawers, which were filled with clutter.
    “You know, I just wish things would get left where I put them. Every time I put something somewhere, somebody moves it.” He muttered.
    “And by someone you mean me?” Angeline said, putting Tyler down on the floor. As was the way with small children, as soon as his legs touched terra firma, he was away, a three-year-old whirlwind of destruction.
    “I didn’t say that,” He said as he pushed aside old letters and rolls of tape. “I hate having to search for things.”
    “Well, if you put things back where they belonged, you wouldn’t have to look would you?”
    He was about to make a below the belt comment about her affair when he saw the torch, which was in the cupboard