“No more!” The voice screamed inside of Margo’s head, waking her from a sound slumber. She glanced around her room half expecting to find someone or something standing near the bed. There was nothing. The room was empty.
Pushing the covers back, she slid her feet into slippers and stood. Reaching for her robe, she slipped into it and headed toward the children’s room to check on them. Her twin boys were sound asleep. Obviously the voice had not been real. Its scream would surely have awakened the tiny tots had it been.
Making her way through the hallway into the kitchen, Margo threw open the refrigerator. She was inexplicably hungry. Reaching for an apple, she sat down at the breakfast bar and began to eat it as she tried to recall the details of her dream. Oddly, she couldn’t remember anything except for the deep voice screaming those two words, “No more!”
As she finished her apple, Margo heard her husband’s car drive into the garage. She went to the door to greet him.
“What are you doing up this time of night?” Wentworth looked surprised to see her standing there.
“I had a bad dream,” she admitted. “Then I discovered I was hungry. By the way, there’s a plate of food for you in the microwave.”
“I’m not hungry,” the big man mumbled, avoiding eye contact. Margo found his actions suspicious and grabbed his arm as he tried to pass by.
“What’s going on Went? You don’t seem happy to see me. Is there something you are hiding?”
“No, dear, I’m just tired.” The man ran his hand through sandy brown hair as he finally looked into his wife’s eyes. “It was a rough shift. We lost a couple of patients.”
“I’m sorry,” Margo mumbled, although she was not really certain she spoke the truth. After all, she didn’t even know the people in question.
“One was a little girl about the same age as Josh and Jason,” Wentworth elaborated. “It’s difficult watching someone so young slip through your fingers.”
“I can imagine,” the slim brunette cooed. Sadly, her tone of voice said something quite different. “Still, I think you should eat. It isn’t good to skip meals. Being a nurse, you should know that.”
Wentworth looked up and nodded. Then pulling away, he headed to the microwave to push the pre-set button. He didn’t turn back in Margo’s direction until the timer indicated his meal was heated through.
“How was your day?” The words slid off his tongue without much emotion behind them.
“It was fine. I took the kids to pre-school and then I went to the gym and did some shopping for Christmas. It was more of the boring usual.”
“Maybe you should think about going back to school,” Wentworth countered. “That might help cure your boredom.”
“Are you going to start lobbying for me to get a job again?” Margo’s temper was beginning to flare. “My inheritance isn’t enough for you? It is me, not you, who bought this house and keeps things running smoothly. I bought the two cars in the garage. I pay for the boys’ pre-school. Aren’t those contributions enough for you?” With the final words, Margo moved closer to her husband; so close, in fact, that he could smell the alcohol on her breath.”
“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t drink when you were home alone with the boys,” he ventured.
Raising her hand, Margo slapped her husband hard, knocking him off the stool upon which he rested. “Don’t tell me what I can and cannot do,” she seethed. Her words were forced through clenched teeth.
“You were the one who brought the subject up. You told me it bothered you when you drank around the boys. I was just reminding you of your own words.” Wentworth picked himself up off the floor and looked deep into his wife’s coal black eyes. “I’ve had enough, Margo.”
“Enough what Wentworth?” Margo put her hands on her hips and offered her husband an evil Cheshire cat smile. “What are you going to do about it? Are you going to leave me?”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” her husband said slowly, softly, and deliberately.
“I don’t think so,” Margo returned as she reached for a knife in the butcher block on the kitchen counter. “I told you before that I’d kill you if you even tried to leave me. Did you think I was kidding?”
“No, I knew you spoke the truth,” Wentworth sighed heavily. “You need help Margo; help I can’t give you. In fact, even if I could, I wouldn’t. I don’t love you anymore. You are cruel, vindictive and hateful. Those traits are impossible to love.”
The fire in Margo’s eyes let Wentworth know he’d gone too far. Still, he was ready for her when she lunged at him with knife in hand. He grabbed her wrist and twisted it, forcing her to drop the knife. However, that wasn’t enough to stop her. She kicked and slapped at him, finally using her head to butt him in the nose.
Despite the pain of a broken nose, Wentworth held strong. Finally, his wife ran out of steam and fell slack in his arms. That’s when he pushed her away and stared at her with contempt. “No more!”
Those were the words Margo had heard in her dream. She recognized them and the voice that spoke them. She watched as her husband walked down the hallway toward the boys’ room but she was still too tired to follow.
Wentworth emerged within seconds, a boy on each shoulder. He walked past his wife and headed to the garage.
“You can’t leave me,” Margo screamed, making her sons stir in their slumber.
“Just watch me,” her husband said as he carefully placed the boys in the car. Then he got in and drove away.
“I’ll kill you,” she shouted after him. Finally, regaining her strength, she grabbed the keys to her car and ran into the garage. She jumped inside and tore out of the driveway. Gunning the engine, she sped to catch up with her husband. But in her anger, she failed to heed a stop sign, running it without a second glance. That’s when a semi hit her broadside, sending Margo through the windshield.
As she lay dying on the street, two words echoed in her brain. “No more!”