Story of Josh’s Birthday By Josh Neth
He strolled through the door of the mobile home, construction uniform dirty and eyes tired, having been gone for hours at one of the few jobs that didn’t require a high school diploma. Now he came in, stomach growling. Normally, he would have asked Shelley to cook him something or just made it himself, but tonight she had other plans. “Scott.” Her words cut through the house, and he turned to look at her, belly swollen with a baby that was due in only three weeks, standing there looking uncomfortable and timid. “What?” He grunted, eying her. He had just come home and was tired and dirty, in desperate need of a shower and food, and craving the warm embrace of the bed. “Scott, I need to talk about something with you. You—I—I need you to stop with the illegal drugs. It’s getting to be too much. And if you don’t stop, then I’m leaving.” He scoffed at that, amused, and beginning to feel that kindling rage that was always just beneath the surface. So she had a problem with his drug addiction. So what? How was she going to stop him? Shelly continued. “If you don’t stop, then you won’t be allowed to see the baby when I give birth. I don’t care what you say, you won’t get to see it.” The rage came out, and he roared at her in anger. “Then I’m just going to cut the baby out of you and keep it,” he spat at her, then the hand came up and struck her on the cheek, not for the first time. She turned to run, but he charged at her and grabbed her, intent on getting that baby. He seized a
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knife from the kitchen and came at her, brandishing the blade. He brought the blade down on her stomach, but she squirmed away from his grasp and ran away from him. He continued to bear down on her, and managed to stab her wrist, then she desperately went into the bathroom, fumbled with the handle and locked herself in. She threw open the tiny window and screamed for help as Scott attempted to break down the bathroom door. “Help! Help! I’m being attacked!” Pounding on the door, Scott rattled the handle and did everything he could to tear it down, and Shelley broke the window and squeezed through, blood dripping all over the sill from the knife wounds, right as the door came loose. She left a crimson trail as she ran to her neighbor’s and they dialed 911, as she needed to go to the hospital ASAP. Scott came in to the bathroom to find it deserted and the window smashed, and he panicked as he realized he was going to go back to jail, almost certainly for life this time. He sprinted through the house and grabbed the car keys, diving behind the wheel and revving the engine, tires squealing as he peeled out of the driveway and tore off into the night. The sirens got louder as he sped onto the road, seeing the police in his rear view mirror. So focused on getting away was he that he didn’t notice where he was going. His vehicle sped forward, then, with a mighty crash of metal hitting metal, slammed head-first into another car with a mother and two children, causing his to spin off course into a side rail, resonating with another crash amongst the wails inside the other car and the flames licking both vehicles.
