Chapter 8
Dave's POV
The front door clicked shut behind Ava. I watched her go, driving away in her car.I knew somehow she was going to leave before us so i had told the driver to follow us with her car.A strange mix of relief and unease settled over me. Relief, because Ava was gone. She asked too many questions, saw too much, and made Avina restless. My father was right; she was a danger to the quiet we needed. But unease, because her leaving didn't make the air in the house feel any lighter. If anything, the silence felt heavier, now that her worried eyes weren't watching us.
Avina was already looking tired again, even after a day at my parents' place. She went straight to our bedroom to rest, which was good. "Proper rest," Dad had said. He had even called earlier, just as we arrived back, to remind me. He'd also told me he was sending over "something" for Avina tonight, a "special supplement" to help her sleep. I didn't question it. Dad always knew best.
Later that evening, after a quiet dinner where Avina barely picked at her food, we went to bed. I watched her get ready, her movements slow, almost dreamy. My own head felt a bit fuzzy, a dull ache behind my eyes. I lay down, the big, soft bed swallowing me up. Avina turned off the light.
And that was it.Nothing.
I opened my eyes and the morning sun was already peeking through the curtains. My head was clearer, the fuzzy feeling gone. I looked beside me. Avina was still asleep, facing away from me, her breathing soft and even.
A frown creased my forehead. What time was it? More importantly… what had happened last night?
I couldn't remember.
Not a single thing after Avina turned off the light. No talking. No intimacy. Just a complete blank space. It was like I had fallen into a deep hole the second my head hit the pillow. I tried to push through the fog in my mind, searching for any detail, any flicker of memory. Nothing. Just smooth, empty nothingness from the moment the light went out until now.
This wasn't new. It had been happening for a while now, almost every night since we moved into this house. Since we got married, actually. At first, I'd thought it was just exhaustion from work, or the stress of moving. I'd wake up feeling rested, but with this strange, empty feeling about the night before. I'd shrug it off, telling myself it just meant I was sleeping well. But it was more than just sleeping well. It was like time itself had disappeared.
Avina stirred, letting out a soft sigh. She rolled over, her eyes blinking open slowly. "Morning, Dave," she mumbled, her voice rough with sleep.
"Morning, honey," I said, trying to sound normal. My mind was racing.
She sat up, stretching. Then she looked at me, a confused look on her face. "Did… did we…?" She trailed off, her cheeks getting a little red.
I knew exactly what she was asking. And I knew she had the same blank space in her memory. "I don't… I don't remember, Vina," I admitted, feeling a strange mix of shame and fear. "I just… fell asleep."
She sighed, a small, sad sound. "Me too. It's weird, isn't it? I mean, since we came back from the honeymoon, it's like… we just go to bed and then it's morning. I can't remember anything in between. Only on the honeymoon… that felt different. Real."
"It's just the stress," I said quickly, trying to convince myself as much as her. "New house, new routine. We're both tired." But the words felt hollow even to my own ears. This wasn't normal tiredness. This was too complete, too perfect a blank. It was like someone had simply erased hours from our lives, night after night.
My father's words from yesterday echoed in my head: *"Part of the process, son."* Could this be what he meant? This strange, memory-wiping sleep? What *process*? A cold dread started to spread through me. Avina's nightmares, her growing tiredness, the crying Ava had heard, and now this… this missing time, this forgotten intimacy. It was all too much to be just "stress."
A knot formed in my stomach. I was supposed to be in control, to ensure "stability," as Dad always said. But I felt anything but. I felt like a puppet, and I didn't even know whose strings were being pulled.
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End of chapter
Tbc.....