[First short story I've ever written, at least that I've felt like sharing. I wanna write more and get better, I understand I'm not going to be some master writer from the get-go but hopefully I get an ounce of feedback and learn to improve. Anyway, it's not a happy story so be warned about that.]
In a small hospital, a man wakes up with an aching head. Slowly he opens his eyes and observes the room, it was bright and he didn't quite see. Suddenly he sees movement, someone in white saw him looking and moving around in his bed and ran off. Likely a nurse he thought. Then he noticed he was cuffed to the bed, someone didn't want him to go anywhere but he didn't really remember why that would be. His vision returned as he now saw the figure in white return, this time she was clearly a nurse, she brought with her a police officer, a doctor and a man in a suit. Hopefully they would have answers would help the man understand what he was doing there in the first place.
The man in the suit approached the man, and sat down on a chair next to the bed.
"Good morning, my name is Hill, detective Hill. How are you feeling?"
"I'm... I'm feeling a bit dizzy, confused.."
"Sir, can you tell me your name? Just for the record."
"Sure, my name is Robert Moore, what is this about?"
The detective looked at the man, then at the doctor, then down on his notes.
"Thomas Moore, is it? Alright, do you have any idea about why you're here?"
The man was a bit confused, but things started coming back to him.
"Uhm, yeah, I was in a struggle... At a house, my neighbor."
"I see, you're.. So you're the neighbor, Mr. Moore, we're not fully aware of the situation, mind filling us in? From the start if you don't mind."
Thomas Moore, as he had identified himself as, started thinking back to how it all had started. The story started coming to him as his mind cleared up.
"Of course, let me think, I've been their neighbor... Oh For a long time, as long as I can remember in fact."
"What was the name of your neighbor, can you account for the family members I mean?"
"Sure, let me think, it was the Payne family, the mother Anne, father Edgar and daughter Sophie."
"Okay, right, continue with the story."
"So I always knew there was something bad going on there, like it was one of those things you just know, the dad was a drinker, the daughter played alone in the backyard all the time. The mother often wore sunglasses and long sleeved clothing to hide bruises but you could always tell when the man, Edgar, had been rough with his family. Horrible man."
"Why didn't you intervene then, if it was so obvious why not call the police?"
"I... I don't know, I didn't feel it was my business, besides, the cops had been there and done nothing. That's just how these things go."
"Right, so you did nothing."
"I know, I'm ashamed, but what could I do? Well, at least that's what I asked myself every day until..."
Moore paused, thinking...
"...Until? Mr. Moore, are you alright to talk right now? We could come back later when you feel better?"
"No that's alright, I can talk right now. What pushed me to action was an encounter I had with the daughter a few days before the... Incident."
"Really now? So what happened?"
"Well, I was walking home, minding my own business, I'm kind of a loner that way..."
"The story, Mr. Moore.."
"..So I was walking and the daughter, Sophie, was playing in the front yard. Hadn't really seen her much as she was hidden away most of the time."
"So it was really that unusual for her to be around, close to other people than her family I mean?"
"Oh yes, they never brought her along when going out, she was often left alone in the house when Edgar and Anne went out for whatever reason."
"I see, so how was the encounter?"
"Well a ball came rolling out in my path and she came running close behind it. She grabbed it and stood in front of me, just looking at me. I got down on my knees and asked how she was doing, if her parents was around. She was quiet for awhile before saying that her mother wasn't around and that her dad was acting strange. Her face was emotionless, it broke my heart. Then I looked at the house and I saw the curtain move, the dad had woken up I figured. Not sure if he was still drunk I just told her to be safe when playing by the street. Then I went home and..."
"..Sorry to interrupt you, I have to go over a few notes with the doctor and such, I'll be right back."
Detective Hill got up and went over to the doctor and the officer, they talked among each other with muffled voices. There was even a bit of head scratching involved. After the doctor had talked exclusively for awhile the detective shrugged his shoulders and walked back over to the bed and sat down on his chair and sighed.
"Mr. Moore, we want the full picture of this... Situation, so please continue your story. What happened next?"
"Well, as I was saying, I went home and thought little of it. Still, it was in the back of my head as I went on. Every day from that on Sophie was playing in the front of the house, it was also eerily quiet compared to earlier. I started noticing that the mother wasn't around anymore."
"Did you suspect that foul play was the reason for her absence at this time?"
"Not really, I mean it was a broken home so it wasn't unusual for her to run off from time to time. The girl playing in the front by the street was overall the weirdest thing about it."
"Right, go on, Mr. Moore."
"It was not until... I'm sorry the exact day escapes me, I'm still a bit out of it, but it was late. I was going for a walk, I hadn't been to work that day so I wanted to do something besides just sitting around the house all day. Then as I got out I noticed something by the Payne household, a freshly dug hole in the backyard, I got chills down my spine thinking that Edgar had at some point killed his wife during a drunken stupor and now was burying her in the backyard. It made sense to me, that's why the daughter was playing in the front to he would be able to bury Anne without disturbance."
"With this realization, what did you do?"
"Well I felt I had to go over to investigate of course, I ran over to the house and started knocking on the door to confront Edgar."
"And was Mr. Payne and the daughter Sophie both home at this time?"
"Yes, in fact as Anne wasn't around Edgar was taking out his drunken rage on the girl. I felt mad with rage myself, witnessing this monster attacking a small child."
"Sounds horrible, so how did you respond to this?"
"I broke down the door, of course, I had to stop it."
"How did that go? I need exact details of what happened next."
"I'll describe it as accurately as I can.. I rushed in after I had forced the door open and attacked Edgar. During the struggle I pushed away Sophie and telling her to run and that she did. I kept fighting with Edgar, he was strong and had fought a lot during his life so he was tough to keep up with. Even when drunk."
"Right, go on Mr. Moore."
"Well, after a long struggle, I managed to knock him down. I stood over him, catching my breath. My heart was racing, I had just fought this man, I didn't know what to do now. Then I heard a voice behind me, 'Stop!', it said. It was little Sophie, she was holding a gun, barely, it was so heavy for her. I was shocked and lowered my posture and started to talk her down, I told her it wasn't a toy and that she might hurt someone. Didn't even notice how Edgar had risen up behind me and hit me in the head with a hard object, a bottle perhaps, and I went down. Before I passed out completely I heard a gunshot and saw him go down as well, shot in the head. Good girl, I thought, before losing my consciousness."
The detective sat and thought about Moore's story for awhile. Then leaned in.
"So this is your story, Mr. Moore? You, a lone neighbor, noticed the wrongs in a broken household and rose to the occasion, became a hero and defended the little girl from the monster?"
"Not quite how I'd put it, but my story is true."
"Alright, I'll be right back, do give it some more thought."
Hill got up and left the room with the others. Thomas Moore couldn't do anything but sit there, thinking over the events, why was the detective so snarky about his description of the events? Did he miss something? Was he a suspect? Moore wanted answers, and right now he still had more questions than before. Perhaps he'd find out more now, as the detective returned with a briefcase and sat back down beside him. He opened the briefcase and took a few folders in his lap.
"So, Mr. Moore, are you sticking to the story?"
"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"
"Well, the doctors assure me that you might be telling a story you really think is correct. So now I have a few questions to clear things up. Describe Mr. Edgar Payne to me, would you, Mr. Thomas Moore?"
"Uhm, sure, he's a tall man, strong, somewhat round around his guy, beard and messy hair most of the time. Unkempt I guess you could describe him."
"You are correct, here's a family photo, in fits with that description."
Detective Hill handed Moore the photo to observe.
"What is this about, Detective?"
"Describe your own appearance."
"Clean cut hair, quite light brown, average height, quite lean, I don't know, why are you asking this?"
"Mr. Moore, take a look at this mirror."
Hill handed Moore a mirror and he couldn't believe what he was looking at, that was the face of Edgar Payne, a shaggy looking man with a rough face.
"I... I don't understand, is this some sort of trick?"
"Mr. Moore, I assure you that the man you see in that mirror is yourself, you are Edgar Payne, there never was a 'Thomas Moore' to begin with. At least not in your neighborhood. We found your wife dead in your backyard, Sophie, your daughter, won't talk but we found a bottle that appears to be the weapon that bashed her head in. What exactly happened that night isn't exactly clear but what we do know is that you were intoxicated and that Sophie had shot you in the head. It was not fatal but your mind appear heavily scrambled, she was bruised so we figured it was self defense. Your story does make some sense but this 'Moore' persona you made up to make yourself feel better is a lie."
"What are you telling me? Of course I'm Thomas Moore, I've... I've been their neighbor for as long as I can remember, I told you...! I TOLD YOU THE STORY! I DIDN'T KILL MY WIFE YOU SON OF A...!!"
"It might be hard for you to accept, but you need to let this persona go, you made him up, Mr. Payne. The doctors will look at you and determine exactly just how damaged you are. See if that head of yours is truly that broken or if this is just an act."
"AN ACT!? This whole thing was just an act! That photo is manipulated, you're just looking for someone to send in jail! EDGAR PAYNE IS DEAD!"
"We can only hope he is, but unfortunately that's for the doctors to decide.. Goodbye, Mr. Payne."
Detective Hill got up as he walked out of the room, leaving Thomas Moore, or more accurately, Edgar Payne, to shout and cry out in pain and confusion. Apparently, truth doesn't always set you free.
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