The Tides Swept You Out of My Life

“What’s with the basin outside the door? Where did all the blood come from?”

Seamus looked at me, confused. “Autumn, why do you look so pale?”

My sister-in-law Laura was coming into the house when she stopped at the smell. She pointed at the water in the basin, pinched her nose, and declared, “Geez, Autumn, you should've prepared beforehand if you knew you were going to get your period! Look, you stained all the sheets.”

Seamus frowned in disgust. “Clean it up, Autumn. What if someone else sees this? It's embarrassing!”

I dragged my heavy feet over slowly and poured the water into the wastewater bucket.

Laura sniggered, then turned to Seamus with concern in her voice. “Seamus, since Autumn's bed has been sullied, why don't you spend the night in my room? You should get a good night's sleep so you can go to work on time tomorrow. What do you say?”

Seamus’ ears quickly turned red, and he cleared his throat. “Sure. That's a good idea.”

Before this, they would at least keep their flirting behind my back. Now, however, they were flaunting it right before my eyes.

Just then, my son Thomas came out of his room with his backpack in hand. “Mom, my bag strap broke, and all my classmates made fun of me. Hurry up and fix it for me!”

However, Laura reached out her fair hands to take the bag. “Tommy, your mom must be exhausted after spending a whole day in the fields. I can sew up your bag for you.”

Watching her little act, I said calmly, “Can you even sew, Laura? If you try, Tommy's classmates will probably make fun of him even more.”

Laura frowned, but Thomas yelled at me first. “No, Aunt Laura shouldn't have to do such petty chores! Mom, you've been resting at home all day, haven't you? Can't you fix my bag for me at least?!”

I looked at him in shock and endless disappointment. This was my own son, my flesh and blood, yet he was berating me for an outsider.

Clang! I smashed the basin to the ground.

“Then get your dear Aunt Laura to fix it for you!”

With that, I stormed back into my room, leaving both my son and husband frozen in shock.

In my more than seven years of marriage so far, everyone had praised me for being gentle and kind. I had never raised my voice at anyone before.

Seamus quickly recovered and came after me, saying softly, “What are you doing, Autumn? There's no need to yell at the kid. Don't be mad, okay? I won't go anywhere, and I’ll stay with you tonight. How about that?”

I ignored him, tidying up the bed all by myself.

Just as I turned off the lights that night, however, there was a woman's cry from the room next door.

Moments later, Laura knocked on our door, saying timidly, “Seamus, I think there's a mouse in my room. Can you help me? I'm scared…”

No matter what Seamus had said earlier in the day, he got out of bed as soon as he heard Laura calling his name at night.

“I'll go take a look, Autumn. I'll be back as soon as I catch that mouse. Go ahead and sleep without me.”

However, he did not come back that night. After a while, I heard soft moans coming from the room next door.

My heart twisted in my chest. I gripped the sheets tightly, tears staining my pillow.

The next morning, Laura sauntered out of her room. She had purposely worn a shirt with a loose color, revealing the bruises on her neck.

Exasperated, I tried to return to my room with my washbasin, but she called out to me.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest with a nasty smirk. “Autumn, don't you know some medicine? Why don't you go to town and buy Seamus some supplements? Let's just say… he could use some extra nutrients after working so hard last night.”

Seamus walked out of his room, putting on his clothes. He paused when he heard Laura's words and tried to explain. “Uh, the mouse was too big, so…”

I gripped the edges of the basin and scoffed. “No amount of supplements will help that body of his.”