Warm Blooded Murder

I was awakened by the feeling of a warm, thick liquid seeping under my back. Unsure of its source and in a sleepy haze I sat up, groggily wiping the leftover drool from my mouth. 'What time is it?' I thought as I reached out to turn on the lamp. The glistening yellow light flooded the room, nearly blinding me as I'd mistakenly started into the bulb. I blinked hard and yawned while I checked my alarm clock for the time, reading 4:52 A.M. I look to my left to wake my wife Darla, hoping she'd just spilled a drink while sleepily climbing back into bed. I see the outline of her body as the covers formed to her magnificent shape, pulled over her head to shield her from the light, I had figured. So far I'd seen no liquid that could be the cause of the wet sensation. I put my hand on my wife to shake her hard, being the deep sleeper she was, much like myself, it had always been difficult to wake her. As my palm rested on her shoulder above the blanket, I felt something wet cover my hand. I pulled the covers away from her trying desperately to find the wet substance, not noticing its deep red pigmentation. Then, to my absolute horror, what I had in fact revealed, was my wife's lifeless shell. Cold to the touch with no breath escaping her pale blue lips. In a state of panic I leapt out of bed, realizing what I had felt was my t-shirt soaking up her blood. My mind began to fade in and out, my heart racing faster by the millisecond. It was as if everything around me was at normal pace but I had entered a slow motion world. As I looked at Darla's body, just lying there, draining the last drops of her precious blood into our sheets, I returned to the real world. I sprinted down the hallway to our house phone and dialed 911. I rushed back into our bedroom, sobbing and holding her hand to my heart as I waited for the police to come. Around 30 minutes later, 4 police cars, an ambulance and a crime scene unit had swarmed my driveway. I honestly don't remember much after that. There were a lot of questions and a lot of condolences, but my mind was still in disbelief, flashbacks from that night still haunt me in my dreams. My high school sweetheart, my wife of 8 magical, wonderful years was gone, never coming back. I could never feel the warmth of her hugs or the softness of her lips pressed against my cheek. We hadn't even had children yet, and now we'd never get the chance to. I felt as if we'd both been robbed of our lives. Those next few weeks dragged by, more questions and more pain than Id ever imagined came with them. Around the fourth day of the third week, the investigators apprehended the person they suspected. They'd arrested him in his estranged girlfriend's front lawn, half naked and pumped full of drugs. The evidence had been piled against him, there was no doubt in my mind he was responsible. After two weeks of unnerving anxiety and vengeful thoughts swirling about in my head, the lead detective gave me the information I'd been waiting to hear. Two days later, I found myself in a suit and tie, standing in a courtroom across from the person I knew was responsible for the brutal murder of my sweet Darla. As the trial came to its end, I nervously waited as the jury read their verdict, they found the defendant guilty of first degree, premeditated murder. He was sentenced to life in a maximum security prison without the possibility of parole. Justice had been served, the guilty had been punished, although my heart still ached with pain. I knew Darla was smiling down on me, thankful that we found him. As the man walked past my bench, on his way to spend the rest of his life behind bars, a sense of relief came across me as I looked into his bloodshot brown eyes. I never thought it'd end up like this, but I began to smile as I realized, this would be the last time I'd ever have to look my eldest brother Jared in the face again.