Clothes

The Assignment: Use a particular and fairly vivid piece of clothing to tell a story: a sweater worn by two sisters who sleep with the same man while wearing it (at least initially), or a loud sports jacket someone buys at a Goodwill store before realizing the jacket has three bullet holes in its back.  What does clothing say about us?  How does it select us, as opposed to being selected by us?  Who tells us to buy this or that thing (other than salespeople)? What is the most alluring piece of clothing you've ever seen or worn and why?  why do some people seem to fit their clothes and others not?  What do clothes hide?  What do they reveal? 600 words.

My Response:

“So, what do you think?” Karen asked, presenting herself to her boyfriend.

“About what?” He asked, staring at the TV behind her.

Karen twisted around to see the bright colours of a cartoon that she couldn’t even begin to name dancing across the screen, then down at the red dress she had donned.

It had a wide sweethart neckline, with capped sleeves, and it clung to her curves until just below the waist where it flared out, ending about an inch above her knees. She had loved it the first time she had seen it, and Mark had remembered and gotten it for her.

At the time, he had told her that she was just as beautiful as the dress, and he was going to take her out for a night out on the town to prove it to her. Now she was starting to think that was just another of his promises that he would never get around to.

“Mark!” She cried, stepping in the way of the TV even more. “Look at me.”

He sighed dramatically and looked up at her. “What?”

“You promised that we would go out.”

“No I didn’t.”

Of course he said that now. That was the way it always went with him. He would be all sweet and make all these promises, but when it came time to actually do it, he acted like it was nothing.

“Mark, I need you to…”

Her words were cut off by the sound of glass breaking. She frowned as she looked in the direction of the back door.

“What was that?”

“What was what?” Mark asked, his eyes firmly fixed on the TV again.

“Don’t worry about it. You keep watching your damn cartoons. I’ll go look.”

He nodded, and waved her off, and Karen turned away, making her way toward the back door. She should have known this was going to happen. She should have left him months ago, but she had thought that he was a good guy. That her friends didn’t know what they were talking about when they called him a loser.

Her steps slowed when she saw the broken glass in front of the back door, which was swinging open in the night. She tensed, ready to run, when arms encircled her, a hand moving to stop her from screaming.

“What do we have here?” A ragged voice sounded in her ear. “A pretty dress all ready for me.”

She shook her head, kicking out, trying to get him in the knee, but he just chuckled, and pushed her against the counter, sending a pot clattering to the ground.

“Do you mind, Babe?” Mark called from the living room. “I’m trying to watch a show.”

The man snickered in her ear, and she desperately tried to fight him off, but soon the red skirt she had loved so much was bunched up around her waist.

“You know what this colour reminds me of?” He asked, his fingers playing with the fabric even as she felt him pulling at her panties. “Your blood.”

She felt a sting on her neck and realized that he had cut her, the red of her blood sliding down to mingle with the dress.

Then he was on her. The dress was pulled from her body, leaving her exposed. He threw it in front of her, her eyes focusing on the rips and tears that hadn’t been there only a few minutes before.

“Babe, do you think you could bring me a sandwich?” Mark called, and she let out a groan, trying to block out what was happening to her.

The laughter in her ear didn’t help.

When he was done he grabbed the knife once more. “Thanks for a great night, my Lady in Red.” He whispered in her ear.

Her eyes widened as she felt the knife pushed into her, twisting as it dug deep into her back. Pain flooded through her, and she could see her blood flowing out onto the counter below her, pooling around the dress, until it was hard to decipher one from the other.

Slowly the colour faded away, his laughter getting more and more distant, until she couldn’t feel anything at all.

My Thoughts: So...that went a little bit darker than I originally intended it.  Seriously, I don't know what I thought was going to happen, but it sure wasn't that.  Huh.  Well, there you have it.  I guess I'm all dark and twisty ^.~

I would love to see anything that you've come up with for this exercise.  Or even just a comment on how you think I did.  Post in the comments section below.

All exercises come from The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley