A short time ago my boyfriend, David, had come to live with me in my house. He was 26 years old at the time and was preparing for his teacher's exams. I am quite older than him, I was 35 at the time, I had been working since I was very young and I could afford to buy my own apartment. My name is Daniel, Danny to my friends.
I was very happy that David came to live with me. Even though we had only been dating for a year and a half, I was deeply in love with him. David was a very handsome, sweet, good-natured guy and I loved his sense of humor and the light-hearted way he took life. However, as soon as he moved in, the problems started. I had been living alone for quite a few years and was a bit of a neat freak. On the other hand, David, an only child, still living off his parents' money and quite spoiled by them, had never lifted a finger in his life for housework. He was very careless, never did any chores and seemed to care very little about dirt or the poor state of the house. This caused us to start having arguments about it right away. I insisted that he had to get involved in the housework and used to urge him to do it or reproach him for not having done it when it was his turn to do it. And I would often do it quite angrily, becoming very aggressive, since, in addition to the fact that he did not work at all, it annoyed me that when I reproached him, he paid little attention, took it with total frivolity and promised me that he would make amends, which he never did. This used to result in a lot of anger on my part and sometimes in relatively violent arguments, although he did not usually respond aggressively. This was also influenced, I suppose, by the fact that I was bigger and much larger than he was, which often made me, if not an intimidating boyfriend, then the dominant one in the relationship.
One afternoon when I came home from work, I found, as was often the case, all the breakfast dishes and the dishes David had used for lunch dirty and scattered around the kitchen. I went straight to where he was studying and, trying not to be too aggressive, I said to him:
-David, you've left the dishes unwashed again, dammit....
-Sorry -he replied with one of his charming smiles-, I was going to do it, but I started to study a new subject and I didn't want to interrupt it. I'll do it later -this was his typical answer, he NEVER did it later.
-Yes, later... when? I have to make dinner in a little while, will I have to do the dishes as usual so I can have dishes and space?
-No, man, no. Before you make dinner I'll scrub, I promise -he got up and added: -Do you want to go for a walk? I need to get some air.
I was angry, but I didn't want to get more upset and accepted. We went out into the street, while he asked me, with his usual affability, about my day at work. We chatted about inconsequential things as we strolled along. At one point we followed an itinerary that was not our usual one and, as we passed by a street, we saw a store, unknown to us, of esoteric books and materials. David let out an exclamation of joy, he was very fond of these subjects, and asked me to come in and see it. Once inside, he spent several minutes chatting with the clerk, a rather elderly gentleman, and then got engrossed in looking at the books in the store. After a long time I got impatient and told him:
-Come on David, we have to go, we have to prepare dinner. By the way, did you buy the onions and eggs I asked for?
-Well... no, I forgot, I'm sorry.
Then I burst out and I couldn't contain my anger:
-FUCK, CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING I ASK YOU TO DO? DO YOU THINK I'M YOUR SERVANT? REALLY, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU CAN BE SO USELESS AND LAZY...
I continued shouting expletives at him for a while, when I noticed that I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned around and saw the old man in the store. He said to me softly:
-Why are you yelling at this nice boy like that?
-That's none of your business! -I replied roughly-, Mind your own business!
-Yes, it is -he said again in the same soft voice-. I think you should apologize to him.
I glared at him. David, a little frightened, asked me to calm down and told the old man not to worry, that everything was fine. He told me, without being the least bit upset:
-I think you should listen to your boyfriend and calm down. I think you two would be much happier if you listened to him more often. In fact -as he said this he made a strange gesture with his hand, turning it in front of my face and continued, now much more slowly and marking each word-, from now on you are going to obey him in everything he tells you.
When he said this I felt a little twinge in the back of my neck. The old man turned around and I was going to answer him angrily again, but there was something that stopped me, I don't know what. On the other hand David, genuinely worried about my possible reaction, quickly took me by the arm and led me out of the store.
We soon forgot the incident and, after stopping by the supermarket and shopping, we returned home. As soon as we arrived I said to David:
-Do the dishes while I change clothes, please, so I can make dinner.
-Yes, right away, let me call Raoul for a moment and I'll get to it.
-Fuck, are we there yet? -I was furious again-. Then you get on the phone and stay on for an hour. You can call him later
-It's just a moment, really, I won't be long....
-No, fuck no! Call him later! -I kept yelling at him. He usually didn't argue and just put up with the downpour, but sometimes he also had his temper, and he said to me in annoyance as he turned around:
-Damn! It's only for a moment. Shut up and leave me alone!
I went to answer him furiously, but suddenly something unexpected happened. I felt the same sting on the back of my neck that I had felt in the store and suddenly I was unable to articulate a word. I simply seemed to have lost my voice. What was wrong with me? My face contracted into a panicked grimace. David, startled, turned around and saw me in that state. He was smart and immediately realized that something strange was going on.
-You did shut up -he said in surprise. I looked at him terrified and still unable to utter a word. He asked: -I'm surprised you're not still shouting. Tell me, why did you keep quiet?
At that moment I regained the use of speech. However, while I felt a new pang in the back of my neck, some words came out of my mouth without me thinking about them, as if someone else was pronouncing them:
-I kept quiet because you told me to.
-Oh, did you? -David laughed heartily-. Well, you're not very good at shutting up when I tell you to, hahaha... -suddenly he became serious and said to me: -Wait, you're not kidding, are you? You are serious...
-Yes, David -the words came out of my mouth again without my having the slightest say in it. He remained thoughtful and at that moment, I am sure, we both remembered the words of the old man in the store: "from now on you will obey him in everything he tells you".
-But... it can't be... -David stammered-. This is not possible...
My head, meanwhile, boiled with fear and disbelief. I couldn't understand what was happening to me. I was totally skeptical and had never believed in anything supernatural. Then David, who was still very serious, as if trying to assimilate it, said something completely unexpected:
-Get on all fours!
I immediately felt the sting on the back of my neck and, without being able to do anything to avoid it, I lowered my arms to the ground and got into the position David ordered me to. He, still stunned, said:
-Wow, I can't believe it... Walk around a little bit.
I began to crawl around the room on all fours as David stared at me in disbelief. The terror was such at that moment for me that tears came to my eyes. My boyfriend saw this and immediately said to me:
-Hey, uh... get up -I stood up at once and he hugged me tenderly-. Don't cry, honey. I just needed to check. You know I would never do anything bad to you, right? Take it easy, take it easy....
I convulsed in his arms, trembling in terror. He grabbed my face and continued: -Tomorrow we'll go see that guy at the store. Whatever he's done, we'll ask him to undo it, okay? Calm down, honey....
I nodded still crying and went to prepare dinner. I tried to forget about it for the rest of the evening. We watched a little TV and went to sleep.
What had happened had so terrified me that I was unable to sleep a wink all night. I could not understand how I could have lost control of my mind and body in that way. The next day we did indeed return to the esoteric shop. However, instead of the old man from the previous day we met a very young girl. She kindly said to us:
-Can I help you with anything, gentlemen?
-Yes... -I replied-, We'd like to talk to the man who was here yesterday. Isn't he here?
-That's my grandfather -she said, smiling-. No, he's not here today. The truth is that he rarely comes here anymore. He started this store, but now he's too old to take care of it. But don't worry, whatever you need, I can offer it to you.
-But... -said David shyly-. The truth is that we would really need to talk to him personally....
-I don't know when he's coming back here, but I tell you, anything he knows, I know too. He has me well trained -she smiled. I began to get impatient:
-We have to talk to him, don't you understand? -I said aggressively. I couldn't control the tension inside me.
-Could you give us his phone number or address? -David said, touching my arm to get me under control-. It's important.
She was silent for a moment. She looked at me and clearly perceived the violence in my gaze. Evidently, she was frightened. She said to us:
-No, I don't think I can do that, gentlemen. I don't know what you're up to, but....
-Listen! -I cut her off in desperation-, WE HAVE TO TALK TO HIM! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? -Without being able to help myself, I advanced towards her aggressively.
-Sir, don't shout at me, please, I think you should leave right now... -she said very scared. Seeing her reaction David said to me:
-That's enough Danny! Leave her alone!
I immediately felt the now familiar twinge in the back of my neck and could not utter another word as I backed away. David approached the counter and wrote down something on a piece of paper there:
-Listen, please tell your grandfather that we were here and that we need to talk to him. I'll leave my phone number here, okay? Please tell him. We don't want to do anything bad to him, really.
She looked at us with an expression somewhere between fear and fury. She took the paper David was holding out to her, but said nothing. At that moment I was absolutely certain that she had no intention of doing what my boyfriend was asking her to do and that the paper was going to end up in the wastebasket as soon as we got out of there. David led me back out of the store. When we were alone I confronted him:
-But haven't you noticed? She's not going to tell his grandfather.
-And what did you want us to do? -He answered me- force her? Do you want to end up in jail for assault? And on top of that, on a girl. If you hadn't been so violent, maybe we could have gotten her to listen to us.
-I didn't get violent...
-Yes, you did, in fact, you do it all the time. So just shut up and we'll see how we work it out.
I was going to answer him, but... a twinge in the back of my head and a complete loss of speech again. David noticed this perfectly and, as he turned away, to my desolation, he muttered to himself with a half smile:
-Ummm, I could really get used to this...
Guys, first of all I apologize for the possible mistakes, since English is not my mother tongue. Unlike my previous story, this one I'm not sure where I'm going to take it and how it's going to end, so I'll be looking forward your opinions and suggestions in my email.
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