Just The Two Of Us...

Marshall wakes up the next morning and realizes that the crazy nightmare is reality, and now he has to figure out what to do with Kim.

Marshall Mathers slowly made his way over to the bed he shared with his ex wife. With every step he prayed that he was still dreaming. Her lifeless eyes staring up at him told him otherwise but he just couldn’t fathom the concept of really taking it too far this time. He lifted his neck up a bit as he stared down at her.

“Kim.” He reached a foot out and nudged the mattress. It didn’t move and neither did she. “Kim.” He repeated, more arrogantly. If she was playing dead, this certainly didn’t strike him as amusing. He reached a shaky hand towards the covers sprawled ontop of her, hoping that the approach of his touch would send her springing to life ready to make breakfast.

He quickly grapsed a hold of the covers and pulled them back. Jumping back, he soaked in the sight before him. Kimberly Scott lying in a puddle of blood, large enough to make Marshall question why he hadn’t felt the pool while he was lying beside her. “F**K!” He screamed out.

There was a soft cry in the doorway and he whirled around. Hailie stood in the doorway hugging her small hands around a bowl in anticipation. He bit his lip, trying to remain calm. Dead wife in his bed, hungry baby in his door; Definitely not the life Eminem would’ve wished for. Slim Shady, maybe… Never Marshall.

He looked at his arm and frowned when he saw the hospital bracelet wrapped around it. What the hell went on last night? He thought to himself as he scooped up the baby. “Now what..?” He asked Hailie as he carried her back into the kitchen. She pushed the bowl against his lips and he chuckled wryly. “Alright.”

He set her down in her high chair before opening the cabinet and grabbing a box of her favorite cereal. He tore open the tab on the top of the box, before ripping open the bag. He watched as the small flakes raced into her bowl. She clapped her small hands happily and Marshall paused for a minute.

He listened to the sound of the cereal flowing into the bowl. He listened to the sound of her clapping. He listened to the birds actually chirping outside. For the first time in years, Marshall’s morning hadn’t started off with yelling. He could actually enjoy the morning sunshine without having a pot smashed over his head. He took a moment to let the thought of that, the realization sink in.

He handed Hailie her spoon and she happily shoved it into the bowl of dry cereal. “Baby.” He said and she looked up. He crossed the small trailer to her side and knelt down. “Dada loves you. I’m always gonna be here for you. No matter what happens.” He watched her shove the large spoon of froot loops into her mouth and smiled softly. “You’re all I got in this world now. I would never give you up for nothing. Nobody in this world is ever gonna keep you from me. I love you.” He kissed her cheek as the phone rang. His cell phone. The outside world suddenly existed again.

He flipped open his small phone and put it to his ear. “Hello?” He said quietly.

“Duuuudey!” Marshall’s best friend DeShaun slurred his nickname through the phone. He laughed at the thought of Proof, the man everyone knew as the hardcore Detroit thug calling him by the name they’d called each other as kids. To everyone, Proof was that slick rapper from D12. To Marshall, he was DeShaun Holton, aka Dudey. “How’d s**t go with Kim last night? You didn’t smack her up too hard did you?”

Although Marshall could hear DeShaun chuckling, he could see Kim’s eyes staring at him from where her body was laying on the bed in the other room. “Nah, man. I didn’t even see her last night.”

“You mean she’s still getting dicked up!?” DeShaun roared in laughter. “Let’s hope some dude snapped her jaw off ‘cause she wasn’t doing it right.” DeShaun continued on talking about what Kim would be doing. Little did his best friend know, Marshall was trying to figure out what next. He couldn’t tell DeShaun about what he did to his wife. Honestly, he had no idea what he’d done. Judging by the blood on his shirt, it’d been one of the most painful deaths.

All Marshall could remember was being at the bar. He’d just seen his wife in bed with some dude from her job, and he flipped out. He knocked over the lamp, called DeShaun and left. That’s all he could remember. Who would know if she was missing? He thought to himself. S**t, she’s got work tonight.

“Y’know what I mean?” DeShaun’s laughter died down.

“What?” Marshall snapped out of his thoughts.

“I said, her being missing for a couple days or something wouldn’t be a bad thing. I bet no one would even know she was gone.”

“Yeah, look Proof, lemme call you back.” Marshall closed the phone without even waiting for a response.  Dawn would care. Her boy toys would care. He pushed his fist against his forehead at the thought of her boy toys. How many did he not know about? The thought of that made him sick to his stomach, and he raced over to the sink. He stared at the drain for a minute as he waited for the sinking pit in his stomach to reach the entrance of his throat. Nothing.

He turned around looking at his daughter as she smiled. The bright side to all of this was that he would never have to worry about anyone taking his baby from him again. It would be him and Hailie, forever now. A small smile curled across his face. “Come on Hai.” He lifted her up out of her highchair. “We going to the beach.” He sat her down on the floor. “Grab a couple toys and let Dada strap you in your car seat.” He said and she took off running towards the front door.

He walked back into the bedroom before staring down at his blood soaked t-shirt. He picked it up, wrapping it around his hands. He slowly grabbed onto Kim by her waist. Her deadweight fell limp against the floor as he dragged her. Goddamn, even after all the workouts he’d done lately, she was still heavy as f**k. He slowly wrapped her body into the sheet before curling her up and lifting her with all his strength. He quickly carried her outside and sat her on the ground. He looked around to make sure no one had seen him before shoving his key in the trunk.

“Ayee, Marshall.” He turned around quickly when he was face to face with the next door neighbor. “You peeled out of here pretty fast last night.” The man said, his heavy Southern accent coming in deep. “Everything alright with you?”

“Yeah man, Hailie had the coughs. So, I had to take her to the hospital.”

“Oh.” The neighbor stared at his shirt. “Shooting some kind of music video today?” He lifted an eyebrow and Marshall quickly stared down at his shirt.

“Oh yeah. I’m playing some psycho guy. You know Slim Shady? So, I’m just wearing the shirt trying to get into character.” Marshall had to hold back a frown, realizing that was the worst lie he’d ever conjured up.

“Well, I hope it goes all good for you, there Eminem.” The guy turned and started walking away. Marshall watched as he disappeared into his trailer, before quickly twisting the key. He didn’t want to encounter anyone else. He just wanted it all over with. The trunk sprang open, and his breath caught in his throat when his eyes landed on a dead body. “Wh�"“

His eyes widened when he recognized the man. The man that was buried deep in his wife directly in front of his face, is now lying dead in the trunk. He realized he had no time to think with two bodies on his hand, and quickly shoved Kim’s body on top of the dead man. He slammed the truck closed before rushing into the car. He closed the door before looking over at Hailie who smiled at him. “What the hell have we gotten ourselves into baby?” He asked and she smiled, offering him a cookie. “Where’d you get that?” he asked lovingly before starting the car.

“Mama?” Hailie looked around, fear becoming evident in her eyes.

“Where’s mama? She’s taking a little nap in the trunk.” He said as he pulled out of the driveway. He looked over and saw her holding her nose. “What’s that smell? Dada must’a ran over a skunk.” He said and she giggled laying her head back against the car seat. “You know mama, she’s one of those type of women that do crazy things. If she don’t get her way, she’ll throw a fit.” He looked over, and his eyes widened as she was holding a bloody knife in her hand. “Don’t play with Dada’s toy knife, honey let go of it.” He snatched it away and suddenly a loud honk filled his ears. He looked back at the road, and swerved out of the way realizing that he’d nearly crashed a car driving on the wrong side of the road.

He breathed out a sigh of relief before looking over at his startled daughter. “Don’t look upset, why you actin’ bashful?” He reached over and ruffled her hair focusing on the road again. “Don’t you wanna help dada build a sand castle?” He pulled over to the side of the creek. “Mama wants to show you how far she can float.” He gets out and slowly pulls the key out of the ignition smiling at Hailie. How would he ever be able to explain to her that he killed her mother? He lifted up the trunk and looked inside. He grabbed the sheet and slammed it on the ground before closing the trunk. He started dragging it past the passenger side door and Hailie looked at him through the window. He followed her eyes to her mother, who’s face had fallen out of the sheet.

“Don’t worry about that little boo-boo on her throat.” He reassured her. “It’s just a little scratch. It don’t hurt.” He switched over to baby talk which was sure to make her laugh. “Her was eating dinner while you were sweeping and spilled ketchup on her shirt. Mommy’s messy isn’t she?” He teased and she nodded. “We’ll let her wash off of in the water, and you and me can pway by ourselves, can’t we baby?” He said and she nodded once more before watching him. He wondered how much of that she actually understood. “Pway” always got a nod out of Hailie. He dragged the body over to the dock, and stared at Kim's face. It was the first time he had gotten a good look at it, and noticed how her face was distorted in horror. Like she’d been screaming when she died. He closed his eyes trying to remember. All he could see was the swishing of windshield wipers moving in the rain.

“I’m sorry baby.” He whispered. “You just�"You just don’t cheat on someone you love.” He shook his head before nudging her body off of the dock with his foot. He watched as she slowly began to sink. He slowly took his shirt off and slid it against the bloody knife’s handle. If he’d used that to kill her, he needed to clear his fingerprints off of it like those criminals off of CSI. He went back to the car and lifted the male’s body up which was surprisingly less heavy than Kim’s. He was probably a wimpy little short guy.

Marshall heaved the body over his shoulders before throwing it with all of his strength off of the dock. “Peace out f**k bag. Thanks for taking my wife.” He said with more anger than he’d felt since the moment he laid eyes on the two. He watched as the man sunk down deep, and Marshall drew back slowly. He launched the knife as far as his arm would throw it before turning around.

Hailie was wailing in the car and he jogged over to her. “Baby don’t cry. Don’t get the wrong idea.” He protested as he unbuckled her and carried her. They both stood on the dock together.

 “There’s a place call heaven.. and a place called hell.” He said to her as he buried his nose in her hair. “There’s a place called prison, and a place called jail. Dada’s on his way to all of them except one.” He imagined the cops rushing in and catching him. How would Hailie react to losing both her parents. “Cause mama’s got a new husband and probably a stepson. And you don’t want a brother do you?” She stared at him sucking on her thumb. “Maybe when you’re old enough to understand a little better, I’ll explain it to you. Wave bye bye to the beach.” He said and waved.

She waved along with him as he carried her back to the car. He buckled her in. “Just me and you baby. It’s all we need in this world. Just me and you. Your dada will always be there for you.” He closed her in before slamming the trunk closed. He came around the other side and got in. “Remember that. Dada’s always gonna love you. If you ever need me, I will always be here for you.” He continued to her as she watched him. “If you ever need anything, just ask. Dada will be right there. Your dada loves you. I love you baby.”

She giggled as he blew raspberry at her and Marshall couldn’t even begin to describe how much her voice gave him redemption. No matter how far he had to run from the law, it’d all be okay if he had his baby.

The sound of his phone ringing made him jump. He quickly grabbed it, flipping it open. “H’lo?”

“Marshall. It’s Paul. I need you at my office right now.” Marshall pulled out of the creek’s lot and started toward his manager, Paul Rosenberg’s office. “You’re in some major trouble, pal.”