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It was only 8.00 am and in the early morning light the devastation was overwhelming. Everywhere you looked there was mute evidence of the upheaval that had happened. A small sob escaped from Sarahs' mouth as she slipped her fingers into Jeffs' much larger hand and he gave them a small squeeze of encouragement. Together they set about traversing their dream home to catalogue the wreckage.
They started from where they stood; the kitchen. Several glasses were smashed on the work surfaces leaving dangerous shards to catch out the unwary. At least two plates hadn't survived and they crunched underfoot as Sarah carefully tried to step around them. A knife stood upright and straight, its blade embedded in the table. Food had been thrown around the room and Sarah automatically scooped some up to put in the bin. When she went to wash her hands she discovered that the sink was full so she just sighed and wiped them on her jeans.
She had her hand on the cellar door when Jeff called out for her to leave it. She looked at him quizzically and wrenched the door open. The stench of melted plastic wafted out to greet her so she slammed the door shut again - wisely deciding not to investigate further.
Moving swiftly to the living room the mess looked even worse. Pictures were askew on the walls, a vase was smashed and glasses had been upended. Some had spilled their contents onto the wooden floor and Sarah preyed that no permanent damage had been done. Over by the stereo CDs were arranged before the unit like a silver disk necklace but she was pleased at least to note that the stereo itself, along with the TV, had remained intact. Well the stereo was mostly intact except for the speaker that had jumped off the wall and crashed through the plate glass table.
Sarah stepped softly around two bodies, wandered towards the french windows and looked into the garden. Even here, even the garden had not survived completely unharmed as two plant pots were smashed and the pretty blooms spread across the path and crushed.
She leaned her forehead against the cool glass and two silent tears slipped from beneath her closed eyelids. A timely kick reminded her of the new life she carried and she placed her hand on the ever growing lump which preceded her wherever she went these days. Jeff came up behind her and enveloped her so that both his hands lay across hers. The baby was due in 4 months and she knew her emotions were fraught at the moment so she just looked helplessly at Jeff. He immediately understood that she couldn't cope right now and led her to a clear space on the sofa.
Jeff picked up the telephone and called his sister.
"Morning Red, I'm glad your up. Sarah cannot cope with the mess so can you call mum and bring her around to help with the clear up? It looks like world war 3 around here" He listened intently to her reply and sighed. "Yes, I know. I know it was a bad idea to have a housewarming but I insisted. It wasn't our friends that did this but friends of friends and gatecrashers. You know how these things get out of hand and escalate. At least we only have one housewarming and once the baby arrives then the parties will be much smaller and quieter" and he hung up.
They started from where they stood; the kitchen. Several glasses were smashed on the work surfaces leaving dangerous shards to catch out the unwary. At least two plates hadn't survived and they crunched underfoot as Sarah carefully tried to step around them. A knife stood upright and straight, its blade embedded in the table. Food had been thrown around the room and Sarah automatically scooped some up to put in the bin. When she went to wash her hands she discovered that the sink was full so she just sighed and wiped them on her jeans.
She had her hand on the cellar door when Jeff called out for her to leave it. She looked at him quizzically and wrenched the door open. The stench of melted plastic wafted out to greet her so she slammed the door shut again - wisely deciding not to investigate further.
Moving swiftly to the living room the mess looked even worse. Pictures were askew on the walls, a vase was smashed and glasses had been upended. Some had spilled their contents onto the wooden floor and Sarah preyed that no permanent damage had been done. Over by the stereo CDs were arranged before the unit like a silver disk necklace but she was pleased at least to note that the stereo itself, along with the TV, had remained intact. Well the stereo was mostly intact except for the speaker that had jumped off the wall and crashed through the plate glass table.
Sarah stepped softly around two bodies, wandered towards the french windows and looked into the garden. Even here, even the garden had not survived completely unharmed as two plant pots were smashed and the pretty blooms spread across the path and crushed.
She leaned her forehead against the cool glass and two silent tears slipped from beneath her closed eyelids. A timely kick reminded her of the new life she carried and she placed her hand on the ever growing lump which preceded her wherever she went these days. Jeff came up behind her and enveloped her so that both his hands lay across hers. The baby was due in 4 months and she knew her emotions were fraught at the moment so she just looked helplessly at Jeff. He immediately understood that she couldn't cope right now and led her to a clear space on the sofa.
Jeff picked up the telephone and called his sister.
"Morning Red, I'm glad your up. Sarah cannot cope with the mess so can you call mum and bring her around to help with the clear up? It looks like world war 3 around here" He listened intently to her reply and sighed. "Yes, I know. I know it was a bad idea to have a housewarming but I insisted. It wasn't our friends that did this but friends of friends and gatecrashers. You know how these things get out of hand and escalate. At least we only have one housewarming and once the baby arrives then the parties will be much smaller and quieter" and he hung up.
A strong bit of mis-direction.
I hate to think what the sink was full of...
I hate to think what the sink was full of...
Nice. I guessed the twist by the end of the second paragraph unfortunately but it was still well done - and you had me doubting my own prescience when you mentioned bodies.
I've been led down the garden path!
Liked the descriptions of the wrecked place, especially the CD necklace bit. And when you nonchalantly mentioned the two bodies I thought, aye-aye. But it ended in a light kind of way, which was good.
Liked the descriptions of the wrecked place, especially the CD necklace bit. And when you nonchalantly mentioned the two bodies I thought, aye-aye. But it ended in a light kind of way, which was good.
It was only 8.00 am and in the early morning light the devastation was overwhelming. Everywhere you looked there was mute evidence of the upheaval that had happened. A small sob escaped from Sarahs' mouth as she slipped her fingers into Jeffs' much larger hand and he gave them a small squeeze of encouragement. Together they set about traversing their dream home to catalogue the wreckage.
They started from where they stood; the kitchen. Several glasses were smashed on the work surfaces leaving dangerous shards to catch out the unwary. At least two plates hadn't survived and they crunched underfoot as Sarah carefully tried to step around them. A knife stood upright and straight, its blade embedded in the table. Food had been thrown around the room and Sarah automatically scooped some up to put in the bin. When she went to wash her hands she discovered that the sink was full so she just sighed and wiped them on her jeans.
She had her hand on the cellar door when Jeff called out for her to leave it. She looked at him quizzically and wrenched the door open. The stench of melted plastic wafted out to greet her so she slammed the door shut again - wisely deciding not to investigate further.
Moving swiftly to the living room the mess looked even worse. Pictures were askew on the walls, a vase was smashed and glasses had been upended. Some had spilled their contents onto the wooden floor and Sarah preyed that no permanent damage had been done. Over by the stereo CDs were arranged before the unit like a silver disk necklace but she was pleased at least to note that the stereo itself, along with the TV, had remained intact. Well the stereo was mostly intact except for the speaker that had jumped off the wall and crashed through the plate glass table.
Sarah stepped softly around two bodies, wandered towards the french windows and looked into the garden. Even here, even the garden had not survived completely unharmed as two plant pots were smashed and the pretty blooms spread across the path and crushed.
She leaned her forehead against the cool glass and two silent tears slipped from beneath her closed eyelids. A timely kick reminded her of the new life she carried and she placed her hand on the ever growing lump which preceded her wherever she went these days. Jeff came up behind her and enveloped her so that both his hands lay across hers. The baby was due in 4 months and she knew her emotions were fraught at the moment so she just looked helplessly at Jeff. He immediately understood that she couldn't cope right now and led her to a clear space on the sofa.
Jeff picked up the telephone and called his sister.
"Morning Red, I'm glad your up. Sarah cannot cope with the mess so can you call mum and bring her around to help with the clear up? It looks like world war 3 around here" He listened intently to her reply and sighed. "Yes, I know. I know it was a bad idea to have a housewarming but I insisted. It wasn't our friends that did this but friends of friends and gatecrashers. You know how these things get out of hand and escalate. At least we only have one housewarming and once the baby arrives then the parties will be much smaller and quieter" and he hung up.
They started from where they stood; the kitchen. Several glasses were smashed on the work surfaces leaving dangerous shards to catch out the unwary. At least two plates hadn't survived and they crunched underfoot as Sarah carefully tried to step around them. A knife stood upright and straight, its blade embedded in the table. Food had been thrown around the room and Sarah automatically scooped some up to put in the bin. When she went to wash her hands she discovered that the sink was full so she just sighed and wiped them on her jeans.
She had her hand on the cellar door when Jeff called out for her to leave it. She looked at him quizzically and wrenched the door open. The stench of melted plastic wafted out to greet her so she slammed the door shut again - wisely deciding not to investigate further.
Moving swiftly to the living room the mess looked even worse. Pictures were askew on the walls, a vase was smashed and glasses had been upended. Some had spilled their contents onto the wooden floor and Sarah preyed that no permanent damage had been done. Over by the stereo CDs were arranged before the unit like a silver disk necklace but she was pleased at least to note that the stereo itself, along with the TV, had remained intact. Well the stereo was mostly intact except for the speaker that had jumped off the wall and crashed through the plate glass table.
Sarah stepped softly around two bodies, wandered towards the french windows and looked into the garden. Even here, even the garden had not survived completely unharmed as two plant pots were smashed and the pretty blooms spread across the path and crushed.
She leaned her forehead against the cool glass and two silent tears slipped from beneath her closed eyelids. A timely kick reminded her of the new life she carried and she placed her hand on the ever growing lump which preceded her wherever she went these days. Jeff came up behind her and enveloped her so that both his hands lay across hers. The baby was due in 4 months and she knew her emotions were fraught at the moment so she just looked helplessly at Jeff. He immediately understood that she couldn't cope right now and led her to a clear space on the sofa.
Jeff picked up the telephone and called his sister.
"Morning Red, I'm glad your up. Sarah cannot cope with the mess so can you call mum and bring her around to help with the clear up? It looks like world war 3 around here" He listened intently to her reply and sighed. "Yes, I know. I know it was a bad idea to have a housewarming but I insisted. It wasn't our friends that did this but friends of friends and gatecrashers. You know how these things get out of hand and escalate. At least we only have one housewarming and once the baby arrives then the parties will be much smaller and quieter" and he hung up.