"How come you never take out the trash?"

Sadie asked me when she got back in the house after placing the garbage bags outside.

Being psychometricians in our late 20's meant being practical. That's why we decided to rent out a house rather than an apartment. Sadie had always been cautious about fires and with so many people in one building, you just never knew who followed fire preventive protocols and who didn't.

She wasn't fond of cooking either, making an excuse that she was bad at it or ordering takeouts whenever I didn't have the time to make dinner. But I knew there was a deeper meaning but I didn't push.

"Is it an OCD thing or are you just too chicken to go out at night?"

There was a teasing tone in the way she addressed it but it caused me to halt in washing the dishes as a familiar wave of nausea clawed up my throat.

Sudden footsteps rang out and the next thing I knew Sadie was beside me, soothing my back while her playful tone before turned into one of worry.

"Cam, if I said something triggering I'm sorry."

I must've already worn eyes that threatened to spill tears coz it caused Sadie to apologize even more. Some nights it still haunts me, what happened that day, that even my therapist fail to put a mental armor on me.

Sadie and I had only been together for a year and I know that sharing your past with your partner is part of a relationship but I don't know how she'd take the weight of this one.

Still, it wasn't fair that I made her overthink things just because I couldn't open up. Keeping her in the dark was only gonna hurt her in the long run.

"Can we make some tea first before I tell you?"

Sadie just gave me a small smile before placing the kettle on the stove. I had to turn the knob on while she positioned herself a good distance from where I was.

Sadie kept glancing back at me, her wavy hair going along with the motions as she took the cups out of the cupboard. I sat at the dinner table in silence, pondering about the events that made me move far away from my home and one that changed the way I dealt with garbage forever.

The smell of jasmine poked at my senses as Sadie poured the contents into our flower-painted cups. I got up to turn the stove off, placing a small touch on Sadie's shoulder as I passed by her.

She took my hand then while she sat across from me, a signal that she was ready, a signal that meant that I was in a safe place.

A shuddering breath left my lungs as I said "It was the summer of my sixteenth year..."

Logan and his dad Toby lived in the house across from my family. Toby was well liked in our neighborhood coz he was a handyman and whatever needed fixing, he did it for free.

His little boy Logan, who was six at the time,was loved by the other kids too. Aside from being polite and funny, the child made sure that no one was left out during their games.

The weekends were Logan's favorite days coz not only did he get to spend it playing, Saturday was also the day that the garbage truck came which was driven by Frank, the friendly operator.

The side loader truck came to our hood once a week. Its white colored body gave it a pristine look that took away the ugly words that we usually associated with garbage.

I came in the picture during that summer when Toby got into a car accident that rendered both of his legs broken. It was an unexpected summer job that was offered to me by Toby's sister Gina and I gladly took it.

The set up was that I was to watch Logan and help out in the house just until Gina got back from work since being in a wheelchair made simple tasks a challenge to Toby.

My starting time was after breakfast which fell at 8 a.m. and by then, Frank was already a house or two away from Toby's.

During one of our talks Toby confessed that Frank and him had this deal wherein the latter would pretend to be spooked by Logan whenever he'd jump out from behind the black wheely bins.

Frank did his part and while Logan got a hearty laugh out of his reaction, the operator got a sandwhich and drink in return.

I got to witness the exchange once when I arrived early at Toby's house. The father and I situated ourselves behind the window and observe the wholesome scene that went on outside.

Watching the kid giggle in delight as he rolled on the grass brought a smile to my face. He'd dash in the door then and grab the brown paper bag that had Frank's food in it before dashing out again. The kind man would ruffle Logan's hair then and waved goodbye to Toby before going on about his day.

Logan told me once how he liked scaring Frank and I urged him to continue doing it even when he gets bigger since it made him happy.

"Does it make Frank happy too?"

The kid asked me while I scooped a handful of mac and cheese on his plate.

"Of course it does buddy. So do it as much as you could, you just never know when someone needs a laugh or two."

The happy days didn't last though and Frank gave me a smile before everything changed.

Karma chameleon was blasting on my headphones while I was making my way towards Toby's home. I was at a friend's house in the city the night before and didn't make it on time to see Logan and his Saturday antics with Frank.

The humid breeze reminded me of the firetruck that passed in a different direction beside the cab I had taken home. I asked the driver to stop at the first house of our neighborhood as the heavy breakfast prompted my want for a walk.

I saw the truck as my feet brought me closer to my destination. Frank was rounding about and when he saw me, he sent a smile my way to which I gave one back.

My sight then darted from the truck on to the scattered pieces of trash on the sidewalk. I was about to run to Frank to get his attention but I was too late.

He drove away then and the roar of the engine greeted my ears first before it was drowned out by Toby's screams.

The man was slumped on the doorway of his home while he screamed and cried for Logan. I immediately rushed to his side and asked about what happened and nothing could've ever prepared me for the answer.

"Frank threw Logan in the garbage truck!"

911 was called and I helped Toby back on his wheelchair that had tumbled down with him on his desperation to get to the door. My hands shook with fear and disbelief when Toby told me the sickening scene.

"Logan jumped up like he always did but Frank didn't laugh this time. He just took Logan by the throat and pounded on his head over and over and then Logan was just limp."

Toby was still frantic at this point, a heading mess as a fresh wave of tears escaped his eyes.

"Then he emptied out the contents of one of the trash bins and placed Logan inside before the mechanical arm carried the thing and threw my boy inside."

The second time around Toby said that did it register to me that garbage trucks had compactors. I felt my guts twisting knowing Logan's fate and I rushed to the sink to vommit.

Gina was unconsolable by the time she got home. I think the three of us back then had already accepted the inevitable even before the cops walked through with door with the news.

The truck was found at the edge of a cliff that sat a good distance from our neighborhood. Frank was given a life sentence and after the funeral, Toby took matters into his own hands as well.

Gina laid her brother to rest beside Logan and moved away after a month. I've heard stories about new residents in that place where they claim to have felt something breaking.

"It's like something was trying to break our bones."

Others have reported to have seen a crushed body of a child jumping out from the trash bins whenever they'd take the garbage outside.

My parents decided to move our family away too when they saw how it was affecting my mental health. I woke up screaming most nights and the sound of engines running would make me panic.

No one dared to stay long in that place as the rumors went and up to this day, the once full home remains empty.

I was so caught up with the story that I didn't notice that the once warm hands that enveloped mine had been clamy for sometime now.

Sadie couldn't meet my eyes at first and it wasn't until she fully looked at me that I saw the shimmer of tears. I watched her move from her seat and kneel in front of me as she confessed something, a truth that tied our past together.

"Frank was my dad and on the day you lost Logan, I lost my family too."

Sadie opened up about how Frank shot her mother and her brother before setting their bodies on fire. Frank's paranoia of his wife cheating took over and it was hell from there. Sadie was away at camp at that time and was spared from such a cruel fate.

Apologies spilled from her mouth like a raging flood as she cried in front of me. She was trying to heal the wound that her father caused with such desperation that not even my embrace and reassurance calmed her.

After much consolation from both sides, Sadie and I ended the evening closer than ever before. We promised then not to let the past haunt us anymore and worked on our issues together.

"How about I take out the trash tomorrow and you cook? Do you think we're ready for that?"

I asked a year after opening up to Sadie as we laid in bed together. She prompted herself up by her elbow then and turned to face me and said

"I thought you'd never ask."

The simple thought of cooking excited Sadie so much so that she made sure that we got every ingredient checked out while we were gorcery shopping.

Sadie was still getting used to the smell of onions so she lit up scented candles that tried their best to be prominent while Sadie got on to chopping.

I offered to help out on the kitchen but Sadie pointed at the trash bags and shut down my attempt at an argument before pushing me out of the house.

Small steps were taken and I waited for a while before fully approaching the trash bins. My eyes remained focus on them for a good five minutes and when nothing jumped out, I took my remaining courage and walked even closer.

I held my breath as I opened the first lid and released the air I had been holding by the time the second bag was in the bin. I found myself smiling at being able to complete such a simple task and couldn't wait to tell Sadie about it.

I lingered outside for a while with the thought that telling Sadie all about what happened when I was sixteen was the right move. If I had kept silent about it she would've as well and we would've never moved on.

Thoughts of the future with Sadie flashed like memories in my mind and for the first time in my life, everything that I had to go through, felt like they had a purpose and I was finally given the answers.

My foot made one step towards the house and then something changed everything all over again.

An explosion erupted from inside our home and fire was everywhere.