Samantha’s True Love “Don’t do that,” Samantha cried. “Please, please, I beg you! Don’t kill her. Just don’t.” Jarrod was so into the moment, that he didn’t hear her pleas for several seconds. She sang it over and over, until it broke into that barrier of his sanity. He looked up at her, taking into account the fear in her eyes, the way one of her hands were suspended in the air and the other around her throat, as though she was literally in Lolita’s place and wanted to die in her place. Jarrod stared at her, remembering that he hadn’t disposed of her yet. Why was she so lucky? Why had he so neglected her when he could have easily been done with her in the first place? She didn’t need to spoil the magic that he was about to perform right that minute. “Do you want to take her place?” he growled, his knife still on Lolita’s throat. “Is that what you’re aiming for?” Samantha did not even hesitate. “Yes. Yes, I want to take her place.” The anger in him festered so quickly, it n
Grief “What did you do?” Lolita’s words floated out through the haze of her dream. “What… what did you do to her?” Jarrod began to panic. This had not ended the way he wanted it to. He watched Samantha helpless on the floor, the knife stuck in her chest. He wasn’t sure which part of her chest got stuck with the knife, but the way she was gurgling, he knew she wouldn’t last long. Lolita crawled to her, her own sorrows forgotten. She raised Samantha painfully into her thighs, her hands shivering above her. “No, no…” she slowly touched the surrounding area. “Should I pull it out? Jarrod, should I pull it out?!” “Yes,” Jarrod called back, distracted. What would he tell Tessa now? She wanted to make the kill and now he had snatched it right off her. Lolita’s hands curved around the knife, intending to pull it out. Samantha weakly placed her hands on Lolita’s, stopping her movements. Her breaths were slow and long, like it would be the last thing she’d ever do. “No,” Lolita said, her
The Memories Of One Who’s Lost It was the day after Samantha died. Lolita clung to her in her sleep, dreaming about good things. When she held Samantha’s body, she was lured into the deep, dark abyss where everything seemed okay. It was dark, but at least Samantha was with her. Samantha was her sunshine, the bright hay in the sack. She was the reason Lolita still stayed positive about her dead toe. “See? It’s never going to get infected,” Samantha said, patting the empty spot where Lolita’s toe should have been. “He wrapped it up pretty shabbily but it’ll do.” “Tell me about your childhood,” Lolita crooned, leaning in towards her. “I want to hear about it again. What were your parents like?” Samantha rolled her eyes. “Oh you know, they adored me. They gave me so much that I'd never be able to work in my entire life.” “True.” She giggled at her friend’s words. “But working seems hectic, right? I want to work. Sitting around can be so idle.” “Yes. That’s why I involve myself in s
Present Time Tessa closed the metal door and bounced down the stairs. Jarrod was in the living room, chugging down a bottle of strong vodka. She tied back her messy hair into a bun with a band she found at the table. “We can’t let Lolita get her way,” she finally told Jarrod, unable to hold back her fears. “We need to send Sammy away to her family. I promised that I would—” Jarrod turned slowly to look at her. “You promised that you would, what?” “One time, I promised Sammy the best burial she could ever have. I promised to send her to her family and keep a black rose in her grave.” Jarrod looked incredulous at her answer. “Okay, so? What has that got to do with me?” “You buried that knife in her chest! Don’t act like this isn’t your problem as much as it’s mine!” He stood up, wobbling on his feet. His eyes were bloodshot and his gait were predatory, but Tessa stood her ground. Jarrod cocked his head to the side as he studied her. “Tess, if you think Samantha’s corpse is my p
Wedding Present “I’ve booked a hotel for you in New York,” Jarrod was saying. “You just have to go there. Say, you guys don’t mind sharing a room?” “Of course not!” Mrs. Adams gushed. “We don’t mind that at all. We’re so happy you both are finally taking these steps!” “Is Lolita there?” Alex spoke into the phone, interrupting his mother. “No, but she’s getting ready. She can’t pick any calls now; she’s stressed enough as it is. I will be the one handling your transportation to the venue,” came Jarrod’s explanation. “That’s cool but we thought she’d speak to us herself.” “Alex, she’s stressed. Let it be,” Mrs. Adams rebuked him. “Where is this venue so we might come there directly?” “Don’t worry about it. You just get to the airport on time and I’ll have Dr. Banners waiting to take you to us. You don’t have to do anything.” “Who’s Dr. Banners?” “Just a friend of mine. He’ll wait for you at the airport and take real care of you. There might be a change of plans but he’ll be th
New Plans Hayden raised the phone to his ear. He’d had Lolita’s number before, but he had never thought of calling her. There were so many loose ends, so many questions he wanted answers to. When Samantha had reached out to her in his house, why had she gotten through? He could swear that Sammy had spoken to Lolita on the phone before embarking on her ominous journey. The line was ringing. He was as stiff as the hands that clutched the phone, but Hayden remained composed. He wanted to hear her voice, and he would. Just when he was about to give up, the line clicked, indicating that someone had answered the call. “Hello?” came the voice. It was high pitched, breathy and female, like the person on the other end had been dancing before he interrupted. Hayden tensed, willing for her to speak again. It sounded like Lolita, but with a weird undertone. “Hello?” came the voice again, now impatient. “I don’t have all day, what do you want?” Hayden sucked in a sharp breath. It was Tes
Love Gone Sour Rocky was a simple man, who liked to follow simple rules. He based his life on the set of rules his superiors set for him, not because he liked having superiors, but because he wanted to protect his peace. Who better to protect his existence if not the very men he worked for? He liked being in a gang. All he had to do was kill or maim someone and be done with it. Killing people wasn’t entirely satisfying, but it was for the greater good. In that case, Rocky won’t particularly call himself a killer. He was a savior, saving mankind from stink that threatened to overpower them. If only his boss would learn to use him more. Rocky hadn’t even realized Hayden’s full identity until he appeared out of the blue and gave him a mission to find Jarrod Dane. Finding Jarrod Dane was easy, but discovering that his boss had a whole new identity other than the one they knew was incredible. It was pleasing, in fact. Rocky wanted to punish him for it, and so he made the progress of the
Garden of Life Hayden had never driven so hard in his entire life. He was well over his speed limits, and yet it wasn’t enough. He wished Rocky would just stop tormenting him and give him all the necessary information he needed. Who was dead and who wasn’t? How fucking hard was it to answer the damn question? He’d slapped his steering wheel over and over, but it wasn’t enough. Rocky needed to give him answers, and Rocky needed to give it to him now! “Answer the phone, damn it!” he screamed when his call went unanswered. “I know I abandoned the gang but I’ve got my life and shit to deal with! If you could just stop torturing me for that one tiny mistake—damnit!” He stopped by the side of the road and turned on his map. Rocky was smart enough to use the situation to his advantage, but he wasn’t smarter than him. Like all of his tricks, Hayden had put on a tracking device on one of the men assigned to Rocky. Two of them actually, but he only needed to find one to get to the rest. He f