Crawling, she can feel the soft beige carpet. She sees Mother sitting across from her. Mother's blue eyes accompanied by a gentle smile. “Come here missy, mama wants a hug from her special girl.” Mother said.

Missy sits there bouncing and laughing. She then started crawling again, her gaze fixed on Mother. Mother's auburn hair shined in the sunlight. The sunlight that peered through gave the room a calm, warm glow. Missy finally reached Mother and was picked up. Her olive eyes glowed and Mother's smile grew.

———

Missy walked on the beige carpet. Waiting for Mother, she paces back and forth. The oak door swings open revealing Mother and a man. They walk in together, holding hands.

“Missy, why are you awake? It’s 12 o'clock.” Mother says.

“I waited for you.”

“Can’t you see I have company? Give us some alone time.”

Mother's red lips grew into a smile, but her eyes widened, and eyebrows rose. Mother pulls the man to the couch and sits on his lap. She places one arm around his neck and uses the other to shoo Missy away. Missy backs away. The red of Mother's lips fade as she kissed the man. Missy felt a pain in her stomach. She runs up to the bathroom, slamming the door.

———

Brick red stained the thin greige carpet. Missy watched as the argument had escalated. Mother stood there surprised. The man’s hand stung pink from hitting Mother.

“Get out.” Mother says.

The man continued to step towards mother, reaching for her. Mother slapped his hand away. She opened the front door and shoved the man out of the house.

“Bella!” He yelled.

SLAM!

Mother had slammed the oak door in his face. Missy then hugged mother, tear in her eyes. Mother spoke, “I’m so sorry Missy. This’ll never happen again.”

———

Missy just stood infront of the black casket.

“It happened again,” she said.

The reds once bright in Missy’s eyes, were dull. The roses surrounding the casket were grey. Peoples cheeks weren’t rosey from the cold, they were grey. Mother’s lipstick was a charcoal grey.

Two years.

Two years and five men later, Mother had finally found peace. She laid silent in that casket. Free from the pain of raising her children. From the grueling men in her life.

———

“Soon the color in Missy’s eyes faded. Nothing could stop her from leaving this world.” I sat there, finishing my story. The chair was hot and stuck to my legs. I try to readjust but to no avail, I’m still uncomfortable.

“Jada, I appreciate you were finally willing to share the story about your sister. It was a big step towards coping and overcoming this. Do you mind if I ask how she died?”

I sat there, eyes wide. “You’re my therapist, aren’t you supposed to read between the lines or something?!”

“No no… You’re right. I appologize for overstepping.” I watch as my therapist readjusts herself in her chair. “Well, I assume missy isn’t your sisters actual name right?”

“Right, it was Mothers nickname for her.”

She nodds. “Then I feel a good start to your healing process would be to call your sister by her name from now on in these sessions.”

I hesitated.

My therapist watched my gaze dance across the room. She then placed our talking piece on the table infront of us. “Use this if you need it, okay?”

I nod. I focus my gaze on the tiny red panda stuffie, trying to formulate my words.

“Red was always Meredith’s favorite color. I just wish she could’ve seen it a little longer.”

The beauty of Amber is captivating. Her skin is glowing in the sunlight. “Honey, it’s about time we go skiing, isn’t it?” Amber smiles, standing up to get dressed.

“Yeah, we have to be there in an hour,” I say. My hands get clammy, and I sweat more. I walk into the bedroom, seeing Amber half-dressed. I bring my hands up to my eyes. “Oh my god Amber, I’m so sorry!” Backing away, I trip over something and I almost fall on my back.

Her laugh echoes throughout the cabin. “Honey, it’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before,” she says. “Why are you so nervous?” She finished putting clothes on and walked over to me. “If you don’t want to go skiing then just say so. You’ve already done so much with this trip.”

“No! No… I want to go skiing. I promise. I know how much you love it,” I say. “Besides, you promised to teach me.”

“I did,” she says. Her smile is like the sun. It always warms my heart. Even in this snow.

“Okay babe, now I want you to go down the hill first.” She takes my hand. It’s still clammy. “I know you’re nervous, but you’ve been doing so good so far!”

‘God, I love her with all my heart.’

“Just keep doing what we practiced and you’ll make it down without falling.” Amber looks at me, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Babe?”

“Oh. Sorry, I’m just a bit nervous. But I know I can do it, I’ve got the best teacher in the world.” Amber smiles and pushes me forward.

“Go ski, you cheesy bread! I’ll be behind you.”

I start slowly, as a get going my speed picks up. All I can think about right now is Amber. How she’s so patient with me. How she always rambles on about health, and hair care. How she has these little mannerisms that I’ll never point out because they make me smile. How her name fits her personality to a tee. She’s always so passionate and when she rants about things, all I can do is stare at her and smile. She’s just prefect in everyway. Even her imperfections make her perfect.

Next thing I know, I’m at the bottom of the hill waiting for Amber to arrive. My mouth turns into a grin. She’s coming. The closer she gets, the more nervous I get.

“Hey babe!” Amber waves at me when she sees me.

“Babe, I’m so proud of you! You did it!” She does little jumps of joy that sends me over the moon.

“Amber, can I ask you something?” I say.

“Of course! But we should go back up so we can ski down the hill again!” She grabs my hand to lead me back to the tram, but I stand my ground.

“Amber, hold on. I want to ask you here.” I put my hands in my pockets.

Amber looks at me and smiles. “Of course honey. What’s up?”

“You know I’m not much for words and speeches…” My throat starts to close, and my eyes water. I take a small box from my pocket and place it into Amber’s hands.

“Amber, would you please marry me?”

Fiction writing prompt: Write 1-2 pages that start in one moment and then, after no more than one paragraph, leaps into flashback.  Then, before the end, manage to come back to the present.  This is an exercise in thinking about how you move in and out of such moments more so than coming up with a moment in the past that links to the present of whatever story you might be envisioning.

——————

The wind was blowing against Dylan, making the hairs on his arms stand. “Guys, I don’t think this is a great idea. We shouldn’t be here.” Dylan said. No one was listening to him. As they walked, Dylan heard a crinkle. Looking down, he saw a newsletter dating back to April 1982. The headline read; “Serial Killer Found Next to the Dead!” Dylan read on, slightly curious.

Rick’s wife looked visibly worried. She was holding the daily newspaper in her hand. “What’s wrong Molly? Everything okay in the news today?” Rick stood and walked towards her.

Molly motions the paper towards him. “He killed again.”

Rick reads the headline. “Serial Killer Enters the Circus!” Rick’s mouth formed into a grin. “What kind of headline is this? It’s very misleading.”

“This isn’t funny Rick!” Molly took the newspaper from Rick’s hands. “Someone is killing the children in this town!” Her eyes water, her voice distressed. “I can’t believe you can smile at this shit. Especially after Will.”

Rick slammed his hand on the table. “Don’t… Mention Will again.” Rick turns and walks away, grabbing his keys.

“Where are you going Rick?”

“Out.”

Rick finds himself at the circus, a familiar scene. All day he walks, looking at the kids running around and the parents, trying desperate to settle them down. “Pests.” Rick mumbles.

Morning turns into day, day turns into night. Rick finds himself still at the circus, siting on a bench. A group of boys in the distance run towards the fun house, a building closed off from the rest of the circus. Rick’s face heats up, hands in fists. He stands and walks towards the fun house.

Rick kicks the door open. They jump and look towards Rick. “How do you boys get to be happy?”

Confusion paints the boys’ faces. “What are you talking about old man?”

Rick reaches into his back pocket and takes out a pocketknife. “How do you get to be happy while he suffers?!”

Night turns into day, and Molly’s eyebrows furrow. “He’s been gone since last night.” She paces around the house until she hears a thump. Opening the front door, there lays the daily newspaper. “Hopefully there’s a good news story today.”

Her eyes widened, filling with tears as she read the headline. “Serial Killer Found Next to the Dead!” Molly runs out the door yelling Rick’s name.

“Dad?”

Dylan drops the newsletter. His father was a kind man. Very family oriented. The story he gave about his first wife was that she died of cancer at a young age. But that… That was his father in this newspaper.

You hear arguing from two muffled voices. They’re going back and forth. Then a door slams. Is someone upset? You’re in too much pain to care, but a clear voice is finally heard as they run up to you. “Dude are you okay?! You’re shaking like crazy!” What? You’re shaking? You can’t remember why. Why is it cold? It’s a blur. It takes a while for you to focus on their face.

“Hey, what happened?” Mick said.

‘Mick? What is he talking about?’

“I-I don’t know…” Your voice strains. “It’s all kinda gone black.” Were you yelling?

“I’m so sorry, I never should’ve forced you to come.” Mick reaches for your wrist. “I can’t believe that son of a bit-”

“Don’t touch me!” Recoiling your hand when his makes contact. Memories from earlier rush back into your head.

—————

The party is full of colored lights and people drinking and dancing. Lights are circling around, providing the only source of light in the house. People are laughing, screaming, and dancing loudly. Almost too loud. Your nose wrinkles at the smell of the alcohol. Something you despise. Your hands are clammy and you're sweating uncontrollably. You try locating all the possible exits. But you can’t leave. You promised Mick you’d come, and you never break a promise. As you walk further in, people are constantly bumping into you. You wish you could be as carefree as those around you. You can’t. Starting to breathe heavily, you observe the surrounding area. The house has a modern interior. The walls are a dark blue, the lights are currently yellow and red. You seem to take notice of every little detail of the house. From the tiny chip in the crown molding above the kitchen doorway, to the slightly uneven floor in the mud room. You’ve learned to ground yourself. Something your therapist taught you. It works. A tap on your shoulder takes you away from the surroundings. You see Mick standing there with two drinks in his hands. “Hey! I didn’t think you would make it.”

“I never break a promise,” you say.

“I know dude, but regardless, I’m glad you came. You need some time away from everything. Here.” Mick hands you a drink. “Now go live a little!” He lightly hits your shoulder as he travels back into the crowd. You look at the drink he handed you. You look at all the carefree people in front of you. They’re happy. You can be too right?

‘Maybe I should live a little.’

You chug it all at once, grimacing. Alcohol. It’s something you never thought you’d find yourself drinking, but here you are drinking it. Your surroundings blur around you, they’re not really important anymore are they? After a while, you stumble, making your way to the alcohol. You can’t really focus on the labels so you just grab whatever. Who cares what it is right? It’s alcohol! How much have you had already? You don’t know. Your vision is hazy, going in and out of consciousness, you couldn’t care though. Why would you?

The base of the stereo is blaring, too loud for your ears but you couldn’t care less. The sound gives you an escape from the outside world. From all the fears of social stigmas and anxiety. Here you can finally breathe. Here you are safe. You are free.

You continue to drink.

Black.

You start dancing.

Black.

More drinking.

Black.

And more dancing.

Black.

Someone joins you. You can’t quite focus on their face. Too fuzzy. Doesn’t matter. Getting closer, they grab your hand.

Black.

You’re walking. Upstairs? Somewhere. Where are you going? That doesn’t matter.

Black.

The floor is really comfortable. It’s really soft and cushy. It’s a floor. Right? The hairs on your skin stand tall. It’s cold. It kind of reminds you of the feeling when a blanket gets ripped off of you. There’s a sudden warmth around your wrists. Something’s not right. You try to ground yourself with your surroundings… It’s not working. What’s happening? Focus. Something’s wrong! Why can’t you just focus!

Black.

The sound of yelling fills your ears.

Black.

Pain fills your thoughts.

Black.

You can’t breathe. It’s not safe. You feel trapped.

Black.

The story doesn’t really follow the prompt, I just used the prompt as a starting point for an assignment for my fiction writing class.

———

Hearing the bedroom door open and footsteps down the hallway, getting louder, Ellis closes and puts down the book he was reading. He watches as Jack is putting his shoes on. “Hey Ellis, while I’m at work, can you go and get groceries for Christmas dinner?” Ellis groans. “Jack, there’s no point in spending money on groceries that we won’t eat.” Jack furrows his eyebrows as he speaks. “Well, if you buy food that we both like, then maybe we would eat it.” Annoyed, Ellis sits up in his chair. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” “Well, what did you mean then? ‘cause to me it sounds like you’re complaining about my cooking and choices of food.” Jack finishes tying his shoes and stands, walking towards Ellis. “No Jack! I’m talking about the end of the world!” Ellis grabs the book off the coffee table and shows it to Jack. “The Mayans said that tomorrow is the dawn of a new age, a new beginning! But experts are saying that it’s more than that. It’s the end. Not the beginning!” Jack crosses his arms, tired of hearing it for the hundredth time. “Are you done Ellis? I can’t believe you’re still on about the whole ‘world ending’ thing. It’s not gonna happen! How can I open your eyes and make you see that?” Ellis scoffs in disbelief. “You can’t! Because you’re wrong!” Ellis stands quickly and advances towards Jack, but he steps away. “Something bad is going to happen tomorrow, Jack. The world is going to die and I want you here with me! Not at work. Not at school. Here! With me.” Sighing, Jack steps back towards Ellis. “Sit down, please.” Ellis does. Jack kneels down to Ellis’s level and talks quieter. “Eli. I know that this is important to you.” Grabbing Ellis’s hands, Jack continues. “But there’s no scientific evidence to back that book, or the Mayans, up. I just can’t wrap my head around it-” “God! I knew you wouldn’t listen!” Ellis interrupts Jack and rips his hands from his own. Before Ellis could go on, Jack stops him. “Ellis stop! I never said I wouldn’t, so stop living in your own head for two seconds and let me speak, please!” Ellis stares and Jack goes on. “What I was going to say before you cut me off was that ‘I can’t wrap my head around it, but if it would make you feel better I’ll call in sick today and tomorrow.’” Expecting Ellis would say something, Jack stayed quiet. No one spoke for what felt like an eternity. Jack, not wanting to make anything worse, grabs Ellis’s hands and speaks softly again. “Eli. Would you like that?” Ellis tightens the grip on Jack’s hand, smiling. “Yeah, that’s all I wanted, really.”

All I see is black. I can only feel pain as I take each breath. I gain the strength to open my eyes. “Where am I?” I say. My throat is dry, and it hurts to speak.

I see a nearby nurse walk towards me. “Oh Miss Shelby, you’re awake! It’s alright, you’re at the hospital.” I try to sit up, worry filling my face. “But what about my restaurant?! My business!” I cough, my throat can’t take this. I need water.

The nurse looks at me with concern. “Ms. Shelby, I’m sure the firefighters did everything they could, but you need to take it easy on yourself. The smoke Inhalation made you pass out and you have several burns on your body.”

What?

I look down at my skin and can see burns on my arms. “Why can’t I feel them?”

“Ms. Shelby, it’s probably your adrenalin and the pain meds you’re on rn. They’ll take time to heal and might leave scars.” The nurse’s head turned to the right as the doctor grabbed his attention. “Oh, I’ll be back in a while. Need anything when I get back Ms. Shebly?”

“Just some water. Thanks.”

As the nurse walks away, I drift to sleep. God, it’s been a long day.

—

I’m making rounds around the restaurant as I hear a clicking sound in the kitchen. “Chef, do you hear that?” The chef looks around and shakes his head. “Not that I can hear, Boss.”

I dismiss the thought and continue my rounds.

I’m standing by the host stand when I hear yelling from the kitchen. I run back to find flames up to the ceiling. The costumers caught wind of the flame and ran out of the building. I run to find the extinguisher, but it’s not in its place. “Shit! Where is it?!” I look around to see a server just holding it and looking at me. “What are you doing? Put out the flame!”

And with that, my vision goes black.

—

I wake up sometime later, not loving the dream I had. I notice a new patient next to me, but the curtain between us doesn’t allow me to see his face.

Ring Ring

Is that his phone? I question. I hear him answer the call. His voice is scratchy and deep. Sounded like he needs some water too.

“Hello?” I hear him say.

“Yes, this is him… Yes, the building has been destroyed… I believe so. I hit her on the head with a fire extinguisher.”

I shift in my hospital bed in discomfort. What? Why would someone do that?

"Yes. I naturally made the fire. There shouldn’t be any traces… What? What about my money?! I didn’t burn Shelbys restaurant down for nothing!”

He… What?

I’m shaking violently, my anxiety going through the roof. He burned my restaurant down? Did he try to kill me?

“Yes sir… Of course. I always finish the job.” I hear him hanging up his phone and groan. Shortly after, I hear snores.

What in the world did I do to deserve this? Do I tell someone? Do I run?

A voice interrupted my thoughts. “Ms. Shelby, I brought you some water!”

Oh. Right.

“Thank you.”

“I’m going away soon, leaving this town behind for better things! To follow my passion in the arts and be a Broadway star! Come see me one last time at my house: 415 Pinewood Rd @4:00pm. Hope to see you there to say goodbye.”

——

“The 23rd was when it was supposed to happen. Your daughter had such a bright future ahead of her, it’s a shame she had to pass like this.”

I sat up in my chair, trying to comfort the parents of Serenity Claire. “Thank you Jones. We really appreciate your help in all of this.”

“Jensen, let’s hope the police solve this soon.”

Jensen nods and gets up to leave. “We’ll be leaving now, Jones. We have a funeral to plan.” “Thank you for coming in, Jensen. Again, you have my deepest condolences.” The Claire’s walked out of my office when my secretary walked in and shut the door.

“Mary? What is it?”

“Principal Jones, you gonna let them leave like that? They’re so distraught.”

“Yeah, they need to get home anyway and plan their daughter’s funeral.”

Honestly, I’m glad they left. Their antics were getting annoying.

Mary shifted her weight to one leg and put a hand on her hip. “It was bound to happen Jones, she always got into trouble.”

“Her parents don’t know Mary. If they did, they’d be better parents. You know, if they payed attention to their kids? We both know Serenity acted like her brother and that’s what got her killed.”

Agreeing, Mary stood in silence.

I glance at a box placed on a shelf in my office. Mary seemed to catch and follow my gaze towards it. She looked at me with a grin. “What did you get from the hunt?”

I scoffed. “You know we don’t talk about that on school premises.” I sigh, seeing Mary making her way to the box. “Fine Jones, I’ll look myself.”

She opens the box and pulls a gold necklace. “This is new! Although you should clean it soon, it still has some blood on it.” She says. I watch as she looks with sparkles in her eyes. She giggles as she puts the necklace away.

“Ya’ know what Jones? All these kids think they’re good enough to leave this town. No one leaves a town like this and no one ever has. All of those idiots thought they had a chance!” Laughing, Mary looks into my eyes. “Not with you around.”

I looked at her with a grin; her knowing I’m enjoying her antics. I stand from my chair and speak as I make my way out of my office. “Mary, let’s not speak ill of the dead.”

She’s right. You stay here? You die peaceful and old. You try to leave? You die young and cold.

All this to build Utopia.

Bright headlights shone through the black as a car drove down the thin road. A hand appeared from the shadows, holding up its thumb. The car slowed to a stop as the driver looked towards the face the hand belonged to.

“Excuse me, sir,” the figure started. “I was camping in these woods when a bear attacked my tent! I ran for my life. I thought I was going to die!” The man was frantic, panting, and sweaty. “You’ve seen better days, ol’ boy! Where’s your camping gear?” The driver said skeptically.

“I told you man! A bear attacked my camping grounds! I couldn’t grab anything!”

The driver unlocked his door and opened it, gesturing for the man to get in. “Come on boy, I’ll get you home. Where you stayin’?” The man sighed. “I’m actually from out of state. My wife drove back this afternoon while I was going to stay another night and have her pick me up tomorrow.”

The driver gave a confused look. “Why would your wife leave you in the woods?”

The man leaned against the window. “We had a fight. We cooled down a bit, but she was still upset. So I told her, ‘go home, get some work done, and some good sleep. I’ve got some time to kill, so I’ll stay another night. I’ll see you the next day when you pick me up.’ She agreed, and we went our separate ways.”

The driver turned on the radio and tuned into a station. They drive off, leaving the woods behind them. “Well boy, you can stay at my house and call your lady.” The man smiled and spoke, “thanks. Oh, what’s your name sir?”

“Ah,” the driver said. “Sorry, I should introduce myself if you’re going to stay with me a bit. I’m Rick. And don’t ‘sir’ me boy, I’m only 35!”

“Well I’m only 23, so don’t call me ‘boy’!” They both laughed and compromised as they reached Rick’s house.

“Oh yeah, my name is Darren.”

“This man is covered in her blood. His finger prints were everywhere in that house. Don’t come back until you have a confession!” The sheriff opened the door and exited the room. The cop left the room and went to get water.

The cop walked into the interrogation room and sat down. He slid water over to the man when he noticed tears flowing from his eyes. “Are you alright?!” He shook him until he woke up. “Why are you shaking me?” The man questioned. The cop backed away from him and sat down. He laughed awkwardly as he spoke. “Shit. Sorry sir, I came back with some water for you when I saw you crying in your sleep.”

“What’s your name?”

“What?” The cop was confused. The man continued. “What’s your name? I don’t even know you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m officer Harris. I’m here to talk more.” The man rolled his eyes as Harris opened his case file. “So you’re Chris Thatcher, age 23, and was taken in for the murder of Ailee Wilson. The case file says that the cops on the scene found you covered in her blood. Your fingerprints were all over the house. They were on the murder weapon, and on the body.”

Chris slammed his hands on the table. “Like I told the other cop... I DIDN’T DO IT! No one here believes me!” Chris buries his face into his hands as Harris looks at Chris with sorrow. “I never said I didn’t believe you, Roberts. I was just reading the papers. Tell me what happened and I’ll try to help as best as I can.”

Chris glanced into Harris’s green eyes but broke the eye contact quickly.

“Um... Thanks... Last night I got a call from my... friend. Check my phone, his contact name is ‘dick face’. Anyway, I answered the call. Long story short, he hinted that he killed Ailee and when I asked him directly, he would never give me a straight answer! After he hung up on me, I was leaving to go to the police station when he sent me his location.”

Chris paused and groaned.

“I’m a fucking idiot. He sent me his location, and I went to his house instead. I was so riled up that I couldn’t see what he was doing! He sent me his location knowing I would drive over and try to find him... He was there... He was moving through the house, making noises, hinting where to go. This was all to set me up. I couldn’t find him... But I found Ailee’s body... I- and then I headed towards my car to call the cops since I left my phone in the car. And now I’m stuck here when he’s still out there!”

Chris was aggravated. No one was helping him, no one was listening, no one wanted to help Ailee. “Chris, I know the sheriff thinks that you’re the one who did it without even looking at the other evidence. I know it’ll be hard to convince him to keep looking for your friend…?” Harris was looking for a name.

“Darren. His name is Darren Pierce.”

“Right.” Harris continued. “I’ll convince the sheriff to keep looking for Darren and at least bring him in for questioning.”

“Just questioning him isn’t good enough!”

“But it’s all we can do as of now. I believe you Chris, I do. Your phone pinged a cell tower 10 miles away from Ailee’s House when the police were called. Another officer went to your workplace and questioned your boss. You have an alibi. I’m telling you, I know you didn’t do this. We all know. The sheriff’s just an old coot about to retire. He’s running out of steam.”

Chris was relieved to know the cops believed him. He smiled at Harris. “Thanks Harris. I have no idea what I would’ve done.”

“That’s what we’re here for, right?” Harris said, returning the smile Chris gave him.

They continued to speak, but a cop interrupted them.

“Harris! We need you. There’s been another murder!”

“What? McGee, give me the details. Let’s go.” Harris turns to Chris before they leave. “Chris, stay here. I’ll tell an officer to take you to my office.” Harris then speeds off with McGee to the crime scene.

Soon after, an officer led Chris to Officer Harris’s office.

“What if this murder was Darren too?” Chris questioned to himself. Looking out the window, hearing sirens in the distance.

Chris ran to his car. Got in and drove. He knew he should’ve gone to the police station first, but his anger had gotten the better of him.

He drove, speeding down the highway in the midnight. He needed to fix this. He needed to find Darren. He needed to save Ailee.

Chris parked in front of Darren’s house and ran through the door. “DARREN?! WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE IS AILEE?!” Chris was fuming. He ran through the house, checking every room along the way.

No Darren to be seen. No Ailee to be seen. “Shit.” Chris mumbled.

Chris could hear maniacal laughter from the master bedroom. “WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD?!?!” Chris yelled. He ran into the bedroom, but no one was there. This frustrates Chris but sees a shimmer in his peripherals. A knife. He found a knife on the dresser. He picked it up to inspect the blade. As Chris noticed the blood on the knife, he dropped the knife onto the ground. He flipped over sheets, looking under the bed, opening closets. He was looking through the closet when he heard a door creak.

The bathroom.

Chris ran out of the closet and towards the bathroom. He barged open the door, but stopped in his tracks.

Ailee’s purple corpse lies on the floor, cold and blue. Chris stood there, frozen in place, before his knees gave out and he fell to the floor. He scooted towards Ailee and wrapped his arms around her. He rocks her back and forth as he sobs.

Chris studies her limp face. Her face was expressionless, eyelids closed, but Chris noticed the slight grin across her lips. Chris sighed as he noticed this. “She still loved Darren ‘till the end, didn’t she...”

He slowly laid her back down on the bathroom floor and exited the room. Feeling his pockets, he curses. “Shit, my phone’s in the car.” He ran downstairs, through the kitchen, and out the front door. He went to unlock his car when the flash of red and blue blinded him.

Hidden in the bathroom closet of the master bathroom, Darren steps out. “Snooze you lose Chris.” Darren kneels down to kiss Ailee’s cold forehead. “Goodbye baby. Sorry I have to leave you like this.” Darren jumped out of the window, falling onto a mattress he had put there earlier. He looked back at the cop cars lined up in front of his house. A cynical grin grew on Darren’s face.

“You wanted to play Chris. So let’s play.”