Hidden in Darkness

It was cold and damp, she shivered crouching alone in the darkness. She wished she would’ve worn more layers. Or at the very least a rain jacket. She needed to buy another black rain jacket. The last one didn’t survive the move to this town. Her every day bright emerald green jacket would never work for this purpose. It was too bright. Too noticeable. How could he put her through this? Why did he play these games with her? She shivered again hoping the branches of the bush she was hiding in wouldn’t give away her location. Not that he was watching for her. He was too busy with the way too thin brunette in his place right now. Did he think she wouldn’t find out? She loved him so much it hurt, but this was the last straw. The final blow. She needed to be done with him. It was time they both moved on, so she waited. She watched them through the window. He was making her dinner, spaghetti. The too thin brunette didn’t look like the type that appreciated food, she couldn’t possibly appreciate him not the way I can, she thought. He had never made her dinner. She felt the all too familiar rage bubbling like lava in a volcano. How could he do this to her? She wanted a forever with him. A happy ever after. But here he was making dinner for some scantily clad, no class homewrecker. She wouldn’t let them get away with this. She would make them both pay. He paused at the window, and she held her breath. Did he see her?

He glanced out the window through the rain. He thought maybe he saw something. Saw someone, in the bushes in his back yard. No, he told himself, she wouldn’t be hiding out there anymore. He had gotten the police involved. He had a restraining order now. She wouldn’t come near him anymore. Maybe he should tell his date about her though. About the woman that stalked him unmercifully the last year. They had never even dated. She had come into his office to open a bank account when she first moved into the area. No, he decided no point in ruining what might be a good night by talking about some psycho.

“Would you like another glass of wine?” he asked his date. She was very beautiful maybe even out of his league beautiful.

“Yes, please. I love your place. I love this remote area. It’s so peaceful and it’s really decorated tastefully.” She held out her hand with her wine glass waiting for her refill. “And this yard!” She said as she walked to the window with her newly filled glass. “You have a beautiful home”. She was tall with long dark hair and hazel eyes. His heart caught in his throat for a minute, then he remembered there was a restraining order now, the stalker wouldn’t be out there now.

“Thank you” he said while joining her at the window, they both stared out into the inky darkness.

He was flaunting it now. Standing at the window with that tramp, like the two of them had done so many nights. Now he was in there with that harlot. Why couldn’t he just be happy with one woman? Why did he have to stray? He was so perfect, at least until he started cheating with all the bimbos. Now there was no turning back, they both needed to learn. They needed to understand how wrong they were for ruining her happy ending. She had to move so much, from town to town, because no one could let her be happy. Now she’d have to move again, and she had loved it here, had loved him until the brunette homewrecker. She moved in the bush shifting her wait from one leg to another. She looked back at the window quickly. Had he seen her move?

Did the bush just move? His breath caught in his throat. He tried to tell himself she wasn’t out there it was just the wind. But something caught in the pit of his stomach. What if she was out there? His heart began to race. No, he tried to tell himself, there was a restraining order now. When she killed his dog it was finally enough to get a restraining order. Do crazy people abide by restraining orders though? Maybe they should move away from the window. Just in case she was out there. He touched his dates arm and they both walked away from the window. She was looking around his living room now. Studying the pictures of him with his family and friends.

“Aww your dog is so cute” Duke was in many of the pictures.

“He passed away a little over week ago” his voice was saddened.

“Aww I’m so sorry to hear that”

“Thanks” he didn’t want to tell her about how it happened. He didn’t want to talk to anyone about the crazy stalker that’s been making his life hell for the last year. He just wanted to go back to a normal life and forget about the crazy girl. He looked back to the window. The bush moved again, or did it? He wasn’t sure anymore. He didn’t feel safe in his home anymore. He knew his house would be a bad idea as soon as he had invited her here. But public places weren’t safe either. The last date he had been on was a disaster. His crazy stalker had stormed into the restaurant screaming about him being a cheater. She had told his date they were married in front of the whole restaurant. People actually booed him. They believed the crazy girl and judged him guilty of infidelity in a relationship that never existed. He liked this girl and didn’t want it to go like that, so he invited her here, to his home. He looked at the bushes in his back yard.

“You seem far away” his date’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“Sorry, I guess I just have a lot on my mind these days”

“Work stuff or another woman” she smiled jokingly.

“Work stuff” he lied. He hated lying but what woman would be willing to put up with a stalker? He tried to tell one woman about her, and she immediately didn’t believe him. She told him women didn’t do that kind of thing. He knew how the story sounded. Even the police barely believed him, and they had reports of all the times she had attempted to ruin his life.

“Why don’t we sit on the couch?” She was trying to get him to be more in the moment. He knew that but it was still hard for him.

“Sure” he said still feeling uneasy.

She watched them sit down on the couch together. That bitch she thought, stealing her man, and trying to cuddle with him on their couch. This woman had no shame. No sense of morality, stealing someone else’s property. Stealing something from her. This shameless homewrecker needed to be taught a lesson. The rain was finally letting up some. She shifted her weight again this time to get her back pack off. She pulled her handgun and large hunting knife from the bag. She was going to make both of them pay. She had hoped the dog would be enough of a warning for him to do the right thing and stop cheating on her. But it hadn’t worked. Now there was no other choice but to teach them both how wrong they were for doing this to her. He was distracted now so she moved stealthily across the back yard. A motion sensor light turned on, but she made it to the large ornamental grass planted near his back door before he could see her.

The light in the back yard turned on and he nearly ran to the windows.

“Everything okay?” his date asked.

“No, yes, I don’t really know” he answered nervously.

“What a mysterious answer” she laughed.

“Sorry I don’t mean to be coy, I’m just not sure yet” he said studying his back yard. The light was a motion sensor light. Maybe there was a raccoon in the back yard, or maybe SHE was back there, just waiting to make her move.

“What do you mean?” she asked beginning to feel uneasy. He sighed.

“I’m being stalked” he finally said.

“Stalked?” she asked

“Yeah, by this completely crazy former client”

“Oh” she said, he could tell by her tone she wasn’t buying it.

“Yes, a stalker. She opened a bank account at my branch like a year ago. At first it started with random gifts and flowers, then it progressed to her showing up at places I was at, then she started ruining dates and family functions and then she was calling and texting my phone hundreds of times a day. I was finally able to get a restraining order when she killed my dog.”

“Seriously?” his date seemed more sympathetic.

“Yes, it’s so crazy she has this whole relationship in her head, and I never even dated this chick.”

“That’s crazy. She really killed your dog?”

“Yeah, stabbed him repeatedly”

“I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Should we call the police?” She was being supportive; he couldn’t believe his luck.

“I don’t know. They normally make fun of me about it. I guess most stalkers aren’t women. It’s been an uphill struggle” he was still staring into the back yard.

“I can’t even imagine what that must be like” she joined him by the window and laid her hand on his arm.

“Thank you for being so understanding.”

“I’ve been stalked before. I know how crazy it is and how easily things spin out of control. It’s a terrible feeling being watched and followed all the time.” He turned to her and hugged her.

He was seriously going to hug this other woman right in front of her??? How could he be so calloused, so cold to her. He knew how she felt about him and here he was in another woman’s arms. He didn’t deserve her. He didn’t deserve to be happy. He didn’t deserve to live. She quietly moved around the house to the side door. It opened into the laundry room. She pulled out her tools and began to pick the lock on the door. Her hunting knife and gun tucked into her holster. She would make them both pay for breaking her heart. She made quick work of the lock and was standing in his laundry room in no time. She grabbed a towel from the top of the dryer and dried herself as much as she could, including the bottoms of her shoes. She didn’t want to slip on the tile floor or get water all through their house. She could hear their muffled voices. He was telling the homewrecker about her and yet she stayed here with him. What kind of person is okay with being a homewrecker? She would teach her not to interfere in other people’s happiness. She pulled the gun from the holster. It was already loaded with one in the chamber. She would teach them both. They would learn not to break her heart. Holding the gun tightly in her right hand she slowly turned the door knob and opened the door an inch. They were still in the living room on the couch. Were they kissing? She was sure she heard them kissing. This harlot she thought. She opened the door and walked into the kitchen and then into the living room where they WERE on the couch kissing. Her rage exploded inside her.

“How can you fucking do this to us!” She screamed at them. They both stood up and whirled to see her standing behind them gun in hand.

“There is no us,” he said before he could think it out. She raised the gun and shot his date in the leg. She screamed in pain and fell to the floor bleeding heavily. “What are you doing you psycho” he bent down to check on his date.

“Don’t fucking touch her, your little homewrecking whore” she was still screaming at him. “you’re lucky I didn’t just shoot her in the head. But you see they don’t learn if they die quickly. They need to be taught not to touch things that don’t belong to them” her voice was normal now much more under control. Hearing how cool her voice was horrified him. “Step away from her Daniel.”

“Okay” he agreed “just don’t kill us. Look, I’m sorry. Just please don’t kill us”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry” she said her eyes cold “they’re always sorry at this point” She pulled handcuffs from her bag. “Put one on your right wrist and the other around her left wrist.” She threw them to him, gun still pointed at him. He did as she demanded. His date was sobbing uncontrollably. “Look at how weak your little homewrecker is now” she laughed and pulled out a large, jagged knife.

“Look I’m sorry, I said I was sorry just please let us go” he pleaded with her.

“No, you both need to learn your lesson”

“I’m, I’m so sorry I..I didn’t know about you” his date finally stifled her sobs long enough to say something. She laughed at her.

“I heard him telling you about me, so just stop with the lies. I know you knew about me, and you didn’t leave. You chose to stay.” Rage was burning behind her green eyes. His date just started crying again. “See how weak she is?” He squeezed his date’s hand.

“She is weak, no on compares to you. Please just let us go, I’ll make it right. We can be together again.” He didn’t know what he could say to get out of this situation. He was afraid. She laughed.

“I don’t want you now. You’re tainted. Unworthy. I just want to make you both pay and move on with my life” She moved closer to them, and his date started crying harder. She grabbed her dark brunette hair and pulled it tight toward the ceiling. She ran the hunting knife delicately along her scalp, but not hard enough to cut the flesh from the skull yet. His date just sobbed not knowing what else to do. He wanted to lunge at her, but he was handcuffed to a woman that couldn’t move. As if reading his thoughts, she let go of his date’s hair and stabbed the knife into his leg. He screamed in pain. She laughed as she pulled it from his flesh. The dark red blood impregnating his jeans and the carpet beneath him.

“Don’t try to be a hero, Daniel. We both know you deserve this.” She grabbed his dates hair again and this time she slid the knife along her scalp pressing hard, as the blood-soaked steel bit into the flesh removing her skin and hair from the top of her skull. His date screamed in pain as she sawed through her scalp until the dark hair in her hand was freed completely. His date’s upper body crumbled to the floor likely in shock as the blood ran down her face. “See how weak she is? She didn’t even try to fight.” She got down on her knees next to the unconscious woman and raised the knife above her head. Daniel saw his opportunity and kicked at the crazy murderess. She was knocked backwards by the blow of his foot on her chest. He scrambled getting slowly to his feet, his date’s unconscious body keeping him from dashing through the door into the back yard. The stalker regained her position and swung the serrated blade at the back of his ankles. The steel found it’s mark and slid through his Achilles tendon as if it were butter. He screamed and fell to the floor. She laughed.

“Why are you doing this?” he cried from pain and frustration. He was sure she would kill them both. He wanted to fight but he couldn’t he was feeling weaker by the minute. He felt all the blood soaking into the carpet squishing beneath him. He couldn’t tell how much blood was his and how much was his dates.

“You know why, don’t pretend like you don’t Daniel” She stood up and loomed over his date cutting long gouges into her flesh.

“Please stop” he sobbed.

“No” she replied coldly. “It’s time to learn that you don’t break people’s hearts, Daniel” the way she said his name made his skin crawl. She was still carving into his date, she must be dead by this point he thought, he hoped. He continued to sob.

“I’m sorry” he stammered “I’ll change”

“Men never change, Daniel. You’re all monsters.” She cut off his date’s ear and put it in her pocket. Then stood up and walked around to where he was lying.

“I c-c-can” he stuttered through his sobs.

“No, you can’t, Daniel” she said crouching next to him running her hands through his hair. “I wish you could but we both know, once a cheater always a cheater. I deserve better than that, Daniel. I deserve better than you.” She grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulling his head back exposed his throat. She slid the bloody Damascus blade along his throat and watched the blood cascade like a waterfall from the wound. She watched the life drain from his eyes and then leaned over and kissed his forehead. She sliced off his ear, pocketing it while she stood up and walked to the sink. She cleaned her knife meticulously before gathering her gun and her backpack. She really had liked this town; she had liked many of the others though too. She knew once she had to teach someone a lesson she couldn’t stay. She would need to find a new look, a new home, a new town. The possibilities almost excited her. She scanned the living room double checking that she didn’t leave anything behind, the long dark hair caught her eye. She did like the homewrecker’s dark hair, maybe she would leave the red curls she had grown to love behind and trade them for straight brunette strands. She didn’t love the homewrecker’s hazel eyes though. She would need a different eye color. Maybe blue colored contacts with the dark hair she thought. That might be a stunning enough color combination to attract the next love of her life. She smiled as she walked out the door into the cold familiar darkness.