After some very helpful inspiration i decided to add more to the story, please read and see what you think! If there are still mistakes please tell me and i will go through again! Thank-you heaps! If you have read this before you'll see that not a lot has changed, apart from the bit i added in Mike's POV! Please comment! Things change when you see something you don’t want to see, change your perspective on people and on life. You feel like you want to rip your eyes out, rub them until the things you saw are erased from your memory, never to come back and haunt your dreams. When you trust someone with every single cell in your body, and they do something to kill that trust you feel like you have stuffed up. You feel like you should have realised sooner, should have picked up on the signs, seen little movements or gestures that made it obvious that you couldn’t trust them. You blame yourself for their mistakes.
**
My mum was forty-one years old when she died. Lots of people came to the funeral, everyone wore black. Lot’s of people cried, including Mike. He stood across the way from me, acting as the grieving widower. His eyes were red and puffy, his nose ran, and he pulled out a hanky to wipe it every so often. Only when he looked over at me did his expression change slightly. I saw the anger there, and the knowing eyes of a man with a lot to hide. He wanted me to keep quiet, to not tell anyone. He had sworn me to secrecy, told me that if I told anyone I would regret it. So I played my part well. My mother died in a car accident. But the real side of the story was much worse than that, something that gave me nightmares when I slept, something that I didn’t even want to think about, something that should never have happened. ..
(That night)
“Be back by ten o’clock!” my mother set down the law before I left the house.
“Yes mum!” I rolled my eyes. A car pulled up outside and tooted the horn, my excitement grew and I ran to the door, “See ya later!” I was to fast to hear her answer; it was taken away by the new sounds of outside, the sounds of my friends and a great night out.
Only later would I realise the mistake I had made in that two minutes or so, only later would I pick up on the small details. I hadn’t said ‘I love you’ or given her a hug, I hadn’t heard her departing words and I hadn’t noticed the tears in her eyes, and they way she was silently begging me to stay.
The party was already pumping by the time my group of friends and I had got there, the music was blasting from the speakers and people already lay unconscious on the ground. Soon we had all split up and I was alone with a bunch of strangers. I didn’t like the way some of the guys were staring at me, so I pushed my way through the group of people to a free place in the corner. Pulling out my cell phone I saw that I had five missed calls from my mum, and two from Laylani, my friend. I decided to call my mum back first, it rung five times before clicking into the answer machine I hung up and tried again. Just the same as the first time, my mums chirpy voice telling me that she couldn’t come to the phone right now and that she would get back to me as soon as possible. I left a quick message, asking her what was wrong and to call me back. Again I didn’t say ‘I love you’, something that would make me feel guilty for the rest of my life. My friend jumped on me from behind, making me topple forward and sending my cup of beer in all directions.
“Oh shit, sorry!” he said, his words slurring from to much alcohol already.
“All good.” I said, feeling better now that I knew someone. We had to yell to talk to each other because of the music that seemed to be getting louder. The party went on long and hard, there was never a pause in the music or a stop after each bear cup was empty, they just kept refilling.
“We should go home now!” I yelled at Laylani who had appeared at my side some time through the night.
“I guess.” She said, stumbling forward and falling onto some guys lap. She smiled and began to kiss him. I could tell by the guy’s expression that he was enjoying it.
“Laylani!” I yelled, and grabbed her hand to pull her up. She giggled and obeyed my wish, following me through the masses of people to the fresh air outside. Cane and Billy were already at the car. Little did I know that just then when I was helping the intoxicated Laylani to the car, my phone was ringing back inside on the kitchen bench where I had left it.
“She’s off her face!” Cane laughed, and came to help me drag her.
“Tell me about it, I slowed down a couple of hours ago.” I smiled at Billy, who was leaning against the car, he didn’t smile back. I still didn’t know what I had done to upset him. We managed to get Laylani into the car, and we started to drive to her house.
“NO! I don’t wanna go home!” she cried.
“Tough, we’re taking you.” Cane said firmly.
“NO! I need food!” Laylani yelled, and everyone agreed that it would be best to get her something to eat. Later I thought back on that, if we hadn’t gotten the food would I have made it home before? Could I have stopped it? After dropping off Laylani at her house, with her cheeseburger in hand, Billy did a u-turn and began to drive me to my house. No one said anything and I think Cane knew that something wasn’t right with Billy and I. I wonder if he knew what? I couldn’t figure it out. It was probably all a miss-understanding. He parked at the end of my driveway and no one said a word.
“Well, thanks.” I said, shuffling across the seats to get to the right side of the car to get out.
“Cya, Katie! Say hi to your mum from me.” Cane yelled out the open door.
“Sure thing.” I said. I didn’t know then that I wouldn’t be able to, that I would never be able to hear my mum’s voice again. As I walked up the short drive to my house, listening to the gravel crunch under my feet, I heard a sound I would never forget. A sound of pure fear, a sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight. A scream so loud I’m sure people on the moon would be able to hear it. Then I was running, fall out running, no pause for breathe or for my own fear to grab a hold of me. I knew that voice even if it did come out as a scream, my mum. I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe she got a fright from a massive spider crawling up a cobweb, maybe she overreacted at a shadow in the corner, or maybe Mike – my step-father – was joking around and snuck up on her. Any of those thoughts would be much easier to handle than the dark truth that loomed just metres away. With my heart hammering like a thousand basketballs on a court, I ran around the side of my house to where the scream came from. Mike didn’t see me straight away, and I took that as my chance to hide behind the jut in the wall. I don’t know why I felt an instinct to hide, all I knew was that it was strong and as clear as day. The things I would see next would be forever imprinted in my brain. I remember the tears that streaked down my mum’s pale face, the bruises that lay down her arms and around her neck, how she backed away from Mike with fear coating her eyes.
“Why are you doing this?” I heard my mum’s broken voice ask. When i look back at this moment, that’s when I should have done something, I should have ignored the feelings in my body and jumped out, or rung the police, should have done anything except just stand and watch.
“Because,” Mike drooled, and he had a sick twisted grin on his face “This is the best way, for everybody.” Mike walked closer to my mum, and she took another couple of steps backwards. But soon she could not go any further because she was cornered in the crook of the house.
“Not everyone. What about Katie, and Harrison?” my mum asked. Harrison is my kid brother, I had no idea where he was but I hoped no where, where he could witness this. I fumbled in my pocket, looking for my cell phone when I came up empty I cursed under my breathe. Mike heard and turned to look in my direction, I pushed myself further into my hiding place.
“I can’t drag this out any longer.” Mike sighed, “Good bye.”
I missed the starting of it, for that I was glad. But when I managed to make myself peek around the corner, I saw something no daughter wants to see. Mike stood over my now dead mother; a knife dripping in blood was in his right hand. My mother’s eyes were open and when I looked down at her, she was staring at me. That was probably one of the worst moments of that night, staring into her blank eyes, seeing nothing, because her sole was gone. I watched as Mike wiped the knife on his top, and then wrapped it up in a towel on the ground. He picked up my mother and cradled her in his arms, watching him do that I couldn’t believe that what he had just done happened. He seemed to care. He turned around and looked straight at me, my legs buckled under me, threatening to give way. But I held my stance and stared straight at Mike, a man that I had come to trust and love. He didn’t say anything at first, he just stared, his eyes wide and disbelieving. I held his gaze, not letting him see the fear that was trying to drown me. He stepped forward then, and I matched his step with one backwards. He wasn’t moving to me though, he walked past me and out to his car. Only then did I notice that it was all mangled in the front, and the garage door had been pushed in. Mike placed my mother in the driver’s side of the car, and put on her seatbelt. He leant in and kissed her forehead, then gently shut the door. I watched as he made everything look real, how he made the stab wound look like something from inside the car had flown out and done it. I watched us he unwired the cables for the breaks, making it look like they had failed. I stood there and watched as my step-father set up my mother’s death as an ‘accident’. Once he was done, he said to me.
“Don’t tell anyone, or I can get rid of you just like that.” He clicked his fingers. He pulled out his phone and dialled three numbers, and put his cell phone up to his ear.
“Hello? Hello? Hello?” he asked, putting on a - well practised – scared voice. There was talking on the other side of the phone, and then he said, “It’s my wife; she’s been in an accident. The breaks failed out on the car, she came into the driveway to fast and ploughed into the garage. She’s dead!” he cried. There was more talking on the other side of the phone, as he rolled his eyes and picked dirt out from underneath his nails. “29th Marlborough Avenue.” The person on the other side of the phone talked again, “Thank-you! Please hurry!” With that he hung up the phone and walked past me and into the house. Shock does strange stuff to your body, some people might freeze up all together and reject the pain, or maybe you might go numb. I couldn’t really tell what was happening to me, so I suppose my body was numb. Everything felt like a dream, no a nightmare. Surely someone would jump out from behind a bush soon and yell; “GOTCHA!” and my mum would wake up and laugh, making this all just a cruel joke. I had to wake myself up, but after I pinched myself and wacked my cheeks I was still here.
“NO!” I sobbed, and ran to the car where my mother sat, “Mummy!” I grabbed hold of her hand and cried, and that’s how everyone found me. Ambulances and Fire engines and Police car’s all filled the driveway, and went straight to my mother. A police man pulled me up off the ground and guided my back to his car. As I made his voice fade into the background I watched Mike ran out of the house, acting as the worried husband. I listened as he told his lies to every single person that was there to help. Doctor’s and nurses gave him sympathy, and tried to calm his fake-cries down. I knew the truth though; I could see the slight shine in his eyes, a shine that said ‘look at me I’m getting away with murder.’
( Mike )
Excitement can be controlled in short doses, but when that’s all you feel it’s hard to keep it under wraps.
“Why are you doing this?” Patricia asked. Mike could feel the tiny flutter of love he felt for her push it’s way up his chest, but he blocked it with another round of excitement.
“Because,” the idea he had in his mind – that he had been thinking about for awhile now – grew stronger and he could hardly control himself. He felt like a little kid on Christmas morning, “this is the best way for everybody.”
““Not everyone. What about Katie and Harrison?” she grabbed at loose ends, trying to save herself. She knew what was going to happen; she knew what she had done. Mike thought about the two children for a second. Of course he did not really care about them; they were forced upon him when he married Patricia. But there was a small part of him – a miniscule part – that felt bad for these kids. He brushed that feeling aside like an unwanted present. A strange sound floated to Mike’s ears and he spun around to look. You are starting to go paranoid! He though at himself, when he saw there was nothing there. Starting to? He scoffed.
“I can’t drag this out any longer,” Mike tried to hold back a grin, “Good bye.”
A wave of pleasure washed over him as he saw Patricia try to run slightly, he pounced on her, grabbing her in his strong arms and killing her instantly. He did not know why she didn’t scream, he thought she would have. Some part of him wished she had, it would be more of a thrill. The feel of Patricia falling limp to the ground made Mike feel like he was floating on air. It was a pure heaven feeling, something he wouldn’t trade anything for. Mike wiped his knife – which he had bought especially for this moment – on his pants then wrapped it in a towel. When he picked up his broken wife in his hands and turned around he got a shock of his life. He knew he had heard someone! There in the shadows, Katie – Patricia’s daughter, stood watching him. Mike’s eyes felt huge, while his whole body seemed to be drowning in a rush of the thrill. Someone had seen! She would go to the police! He tried to hold back his delight as he stepped forward. Katie matched his step by stepping backwards. Ignoring her completely he went to set up, make it seem as though he didn’t do it. But hopefully he would get found out. Hopefully the police would arrive to arrest him, making a big fuss. Mike could imagine it now; the butterflies already filled his stomach. He had everything planned out so nothing required too much thinking; he placed Patricia in the car and began to make everything seem just right. But if the Police looked hard enough, if they were smart, they would realise they were being pranked. And then they would come searching, and he would be waiting. After warning Katie – who hadn’t moved – and calling the ambulance Mike walked inside and started making dinner. All the while, he thought about the burden that had been realised from his shoulders, a huge weight gone. He didn’t have to worry about Patricia anymore, or the stupid baby they had managed to conceive. Even thinking about the idea that she had let herself become pregnant infuriated him. Did she not think at all?
“Ugh!” he chucked the plate he was holding across the room. He was glad he had killed her! Glad that she was now gone, and her selfish ways would not annoy him anymore.
Once the meat was sizzling nicely in the pan, Mike heard the sounds of ambulances, fire engines and police cars fill the air outside. He looked towards the front of the house with a huge smile.
“Yes!” he dropped his tea towel on the ground and skipped towards the door. When he got outside he put on his façade of the grieving widower, the act was easy enough to pull off. He tried not to let the light in his eyes give him away, he looked down a lot, mumbling his answers, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. Mike watched as the police fell for his plan - his well thought out plan, the ideas of a serial killer - and could hardly keep his smile hidden.
**
That night Mike sat with his feet resting comfortably on the coffee table. Thinking back he could hardly believe he had gotten away with it. Boy, the police these days must be dumb! He thought. But he was glad, glad that he was able to have his fun.
Seven – he thought. Seven people now, he mentally ticked off another box on his list. His aim was ten, at least. He didn’t know why, but killing people gave him pleasure.
(Katie)
My brother didn’t understand what was going on, he couldn’t grasp the fact that mum wasn’t coming back. We both sat on his bed, with the door firmly shut.
“Has she gone to the shops?” he asked, his big brown eyes filled with tears.
“No.” I shook my head sadly.
“Where has she gone then?” he asked. I reached out and grabbed him in my arms, trying to hide my face from his, and the tears that poured from my scarred eyes.
“No, Harrison. Mum is never coming back, she hasn’t gone to the shops she has gone somewhere where she will be much happier, much safer.” I told him, the honesty of the words flowed from me in a glow of light. Of course she would be much better of now; no one noticed how much pain she was going through, how she was scared of her own husband. My little brother pulled back out of my arms and looked into my teary eyes.
“You mean she’s gone to heaven?” he asked. His question took me totally of guard, I wasn’t aware that he knew anything about Heaven. I didn’t even think he knew what dying actually was.
“Yes.” I choked out, and pulled him back into my arms as we both cried.
**
“BILLY!” I yelled, my voice ricocheting around the empty school hallways. Billy slowed in his step but didn’t turn around.
“Billy! Can I talk to you?” I asked, once I was close enough. He glanced in my direction for a split second then looked away.
“Sure.” I heard him mumble. I looked around the hallway; a few people were starting to walk into the school, their morning faces on.
“C’mon!” I said, motioning for him to follow me. Even though he didn’t look like he wanted to, he did. Once we were outside, with no one around, I got straight to the point.
“Look, whatever I’ve done I’m sorry! Okay?” I was kind of angry; he had to at least explain to me why he was so angry, I hadn’t done anything! He didn’t say anything for awhile, and just when I was about to yell at him for not answering, he spoke.
“I’m not angry at you.” He sighed, running his hand down his face. When he finally looked me directly in the eye, he seemed to of age at least five years since I had last looked at him properly, his eyes were sad, dulled in his beautiful blue colour.
“Then why?” I asked suddenly feeling close to tears, “Why are you being like this?” he sucked in a deep breathe and looked out towards the swarm of cars entering the student parking lot, when he looked back at me I thought I saw tears lingering in his eyes.
“I was scared, scared that if I hung out with you it might slip. I might tell you something I’m not meant to, something I really need to say, but can’t.” he looked straight at me, and I felt like he could see right to my soul, and I to his. He had something that he was hiding, just like I was hiding something, something huge!
“Tell me, Billy.” While we had been in our intimidate tense little bubble I had unconsciously moved forward, ready to comfort him if need be. So when one of his mates yelled, “Oi! Billy!” we both jumped back like we had been caught doing something naughty.
“What?!” he yelled back, and I could tell he was slightly annoyed and embarrassed, he rubbed at his eyes – meaning for it to look like he was scratching them, but I could tell he was rubbing away tears.
“Come to class, mate!”
“I am, just wait!” he said back, and they all just stood there watching us. I rolled my eyes, and crossed my arms.
“I’ll talk to you later, Katie.” He said, “Your house, after school.” I nodded, and watched him walk away. I watched him put on a fake smile for his friends, putting on an act, just like I was.
**
Please comment!!!! Even if it's not a review, i would LOVE to hear what you think! Thank-you SO much!
). If you are going to continue the story then don't mention the things that Mike said and make it like suspense. Maybe when the mom asks "Why are you doing this?", then mention that he just kept quiet and stabbed her. Then later mention that he was deranged or something when all truth is uncovered; if ever. (again, I'm sorry if I'm hijacking your story 