I snarl, her ungratefulness releasing a black cloud of ink inside me. I made sure her rapist didn’t come near her. He would’ve only hurt her if he did. He would’ve spun her back into his web again, and she would’ve fallen victim to a black widow that would slowly poison her until nothing good is left.
Until her flower is wilted.
I stay by the wall for hours, watching Jennifer’s attitude increasingly decline as the night goes on. Every time I see a tear drop from her eye, I see Mommy before me, crying into her hands as Daddy punishes her.
The second the last guests of the night leave her room, she sits on the bed and sobs. Holding her face in her hands like a small child, black tears trailing down her cheeks from her makeup.
I reach toward her, but the wall hinders me.
“Mommy?” I whisper. Jennifer’s blonde hair bleeds to Mommy’s dark brown hair, and all I can see is a woman sobbing her heart out, praying for death. And then her blonde hair is back, and I can’t tell if the lone tear that trails down my cheek is for Jennifer or Mommy.
It doesn’t take long for Sarah to come looking for her. The second she sees Jennifer’s state, she sits on the bed next to her and cocoons the weeping girl in her arms.
“What’s wrong? Did he come see you?”
Jennifer drops her arms and wails, “That’s just the thing! He didn’t show up.”
I can only see their backs, but Sarah’s silence is weighted.
“I… thought that’s what you wanted,” Sarah hedges, her tone tight with confusion.
Jennifer wipes her eyes and gives a pitiful shrug. “I wanted to see what he would say, but as usual, he’s fucking unreliable and always lies. He’s probably out doing drugs again. He said he stopped that, but I don’t think he did.”
I scowl. He definitely didn’t.
“Didn’t you tell him you didn’t want to see him?”
Jennifer scoffs, “Yeah, so? If he really cared about me, he would’ve shown up and at least tried to explain himself.”
Another weighted silence passes. Sarah sees that Jennifer is in a toxic cycle. Despite what Gary did to her, she was still hoping he’d show up. And because I stopped that from happening, she’s pissed.
The black ink spreads deeper inside of me.
What an ungrateful bitch! My hand trembles as rage consumes me. I work hard to rid this world of evil. Gary would’ve met the same fate regardless—I would’ve smelled his stench from the first step inside my house. But I probably wouldn’t have bothered to lure him away until after he talked to Jennifer.
I saved her.
It seems I made a mistake in doing so.
Snarling, I rip away from the wall and stalk back towards Gary. I’m feeling particularly savage. God help the souls that will feel my wrath.
Gary’s awake.
Tears leak from wide eyes as he struggles in his bonds. Blood leaks from where the rope is rubbing his skin raw.
When he lays eyes on me, he screams with all his might. The sound is less significant than a kitten’s cry.
I giggle behind my hand, amused by his distress. Seeing him fight his bonds with renewed tears eases some of the anger in my chest.
His shouting continues, and it sounds like he’s trying to curse at me. Muffled words and empty threats, that’s all I hear.
Despite his girlfriend’s ungratefulness, what he did to her was wrong. Sick. Depraved. Only something someone with a rotten soul would do. And he deserves to die for it.
There’s no redemption for people like Gary. They never learn their lesson. They get a slap on the wrist and then go on with their lives, torturing women for the sake of inflating their self-worth. Truth is, they don’t have any worth, and they know that.
They’re lost souls, wandering the Earth, searching for something they will never find.
I crouch in front of him, cocking my head and giving him a wide smile.
“We are going to have so much fun together,” I say reverently, already picturing all the places I’m going to slice and stab. Maybe I’ll paint a pretty picture with his blood when I’m done.
Oh! I wonder if Jennifer would like that. Maybe then she’ll appreciate what I did for her.
His screams and wriggling intensify. He nearly topples the chair over from his struggles. If he does, I’m going to be really annoyed.
“Do you know Jennifer?” I ask innocently. At the sound of his girlfriend’s name, he stills. His bottomless brown eyes heat as his chest heaves. He says something, and I don’t bother to rip off the tape to hear what he said. I’m not ready for him to talk back yet. “Did you know you hurt her?” I ask.
His brows plunge, and he shoots me a nasty look. I forge on, “She was crying to her friend today. About how you raped her when she was inebriated. Too drunk to stop you. But she said she did try. She told you no and you didn’t listen. That’s called rape, Gary.”
He shouts something again. It sounded like he said something along the lines of, “She’s my girlfriend.”
I nod my head slowly, looking him up and down in disgust. “She is your girlfriend. But that doesn’t mean you have the right to do what you want to her body without her consent. Last time I checked, it’s not your body.”
More muffles come from his mouth that I don’t care to decipher. I slap his cheek—hard. His eyes widen in shock and rage, looking at me as if he can’t believe I just slapped him.
Oh, Gary. I’m going to do so much worse to you.
“You’re not in the position to argue,” I hiss.
He quiets, the anger receding as fear bleeds back into his irises. Good. That’s what I like to see.
I spin and trek through the hallways, checking each room to make sure they’re empty. The fair shut down for the night, but sometimes employees linger. The last thing
