Obsession

If Kyle was surprised to see her on his doorstep, he didn’t show it. Instead, he stepped aside and let her pass through the giant white oak doors. The doors were a clear indication of what was to be expected in the house. His brick walls emitted a saddened whine with every step she took into the house, giving her the feeling of walking through a Tuscan villa. It had a feminine touch – probably Mia’s – as beige and white aesthetics could be found within the entire place. There was a sharp odour too, something that you would smell at a doctor’s office. But she wasn’t surprised; she all well knew Kyle’s hobbies. It was exactly why she was here. He was leaning against his marble countertop in the kitchen as he scrutinized her. “Why are you here?” he asked. She gulped and wrung her hands in an attempt to calm her agitated heart. Once - a long time ago - he would have been desperate to be in her company. She struggled to come up with a reason for why she was there. She couldn’t. She didn’t know how to rationalize her emotions anymore and her thoughts were a jumbled mess. “I needed some company, I guess.” She looked at the painting on the wall directly above him. Between the splashes of red on the white canvas, she could vaguely make out the face of a crying woman. Her eyes touched everything in the room except for his. Kyle walked towards her and she shuddered. She had always been creeped out by how quietly Kyle could walk despite being over six feet and weighing 200 pounds. With his looks and the power of his wallet, he pretty much got away with everything that he wanted. “Liam died less than 24 hours ago,” he spoke in his low voice. “And you are already back here, just like a whore.” “I know when my husband died Kyle.” she snapped. “And I am not here asking for anything.” “You could have fooled me, dressed in that cheap knock-off designer dress with those fuck-me heels.” He glared at her. “And I bet you have some $50 Victoria’s Secret lingerie underneath there too.” It was true, what he said. Knowingly or unknowingly, she had come here with a purpose and hoped that he couldn’t read her true intentions. Her clothes may have looked cheap and disgusting to him. But they made her feel powerful. The way the lace of her lingerie had rubbed against her skin the entire way here had raised goosebumps on her arms. And the heels, just strutting around in them, imagining being naked in just that, especially in front of Kyle, caused sweat to roll down the middle of her back, making her shiver with anticipation. She leaned into him, pressing her entire body weight against the hard contours of his body. He felt exquisite. When he didn’t move, she took it as a sign to move forward. She brushed her lips on top of his with the slightest pressure, her tongue following her path of movement. Their breaths mingled. How could someone feel so warm, yet cold at the same time?

“Kyle, please,” she purred. “Just one night. That’s all I ask of you.” His stubble scratched the delicate skin on her neck as he leaned forward and groaned. Liam used to have a beard too, and no matter how much she insisted, he had refused to shave it off, laughing and saying it was a family look. She swallowed hard, trying to hold back her tears. She wanted to forget Liam. She wanted to forget the blue and grey colour that his body had turned when she had gone to identify him. She wanted to forget the feeling of missing him. Kyle looked at her reddened eyes. His face had gone all soft and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, embracing her in his warmth, as though he was comforting a child. No, she didn’t want his pity. She just wanted to forget, that’s all. She stepped away from him and began to undo the zipper on her dress. His hands stopped hers before she could do anything. “I am married to Mia,” he whispered in a tragic sort of way – like he knew how this was going to end. The name made her stiffen. It felt as though someone had poured cold water on her. Her hands fell to her side, hopeless. Seeing the bitterness on her face, Kyle sighed and shoved her back. She stumbled in her heels and fell right into a cushioned seat. “She’s my wife.” He said. “I know who she is.” “Why are you upset?” Kyle looked down at the golden band on his ring finger of his left hand. “Four years ago, I asked you to marry me. You rejected me. You. Said. No.” His words, albeit soft, were laced with venom. Tears burned at the back of her eyes. She was hanging on the cusp of denial. One wrong move, one wrong word, and she would be forced to face that she had nothing left now. She couldn’t do that. She pushed at the pain that was creeping in. She had just wanted a respite from everything. She thought seeing Kyle would do that, but clearly, she was wrong. “You would have never loved me. Not with your obsession of-” “I gave you the world. And you threw it back in my face.” His poker face cracked with anger. She had hurt him, and she knew he would never forgive her. His voice broke as he said to her “You-you married Liam two months after we broke up. I really meant nothing to you, didn’t I?” Hurt shone through the glassy surface of his eyes. She scoffed. It shocked her to see him nearly broken. It shocked her that despite all the years that they were apart, he still thought he could manipulate her. They both knew that his sympathy was just as much of a charade as his charm was. “You are incapable of love,” she said steeling her nerves. She had said those same words to him four years ago and she said them again to him today. Despite his coldness, Kyle was an open book to read. A multitude of emotions flashed on his face. Agony. Denial. Envy. And finally, the very welcomed, rage. “You bitch,” Acid dripped from his tongue. One second, she was standing chest to chest with Kyle, the next her head was banging against the floor. Her ears had hollowed out and her right cheek was burning. Her breathing staggered as she hung on the precipice of pain. Tears were rolling down her face as she gingerly touched the tips of her fingers against her cheek. With her eyes blurry and her tongue salty, she managed to get out, “you. Sick. Fuck.” Kyle’s jaw clenched as he wrapped his fist around her hair and hauled her up. Somewhere during the process of falling and being picked up like a doll by Kyle, her heels had fallen off and now she was tiptoeing to ease the pressure on her scalp to stand at eye- level with him. While his eyes glared with anger at her, he slowly – as though almost challenging her to stop him – wrapped his other hand around the sinuous arch of her neck. He pushed down, pressing from behind into her spine. She gulped her last breath as he completely cut off her breathing. With madness gleaming in his eyes and a smug, evil smile on his face, he leaned down and whispered, “is this what you want from me?” He ran his tongue along the reddening cheek that he had just hit. “Do you want me to hit you?” She couldn’t speak. Not when her lungs were burning with a ferocious need for air. She grabbed the lapels of his shirt as he dragged her out to the couch in the living room. He threw her and with a whimper of distress, she fell into the heap of cushions. She gasped for breath as he descended on top of her, ripping her dress off her. He shoved his knee between her legs as he bit down on her skin above her collarbone. She howled in pain as fear whitewashed her senses. Her hands scrambled around for anything to defend herself with. Her fingers wrapped around the snake head of the metal vase that stood watching like a spectator on the coffee table. She gripped the heavy vase with all her might and propelled her entire body into the momentum of the swing. She felt the piece of his skull fragmenting under the force, sending an unexpected high through her veins. Kyle slumped over her and rolled, his body hitting the floor. With scratches and bruises all over her, she forced her body to cooperate and get up. A tormented cry of pain slipped from her mouth and black dots sparkled behind her eyelids as she grabbed her dress and limped back to the front door. She heard a rattle and then the breaking of glass, causing her to flinch in response. She quickened her steps, still clutching on to her dress – and the last bit of her dignity – as she rounded the sharp corners of the house. She heard Kyle roar her name. She turned, looking behind her, still running in the direction to the white doors that she had seen earlier when agony ripped through her abdomen. Her breath caught in her mouth as she felt like someone had torn her in half. She twisted her head back around to see a butcher’s knife jutting out from her stomach. Falling to her knees, she saw the pristine white carpet underneath her turning red, soaking her blood up from the open wound in her midriff. The knife was roughly pulled out of her abdomen. Her eyes rolled back into their sockets. She felt like she was looking at the face of the devil. The pale hand was attached to a gorgeous woman, with dark brown hair, sensuous curves, and the most exotic blue colour of eyes.

The woman looked at the man who stumbled in behind her. “What the fuck Kyle? How many times have we done this now?” She barked at him. “How could you let her escape?” She blinked in disbelief as the last remaining conscious part of her tried to fight against her impending death. “M-M-Mia.” She staggered out, her voice giving up on her. The woman in question looked down at her and grinned with untamed delight. “Hello, lovely.” A giggle slipped through her mouth as she kneeled and caressed her cheek. “Oh, you’re going to be a marvellous addition to our collection, isn’t that right Kyle?” Lexi didn’t hear Kyle’s reply as she was dragged further and further down into the black pit of her mind. One last smile crept onto her face, as she laid there basking in her victory. Despite the fear coursing through her blood, she had done what she had come here to do. Kyle – and well Mia as well – should have known that she too was a master puppeteer. She, of all people, knew just how to pull Kyle’s string to get what she wanted. She had been his first partner in crime after all.