The girl had never felt such an urge to scream before. She wanted to shout at God himself, but she couldn't, thanks to the rag wrapped around her head, stuffed in her mouth. She then felt fingers on her shoulder, rolling her onto her side, and saw the blonde teenage girl kneel down beside her. She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear, her grey eyes glistening in the moonlight. The blonde sighed, looked around and gently shook her head.
"People are just so rude, aren't they? You try and be nice, like, you try to do the right things, but the right things never happen to the right people, do they? They always happen to people who don't deserve them. Politicians, movie stars, whatever. I may come from money myself, but that doesn't mean I'm self centered," the blonde teenage girl said, "after all, I mean, I spend literally all my spare time thinking about others, and how I can best hurt them. That counts as thinking about others, doesn't it?" The girl moaned and shrugged. The blonde - who looked like she'd just stepped out of a teenage fashion magazine, dressed in the finest chic outfit one could have with perfect makeup - checked her nails and then pulled a book of matches from her coat pocket. "It's like," she continued, "...I wish I wouldn't be seen as a bad person for doing what I do. After all, I'm just giving you your just desserts. I watched you hit that poor womans seeing eye dog and leaving it for dead in the street. You have absolutely no respect for the disabled." The blonde pulled a match from the matchbook and struck it, smiling at the fire dancing at the tip. "Don't worry though, because I'm gonna teach you to respect them," she said, pulling a small thing of firecrackers from her other pocket and then taping them to the side of the girls head right over her ear, before sitting back and giggling uncontrollably, adding, "see, soon you'll know what it's like to be differently abled, and you'll be able to see how hard life can be when you're not the norm." The blonde put the match head to the firecracker fuse, patted the girl on the cheek and blew a kiss at her. "Besides, take it from me, being the norm is boring," she said, standing up and running away. She'd picked this abandoned drive in movie lot because she knew nobody would be out here, nobody would see or hear this. She waited with almost giddy anticipation, and watched as the girl struggled to break free, to stop what was about to happen, but she was powerless. She began to sob quietly, as the blonde hopped up on the hood of her jeep and sighed, starting to file her nails. "People are so stupid," she said to herself, "they never see when you're doing what's best for them." The firecrackers exploded, blowing a clean hole in the girls head where her ear had once been, and making the blonde cheer a little. You have to make your own fun as a teenager, she'd found. *** A series of gentle taps on the glass window woke Jason Tulridge, and he immediately opened his eyes and realized his face was pushed up against the glass of his drivers side window. He saw the cop outside motion for him to roll his window down, so he peeled himself off the window and did as he was instructed. The cop was one that he saw fairly often; she had a nice smile, she was older than he was, but he liked that. She had deep blue eyes and curly blonde hair. "You know you can't sleep here," she said softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep here," Jason said, "uh, my...my car isn't starting." "Oh," the cop said, "Well, I could call in a tow, get you taken to the closest body shop." "I appreciate that, but even then I wouldn't have the cash to pay for fixing whatever's wrong with it," Jason said, running his hands through his scruffy brown bedhead and then down his face, feeling his rough stubble. He felt embarrassed, and the cop smiled politely. "You know what I'm gonna do? You seem like a nice guy who's just having a little trouble," she said, "I'm gonna call in to my force, I'm gonna tell them to just leave you be, alright? But you gotta promise me that you're gonna work on getting your life together, getting that cash together and getting this car fixed." "Believe me, nothing would make me happier than getting my life together," Jason said, yawning. "Here," the cop said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a few dollars, pushing them into his pockets and saying, "Go get yourself a cup of coffee, on me. That'll make the day better." She smiled and then walked away from the car. Jason stuffed the cash into his coat pocket and then climbed out of the car and stretched once standing on the sidewalk. He yawned again, then headed towards the nearest cafe he knew of. Jason Tulridge's life had fallen apart, but at least he could still have coffee. The little bell over the door rang, signaling his arrival as he pushed his way in, making a handful of people stop and glance before going back to their activities. Jason hated that fucking bell. He hated when people caught notice of him. He walked to the counter and stopped, tapping his nails on it until a young woman, only a year or so younger than him, stepped up to take his order. "Hey," she said, "You look like shit, dude." "I feel like shit, dude," he replied, making her smirk. Her nametag read "Fawn". She had short dark chocolate colored hair and deep green eyes. Despite being almost in her thirties, she had braces, which Jason found really cool. He rarely saw adults with braces, and it always made him feel not so weird because he himself had had them in his twenties. "What can I get you today?" Fawn asked. "Uh...whatever..." he said, pulling the cash out and putting it on the counter, sorting through it, "uh...this much will get me." "I'll make it better than that, okay?" she said, taking the money and starting to throw together a drink. While he waited, Jason turned and leaned against the counter, exhaling as he glanced around at all the people in the shop. "Look at all these yuppies," he said, "all sitting around on their laptops, their phones, not even thinking about the hardships of others. How do you stand working for all these stuck up snobs?" "Mmm," Fawn said, putting a lid on the drink, "I just try and ignore everything, otherwise I just imagine having the power to blow their heads up with my mind." She handed his drink across the counter and he took it, thanking her as he did. As he began to lift the cup to his lips, he noticed she'd put a little heart next to his name, and he blushed slightly. He looked back at her, and she winked at him, then went back to helping another customer. Jason walked to a booth near the back and seated himself, sipping his coffee. Things could be worse, he figured. He could not have coffee. Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, opening it and looking at a photo of himself with a little girl, and he smiled. God what he'd give to have those days back. The bell over the door rang again, and he looked up, just like everyone else. A blonde teenage girl, looking about 16, walked to the counter and ordered with a credit card. She was well dressed, looked posh and rich, and her hair and makeup was perfect. As she waited for her coffee, she also bought a biscotti and bit into it, chewing as she looked around the cafe, stopping when she noticed Jason. He looked back down at the photo in his wallet, ignoring her. Suddenly, however, he heard the vinyl of the booth squeak as she scooted in across from him. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked, and he shook his head. "No, it's fine," he said. "You seem unusually grimy," the girl said, "Sorry, that came out rude. I'm Kelly." She reached across the table, and he shook her hand. "You look nice," Jason said, "I like your denim jacket." "Oh, thanks! It's a favorite," Kelly said, "I know denim is like, so nineties, but whatever. Contrary to popular belief, the fashion industry is wrong, and decade doesn't dictate clothing. You can make anything look good, no matter how outdated, if you know what you're doing." "You into fashion?" Jason asked, sipping his coffee as she took a bite of her cookie and chewed. "Yeah," she said, "My dad, he owns a clothing company and my mom's a professional photographer for models for it, so I spend a lot of my time around clothing and stuff. Guess you could say I picked it up from them. What do you do?" "Uh, survive day to day," Jason said, chuckling, "I'm...I'm living in my car. Life hasn't been...good." "I'm sorry to hear that," Kelly said. Jason stood up and smiled at her. "I better get going," he said, "I need to canvas for work. Besides, you shouldn't hang out with an older guy. People might get the wrong idea." "What's the right idea?" Kelly asked, making him chuckle as he exited. Kelly grabbed her drink from the counter, finally ready, and followed him out of the building back onto the sidewalk, where they walked side by side as she said, "You know, I could help you. I could find work for you to do. Just depends on what you're willing to do." "At this point, damn near anything," Jason said. "It could be mutually beneficial for us. My dad works a lot, he doesn't have time to do things for me, and I could use some help," Kelly said, "I could pay you in cash, under the table, that way you could create a little nest egg and get back on your feet." "Uh, I...I appreciate that, I really do, but that sounds...questionable," Jason said, almost laughing nervously, "besides, you don't know anything about me. Why'd you even approach me?" "I know you live in your car," Kelly said, making him stop in his tracks and look at her as she added, "And I know you're desperate. These are just glaringly obvious facts I've gleamed from the last few minutes. I know you're trying to get something back, judging from the way you were looking at your wallet, and I could be your way to get it back, whatever it is. I've seen you around the last few months, and I know you need the help, so help me help you." "...who are you?" Jason asked, his voice hushed now. "I'm Kelly Baker," she said, "and I'm the answer to your prayers, Jason." *** Jason hadn't had a shower in days. The water felt so good, but he couldn't shake the weirdness of the situation. Once he was finished, he stepped out, toweled off and found a pile of nice looking clothes sitting on the hamper in the bathroom, which he changed into. They fit perfectly, and damn if he didn't look good in them. Jason stepped out into the hall and walked down to the living area. Kelly was laying upside down on the couch, reading a magazine when she saw him. "Wow, you look really nice when cleaned up," she said. "This is your dads place?" he asked, "Are your parents divorced?" "Naw, this is just his little lovenest," Kelly said, "You know, where he takes models he wants to sleep with. Not a very good husband, is he?" "Jesus," Jason mumbled as he walked to a nearby chair and sat down, asking, "what...what is this? What are you doing right now? Why am I here?" "You're here, Jason, because I cannot afford to get my hands dirty," Kelly said, sitting upright now, "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, but because I'm being nice, you can't tell anyone. A few nights ago, I took a girl about my age out to an abandoned drive in theater, bound and gagged, and strapped some firecrackers to her ear." Jason's eyes widened. "what?" he asked softly. "She was a bad person, Jason, she hit someones seeing eye dog, and she didn't even stop to take blame for it. So I taught her what being differently abled was like," Kelly said, "the world is full of disgusting, immoral people, a lot of them like me, a lot of them wealthy, and I wanna make it better. They deserve it. But I can't do it all myself. Some things I can't do at all. Can't buy firearms, for example." "...what are you proposing?" Jason asked. "I'm going to pay you a lot of money to help me kill people," Kelly said, standing up and pacing in front of him, "I'm going to get you back on your feet, but you do whatever I say whenever I say it. If I say to end someone, you do it." "I...I can't do-" "Cut the shit, Jason, don't try and pretend like you've grown a conscience, alright? You really willing to sit there and tell me to my face that you've never once fantasized about killing someone?" Kelly asked, "Everyone has, whether they admit to it or not. That person who keeps adding items to the belt once in line at the grocery store or maybe that person who cut you off illegally and then flipped you off, as if they weren't already in the wrong enough. Everyone thinks about it. But I'm brazen enough to do it." "...why?" Jason asked. "Because I'm rich, and I can," Kelly said, sitting back down and sipping her coffee, "Jason, if you help me, you will be well taken care of, and before you know it, you will have a life again. Unless you'd rather continue living in your car." Jason scratched the back of his head. This afternoon had taken quite an unexpected turn, and he wasn't exactly sure how to deal with it. This teenage girl, Kelly, was way smarter than he'd originally pegged her for. She spoke elegantly, she was clearly well educated, but she was obviously malicious to a sickening extent. Could he really live with himself if he did what she wanted him to do? Could he stomach the things she might ask of him? And it wasn't like she was wrong. He had thought about it from time to time, in the exact ways she had described. Someone who'd wronged him just a little, making his day just a bit worse. Jason sighed and exhaled. "...what do I need to do?" he asked. Kelly smiled. *** A young woman, skinny as a rail with piercing blue eyes and perfect, bouncy red hair, was shopping, scooting hanger after hanger holding chic clothing down the pole as she searched for something perfect. She was completely unaware of the teenage girl and the man who were watching her from just a bit down the aisle. "Why, uh, why her?" Jason asked. "I have my reasons," Kelly said coldly. "And how do you plan to get away with this?" Jason asked in a hushed voice. "Malls are notoriously well protected places, especially higher class malls, but you know what's surprising? For as much security as the inside of the mall has, the parking garage has none whatsoever. It's just endless concrete corridors full of people trusting enough to leave their cars there. There's no security cameras, there's rarely even bike cops. I've tagged her car a few weeks back, and we parked right next to her." "Jesus you're methodical," Jason said, "Shouldn't you get a hobby like a normal teenager?" "This is my hobby," Kelly said, "Also I kind of like stamp collecting." "Really? I do too actually," Jason said. "She's found something," Kelly said, "come on." They must've watched the girl for an hour or so, before she finally checked out. Then they walked a bit behind her as she headed through the mall. She stopped at the food court, got herself a juice from a stand and then continued along her way, the whole while Jason and Kelly just far enough back to not arouse her suspicions. "Have you ever considered going to therapy? Lord knows you could at least afford it," Jason asked. "I was in therapy as a little girl," Kelly said. "And?" "The therapist requested I stop coming," Kelly said. Jason didn't ask again. Once they were out in the parking lot, they waited behind a pillar, watching the woman. She put her bags in the back of her convertible, then climbed inside herself. She checked her makeup and hair in the mirror, then started the car. Kelly stuffed a small burlap sack into Jason's hands and counted down. Just as the car was starting to back out, she nodded, and Jason - unsure of how this had even gotten so far - rushed out, hopping into the back of the convertible and throwing the sack around her head. Kelly then rushed up, turning the keys and shutting the car off as Jason pulled the woman out of the car and into Kellys. Kelly then turned the womans car back on momentarily, pulled it back into the parking spot fully and grabbed her shopping bags, taking them with her. She climbed into her car, started it up and pulled away. It had all been so smooth, Jason realized, that he was amazed people didn't get kidnapped more often. After driving a while, Kelly finally pulled into the parking lot of an old textile factory. She stopped the car, then climbed out, snapping her fingers. Jason followed like an obedient dog, pulling himself out first before pulling the woman with him. They dragged her inside the building, tied her wrists and ankles together, then pulled the sack off. Her makeup had run, and she looked terrified, but also angry as hell. When her eyes landed on Kelly, all of her looks softened. "Kelly?" she asked. "Hi Tanya," Kelly said, "Gosh it's been a while hasn't it?" "Kelly what the fuck are you-" "You don't get to talk, you talked enough," Kelly said, kneeling down and slapping tape over Tanya's mouth. She then sat cross legged on the floor in front of her and sighed, saying, "you really took my dad for all he was worth, didn't you? You know, he still thinks about you. Even after sleeping with a dozen other models, you were still his favorite, and the only he was really connected to. It wasn't bad enough to damage my family, but then you just left. That's what really pissed me off. I can't be that mad at you for sleeping with my dad, because that's half his decision, but you didn't need to hurt him like that." Tanya looked away from Kelly and up to Jason, who was standing nearby, arms folded as he just watched quietly. Tanya then saw Kelly snapping her fingers in front of her face and she brought her eyes back to Kelly, who patted her cheek gently. "Atta girl, pay attention," she said, "So here's how this is gonna work. You do a lot of hand modeling still, right?" Tanya nodded. "Perfect," Kelly said, "Because that's what we're working with. I'm gonna ask you a series of questions, and you're gonna answer them, and for every answer I don't like, my friend here's gonna cut a finger off. We'll see how well you do in the hand model industry when missing a few digits." Kelly stood up and walked to Jason, handing him a small pair of branch trimmers, looking at him. "You okay?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned. "I...I feel kinda sick, but otherwise I think I'm handling it better than expected," he said. "Good," she said, turning back and pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and looking at it before looking at Tanya again; Kelly cleared her throat and asked, "Alright Tanya, question number one, where's my moms jade bracelet that my dad got her for their 5th anniversary?" Tanya said something muffled, and Kelly reached down, pulling the tape off her mouth. "Sorry," Kelly said, "I didn't catch that." "It's in my apartment in the nightstand beside my bed," Tanya said. "Okay," Kelly said, "Question number two, why did you think sleeping with my dad was a good idea? Wasn't it enough to be paid to be attractive?" "He...he came onto me and-" "And you could've said no, right? It's amazing how many options you had in the moment and which one you chose to go with. That decision really says more about you than you could ever say out loud," Kelly said, "I didn't like that answer, but I'm gonna give you another chance, okay? Why'd you think sleeping with my dad was a good idea?" "Be...because I...I thought maybe he would get me better work if I did, and...and he...he's a really handsome and nice man, Kelly," Tanya said. "...alright, I'll accept that," Kelly said, "Question number three...why'd you call me a spoiled slut?" "...what?" "Once, when you and my dad were hanging out and you didn't think I could hear you, I heard you say to a friend on the phone that I was a spoiled slut. What makes you think that's okay? First of all, it isn't my fault my parents have accumulated wealth. I had nothing to do with that. I was born into it. I don't see how that makes me spoiled. I don't ask for anything, really, except maybe my car, and as for the slut part, well, that's just downright inaccurate. I'll have you know, Tanya, that I'm still a virgin, believe it or not." "I'm...I'm sorry, I just-" "I mean, don't teenage girls have enough problems without women older than them putting them down? I have self image issues, I'm not perfect. I struggle with my weight sometimes, and a lot of that comes from being the daughter of a man who regularly deals with malnourished women in an industry that favors beauty over health. I didn't deserve that, so why'd you say it? Did you just say it because you thought I couldn't hear you? And what makes that okay?" "I...I don't...I'm sorry," Tanya said, crying, "I didn't mean it, I just...we never really got along and-" "Of course we didn't, you were sleeping with my dad," Kelly said, "What'd you expect Tanya, you think I was gonna call you mom?" "I'm sorry! I don't know why I did it, I'm sorry!" Tanya shouted, and Kelly shook her head. "I don't like that answer, because it's not an answer," Kelly said, whistling and walking away as Jason walked forward. Tanya started screaming as he knelt down and put the cutters around her right index finger and she could feel the sharp cutters against her skin. "I'm sorry," he whispered, before cutting her finger off at the knuckle. Her screams were unlike anything Jason had ever heard, and they made him sick to his stomach. By the time they were finished, she'd be missing two more fingers. Afterwards, when they dropped her back off at the mall, Tanya had swore she'd stay quiet and stay away from Kelly and her dad. She'd make up some story to the hospital about her fingers. As she pulled away in her car out of the parking garage, Kelly and Jason watching her go, Kelly couldn't help but smile. "I think she got the message," Kelly said. "What kind of message were you trying to send?" Jason asked. "Don't fuck with me," Kelly said flatly. *** Kelly knew her father wouldn't be using his lovenest for a bit, so she let Jason stay there momentarily. She told him she'd call him the next day, before she headed home herself. When she got there, she found her mom had actually made dinner, and that she and her father were actually sitting in the living room, eating dinner and watching TV. When Kelly walked in, they shouted happily at her, asking her to join them. Kelly dumped her things on the floor and climbed onto the couch, between her parents, laying her head on her dad's shoulder. All she wanted was her family, and nothing was going to get in the way of that. Jason, meanwhile, spent a rather sleepless night in the lovenest. He rolled back and forth on the pull out couch. Everytime he shut his eyes he could hear Tanya's screams, he could see her fingers sitting on the floor of the textile factory, bleeding profusely. Jason finally got up and scavanged in the fridge for something to eat. He found some leftover pizza from a good nearby pizzeria, and he turned the TV on, which flickered to life instantly, on some true crime show. Jason quickly changed the channel. He dreamed a lot that night, when he did finally crash out. He dreamed about his daughter, he dreamed about his old life, his old job, and he dreamed about Tanya. When he awoke the next morning, it was because Kelly was in the kitchen, using the blender to make a smoothie. He looked up, groggily to see her in a tracksuit, her hair up in a ponytail. "...you jog?" he asked. "Need to stay in shape," Kelly said, "You look like you could use some breakfast. I brought a box of donuts and coffee. Eat, then take a shower. We have work to do." When she exited, Jason let his head fall back on the couch's pillow and he groaned. He was going to miss living in his car by the end of this. Kelly did in fact jog for her health, but she was jogging for another reason. A very particular, specific route, because she was watching someone. Marking down their habits, their routines, their comings and goings. She knew the next person she wanted dealt with, and she was going to make sure she had all the information necessary before starting the job. While she was gone, Jason showered, ate, dressed and, while brushing his teeth, looked at himself in the mirror. He saw the man he used to be, before he'd lost it all, and he was happy to see that man again... ...completely unaware of just how difficult it'd be to be that man after getting involved with Kelly Baker.
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A rich teenage girl befriends a desperate man in his thirties to kill people that get in the way of her or her family happiness and fortune. Slowly, the mans guilt eats away at him, while the girl ego rises to dangerous heights. Archives
July 2023
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