7. Brenna
Chapter 7
Brenna
Have you ever imagined your life being a certain way, and then the powers that be went and fucked it all up? Somehow, that bitch Karma was wreaking havoc on my life right now, and I was not okay with it. I’d always tried to be the best person I could be, but I was also the first to admit when I’d fucked up. It was a regular occurrence for many years. Just ask Mara or Elsie. They’d seen me self-destruct more than once, and usually alcohol and bad decisions were involved. That reminded me to make a mental note to call Elsie. Damn, I missed her.
It had been a few weeks since the first bouquet of red roses was delivered to our house. Today’s delivery made number ten. Ten! With each bouquet came a new, creepy note. At least she’d given us the weekends off. This bitch was getting on my nerves, and I’d plotted many ways to unalive her. If only I knew who she was. She was a clever one. So far, Noah and the boys in blue hadn’t been able to grab any prints off the notes or figure out where the roses were coming from. She must have been hand-picking them instead of using a flower shop. I mean, that was what I'd probably do. She was really making us all look pretty dumb right now.
The notes were things from a disturbed mind. We all had devilish thoughts from time to time, but this nut took the cake!
Save me a seat in hell.
I'll keep Abel satisfied until then.
Death becomes you, and that day will be my sweetest victory.
I wonder if Abel will even miss you when I rid the world of you?
They go on and on, but it was clear that it all stemmed back to her obsession with Abel, and her hatred towards me.
I’d been hanging out at Abel’s shop a lot more lately. It had to be one of his tattoo groupies. Let me tell you, my husband had his own damn fan club, and they had no shame. They saw me, and knew who I was, but didn’t give two flying fucks. One even flashed her big fake tits at him through the window one day. Leah was the winner by far. That girl was so far up Abel’s ass, she might never see daylight again! He ate it up, but I still thought Leah got to him at times. The money she slapped down in his face was really the only reason he put up with her antics. But money wasn’t everything, and this bitch needed a wake-up call.
Leah happened to be at the shop today—no big surprise—so maybe I’d just have a little chat with her. I heard her before I saw her, so I made my way out of the back room. Spencer saw me first and gave me a short nod; he’d become well aware he couldn’t stop hurricane Brenna from forming.
“Not a word, Spencer, or you’ll be next on my hit list.”
He put his hands up in surrender. Good boy. He’d never been on my bad side, and obviously wanted to stay in my good graces. I knew I liked him. He also saw the bouquet of red roses I was holding in my hands and let out a frustrated grunt. You’re correct, my friend, things were about to get real.
“Hello, ladies. Isn’t it a beautiful day today? The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the flowers are in bloom. What more could you really ask for?”
Abel continued to tattoo a stupid butterfly on Leah’s ankle, like he didn’t hear me. That was one thing about him. When he was in the zone, all he concentrated on was the work he was doing. Leah and her friend, Willow, looked up and made eye contact with me. Leah put on a fake smile, but Willow gave me a genuine one. I didn’t know how Willow could stand being friends with Leah. They were complete opposites in every way. I actually liked Willow. She seemed like a cool chick.
“Oh, hi, Brenna. I didn’t see you there. Pretty flowers. I love red roses. They’re my favorite. Did Abel give them to you? I bet he did. He’s such an amazing guy. There’s just an aura of awesomeness that surrounds him. Don’t you think so?”
Barf. I wasn’t even that sickening sweet towards Abel, and he was my damn husband! MY HUSBAND! She was literally eye-fucking him, right in front of me. It had to be her. Everyone knew she was in lust with Abel. Hell, even Abel knew. Secretly, I thought he liked the attention. What man wouldn’t?
“Oh, Leah. Sweet, sweet Leah. Maybe someday you’ll have a special someone of your own, who will shower you with beautiful red roses. I personally hate roses. They start to wither and die the minute they are plucked from the ground. Do you know what else withers and dies an untimely death? A sad and pathetic girl who loves someone she’ll never have. Doesn’t that sound tragic to you, Leah?”
She looked at me with utter disgust, and I was silently patting myself on the back. I got the little homewrecker stirring in her seat, which caused Abel to put his tattoo gun down. Great. Here came Daddy to scold me for being mean to the helpless child.
“Jesus, Brenna. I almost messed up the wing! Go play games with somebody else, will ya? Quit harassing my customers. I’ll see you at home later tonight. Okay, babe? I’m sorry, but I’m booked solid today and don’t have time for a chick fight in my shop.”
What the actual fuck? I wasn’t aware we were playing good cop/bad cop. Way to make me look like a loon. Jackass. Yeah, I’d see him at home tonight, when he realized he was on his own for dinner. See how he liked that! He was like a fussy toddler if I didn’t have dinner ready when he walked through the door. Maybe Leah could come over and cook for his sorry ass!
“Well, I see somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I didn’t know you had such a morbid imagination, Brenna. Not very ladylike. You should take a lesson or two from your husband. He’s always the perfect gentleman.”
Leah was literally waving her finger at me, and I wanted to rip it off her hand. Smug little bitch! I was about to do something I might regret, when Willow put her hand on my arm. Bitch slap refused by the only sane lady in the shop.
“How about we go get some coffee? I know I could use the caffeine boost. How about you, Brenna? My treat?”
I’d never say no to free coffee. Plus, my plan to make Leah look like a fool had backfired on me. I got it. I was making a scene in Abel’s shop, and I should know better. It was bad for his business if the boss’s wife was acting all crazy pants in front of customers. I fucking got it. Abel could’ve stood up for me though. Just a little bit. This was what she wanted. She wanted to break up my marriage, but I wouldn’t let her.
Coffees in hand, me and Willow found a table outside the coffee shop, looking over the ocean. It was a bit chilly yet a super sunny day, and the breeze felt wonderful on my heated skin.
“I’m sorry about Leah. She’s a handful and always has been. I wouldn’t take her too seriously. It’s just a school girl crush, and she’s more talk than anything. Don’t let her get to you, okay? I promise she’s more bark than bite. Just likes to stir the pot.”
You could say that again. I could usually handle idiots with ease, but Leah got to me, and I hated her for it. Yes, I had a power trip. I liked to be in control of everything, and when I wasn’t, it rattled me. It didn’t help that I could see this shitty situation pulling me and Abel in different directions. I’d finally found my person, and if some lust-filled little girl thought she was going to destroy us? Well, she’d better watch the fuck out, because Mommy didn’t play well with hussies!
“How can a sweet girl like you stand to be friends with little Miss Snarky Pants? She’s lucky she has you, Willow. You’re cool people, and you can hang with me and the girls anytime.”
The look she gave me was very odd. Like she’d never been given a compliment before. It made me wonder about her life and what she’d been through. I knew absolutely nothing about the girl, besides the fact she was friends with Leah, who she’d known for years. There was definitely something there, and being me, I intended to find out. It also made me feel like she wasn’t as innocent as she acted. Overly nice people tended to be the worst kind of tornado. One that came out of nowhere and wreaked havoc on your life. Was she really a good person, or was there a devil hiding under that halo of hers?
“I’m sorry if you’ve been in the crosshairs of my hatred towards Leah. That isn’t fair to you. Hell, we all have that one annoying friend who we’d like to kick every once in a while. The girls would probably say I’m that friend, let’s be honest.”
I laughed nervously, and I could tell Willow noticed. Damn. I needed to stop thinking everyone was out to get me. I just had a funny feeling, and that usually meant something wasn’t right. Just as I was about to spew some bullshit excuse about being paranoid, Dana walked up. Thank fuck. Saved by the bell.
“Hey, B, how are we doing? Saw you out and about and thought I’d say hi. Who do we have here? I’m Dana. One of Brenna’s better-looking friends.”
Asshole .
I punched her in the arm, and she gave her best performance of imaginary pain. God love her.
“Asshole. This is Willow. She’s pretty new in town and friends with Leah. Yes, that Leah. Thought I’d show her we aren’t all stalkerish hussies.”
Willow and Dana laughed and seemed to hit it off quickly. Dana was easy to like, so I wasn’t surprised. We hung out for a bit, then said our goodbyes to Dana as we headed back to Abel’s shop. I didn’t go back in, letting Willow know I appreciated the chat and coffee. I needed some alone time to clear my head, so I decided a little drive sounded nice. The sun was shining bright today, and it was just what I needed.
Willow
Brenna gave me a peculiar look when we were talking about Leah, which told me that she was thinking too hard. That little peanut brain of hers was going to explode. Maybe I was overselling the whole ‘sweet and innocent’ routine? One couldn’t be too innocent if your only friend in town was Leah, who had made a very bad impression on Brenna and her faithful sidechicks. God, they were all irritating in their own obnoxious ways. They thought they ruled the universe. It was maddening!
I needed to take hold of the driver’s seat again and keep steering their little mob towards Leah. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer—was I right? I’d give Brenna some leeway, so she didn’t get too curious about me, but I’d be damned if I’d let her win.
To make my day even worse, one of Brenna’s sidechicks showed up. I thought her name was Dana. More like dumb-dumb. I wanted to rip my hair out, strand for strand, every time one of them opened their mouth. How fake could you be? Perfect example why I’d never wasted an ounce of my energy into making friends. I'd like to keep my brain cells intact, thank you very much.
I walked back into the tattoo shop, just as Abel was finishing up with Leah. They both looked my way, expecting Brenna to be by my side. When she wasn’t, Abel gave me a questioning stare. My poor baby. See what that bitch did to him? I let him know Brenna was okay and had gone for a drive. Just like the crybaby had told me to say.
“Come on, Willow. I’m starving, and you know how I get when I’m hungry. Tootles, Abel. I’ll see your sweet face next week. Don’t miss me too much. You too, Spencie.”
For fuck sake! I was surrounded by stupidity. If Leah didn’t calm the fuck down, she was going to become my next victim. They were all going to shit themselves when they realized it had been me all along. Not Leah. When the right time approached, I’d let them all know. Enough playing games with the roses and notes. Things were moving too slowly. I needed to show them all just how serious my intentions were.
I was going to wait until later tonight to make my next move, but I was fired up from all the yapping females today. Before I went back into the shop to get Leah, I’d slipped behind the building where Leah had parked her car. Knowing there were no cameras back there, I took my switchblade out of my back pocket and stabbed into her back driver-side tire. The objective was for her to put the blame on that snake, Brenna, and it worked perfectly. We got out to her car, and Leah saw the flat tire. Upon further inspection, she saw the knife slit and screamed.
“That bitch! Brenna is going to pay for this! I’m going to go get Abel. He needs to see what his devil wife has done. Ugh! I hate her so much!”
Bravo to me. Bravo.