Chapter 61
Sebastian
The Wrap Out
“Want some?” I offered Evie a swig of the mouthwash I’d already used several times during the grueling process of taking care of Heather’s body.
On top of the blood, gore, bones, and brain matter, the floor was also littered with both Evie’s and my vomit.
We’d tried to dismember my former agent, but we were struggling.
I’d quickly abandoned the chainsaw in favor of some larger butcher knives I’d found in Heather’s kitchen.
The job took longer, but it didn’t spray blood like a chainsaw did.
I just had to make sure I didn’t slip on any vomit.
“Yes, God yes,” Evie groaned as together we slid down the wall and stared around the bloodied room. She accepted the bottle, took a large swig, and then spat it out on the other side of her. “Can we never do it this way again, please?”
“Yeah, lesson learned.” I took my goggles off, wiped the sweat from my brow, and sighed. This was way worse than breaking Glenn’s face with my fists. This was…disgusting. “Real life isn’t like the movies. Who could have guessed cutting someone to pieces was this...”
“I’m gonna be sick again.” She launched forward on all fours, and I patted her back as she threw up all over one of Heather’s arms. “Oh my God, it twitched,” she groaned. I wasn’t sure if that was possible, but the very idea made me feel sick too.
“Let’s grab the trash bags.” I stood and went for the box, pulling out a bag.
I began the process of stuffing my former agent’s body parts into the bag for disposal.
When Evie stopped gagging, she stood and did the same.
We stuffed the bags into my car and, on the way back, grabbed the garden hose and a bucket.
As Evie tore the plastic down from the walls, I washed all the blood down the drain at the center of the garage floor.
I grabbed a broom and pushed all the pieces of gore toward the hole, stomping them down with my boot, hoping they didn’t create a clog.
“Can you stop waffle-stomping her entrails, please?” Evie gagged again.
I looked down at my feet and realized I’d been going so hard that whatever piece of Heather I’d been stepping on was now the consistency of chunky, bloody oatmeal.
“My bad. We’re almost done.” I hosed down the bottom of my boots and then went to her, wrapping an arm around her. Kissing her head, I said, “Thank you for helping me do this.”
“Of course. I want you to have the same peace I hope to have soon.”
I wondered, as we finished cleaning up the garage and removing all evidence of our visit, would I have peace?
Yes.
“Are we really getting a boat, like Dexter?” she asked as I drove to the marina with the chopped-up body and a box of bricks in the back.
“Yeah, Bryce has one docked there. He’s taken me out fishing a few times. I called him earlier. It’s private and doesn’t have cameras. He told me where the spare keys are.”
“They choose to not have cameras?” she asked. “I guess that says something about their clientele.”
That it did.
“Do you know how to drive a boat?” She raised an eyebrow at me.
“I do, actually. I worked on a movie where we had them, and I put in my contract that I got to drive any boats my character needed to, instead of a stuntman.”
I turned up the radio. Whitesnake blasted through the speakers, and when I snuck a glance over at Evie, she was smiling softly.
I understood her questioning things. I was supposed to be the confident one in charge, and yet, there had been so much vomit from us both in the garage. So much so that it had covered up the smell of Heather’s insides.
We parked and headed to Bryce’s boat. I’d been on it more than once, so it was easy for me to identify the green and white pontoon boat. It was the dead of night, so no one was around to watch us load all the bags and bricks.
Soon, I was pulling away from the dock and breathing a sigh of relief. In an hour or two, this would be over, and—as Evie hoped—I’d have peace.
Evie came to sit with me in the passenger seat and silently reached for my hand. I drove one handed and relaxed, enjoying the cool breeze and water lightly spraying my face.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked after a while.
“I’m thinking that a boat ride is often considered a date. If we were two people in a different world, this would be our second date,” she sighed dreamily.
“Why can’t it be? A boat ride in the moonlight?” We got a decent distance from shore, and I cut the motor. Regretfully, I let go of her hand and went to the back of the boat, where I started to tie the bricks to the bags of Heather.
“Most dates have fewer chainsaws and less vomit.” She laughed dryly.
“Less, but not none.” I smirked and raised a bag over my shoulder. “You know, maybe I am a psycho,” I mused, tossing it over the side of the boat. “I should feel guilt, or sadness, or disgust over what happened tonight. I don’t.”
Evie came and helped me unload a second bag.
“I wrestled with my feelings for a long time before I came back. Why didn’t I feel bad?
They were humans, with people who loved them.
Some have kids. Pets too. I just...don’t care.
” She watched me toss another bag over. “They didn’t care about me.
And I may not be the only one they’ve hurt like this.
How many suicides were actually murders in Hollywood? ”
She wasn’t wrong.
Together, we finished disposing of Heather’s body and then dropped to the floor of the boat. She cuddled against me, and I pulled her close, enjoying every second of intimacy she offered. I knew that in a moment, it could be ripped from me, never to be felt again, so I had to savor it.
“I’m sorry she did all that to you,” Evie said. “She deserved to die.”
“You think?”
“I do.”
Evie was just as cold as I was, and I liked it.
“I’ve always felt conflicted about what she did to me.
She didn’t force me into being with those men and women—but she had me convinced that if I didn’t sleep with them, then all the people who relied on my money would lose their jobs.
That I’d never be rich and famous, and so many people were depending on me.
It was so much guilt, and she made it seem like I was the bad guy. ”
“Well, you’re not. At least not for that.” Evie smirked. She stretched up and gave me a peck on the lips.
My chest tightened, and my belly warmed. That was the first kiss she’d offered me willingly, not out of lust or because we were working. What did this mean?
“Do you…like bad guys?” I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.
She laughed and fell back against my chest.
“Anthony C. Hopkins, Sebastian.”
I held her tighter and placed my chin on her head. If we only had tonight, I’d die a happy man.
“I’ve enjoyed a lot of people’s bodies, but I’ve only enjoyed one person’s soul.
Evie, I know you’re still hellbent on this suicide mission, but I just need you to know—I’m going to do everything in my power to not only keep you alive, but to get you to stay here with me when this is all over.
” The words started slow, then, as I kept talking, all at once.
“I see. And what if none of that happens?” she asked. “Even if I don’t die, which is unlikely, what if I want to leave Hollywood? Heather said it herself, I’m not really the look this town wants.”
“Fuck this town,” I snarled. “You want to leave, give me a day to pack my bags. We’ll take Precious and Cujo with us.
We can get one of those motor homes and travel the country if you want.
Or just live a quiet life in the woods, or on a beach, or in the fucking Arctic.
I don’t care, as long as it’s with you. I mean it, Evie,” I said when she started to snicker.
I straightened, causing her to sit up and look at me.
“I’m sorry Heather tricked you with that voicemail.
If I had received it, I would have left this town with no hesitation.
This place chews you up and spits you out.
If I have to choose between the world loving me for my face or you loving me for who I am underneath it, I’ll choose you every time. ”
“You say that now...” Evie shook her head, a small smile curling up one side of her face. She rose to her feet and went to the side of the boat where we’d dropped Heather off. She gripped the edge and spit into the water.
“Wait until this is all over. You might decide I’m the psycho, not you.”
I joined her, wrapping my arms around her from behind. I brushed her hair back and kissed her neck.
“I think that’d only make me want you more, Final Girl.”