Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Wren
Demons - MISSIO
I yawn, wiping my hand across my face as I wait for the last people leaving the ball to clear the parking lot. Leaning against my car, I cross my arms over my chest and keep looking for Caleb. I returned here on my own. No need for a driver.
There's a knock on the window from the inside of the car, and I glance over my shoulder to check what Achilles wants.
He rolls down the window. "Snapped yet? I want to sleep, and Kirsty is inviting me over. Are we done soon?"
I run my tongue across my teeth. "Want to sleep, or want to sleep with Kirsty? Pick one."
"Either way, I don't really want to be here. So, back to my question. Snapped yet?"
"Shut up, Achilles."
A knowing smile spreads on his lips, and his steel eyes sparkle.
"What?"
"You sound like Peach."
A very specific voice steals my attention away, and I look ahead of me again.
"He's here," I say, excitement burning through my veins.
"I changed my mind about sleep. Even I get excited when you're about to lose it. I'm a giddy fan girl right now."
My non-committal humph doesn't tame his joy.
I raise my hand, calling for Caleb as he reaches the bottom of the stairs that lead to the town hall. I'm not parked in a spot, rather taking the space in front of the fountain roundabout, where drivers usually drop the guests. It's only two a.m. and most people are on their way to Marissa's after party. I know, because she didn't hesitate to message me about it five times today. And again when I left with Peach. No scruple, truly.
"Caleb!" I call out again since he was too drunk to notice me the first time.
"Ooh, it's happening." Achilles giggles behind me.
"You're a child," I mutter as Caleb runs toward us.
"Whatsup," he slurs. "Here to gimme a scolding ’cause I teased your girlfriend?"
I shake my head, laughing softly. "Nah. Once I put her to bed and she's not a nuisance anymore, I get to really have fun."
"Nuisance is the word alright. So is ball breaker."
He stumbles to the side, and I put a hand on his shoulder. A calm settles over me. Complete peace.
"I was going to offer to drive you to Marissa's. We're just leaving."
"Nice." He nods. "You're a fuckin' great guy. I know you are. I know you don't actually believe in all that feminist bullshit Peach spurts out. We're about to be brothers. Real brothers, once we initiate."
I look around to make sure no one is catching the part about the initiations.
"For sure, brother. Get in."
He slips in the back of the car as best as he can, and I get back in the driver's seat.
As soon as I start the car, Achilles says quietly, "You slipped something in his drink earlier, didn't you?"
"Of course I slipped something in his drink," I mumble.
"Oh, I've got chills. Literal chills. I'm so excited."
I don't answer as I drive away. It's such a peaceful drive, I almost want to whistle, but I stick to tapping my fingers on the steering wheel. I wouldn't want to give anything away with something as obvious as whistling. Although I think with the state Caleb's in, he doesn't notice much.
I guess most people would assume someone becomes a violent murderer when they "snap," like Achilles calls it. I don't. There's a change in my body, for sure. But it's more of a relaxing feeling.
The violence comes a bit later. First, it's like everything in me slows to a steady hum. All the bad thoughts, all the anger. And I've only got one thing in mind: getting rid of any inconvenience. Like Caleb.
He doesn't notice we're not heading toward Marissa's. He talks some nonsense about how Peach would be ten times hotter if she just learned to stand there and be pretty. I inhale deeply, a poised smile settling on my face. This feels really, really good. This feels like an afternoon by the lake. Like the sun kissing your skin on a cold winter day. Like a hug from Peach. Scratch that. Nothing compares to a hug from Peach.
I park at the edge of the Stoneview forest. In this part of town, we're not far from the lake, but mainly, once we'll advance through the woods, they're practically never ending. They stretch all the way to the city of Silver Falls, meaning the man can run...but he won't get anywhere.
"Alright. Get out of the car."
He stumbles out, following Achilles and me.
"Marissa's backyard has changed," he slurs. "It's cool."
I wrap an arm around his shoulders. "Dude, you drank too much. Are you okay?"
He nods, but his chin falls heavily against his chest, and he struggles to bring it back up.
"Whoa, stay with me," I say, pretending worry like an Oscar-winning actor.
I help him lift his head up as I bring him near a tree, but it falls back down again.
"I said stay with me ," I repeat calmly as I pull at his hair and force his head up.
"The fuck, bro." He struggles against me, but his movements are slow and lethargic, and I don't even need to use any strength to keep him in place.
"I'm not going to lie, it's a bit boring when they don't struggle," I admit to Achilles standing behind me. "The drugging wasn't the best idea."
"You're sick, my friend." He laughs softly.
"And you're in no place to judge."
His palms facing me, he raises his hands in front of him. "I'm in complete control. Absolutely aware of what I do."
"Me too."
"You're on a high and won't remember this tomorrow."
He thinks he gets it, and he's very close, but that’s not exactly it.
"See, you're wrong," I explain, keeping a tight hold on Caleb's head. "I'll remember up till here. When everything feels so perfect."
I feel my friend shift behind me as I put my free hand in my pocket and count the three Scrabble tiles I have there. All good.
"You're so terrifying," he says with interest in his voice. Passion even. And I hear him clearer than Caleb's futile protests asking to let him go, even though he's not sure what the fuck I'm doing.
Achilles has always had interests in everything different and freaky. He loves psychopaths, true crime, and all the sadistic things that make him feel alive. We're best friends, but I'm also an amazing case for his sick obsessions. Fucking weirdo.
"I really do think I'll remember everything until…" I readjust my grip on Caleb, placing him right in front of the tree.
I don't know why I picked a tree tonight. I don't have a favorite way to do things, and I don't have some kind of secret coded way of getting rid of people. I just do what feels right in the moment.
"Until now," I finally say.
I crack my neck, feeling a surge of strength within me. My ears are ringing, my blood feels thicker to pump, and my voice lowers when I talk to the man I'm holding.
"Caleb," I purr. "Say what you said about Peach earlier."
"Bro, you sound really fucking weird. Let me go."
"Say it," I repeat, a smile spreading on my face. My cheeks feel numb, like I've been to the dentist, and I can't control my expressions anymore.
"I don’t know. I agreed that she was a nuisance."
I breathe in deeply, almost able to smell the panic wafting off him.
"And?"
"And…and she's a ball breaker. But you agree, don't you?"
I roll my shoulders, unable to contain the energy within me.
"Who does Peach belong to?"
"What?"
In a lightning-fast movement, I press his cheek against the bark of the tree.
"It's an easy question, truly. The word has been passed around for a few years now. Who. Does. Peach. Belong. To?" I articulate.
"Y-you, bro," he stutters. "What the f?—"
"Say it in a full sentence, Caleb."
"She belongs to you!" he squeaks as I press his entire mouth against the trunk.
"Good." I nod. "Good." I pull him back and whisper in his ear. "Then why would you say that about the woman who belongs to me? Have you never learned respect?"
"I…I…"
"I. I." I repeat in a whiny voice. "Who does she belong to?"
"You— Stop!"
I smash his face so hard against the tree, blood spurts out of both his eyebrows. "Who does she belong to?" I hiss as I pull him back.
"You," he cries out. "Fuck, Wren…please."
"Again."
"She belongs to…to you…"
I smash his head again. Blood splashes everywhere, including my clothes.
"Again, Caleb. You'll be saying those words until you can't say anything anymore. I want your last breath to be you trying desperately to scream that Peach belongs to me. I want you to die knowing that it's because you disrespected her, upset her, and that because of you, I have to be here ending your life instead of in bed with her."
My heart explodes with joy as I keep hitting his head against the trunk of the tree, and he keeps babbling that he's sorry and that she’s mine. He doesn't last long. The thunder of my own pulse in my ears accentuates the fact that his has stopped.
He falls to the forest ground as I let him go, his blood covering the moss, mixing with the soil under him. I roll him onto his back and squat next to his face. Pulling his mouth open, I take the pieces of plastic out of my pocket.
"This is fucking sick." Achilles chuckles behind me as I push the pieces down his throat. It's disgusting to go too far, so only one goes down, the second at the back of his throat, and the third stays in his mouth.
I observe his face, or whatever is left of it, tilting my head to the side.
"Did you hear what he said?" I look over my shoulder and smile brightly at my friend. "Peach belongs to me."
Achilles runs a hand through his hair.
"Wren…my brother, you are one delusional son of a bitch."
I shrug, standing back up. "Just saying, he agreed with me."
I remove a butterfly knife out of the inside of my suit jacket and give it to my friend. "Do me a favor, put it on the Circle. We don't want the police asking too many questions."
I shudder from the cold as I start walking. "I'll wait for you in the car. It's too cold."
Settling in the driver's seat, I rest my head as I close my eyes.
Isn't the world just so much better when I know there's one less man in it who made Peach feel terrible?