Chapter 7
Giving my black shirt a quick brush down to remove the invisible dust, I slip on my jacket then go about sliding my wallet and phone into my pockets. My own reflection stares back at me from the full-length mirror in the bedroom.
I can’t remember the last time I made this much of an effort for someone.
In fact, when the fuck have I ever been on a real date?
A date with a living person. Not ever. Yeah I’ve had sex with breathing women but I’ve never enjoyed it.
I try to avoid this shit at all costs but Brynne has me pushing all my own boundaries.
The man who stares back at me is someone that I don’t always recognise. Sure it’s me in the mirror but sometimes, it's the monster that dwells inside of me that looks back. That version of me is constantly hurting. Afraid to be vulnerable with someone else in the fear that they’ll get hurt again.
I want to look away from my reflection but I can feel the sharp claws of my past forcing my head to remain stoic. The memories pummel into me like a tidal wave, bashing through my stone walls with zero remorse.
“I.. I don’t wanna do this anymore, mummy.” I whimper in fear. Sticky trails of snot run out of my nose and gather in the crease above my top lip. I want to wipe it away but I’m too scared to move.
Mummy’s drunk again. She makes me do things that I don’t want to do and I’m scared. I’m only ten, surely my friends at school don’t have mums like this, do they?
“C’mon baby, you always make mummy so happy.” She coos but her words are jumbled, like her mouth is moving in slow motion. Her eyes look fuzzy, like they’re covered in candy floss and she sways on her bare feet.
My fingers tangle into my t-shirt. It’s my favourite one. There’s a monster truck on the front. Mummy said she’d get me a monster truck if I did as she said, but I never got one.
I take a step backwards until my back hits the bedroom door. “Please can I leave? I’ll.. be good.” I murmur but it doesn’t help. Mummy walks carefully around her bed and sits down on the end. She’s wearing an old nightie, it’s got some weird stains on and it’s full of little holes.
How did she get them?
She looks angry, why is she angry with me?
“You don’t want to make mummy upset do you? I thought you wanted to make me happy, poppet?” She shuffles about on the bed and I can feel a strange sickness in my stomach, like when you smell something really bad, as she opens her legs.
Please. Please. Please. Don’t make me do this again. I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this.
“Come here baby.” Her voice is soft but I know what happens when I don’t do as I’m told. She hurts me real bad but I feel like my feet are stuck to the floor. Like I’ve stood in a puddle of glue.
“No, please.” I whisper. “I don’t–”
“Kincaid! Do as you're told please and come here!” She shouts and I jump like a scared cat, then I walk towards her. With every step, I can feel my heart jumping around inside my body.
Mummy smiles. Her teeth are all yellowed and broken with a few missing at the front. “You know what to do, baby. Make me happier than your daddy ever could.”
Once again, I’m forced to do things that no little boy should ever do.
I wish mummy was dead.
Bile rises up into my throat. Sweat clings to my skin and I feel as though my own clothes are suffocating me, like I need to crawl out of my flesh. That’s the only way I’ll be able to breathe properly.
It’s been months since I’ve thought of my mother. Usually she lives in the recesses of my mind but lately, she’s started to crawl her way back out of the pit I chucked her in.
I need to get my shit together. The last thing I want is for Brynne to see me like this. I have to make her think that I’m fine, that everything about my mind is fine but I’m not ashamed to admit that it’s getting harder to do that.
To convince people that I’m fine.
Lifting up my jacket sleeve, I check the time on my watch. I’ve got twenty minutes to get to Brynne’s house. Just the thought of seeing her again eases my anxieties. She’s quickly becoming the calm to my storm, and I don’t want to lose that.
The V8 engine of my Mustang rumbles like a purring cat. It sends vibrations through the leather seats as I push my foot down onto the accelerator. My hands flex around the steering wheel, forcing the veins that sit underneath my skin to rise to the surface.
With the speed of the car, it takes me less than twenty to arrive at Brynne’s. Small outdoor lights illuminate the gravel driveway as I manoeuvre the muscle car up towards her home.
I wonder if she can see me driving up? Has she been thinking about this dinner just as much as I have?
Even though I can’t see her. I can feel her gaze on me. My skin prickles with awareness, like I’m fully in-tune with her.
I pull up at the front of her house, just like where we parked the cleaning van and I cut the engine before stepping out. I can feel the nerves coiling in my stomach like a pit of snakes and the moment the front door opens, the feeling disappears and in its place, heat burns like a scorching flame.
Brynne might as well just shoot me in the chest because looking at her right now is enough to rip the air out of my lungs.
“You.. didn’t give me a chance to knock.
” I say with a harsh swallow. I don’t know where to look first. Black sky-high heels mould to her feet perfectly, adding six inches onto her small height.
Then there’s the dress. It’s simple but fuck me, it fits her like a glove.
I can see every curve and dip of her body.
It hugs her in all the right places. The straps hang off her shoulders to reveal the curve of her breasts along with the slope of her neck.
I’m so fucking hungry for her.
I want to run my tongue over the mounds of her tits, trailing up towards her neck.
I want–
“I know, I heard you before I saw you.” She teases. A small smirk pulls at her red painted lips. The sound of her voice pulls me out of the trance. She chews on the inside of her lip, revealing small glimpses of her pearly teeth.
Gently I close the car door and make my way towards her. The gravel stones crunch underneath my shoes. “I suppose I’ve gotta make a good impression, haven’t I?” I say with a grin, my gaze eating her up.
Even with the heels on she still has to tip her head up to meet my eyes. “I think you’ve already made a good first impression.”
“You think so?” I tuck her hair behind one ear then graze her face with the backs of my fingers.
Her skin pebbles beneath my touch, another sensation that I’m not used to.
The greens of her eyes shine underneath the light that hangs above her front door.
There's a heat burning in those orbs. A fire that’s threatening to burn me alive, and I’d allow it.
Brynne gently places her hand over mine. Her warmth spreads over my skin. “I know so. Why don’t you come in a second while I grab my things?”
She releases my hand and steps aside, allowing me into her home. Instantly I’m met with a rich vanilla smell, like a decadent dessert. It makes my stomach grumble but then I remember what Jay said on the phone.
She kills men and puts their bits in jars.
She threatened to turn me into lasagne.
Brynne’s heels click against the floor as she leads me into the kitchen. There, the smell gets more potent. I watch as she collects her small bag from the kitchen unit, along with her phone and a set of keys.
“Something smells delicious.”
She drops her keys into the bag and then turns to face me. “Thank you, I’ve got a cherry pie in the oven that I need to take out before we leave.”
If she kills men and turns them into food, her face doesn’t show it.
My gaze trails around the kitchen, trying to find anything that would scream ‘I make meals out of men’ but nothing jumps out at me. Maybe Jay was wrong?
I step over to the small dining table and pull out a chair to sit down. “Do you enjoy baking then?”
“Baking and cooking, actually.” She says whilst slipping on a pair of oven gloves to pull out the bubbling cherry pie. “I never really enjoyed it at first but I guess you could say it’s become quite a hobby now.”
Sweet, buttery vanilla crust fills my senses along with a tart cherry zest. It looks delicious as she places the pie onto a cooling rack.
The lattice design is a perfect golden brown.
It almost makes my mouth water but then my mind conjures up the filling stuffed with chunks of dick and stringy flesh.
Brynne slides the pie into a cake box moments later, then gets to work on quickly cleaning up.
She hums to herself as she places a couple of knives and a rolling pin into the dishwasher, all the while something green catches my eye on the top of her laptop.
There’s a little note with what looks to be her handwriting.
I keep my eye on her whilst leaning over the table. It’s a complete violation of privacy but I want to know more about her. Jay’s comment has me even more intrigued now.
There’s a name written across the top.
Leroy Jenkins, and underneath must be his address.
Is Leroy her next victim? When does she plan on paying him a little visit, and why do I want to make sure that she’s safe whilst doing so?
I couldn’t give a single fuck if this Leroy dude dies— if Brynne is after him, he probably deserves it. But what I do care about is her potentially getting hurt. She’d probably slap me silly for underestimating her like that but it only takes one mistake, one chance and she’s dead.
I won’t have it.
“Ready to go?” Brynne asks with a soft voice, her fingers tangled together in front of her. She must think that I’m having second thoughts with my radio silence. Her eyes scan over my face, looking for the sign of doubt but she won’t find it. I’m exactly where I want to be.
Rising to my full height, I carefully push the chair back underneath the table and bring the back of her hand to my lips.
She smells fresh and sweet, like a tropical cocktail.
I press my lips to the back of her hand and watch through hooded eyes as her skin flushes pink.
“I’m more than ready, love.” She smiles sweetly as I link my fingers through hers, allowing her to guide me back through the house towards the front door.
My eyes fixate on the sway of her hips, the way her ass jiggles with every step. From now on, she’ll always walk in front of me.
Once Brynne has locked the front door, I keep her hand in mine, refusing to lose her touch as we take the short walk over to my car. I’m reluctant to release her hand but I do, then I pull open the passenger door for her.
“Your ride, my lady.” I swing my hand inside as a gesture for her to climb in. The apples of her cheeks grow pink as she grins up at me. “Quite the gentleman, aren’t you?” Her tone is teasing as she begins to slide into the car with ease.
“I can be, if that’s what you want?” There’s a heat brewing in my voice as I lean inside the car to buckle her in. I know she can do all this by herself but there’s something inside of me that wants to do everything for her, to provide for her, to make sure she doesn’t have to lift a finger again.
She allows me to pull the seatbelt over the swell of her breasts, all the while her burning gaze never leaves mine. Faces inches away from each other. “I’d quite like that, along with other things.”
The sound of the seatbelt locking into place echoes around the small space that surrounds us. She’s trapped in here with me now.
Gently I run my fingers over the seatbelt, feeling her chest rise and fall in quick succession; in the silence, I hear her breath stutter when I whisper my fingers over her collarbone.
“Keep looking at me like that love, and I’ll be whatever you want me to be.” I say with a low tone, causing her eyes to widen for a fraction, then before she has the chance to say anything I close the door on her and make my way over to the driver's side.