Preview

A snippet from "A Sordid Infatuation"

“What the fuck is going on here?”  Alex’s deep voice booms from behind Susan and she goes stiff for a moment then turns to face him.  He is wearing a short sleeved black t-shirt and a pair of old dingy jeans with a pair of black steel toe boots.  That explains the large shoebox.  He moves closer but Susan stands her ground.  Staring right into her eyes he repeats his question.  “What, in the, FUCK, are you doing!?”

She stares back not breaking his gaze and puffs her chest out in defiance.  “You never returned my calls, so I came to see you.”

He shakes his head and rolls his eyes in disbelief.  “Bitch, are you crazy?”

His words cut into her like a dull knife and her lips quiver.  She takes a deep breath and calms herself.  “I know you’re under some stress so I’m gonna let that slide.  Now, just calm down so we can talk about this.”  Alex prepares to unleash a torrent of expletives when he is interrupted by his captive.  “Please, you have to let me go!  Please don’t let him kill me!” 

Alex’s eyes go wide with rage and he stomps around Susan to get to the woman.  “SHUT THE FUCK UP!”  His attention goes back to Susan who he points at accusingly.  “You shouldn’t be here.  This is not good.  You have just FUCKED everything up!”

Susan’s tone remains calm.  “Nothing is fucked up, baby.  Just do what you gotta do and we can go upstairs and talk.”

Alex moves back to her.  “Bitch, what do -” He is cut off midsentence by a hard open handed slap to his face.  He stumbles back a step and rubs his stinging cheek.  Some drool drips off of his bottom lip.  Susan closes the gap, grabs his chin, and forces him to look at her. 

“You already used your one free pass.  Call me a bitch one more time and I’ll break your Goddamn jaw.  This isn’t a big deal.  I’m not here to cause you problems.  Finish this and let’s go upstairs.”

Alex looks dazed and confused.  The woman realizes that Susan isn’t here to help and continues screaming her head off.  Snapping out of his daze, Alex goes to a shelf on the back wall and retrieves a clear plastic bag and duct tape.  He gets on his knees in front of the woman and she squirms trying to get away.  He forces the bag over her head and tapes it shut around her neck.  He stands up and watches her struggle to breathe.  Susan steps up next to him and watches as well.  The woman’s gaping mouth is filled with the plastic as she tries in vain to catch her breathe.  Susan runs her index finger along the inside of Alex’s palm before intertwining their fingers together so that they hold hands.  She uses her thumb to caress his.  The woman’s body twists and then stiffens.  She trembles as her organs begin shutting down from lack of oxygen.  The forced gasps cease and her body goes limp.