Page 19 of Craved By You
The door to The Shack creaked open and I let it slam behind me for a more dramatic effect. Tonight, James had come by to record a variety of sponsored ads so that he could edit theminto future episodes - which meant he was alone. Once he finished recording, I offered to give him a tour of the rest of the warehouse, explaining that I felt like he could help me come up with ideas to best utilize the rest of the space. I’m pretty sure his brain was working overtime as he realized I had the perfect kill space and that’s when one of the giant chains met the side of his head, knocking him unconscious as his body fell to the floor.
“Honey, I’m home!” My voice echoed through the warehouse and I headed back to the room where I had held James hostage while I was away.
Just to be safe. I couldn’t risk him figuring out a way to escape and revealing my secrets.
I peeked through the window and saw his puny body crumpled into a pile in the corner of the room. I could hear his muffled sobs. “What did I do to deserve this?” he whined.
I knocked on the glass and he was startled.
“P-please. D-don’t hurt me!” he stuttered, his eyes growing wide as I pulled on the creaky door and entered the room.
I paused, staring down at him, debating on if I was going to take my time or end his life quickly. “You mean don’t hurt you like you hurtallthose women?”
“What are you talking about?” I could hear the lies through his teeth. The way he seethed when he said his consonants made me want to smack the shit out of him and impale him with a hook right then and there.
I had to be patient.
This wasn’t the room that I typically did my bidding in.Thatroom had become a safe space for Astrid and I didn’t want to taint it with another pervert's blood. Unfortunately, tonightI would have to overlook that small detail because I was not prepared to kill anyone in this tiny space.
I stood there, towering over him, as I mentally lectured myself over letting that beautiful creature trap me in my own mind. Those thoughts were quickly interrupted by James as he began to heave. ????“Pathetic,” I mumbled as I turned around and walked out, letting the door slam behind me and his cries grew louder.
“Please, I’m sorry!” James continued to beg as I latched the door and walked back to my office to finish getting set up.
???
I stepped back, looking at my handiwork once again as I placed the freshly ground meat into the freezer.
He should have never gotten to me that badly but I couldn’t help myself. As soon as I showed him the images that I had taken on his property, he transformed from this pathetic human into a monster spewing poison into the air. I slammed my knife down into his chest and listened to his last few garbled words.Then it was over.
It wasn’t my finest work. Normally I play with my prey before I convert it into food, but I couldn’t shake my need to talk to Astrid. She was consuming me, a feeling I hadn’t felt before with anyone.
I finished cleaning up, making sure that the room James had been in prior to meeting his demise was left looking untouched. Then I ensured that the machinery and cutlery I had used was all free of incriminating debris. Gathering up my trash bag, Iheaded to the front door, stepping out into the night air and inhaling deeply to get my senses flowing once more.
A raccoon scurrying around the dumpster caught my eye and I decided it was best not to leave the bags here tonight, not with trash day still being a week away. The last thing I needed was to wake up the next morning and see a blood-spatter fort made of plastic strung across the street. I decided to take tonight’s evidence home with me, shove it down into the trash bin, and let it go out with my trash next week. Tomorrow, I would make a trip out to my uncle’s farm and give the pigs a special treat.
Was it risky? Yes. But it wasn’t like anyone had a reason to suspect me for anything. Especially when James specifically mentioned that his podcast partner didn’t know that he was recording the ads alone.
“It’s going to be a surprise. Jeremy kept bitching about needing to get them done and how much he hated them.” James was ecstatic about his idea, and I had let him record for free tonight instead of charging him to rent the space, and with the recordings already erased… It was like he was never there.
A coyote yipped in the distance as I got in my car and drove home. For a moment I thought about driving over to Astrid’s place and keeping watch while she slept, but I had already surprised her enough for one day.
Eventually, I won’t go home to an empty house. Instead, I’ll enter a home that’s full of love.
Chapter 11
Astrid
Haileigh beamed in my direction, but something felt a bit off as I noticed her eyes start to well up. “He snuck into the women’s locker room?” she paused for a moment as a look of concern came over her face. “What if he would have gotten caught?”
I shook my head, agreeing that yes itwasrisky, but for the first time in my life, I felt so alive.
There was a fluctuation in Haileigh’s voice. “It sounds like you had a perfect day from start to finish.”????
“I did.” I swooned as I took a bite of my Italian hoagie, and before I had a chance to swallow, I asked the million-dollar question. “Is everything okay with you?”
Over the past few weeks Haileigh hadn’t been herself. She kept insisting that she was fine, but everything about her said otherwise. She looked toward the ceiling, searching for the perfect answer which also gave her away immediately. I got up and wrapped my arms around my best friend as the tears startedto pour down her cheeks, dragging her eyeliner down with it. “Hey what’s wrong?”
She sniffled. “It’s Braden.”
