Page 82 of Caged
Five Months Prior to Present Day,
Spring Break, Junior Year
Murder would be too kind of a death for my father, and as satisfying as it would be to watch him choke on his own blood after I slit his throat, pulling the rug out from under him when I take over Hunt Wealth Management after graduation will be lightyears better. I doubt my fool of a father bothered to read every legal clause of my trust fund, because if he had, he would have made sure he never woke up from his coma last summer.
That’s the funny thing about details; they’ll kill you if you aren’t careful. Could I have reminded the daft egomaniac about said details earlier when he was waxing poetic threats? I sure as fuck wanted to, but then I would lose the element of surprise.And I love a good surprise.
It seems my fucktwat father has forgotten that after I graduate Dornell to hissatisfaction, my trust is awarded to me with no further strings attached. Sure, the money is generous,but I’m delighted to see my father thinks money is all I’m after. If the asshole weren’t high on his own narcissism, he would have noticed that my future position as CEO of Hunt Wealth Management is guaranteed, automatically bequeathed to me per the terms of my trust. Specifically:
My grandson, Kieren Arthur Hunt III, shall take over the position and title of CEO of Hunt Wealth Management on the earlier of: (1) completing a ten-year tenure at the firm; or, (2) if his father, Kieren Arthur Hunt Junior, should fall physically and/or mentally ill and/or be deemed unfit to continue to serve the firm in a CEO capacity.
I’m sure any doctor and court would agree, certainly if persuaded with the right monetary incentives, that an attempt to take one’s life would deem one mentally unfit to serve the firm in a CEO capacity. Who’s the shortsighted one now, Father?
What was it you said? Oh. Right.“Fuck me and I’ll fuck you right back.”Unfortunately for you Father, I invented this game, and despite your opinion of me, I can play it better than you.
And as for this proverbial game of chicken we’re playing with X and Monroe, I’m warming up to the idea. In some aspects, it’s the perfect solution to my problem. I can’t marry a dead girl, and neither can anyone else. I’ve also been stressed about what to do with Monroe over summer break. I’ll be working at HWM, of course, and initially I thought about renting a house in Connecticut for us both, but with me gone all day, a house is too easy to jailbreak. She’ll either run the first chance she gets or poison me in my sleep. And I might be a monster, but not the kind that would keep a woman locked up in my basement.
Actually, wait. I am literally that kind of monster.Ah fuck, I sigh to myself,maybe I took her punishment too far. At the onset, a week locked in my room with food and water didn’t seem that big of a deal, but in retrospect… I waffle on whether or not I made the right decision, but it’s too late now. Hopefully she’s alive when I get back to Sigma and no worse for the wear.
I just…
Fuck.
My vision frustratingly grows compromised with moisture, and I have to swipe at my eyes to see the road clearly. It didn’t have to be this way, but here we are, standing together on the edge of a cliff.
I need her.
I. Need. Her.
She’s been the only consistent presence in my life that has truly and deeply loved me. Despite all I’ve put her through, she always comes back, and God do I love that about her. I’ve manipulated and molded her into my perfect girlfriend. For fuck’s sake, she’s been locked in my room at Sigma for the last week and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that she’ll apologize for her behavior the moment I walk through the door. She’ll be pissed. She might even hate me. But she’ll never fucking abandon me.
Except when shedidtry to abandon me two Fridays ago, and if I hadn’t intercepted her when I did, she would be gone. She left all her belongings. Computer, clothes, makeup… She planned todisappear. But she made sure to take those fucking diamond earrings I bought her, because we both know they are worth more than all her other possessions combined. Fucking social climbing bitch.
Fuck!
I hate her.
I fucking hate her.
What kind of girlfriend abandons their boyfriend as if they never existed?
God, I have misjudged her. I always want to think the best of her, but time and time again, she never fails to remind me of exactly the type of person she is underneath her mask of innocence. She’s not kind, nor caring. She’s calculated.
Let X have her. Let her be an offering. This is the outcome she deserves, and for all the time and effort I’ve put into cultivating her, giving her everything I have, I’m rightfully owed the benefit of her sacrifice.I deserve the blessings from her blood.
But, how will I be able to face her? I’ll have to keep her placated until May’s Full Moon Ceremony, the last of this academic year. April is too soon. For me, and for the role she plays. I want her just once more. Maybe twice. Maybe as much as fucking possible. I want to breathe in her fucking scent, taste her on my tongue, and hear her scream my name just a bit longer. I’m not a sane person, but I am an opportunist.
After the May Ceremony, everyone will focus on final exams and be heads down until the end of the school year. No one will notice her absence, and when she doesn’t return next year, no one will care.
Well.
No one but me.
37
MONROE
Five Months Prior to Present Day,
