4. Mine

four

Mine

Mask

I t’s been days since our secret meeting, and I can’t get the thought of my beautiful little masterpiece choking on me out of my mind. I’m tempted to act it out with her. Night after night I’ve followed her home, all the while my cock demanding the sweet torment of her lips around it, desperate for the sensation of their embrace. Tonight is no different. Except it is. Amanda is leaving her shift several hours late. It was a busy night in the emergency room. We ride the light rail together. She’s unaware of my presence, despite how empty the train car is. Me, on the other hand, I haven’t taken my eyes off of her in the mirror. This night is an anomaly. There’s not a single part of it that feels ordinary. I drag my fingers over my face in frustration as I try to convince myself the nagging feeling in my gut is wrong.

When we exit the light rail at our stop, I catalog every suspicious person we encounter, every noise, every shadow. Our ride is always too short for my liking. It only gives me a few minutes to calm my mind, then we are on the move again. I can sense a strange shift in the air. Something doesn’t feel right. It’s the first time in days I’ve felt like we aren’t alone. Maybe it’s because the night is so much darker now, or maybe it’s because we aren’t alone.

Good girl. I think as she skips the turn to the gym, heading right for home. Like the professional stalker I’ve become, I hang back for a few minutes, hoping if we aren’t alone, they’ll get excited and make the first move. I watch Amanda walk away from me and it’s agony not being able to stare with my full attention as she does. Instead, I wait until she’s just barely out of my watchful gaze. My legs are itching to follow her, but I count her steps in my mind to the beat of her gait, mentally cataloging her location. Just as I’m about to step from the shadows and slink after her ahead of me, I catch an all too familiar shadow slide in behind my girl.

Game on, asshole. I slip from my hiding spot, walking briskly to clear the space between us as I place the mask on my face. A sinister smile spreads from ear to ear as I gain on the imposter who dares to test my mercy. The smart thing to do would have been to disappear, but now I have no choice.

I should have recognized a psychopath when I met one. Of course when I set my boundary, I made her even more desirable. This is all my fault, and now I have to clean up my mess. It’s a good thing I’ve concocted a contingency plan for every possible scenario. I smirk, my face concealed. Checkmate, little fucker, I think, seething mad as I clench my bone white fists.

I trail the object of my obsession aggressively, thinking about all the ways I can take them out. Mess with my belongings: pay with your soul.

We’ve only walked a few hundred feet with me hot on his heels. My fingers wrap around the cold metal blade of my butterfly knife, securing it in my pocket. Its dangerous edges will slice into the imposter’s rib cage smoothly, carving between them, turning his body into a Jack-o’-lantern. My fingers tremble anxiously as I flip the knife from one hand to the other, attempting to distract them from their impulsive desires. I can’t wait to sink my blade deep into his vulnerable flesh over and over until he is no longer a threat to my perfect little masterpiece.

How dare he return to play with my favorite toy. His biggest mistake was coming back for more. He’s either reckless or delusional if he thought our little chat the other day meant I wanted to share.

My finger rubs the handle of the knife again. It’s not my fault he failed to heed my warning. If only he’d stayed far away from Amanda. Then none of this would even need to be happening. Amanda and I could have continued on playing our little role play like a pair of star-crossed lovers performing with the streets as our stage.

I’m working myself into an irrational frenzy. Something inside of me snaps and I charge the imposter from behind, muttering, “Fuck it.”

The knife glistens in the moonlight, an ominous omen of the deadly damage I intend to do with it. I slam into him right as he turns to look back over his shoulder. The knife cuts into him effortlessly, like butter sinking deep between his ribs. His eyes bulge as his voice pierces the quiet streets around us, crying out in agony. Before he can recover from the first incision, I stab into his torso a second time. I didn’t expect stabbing him would be this easy. The rush of adrenaline is exhilarating and thrilling. I’m riding a high, already thinking about the next rush. Ahead of us, Amanda has spun around to watch on in horror as I remove the pest from our game like an exterminator eliminating a pesky rodent. Once she unfreezes and I’ve stabbed Mr. I-Should-Have-Minded-My-Own-Business, another time, Amanda’s feet finally take flight. She bolts up the nearby alley, taking her chances in the dark because what I just subjected her to was probably a little traumatizing but, it’s just the kind of thing she should be into. I only want to keep her safe. There’s no telling what the soon to be dead guy was going to do to her if I hadn’t been here to intervene. She should honestly thank me. I think I know just how she can show me her appreciation for keeping her safe tonight. My cock aches at the thought of taking her for the first time—

Smack! The guy I’m supposed to be murdering lands another punch to my jaw. This time, my head snaps back from the force. He underestimates my skills. I’m a trained killer; very fucking dangerous. I tsk, taunting him, goading his pride into lashing out stupidly. He falls right into my trap, taking the bait like a moth to a flame. Obsessed with escaping me. Every ounce of his energy is rerouted to the monumental task of evading my clutches and surviving long enough to make it to the hospital. Judging from the heavy blood loss, I would wager his chances of survival are slim if he doesn’t succeed before I get another slice in. His lunge provides the perfect opportunity to cut into him again. He reaches out to try to choke me, but his hand runs down my bare chest as it slips beneath my zip up hoodie. I shove him from me easily, watching with a satisfied smirk beneath my mask as he falls to the ground, gasping. There’s no way he’s going to survive, so I stab him a few more times, then carve a gang tag into the side of his neck all the while he meagerly tries to fight me off. When I’ve finished, I wipe the blade on the bottom of my jacket, then leave him for dead in the gutters. The department is swamped. They’ll cut corners on this one, especially if they think it’s gang-related. By the time they find the body, I’ll have already permanently erased and replaced the footage, erasing my footprint completely from the area. Walking swiftly, I take off down the alley, looking for any clues that my sweet masterpiece has been on the same route. From what I can tell, I’m banking on her going to the gym, even if it means running in the opposite direction from home. I grin beneath the mask, jogging to the gym. I make it to the bottom of the street just in time to see her frantically keying in the after-hours access code to the door, and bolting inside.

This couldn’t be more opportunistic. It’s like the universe is begging me to take advantage of this opportunity. I’ve been thinking about her perfectly taunt, pretty lips wrapped around my cock all week and what I’d give to feel her neglected pussy wrapped around my cock while I slide it in and out of her slick, wet opening. My heart is racing as I slink up the block to the gym door. I key in her access code effortlessly. What kind of stalker would I be if I didn’t know her code? My cock flexes in agreement as I think about everything I’m going to do when I find her. I can’t fucking wait.