Michelle

He dragged his finger lightly over a picture of her, tracing the outline of her jaw and sliding down to her curves. In this one, she wore nothing but a thin bikini, her long hair cutting across her face and chest and almost hiding her cherub-face from view. Sighing, he brushed it off the table with a clatter, taking a discarded pen down with it. The next picture showed her laughing at a zoo with her arms outstretched, warding off a camel which attempted to sniff her face; this one joined its companion on the carpeted floor. A sharp crack pierced the air as he trod on it on his way past, but the young man hardly flinched. A frilly top lay crumpled by the side of the sofa, begging for his attention. Steadily, he padded over and picked it up by his thumb and forefinger and brought it to his face. The scent of her perfume prickled his nostrils and he balled it up in disgust, throwing it against the window.

His eyes spotted movement. Someone was outside. Could it be her?

Softly, ever so softly, he made his way over to the back door and stood poised, flicking his dreadlocks out of the way and flexing his muscles in preparation. For weeks he had been waiting for this moment, his chance to swoop in and take Michelle away in his arms. He heard rustling at the door and a mumbled curse as something was dropped; a key. A soft tapping as they struggled to find the keyhole and then the scrape and grind as the door was unlocked. Then silence.

He guessed they were surveying the damage he had caused to the house; in his defence, he hadn’t broken anything important, just sorted out the rubbish which cluttered up the rooms.

He stepped out. A tanned girl stood there, her once luscious hair now tangled and unkempt around her dirty face, bloodshot eyes peering out towards him. He did a double take, but lunged towards her nonetheless, dragging her in and slamming the door behind them as fast as he could.

‘Ughhh…’ The girl tried to speak but he slammed a hand against her throat, crushing her windpipe and rendering her speechless. He could smell alcohol and sweat, and for the first time in years he felt the stirrings of anger in the pit of his stomach. Is this what Michelle’s life had become? He stared into her drooping eyes, then brought his knee up quickly and rammed it into her gut, causing an explosion of air from the girl as she began to feebly scratch at his torso. Her attempts were futile however, and he tightened his grip until her face was red, her bowels had let go and her pulse had disappeared. The body dropped to the floor, splashing urine onto his feet and he kicked the corpse in disgust before turning away and pulling out his phone, scrolling to M.

The door opened suddenly, revealing a large man with long black hair half-hidden under a skull cap standing there in complete surprise.
‘Wha- Setzer, what are you doing here?’ The man sounded surprised but unconcerned. ‘Have you see-‘ He cut himself off mid-sentence as his eyes found his girlfriend.

‘You didn’t tell me she was a drunk.’ The intruder stared at the newcomer, taking his unexpected arrival in his stride. ‘I could have helped you. Rescued you.’

The older man swallowed audibly, then finally turned to look at Setzer. ‘You killed her.’

‘’There’s nothing between us now. You said we could be together if she wasn’t here. Michelle, listen to me. We can have the perfect life, I will give you anything you need. I’m perfect for you.’ He stepped forwards and gently touched Michelle’s tattooed arm. ‘I’m here for you. I killed for you.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I removed all trace of her from the house.’ Michelle looked down at the man’s hand and sighed. Setzer leaned forwards until their noses were touching. ‘Look at me, Mikey.’

They made eye contact and Michelle closed the gap between them, sharing a short kiss before he broke away. ‘You left the body. We should clear up the body before anyone sees. Got any bin bags?’