The Pretty Ones

by Jamie Lee Fry

  No, no. I feel dizzy. This isn’t right. Quinn is lying.

  “Go screw yourself and get out of my house,” I shout.

  “You came over to Jenny’s house when she left for her run the morning she died. Charlie, you wrote that last note for her, but Jenny didn’t see your warning, did she? ‘The pretty ones deserve what they get, the pretty ones deserve to die.’ You wrote that Charlie. You followed her and you took that ugly stuffed-toy monkey with you. The one with the heart that Liam gave her. You did that, Charlie. How else would you know she screamed?”

  “I still don’t understand—”

  “You were there. You fucking killed Jenny, Charlie.”

  CHAPTER 57

  Charlie

  August 2012

  “I need you to say it out loud. I need you to remember,” Quinn shouts at me, but I’m already out the door.

  I take off, running from Quinn. I cross the yard and dash into my house, up the stairs, and into my bedroom. I close the door behind me. I latch the lock shut. I pound my fist against the door.

  “Charlie,” Quinn’s voice whispers behind me. I jump.

  “Are you kidding me, how are you here right now? You can’t be here. How did you get in here?”

  I close my eyes, and when I open them, Quinn is still there. Sitting on my bed.

  “Charlie, come have a seat next to me. I want you to lay down on the bed,” Quinn says in a calm, soothing voice. I obey her. She runs her fingers through my hair.

  “Shhh. Be quiet and calm your body down. I need you to relax. I need you to be still. I need you to find that memory.”

  “Charlie. I think it’s time you remember what happened.”

  CHAPTER 58

  Charlie

  May 2008

  I’m quiet these days. I sneak around, going unnoticed. I tiptoe through Jenny’s life. She doesn’t know I’m watching her. I watch Jenny and I follow Liam. I see what they do together when they think they’re alone. But they are never really alone. I tried to leave notes to warn Jenny. It would have been so much easier if she had just listened, but she couldn’t leave him alone. She is a slut. I watched the things they did together. I sat outside her window. I narrated the things I couldn’t hear. He twisted into what she needed from him. She made him do things to her—that is not the Liam I know. The Liam I know is sweet, kind, and loves his family and friends. Jenny made him into a sex-crazed monster. I tried to stay outside and watch, but sometimes I would go inside and get a closer look.

  Yesterday, he showed up with flowers and a stuffed animal. His act is making me sick. I’m so mad at them. How could they do this to me? Those flowers should be for me. Not her.

  Jenny is a lying whore. I can’t believe I trusted her. She knew that what she was doing was wrong. She shouldn’t have seduced her patient. My Liam. She is so old compared to him too. He is closer to my age. Liam and I make sense, not her and Liam.

  I let myself into her house when she is in the shower. I leave her one final warning.

  To Jenny, the nasty slut whore who ruined my life,

  The pretty ones deserve what they get. The pretty ones deserve to die.

  Feeling very satisfied with my threat, I swirl around in her office chair, chuckling to myself, careful not to alert Jenny. I can’t tell if I mean my threat or if it is just to scare her. Only time will tell, I guess. After all, Jenny deserves this scare. Nothing else seems to be getting through her thick skull. The thought of her reading this gives me a jolt of excitement. I feel so in control of this situation, of everything. I love this feeling. This feeling of power makes me want more of it.

  Jenny has no idea I am in her home while she is showering. I feel compelled to act on my newfound power. I touch everything in her house. I look through drawers, quietly, of course. I dive headfirst into her life. The thrill calms for a moment when I find a set of tapes labeled Charlie’s Sessions. What the heck are these?

  Jenny’s shower turns off. I will have to come back for the tapes later. I know I’m playing recklessly and taking risks. I stay for a few more minutes. I peek around the corner and see Jenny lacing up her running shoes, sitting on the edge of her bed, facing the window. I know where she is going. I’m always one step ahead of Jenny.

  I yank the stuffed monkey from the counter and shove it into the pocket of my black hoodie.

  I head back outside and pace the yard, waiting for her to leave. I feel the rage and anger setting back in.

  Once I see her take off running. I get in my car and I wait on the other side of the river for her to arrive. She is taking longer than I expected. This is her favorite spot to run. She has to come here. A jolt of excitement rushes through my body when I see her running up to the trail. Just as I planned. She runs on one side of the river, while I run on the other. Just me and her and a river in between us.

  I want her to feel safe, so I stay a little behind her pace. She can’t see me just yet. I keep a watchful eye on her. Her brown ponytail flaps behind her with each bounce in her step. About a quarter of a mile into the trail, it’s time to play a little game. I throw my hood up over my head. Slip into my black gloves and increase my speed. She notices me right away from across the river. She slows down. I slow down. She picks up her pace. I match it. Oh, dear Jenny, I’m your worst nightmare. Your instincts are correct. I am watching you. She speeds up again. I back off for a moment and she lets her guard down again. I see her stopping for breath at the top of her incline. I hurry to get to her before she runs again. I stand along the riverbank; I’m below her view so she can’t see who I am. I keep my head down and rock joyously on the heels of my feet, back and forth. I just can’t resist. I slowly bring my gloved hand up, twiddling each finger, starting with my pinky. It’s so eerie, I give myself chills. I grin in the knowledge that I have shaken her to her core. I can’t see her face, but I know panic is conjuring across it. I feel a sick satisfaction that I’ve never felt before. I feel alive; I feel different. My entire body tingles in fulfillment.

  I can’t completely scare her off. I’m not done yet. I double back so she thinks I’m leaving. I need her to feel safe again. It’s time for her to let her guard down. Once I see her in the distance, I increase my pace and make myself a new trail so she can’t see me. I’m surprisingly fast and light on my feet. I continuously flash through the forest, maintaining an eye on Jenny, but she would never see me, because Jenny wouldn’t even think to look for me here.

  I’m always one step ahead, literally this time. I’m smarter than Jenny and faster; I have to be. My new path is a faster, flatter route than the original trail. I make it to the bridge before Jenny. I can still see her coming in the distance. She slows down her pace since she thinks her threat has left. The river is rushing faster and is deeper than downstream, flowing just below the bridge with little room to spare. It is just me, Jenny, and the river. Not another soul in sight. I spot a rather generous tree to hide behind. I peek around the trunk, careful not to expose myself to my aunt. She thoughtfully approaches the bridge. Once she assesses that no threat is near, she makes her way to the middle.

  Jenny faces forward, so I take the opportunity to sneak quietly behind her.

  She looks a little too peaceful for my taste—time to disturb that.

  The bridge sways the second my foot hits the wooden planks as I hear Jenny whisper to herself, “I wish I could stay here forever.”

  Perfect idea, Jenny. I jolt her to the ground and reply to her rhetorical question. “Oh, pretty, pretty, Jenny, you can stay here forever.”

  Jenny screams.

  I’m now straddling her body, one foot on each side of her. My weight, which isn’t much, is keeping Jenny pinned down. I center my foundation on the midsection of her back in an attempt to keep her stomach pressed firmly into the wood, making it harder for her to free herself. I twist her long, thick brown ponytail in my hand and use it as leverage to keep her face pinned down.

  “Jenny, Jenny, Jenny. What am I going to do with you?” I taunt.
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  Jenny screams as she tries to free herself. Her shoulders twist from side to side, and she thrusts her feet rapidly. The bridge sways with each movement.

  “Oh, does this hurt?” I laugh.

  Jenny’s head twists just enough to get a look at my face with her left eye.

  I use my free hand to twist her face back toward the planks of the bridge. I give it a nice little upward push, hoping she will get some splinters in that pretty little face of hers.

  “Charlie, why?” Jenny sputters out.

  “Oh, Jenny, you fucking slut, you know why.”

  Jenny pleads again as her face scrapes up and down as she tries to struggle free.

  “Why, Charlie, why would you do this to me? I love you. We’re family.”

  “Jenny, family would never do what you did,” I speak to her patronizingly. “You are sick and fucked in the head. Liam is mine. Did you know that? You took him from me and made him do all those foul things to you. I know, I watched you time and time again. I was always there, Jenny. I saw everything you and Liam did. You are sick. You ruined him, and things will never be the same.”

  “Charlie, you need help,” Jenny said, trying to sound convincing.

  I interrupt her. “Help? What from Dr. Jenny? Lucky you won’t be around much longer to continue to fuck up your patients like you did with Liam.”

  Jenny shakes again underneath me, trying to free herself as she pleads for me to release her. “Charlie, get off me, and I can explain everything to you. That’s not what happened. How do you even know Liam? He isn’t who you think he is. He hurt me. Did you not see that? Please, Charlie. I love you.”

  “Jenny, none of that matters now.” I release my left hand and reach into my sweatshirt pocket and pull out that stupid little monkey stuffed animal that Liam brought over last night. I tighten my grip on her hair and roll her entire body to face me. I press my butt into her stomach with all my weight and I shove the stuffed animal over her mouth.

  Jenny’s body thrusts and her arms swat toward my face. She tries to pull the toy away from her mouth. I shift my weight into my upper torso, and with all my might, I push harder into the soft creature. Jenny tries to puff for breath. The more she gasps, the harder it is for her to breathe. She is still panting, so I release one hand and wrap it tightly around her throat. Her entire body convulses under me. Shaking and gyrating from her head to her toes. Her stomach moves quickly up and down, and then the movements slow. I whisper softly into her ear, “Jenny, the pretty ones deserve what they get. The pretty ones deserve to die.”

  Her eyes roll back into her head, and her entire body flops, lifeless.

  I pick up the stuffed animal and shove it back into my pocket. I pull her dense body to the end of the bridge and roll her into the river. Jenny’s body catches between two rocks as the rapids flow over her. Her once vibrant brown locks are soaked and in a repetitional flow downstream.

  Someone will find her soon.

  As I walk off the bridge, I spot a homeless man leaning up against a tree. Oh fuck. Oh shit. I didn’t think anyone was out here. Maybe he didn’t see anything.

  “Hey little girl, I saw what you did.” He slurs his speech.

  The old dirty man is drunk. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. His smell is putrid, whiskey, cigarettes, and urine.

  “Hey, little girl, get back here. You can’t just leave that there.”

  He continues to shout at me, but I just walk away.

  ***

  Back at Jenny’s house, I gather my notes and the three tapes that are labeled Charlie’s Sessions. It doesn’t appear that she even opened my last note, and that was my best one too. Oh Jenny, you didn’t even see me coming today. You didn’t have the fear I hoped for, but it still worked out just fine. Well, just fine for me, that is.

  Jenny already had a box with the same label in her drawer, ready to go. Oh, sneaky Jenny.

  Oh shoot, the time, I am going to be late. I want to listen to the tapes, but I can’t right now. I will come back for these later.

  Where to hide the box? Ah, the loose floorboard. I noticed the table shake every time someone put a glass on it. I knew my observation would come in handy.

  Sure enough, I’m able to wedge Jenny’s letter opener under it and knock it looser. Loose enough for me to peel it back and safely tuck my precious box under it for no one but me to find. It will be safe here. I pull the rug back over it and put everything back in its proper place.

  I skip back home.

  Everything is going to be OK now.

  CHAPTER 59

  Charlie

  August 2012

  “Why would you make me remember something so awful, Quinn? How could I have done that? I loved Jenny. I swear. I don’t want that memory anymore. Take it back,” I shout at Quinn.

  “Yes, you loved and still have love in your heart for her, but, sweetie, you get confused. You get blinded, and you can’t see what is real.”

  I’m lifeless, motionless, and my body is sinking into my bed. Quinn continues to stroke my hair.

  “Charlie, you have always known the truth. I just have to help you remember from time to time. You block out things that you don’t want to remember. You’ve been doing that your whole life. I need you to understand that your relationship with Liam wasn’t real. Think back to your time at Coffee Loon. It was just you, two cups of coffee, and your laptop. You had a crush on Liam, a man you met once. You wanted it to be more than it could ever be so badly that you made it real in your head. Everything you knew about him, you found on the internet. Think about his Facebook posts.”

  Going snowshoeing with the guys. Photos coming soon.

  Photos from Europe. Just me, my backpack, and my trusty camera.

  My brother-in-law lost his fight with cancer.

  Pictures of my little Lily Pad.

  Photo-editing class at 2 p.m.

  Snowshoeing up Tumalo Mountain tomorrow with boards strapped to our packs. Action shots of Eric coming soon.

  “The photography you saw was what he posted on his social media, Charlie. His photos were everywhere on Facebook for you to see. He was not sitting in front of you. Just your computer.”

  Tears soak my face. I try hard to think back to my time with Liam.

  “I’m sorry, Charlie, but that relationship just wasn’t real.”

  Images flood back over me. I can see right through his spot at our table. It’s just me, two coffees, my computer, and an empty chair.

  “You’re messing with my memories now,” I cry.

  “Sweetie, you got angry when Liam stopped posting,” Quinn says. “He was in a secret relationship with Jenny, so he didn’t share as much. You didn’t have anything new to look at, so that made you angry, paired with the fact you saw them kissing in her bedroom that awful night. You tried to block it out, but your body and mind couldn’t handle what you saw. You had a full-blown meltdown, followed by the panic attack. Whether you remember it or not, you stalked them and started leaving the notes for Jenny to find. You got a rise from it, didn’t you, Charlie? Then remember seeing them with the handcuffs? Remember how that made you feel inside? But the truth is, Jenny was being hurt by this monster and all you saw was what you wanted to see. And you got it all wrong. You passed the lie-detector test with the investigators because you forgot the truth. You honestly thought you didn’t have anything to do with it. You flipped a switch and blocked everything out the second you walked back into your house on graduation day. The lies—your new beliefs, they just started flying out of your mouth. It was like nothing happened. Charlie, you really believed you were living a nightmare where someone killed your aunt. You never went back for the box that contained all your secrets. You did have a slight slip when you spouted Liam’s name to the police. You were so confused, but you didn’t let yourself put the pieces together. Also, your alibi didn’t hold up and that made you even more confused. You never had brunch with your friends. They didn’t cover for you either, Charlie. Luckily, the cop
s didn’t have enough evidence to charge you, and you believed your own lies so much that this lie proved to be real on the polygraph test. Mike didn’t want anything to do with you, but sweet Zoey wanted to help you and understand. She called you over and over, but you never answered. Zoey eventually stopped trying. You’re a good blocker, Charlie, but you need my help to remember. How do you feel about all this? Does it hurt deep down?”

  I want to die. I can’t breathe. I feel my body being weighted down into the bed.

  “Quinn, can you stop please?” I cry.

  “Remember this little guy?” Quinn says as she tosses the stuffed-toy monkey with the heart right at me. “The murder weapon has been sitting here on your papasan chair for the past four years.”

  Quinn looks at me, her face grave. “Charlie, we can’t stop. You need to pull your shit together. We have to finish this time. Here, follow me back to Jenny’s.” She takes my hand and leads the way. I have no choice but to follow.