The coroner stepped forward and stood by the largest of the corpses and Julian went to stand by him. He didn’t know what he would see. They lifted the sheet slowly and Julian stepped back, a look of utter horror on his face. His wife’s beautiful face had been burnt to a blackened charred mess. Her long blonde hair had been singed from her head. She was now bald as a baby. Her eyeballs were black and exposed in their sockets. She had no eyelids and she looked as though she were staring at him. They had tried to shut her mouth, but he could see it had been open when they had hit the other vehicle, her gums were all blackened and her teeth roots exposed. ‘She had been screaming her hate to him.’ His mind taunted.
On her lower body, parts of her body were exposed, red and bloody. He looked at her silicon breast implants, which were also blackened and charred around parts of them. ‘Typical that they had survived the car crash and the explosion.’ He thought in his grief. ‘They turned out as money well spent... ‘They could use that in their advertisements. Have your breasts done,’ his mind said, ‘they are fire proof, explosion proof.’ He suddenly laughed. ‘They outlived her.’ His mind added sombrely.
Devia started to laugh, a hysterical happy laugh. It was really true. Crystal and the kids were dead. Julian was finally hers. She had loved Julian since high school and now, finally, he would be hers. She would prove to him that she had what it took to make him happy. She remembered where she was and quickly changed it into sobbing sounds. Her hand went over her mouth to hide her smile. For those in the morgue, they had seen every reaction to the death of a loved one and so were not surprised by her reaction. They put it down to her shock.
Julian was walking backwards, away from the first gurney with his wife’s body. He backed into another table with a smaller corpse on. He turned around and pulled the sheet back and gasped as he saw his son on the gurney. He leaned down and hugged him. He picked him up in his arms and held him close to him. He sobbed uncontrollably. Standing there with his son in his arms enveloped in his sweet smell that was now masked with the acrid overlying evidence of charred flesh. He gently laid him down and then went over to the remaining table. He tore the sheet back and grabbed his daughter and hugged her too. His tears for her, blending with the tears he had cried for his son and wife. He laid her gently back down and sank to the floor where he had been standing. He sat there, on the floor, sobbing and now broken. His life was over. Everything he had ever loved, everyone he had loved, were now dead. He had no reason to carry on.
The coroner went to the tables and pulled the sheets back over the bodies. He asked for someone to bring him a wheel chair for Julian to sit in so that they could take him from the room. He was unable to stand and walk. However, he didn’t want to leave. To get him to leave the hospital, the doctor sedated him, even though Julian insisted he didn’t need or want anything. His wild eyed look suggested otherwise to the policeman and the doctor. After he was sedated, he was wheeled out in the wheelchair, verbally rambling and under duress.
He was a shell of a man. His soul had gone; he had died when they died. Their last words to each other had been of anger. He still didn’t know what had been wrong with her. In a matter of only a few weeks, they had gone from the idyllic family to a possible divorce. And now. He had lost everything that was important in his life. It was just him, totally bereaved. Alone.
What the hell was happening to him? To his life?
Chapter Nine - Devia
Devia sang as she dusted and tidied around the house. The funeral had been last week and since then, Julian had been relatively silent. Following the trip to the morgue a few weeks ago, he had barely spoken anyway. He had cried through the funeral service and she had held him up. He had stood¸ a broken man, as the three had been laid to rest. She had smiled sympathetically and received all the condolences for him. His family members hugged her, and thanked her as they left. Thanked her for her kindness. Wasn’t she an angel to help her best friends’ husband through such a traumatic time? She smiled wanly and nodded, pretending not to take utter joy from the situation. She always got what she wanted, and her plan was going beautifully. Phase two would begin shortly. Her seduction of him, awake this time. ‘The best way to get over someone was to get under someone new.’ Her mother had said when she was younger. Devia had always carried the saying through her life, and it seemed to work. She wanted to make sure that when he was ready to get over Crystal, she would be the one under him. Until then, she would be around fending off any other interested parties. She didn’t worry right now, as he was in pieces emotionally and saw no-one. His eyes were a blank window. There was no one home. He had lost his spark and joy of life. His vulnerability made him even sexier. His signature stubble that made him look like a cover model had now grown into a light beard. This only made his physique appear even more gladiatorial. Oh, how she coveted and lusted after him. If only he would look at her. Instead, he just sat in his chair and stared into space. He didn’t eat unless she put it in front of him and helped him. He hadn’t dressed properly for weeks and so she worked around him, often forgetting he was there until he moved.
At first, she just came over daily, until she had found Crystal’s spare set of house keys. Then she had started letting herself in, and Julian hadn’t even noticed that she had moved into the guest room ‘for his good,’ of course. Even his family had noticed how she was looking after him, cooking his meals, doing his ironing, and making sure he ate. They were relieved, because while she was doing it, they didn’t have to worry about him. So they left her to it. After the funeral, they had all gone their separate ways leaving him with her alone. The next time she would see them would be at her wedding to Julian. She hummed again.
Cleaning around the house, her fake feather duster, swooshing as she worked, she dusted along the top of his desk. Papers moved to the side as she did so, she looked down, read the scribbled contents of the piece of paper before her. It was a list of all his email accounts, business and personal, his social sites, his Facebook , his bank account and login details. At first she tossed it aside, carried on dusting and tidying. Then she stopped, and looked back at it. She lifted up the top of the printer scanner and photocopied it, slipped the copy in to her pocket, and replaced the original under the other papers. That little piece of paper, held his whole life on it. She smiled as she thought of the information she could glean from his life. She hummed as she went around the room.
Outside, she heard the mailman drive up so she put down her duster and went out to greet him. He was just stopping at the end of the drive as she got to the door, she went down to greet him. He asked after Julian and then handed her the mail. Normally, he would have put it in the locked mailbox for Julian to collect himself. But today, as she had put her hand out to collect it, he had automatically handed it to her without a thought.
Today was turning into a good day for Devia. She walked back to the house and went into the kitchen to get herself a coffee from the coffee pot. She absent mindedly leafed through the letters in her hand. There were a few from the car insurance, one from life insurance, and one from his bank. She poked her head around the door and looked across at him sitting in his chair, his mind empty in his grief as he stared off into space.
“Just going to make you a coffee. I will be right back.” He didn’t respond.
She went into the kitchen and switched on the kettle, allowing the steam to dampen the lip of the envelope. It opened easily and she trembled as she took out the bank statement inside. Even though she was curious she felt wrong reading his mail. She shrugged off the discomfort, and unfolded the statement inside. She was shocked to find he had over two hundred thousand dollars in his account. A recent payment for one hundred and eighty thousand having been credited to him. She smiled as she saw the payer. Aveeha Life insurance. That must have been the life insurance for his wife and kids. She smiled again, folded the statement and replaced it carefully inside the envelope. She held the envelope down until the back of it dried and stuck shut, then sh
e went and screwed up all three letters to make them appear as though they had been trapped inside the mailbox and had all been mangled in the delivery process. She smiled to herself and thought of how she could spend the money. She placed the letter to the side with the other mail from earlier that week. He wouldn't even notice as he hadn’t opened any of them yet.
She took a coffee to him and he still did not notice her presence. She walked away and carried on cleaning around the house.
She was just tidying in his bedroom when she noticed the wardrobe door slightly open. There was a dress sleeve jammed in the door. She opened the wardrobe. Inside were some of Crystal’s clothes. Apparently, he had left some of them behind. Maybe she meant to come back after all. She started to take them down and put them into a black garbage bag. As she did so, she saw a beautiful red gown. She held it up against herself and she walked across the room to the full length mirror. She turned to the left and the right as she held it to her, to see the how the dress moved. She smiled, thinking that the dress suited her. She was about to fold it up and put it with the others in the black bag when she heard Julian’s angry voice behind her.
“What do you think you are doing?” Julian was stood in the doorway. He looked furious.
“Pardon?”
“Don’t touch my wife’s things.”
“But she won’t need them Julian.”
“I don’t care. Don’t touch them.”
“As you wish.” Devia said, putting her hands down by her sides. “Julian, she has gone, she won’t ever come back. She’s dead. Dead, you hear me? Dead. You have to realise this.”
“I don’t want you in here.”
“But…”
“I said, I don’t want you in here. This is our bedroom.”
“Ok, I’m sorry.” Devia turned and walked passed him out of the room with Julian glowering at her. She sighed, as she got into the living room. ‘How long will it take for him to get over this?’ she thought as she cleared away his cold coffee cup.
He didn’t come out of the bedroom for the rest of the day. She had knocked on the door a few times and he had told her to leave him alone.
Later, she prepared dinner for them both but she knew she would eat alone. So in her solitude, she mulled over how she could break down his barriers and get him to notice her.
Sitting at the dinner table, in Crystal’s chair, she slowly ate the dinner she had prepared. Julian’s food was on a plate at the table next to hers, getting cold. He hadn’t joined her for dinner again. She heard a noise behind her and automatically turned to see what it was. Julian was standing in the doorway, his eyes dark, malevolent and brooding.
“And I want you out. This is our house.”
“What?” She said her voice rising in confusion.
“I said, I want you out. Now. Tonight. This is our house.”
Devia was so angry. After everything she had done to get into his life and his house, now he wanted her out? That was not part of the plan. She was supposed to get into his bed. Seduce him. She hadn’t even gotten that far. This was definitely not acceptable. Her plan was going forward to seduce him into her life through sex. He was going to lose himself in her, fall in love with her. With her, no one else, just with her. How could she do this if she wasn’t by him every day? How could she control his life, and know what he was doing? How could she continue her plan? She stood to lose him if she wasn’t careful but he looked so angry at her that she didn’t know what to say or do. She knew that if she refused to leave as he had asked, then he could throw her out and that would be the end of everything. She had to think quickly.
“Yes, ok.” She said meekly, a plan formulating in her mind as she spoke.
She gathered her things and made a great show of being greatly misunderstood and sad. She continued to sigh heavily while packing her things. And when she ultimately left the house. But before she left, she put the bottle of JD on the kitchen table. Knowing she would return if it was the last thing she ever did, she took Crystal’s house keys with her.
Only he didn’t know it.
***
Creeping into his house later that night, Julian was sound asleep in bed. The bottle of JD was empty on the table in the kitchen, as she had hoped it would be. She smiled. She had known he would drink himself into a stupor. Alone. What else was there he could do? She had just made the subliminal suggestion that he drink. It was easier for him.
She crept into his bedroom, took Crystal’s red dress from the wardrobe, and left the room. When she came back in, she had transformed herself into a Crystal lookalike, she was wearing the dress and no underwear. She sat on the side of the bed, and leaned forward. She kissed him on the lips as he slept.
“Juju, honey.” She said in her best Crystal impersonation. She touched his cheek in the darkness. His skin warm to her hand, his hair ruffled in his sleep. He opened his eyes and looked so imploring, so needing, searching her face in the darkness. His deep sleep after drinking all that JD and his love for his dead wife making him see what he wanted to see.
“Crystal?” His hand went out to touch her blonde hair. She seemed real and yet unreal, at the same time.
“Yes honey. It’s me. I have come back to you. Love me.”
“Oh honey.” He groaned. “I’m sorry. I missed you.” He murmured in his half stupored sleep. He opened his arms and she went into them. Still not waking fully and half cocked, he kissed her with all the passion he felt. She sat astride him and she kissed him, as she had always wanted to. In the semi darkness, as their hips were grinding together, he couldn’t take it any longer so he entered her. He was rock hard and hungry for her. He held on to her hips and moved her to his rhythm, pumping into her slowly. In his semi sleep and dazed mind, he was seeing Crystal. His mind wanted to believe it was Crystal. His cock, hard, and his heart needing.
Devia was grateful for all her sexual experience and the kegel exercises she had done over the years. Now she milked him with her vaginal muscles, giving him all the pleasure she could. He started to groan and she moved faster to bring him to his peak. As he came , she slumped forward and kissed him. Crystal had told her that he liked to be kissed when he climaxed. Crystal had been more than explicit with his likes and dislikes in bed. Little did she know Devia had lapped up every morsel of information. The pretence was so that she could use it for herself. And now, as she pretended to be her, the information was indispensible . . He was still so groggy he just lay there. Sated.
She waited for him to fall back asleep. As he started to gently snore, she climbed off him, took off the dress and hung it back up in the wardrobe. She quietly left the bedroom and dressed in her own clothes. Putting the wig back in her handbag, she quietly slipped out into the night, a broad evil smile on her face.
She would be back again soon. Tomorrow night, and the night after, and the night after…until he was totally hers.
Chapter Ten - Julian
Julian was starting to feel better about himself and everything in general. He started smiling and whistling again. He started to pick up his life. His neighbours were delighted to see him starting to take an interest again. They watched as he mowed the lawn. They watched as he carried on. Always alone, living alone¸ working alone, except for the nightly visits from his wife’s friend, Devia. Something that everyone around him never spoke to him about. After all, it was his life and nothing for them to discuss. If he was happy, they were. It was his little secret, and they respected that secret. A man was entitled to loving, no matter who he was. That Devia woman, seemed to be a good friend to him. She seemed to be helping him. Day by day, things slowly improved for him and time passed.
It was almost a year after his family had died. And although his heart was still in tatters he was starting to feel that life could begin again. He went to bed with his trusted friend Jack Daniels every night, only to help him sleep. It helped him make it through his days sometimes too. It was strange, he had never believed in the afterlife, and yet, he felt as though his Cry
stal were still with him. He felt her presence around him. He felt her love still. He had the most lucid dreams about her, and they made him happy. Almost like he hadn’t lost her at all.
***
He whistled as he worked on his boat. The rigging was secure. He hated yacht owners that let their rigging and lines clank when the wind blew. It was just a sign that they didn’t have a clue about sailing. He liked his tied, secured, tight, and quiet. He was a true sailor. He liked things done properly. He had returned to work recently and had gone out with a few clients. Nothing special, just a few odd day trips here and there. Now that the life insurance had kicked in from his wife’s death, the house had been paid off. The remainder of the life insurance was a sizeable lump sum that was now in a savings account in the bank. It was ironic, because with all that money in the bank, life would have been perfect if Crystal and the kids were still around.
Today he had a family coming on board the boat. A mature couple were giving their daughter a birthday treat. He had already seen the surprise birthday cards and presents they had had delivered to the boat, ready to surprise her when they went sailing. He smiled at their joy and yet he was saddened in his heart. His daughter, Mary, would never make it to see her twenty fifth birthday. Not now. He felt a stabbing pain and put down his rope. He looked out to the horizon at the birds swooping in the sky. The morning sunlight was dappled on the surface of the waves and it sparkled and glittered with the movement, the reflections of the birds as they skimmed near the surface.
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