The Suicide Princess

by Bryan, Anthony

  Stephanie turned the water off, reached for the towel Derrick left her, and dried her body. She walked across the open living area towards Derrick’s room, and she could see the room was lit with candles before she even entered.

  “What’s this?” Stephanie asked.

  The room was lit by four flickering candles on Derrick’s nightstand. Derrick had also straightened the bed while Stephanie was in the shower. Derrick, now wearing just a pair of black boxer-briefs, turned to Stephanie and said, “Come here, I have a surprise for you.”

  Stephanie, wrapped in her towel, pranced quickly towards Derrick. “What’s my surprise?” she queried.

  Derrick, who was holding a bottle of liquor, poured a little more than an ounce of scotch into a glass filled with ice cubes. He picked up a white pill from the nightstand and washed it down with the liquor.

  “Ahhhhh, that’s good,” he said.

  “What was that?” Stephanie asked.

  “The best scotch money can buy. Well, the best scotch my money can buy; I’m pretty sure there’s a lot better out there.”

  “Not the drink, Derrick. The pill?”

  “Do you want one?” Derrick asked as he picked up another pill from the nightstand.

  “No. No, I definitely don’t want one.”

  “Derrick began pouring another glass of scotch and said, “Here, just try.”

  “I’m not taking anything that I don’t know what it is, or where the hell it came from.” Stephanie declared defiantly.

  “Relax, it’s a Vicodin. It will go perfect with your next surprise.”

  “Derrick, tonight was amazing, but I have to go home. I have work tomorrow.”

  Derrick said, “I think you should be sick tomorrow. That way, you can have a drink, relax, let me give you your surprise, and we can sleep nice and late tomorrow.”

  “I can’t miss work tomorrow. I have a lot going on.”

  “Then just stay the night, and go to work from here.”

  Derrick held the drink in one hand and the pill in the other, and he extended both hands to Stephanie. She took the glass in her left hand while taking the pill with her right. She hadn’t done drugs of any kind since college, and she looked at the intoxicants for a moment until she sheepishly asked, “This won’t hurt me? You promise?”

  “Do you trust me?” Derrick asked.

  “I do.”

  Derrick placed his fingers on the bottom of the glass within Stephanie’s hand, and he gently pushed the glass upwards. Stephanie placed the pill in her mouth and swallowed it down with the harsh liquor.

  “Holy shit, that’s strong,” Stephanie said through a scrunched up face.

  “Now for your surprise,” Derrick said as he had Stephanie remove her towel and lay flat on her stomach along the edge of the bed.

  Stephanie, although just having had sex with Derrick, was very shy to be fully nude in front of him. Derrick stood beside her, and he told Stephanie to close her eyes. Stephanie then felt several drops of oil fall to her back, and she felt Derrick’s hands begin to massage her. It did not take long before Stephanie started to feel the intoxicating effect of the alcohol mixed with the pill, and she felt like she was floating while Derrick’s hands and fingers massaged her from head to toe.

  Derrick leaned in and whispered into her ear, “See? Whenever you do exactly as your told, you’ll be rewarded.”

  “Mmmmm, I never want this to end,” Stephanie groaned.

  Shortly after, Stephanie fell fast asleep, and Derrick crawled into bed next to her.

  “Stephanie, are you awake?” Derrick asked once he was in bed. “Are you awake?” he asked again.

  Stephanie didn’t respond, and when Derrick was certain Stephanie was asleep, he reached for his phone and sent a text message:

  “I got her….she’s done. Thank you!”

  A moment later, a message returned, “You are the very definition of a piece of shit.”

  Derrick typed back, “I’ll take that as a compliment coming from you…..”

  Chapter Five:

  Where You Belong

  The following morning, Stephanie woke from a dead sleep and sprang into a seated position. Based on the brightness of the sunlight streaming through the window, she knew she had long overslept.

  “Oh my God, Derrick, what time is it?” she asked.

  In a groggy, half-interested tone, Derrick replied, “I don't know. My watch is on the nightstand.”

  Stephanie grabbed her phone to check the time, and she not only noticed it was 11:30, she also saw she had six missed calls from Bill Webber. Stephanie tapped a few keys on her phone, and it began to ring.

  Webber answered with, “Where the hell are you?”

  “I'm so sorry, sir,” Stephanie replied. “I am so sick today, Mr. Webber, and I can't make it in.”

  “And you happened not to notice how sick you were until almost noon?” Webber angrily asked.

  “I tried to sleep it off so I would be better, but I took medicine around four this morning, and I guess it completely knocked me out. I'm so sorry.”

  “This better not happen again, Bradford!”

  “I'll be in tomorrow, sir. No matter how I'm feeling, I'll be there,” Stephanie said before ending the call.

  “Who was that asshole?” Derrick asked.

  Stephanie got out of bed and began dressing in the clothes she had taken off the night before. As she dressed she answered, “That was my boss, and he's not an asshole.”

  “Then why was he acting like one?”

  “Gee, I don't know. Maybe because I didn't show up for work today,” she replied with a sense of aggravation. “Speaking of which, don't you have a job to go to?”

  “I make my own hours. I'll be there when I get there.”

  “Must be nice, but I actually have to answer to people.”

  “What the hell did I do?” Derrick asked. “You're a big girl, and you decided to not set an alarm to call your boss this morning. Don't take it out on me.”

  “I don't mean to take it out on you. I just – I don't know. This seemed like a good idea last night, but this morning, I'm not sure,” Stephanie said as she finished packing her overnight bag. “I have to go.”

  “Why are you leaving? You're already here, and you already missed work, so what's the difference? We can just spend the day together.”

  Stephanie walked over to Derrick as he was still in bed, with the bed sheet barely covering his body. She kissed him on the cheek and said, “I have to go, Romeo. Stay in bed, I'll let myself out.”

  Stephanie walked to her car, and as she got closer to it, she saw the bright orange envelope under her windshield wiper. Just great! she mumbled to herself as she pulled the parking ticket off the window and stuffed it into her overnight bag. Stephanie sat in her car and held her phone in her hands for a few moments, just staring at an open message with Derrick. She thought about what to type, and she began the message.

  “Last night was absolutely amazing,” Stephanie began. “But I don't think I can do this again. You are almost perfect in every way, but I'm married, and I can't do this anymore. I'm so sorry I'm doing this by text, but if I did it in person, I just wouldn't have the strength to say goodbye.”

  Derrick responded, “Goodbye? Is that what you're saying?”

  “Yes, Derrick. Goodbye.”

  “If that's what you want, I'll respect it. I think you know me well enough by now to know that I'm not the guy that's going to beg and plead. So, if you want to go, I'll step aside, but make sure it’s what you really want. If someone hurts me once, I’m not going to invite them back to do it again”

  Stephanie deleted the message, and she then scrolled through her contacts until she reached Jenna, the name under which she had stored Derrick's number. Without the slightest pause, she deleted the contact along with Derrick's number, and she drove away without so much as looking back in her rear-view mirror.

  Stephanie arrived home, and she raced to check the online flight status f
or the flight Jacob was flying. She saw she had at least another two hours before Jacob was home, and she began emptying the lingerie from her overnight bag. As she was pulling out the garments, she saw Derrick's brown leather belt at the bottom of the bag. She had no idea how the belt found its way into the bag, and she only assumed she accidentally threw the belt in her bag as she was picking up her own clothes from the floor. Stephanie emptied all of the contents from the bag, with the exception of the belt and the parking ticket, and she ran out to her driveway to throw them in the trunk of her car. Stephanie had no way of explaining the items to Jacob, and like her debit card at the bar, a man's belt could be the one thing to get her caught.

  Breathe. Just breathe, Stephanie said to herself as she returned to her kitchen.

  Stephanie hand-washed the lingerie and then placed it in the dryer on a gentle dry cycle. Once the load was dry, she put the lingerie in her drawer, she put her ultra-sexy heels away in her closet, and she breathed a sigh of relief that everything was over and cleaned up. Before long, Jacob was home.

  “Steph? Are you home?” Jacob called out as he walked through the front door.

  “You're home!” Stephanie squealed, running to hug Jacob.

  “What are you doing home so early? It's not even five yet.”

  “I'm home to surprise you. I missed you and wanted to be waiting when you walked through the door.” The lie burned at Stephanie's soul, but she didn't know what else to say. She continued, “Guess what!”

  “What?”

  “The D.V.R. Is filled with shows, I got popcorn when I went food shopping last week, and the best part of all, we have nowhere to be tonight,” said Stephanie.

  “Let me unpack, take a quick shower, and I'll meet you on the couch.”

  “I'll get the blanket and popcorn ready,” Stephanie replied.

  As they sat on the couch together, Stephanie curled into Jacob, and he held her tight. She knew with Jacob was where she belonged, but she struggled to keep her mind from drifting back to Derrick. Stephanie knew Jacob was who she was supposed to be with, and although her body and heart ached for Derrick, her mind knew Jacob was the right person for her.

  Stephanie did her very best to forget Derrick, and she told herself she would simply chalk up her night with him as a fun life experience. However, some things are much easier said than done.

  ***

  Nearly two weeks after leaving Derrick, Stephanie thumbed through the endless pile of documents related to the Hutchinson case. As she did so, she suddenly realized she had looked over more than a dozen pages without paying an ounce of attention to a single one. She was still trying so hard to forget Derrick, but she checked her phone, over and over again throughout the day, hoping he would text, but he hadn't.

  Stephanie's assistant stuck her head in the office and told her, “You have a delivery!”

  “For me?” asked Stephanie.

  “Yes, and I think you're going to be very, very happy. I'll bring it in.”

  Stephanie felt like she was on a roller coaster as her stomach dropped. She knew Jacob wouldn't surprise her with a delivery at work, so it only left one possibility. Stephanie rose from her seat to run to the door to see what her assistant was bringing in.

  “Here you go!” her assistant exclaimed.

  Stephanie saw a large box of three ring binders and asked, “What are these?”

  “I ordered you three-ring binders so you can start organizing all your paperwork. I know the office always runs low on them, so I went ahead and ordered some for you.”

  “Oh, thank you,” Stephanie said, but her tone and expression were anything but appreciative.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, no you didn't. It's just me. I was half expecting...it doesn't matter, I guess. I was expecting something from someone else. I really do appreciate you getting these. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did.”

  Stephanie's assistant left the office, and Stephanie felt horrible about the way she reacted. She also felt horrible about the fact that she couldn't erase Derrick from her mind. Stephanie knew she needed a change of scenery, even if for just a few days.

  “I have an idea,” she texted Jacob.

  “What's up?” he asked.

  “Do you have any free flights built up from work?”

  “For me, I can fly any time there's space available, but for you, yeah I have free flights saved.”

  “Let's go away this weekend. I'll take Friday off, so we can leave Thursday night and come back Sunday.”

  “I have a flight on Sunday night, so we'd have to be back by afternoon. Where are you thinking?”

  “Vegas,” Stephanie wrote. “I've always wanted to go.”

  Jacob, raining on Stephanie's parade as she had expected, said, “Vegas? We don't have the money for Vegas. Let's go to Cape Cod or something.”

  Stephanie, gaining a new sense of confidence in herself, replied, “I'm going to Vegas this weekend. The only question is, are you coming, too?”

  After a few moments without a response, she pleaded, “Come on, this will be fun, and I think we both need this.”

  After Jacob agreed, Stephanie moved on to her next challenge: asking Bill Webber for the day off.

  “Mr. Webber,” Stephanie said as she knocked on his door jam. “I know this probably isn't the best time to ask, but is there any way I can have Friday off?”

  Webber replied, “You know, every inch of me wants to tell you no, but before I do, why do you need it off?”

  Stephanie sighed and explained, “Honestly, I was going to lie to you. I was going to make something up about an illness in the family, or something, but I can't do that.”

  “Well that's awfully nice of you,” Webber said while looking somewhat surprised. “Continue.”

  “It may or may not be any of anyone's business, but my marriage is in a lot of trouble. I'm having some very serious personal issues at home, and I want to take a long weekend with my husband to try to fix them,” Stephanie said to her boss.

  “Bradford, I don't know what is going on with you lately, and I'm not sure I want to know, but you are a good attorney. You have a bright future here. If you think a long weekend will help you work on whatever you have going on in your life, then enjoy your long weekend.”

  Stephanie thanked Webber and sprinted back to her office to text Jacob, “We're going to Vegas! And remember, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas ;)”

  ***

  As Jacob and Stephanie walked through the airport in Las Vegas, Stephanie felt like she was on her way to her first day of school. “Jacob! Jacob! We're actually in Las Vegas!”

  Stephanie was amazed that the airport actually had slot machines in the terminal, and she stopped at the first set of machines she saw. She dug into the bottom of her purse to retrieve a small handful of quarters, and she started dropping them into machines.

  “You know you're just wasting your money on those, right?” Jacob asked.

  “Who cares? It's fun. Loosen up a little, and have fun. We're in Vegas, honey!”

  They went on to collect their luggage and they were in their taxi when the driver asked, “Do you want me to take the strip or the side streets?”

  “What's the difference?” Stephanie asked.

  “The strip is going to be packed, and it will take us about forty-five minutes to get to the hotel, whereas the side street will take about fifteen. But if you two have never been to Vegas, the ride down the strip is beautiful,” the cabbie explained.

  “Oh definitely take the strip!” Stephanie yelled.

  Jacob quickly interrupted, “No, we'll just take the side streets. I've been here a lot, and it's not really that fantastic.” He turned to Stephanie and continued, “We'll get to the hotel faster this way.”

  Stephanie struggled to catch random glimpses of the brilliant Las Vegas strip just a few blocks over. The buildings blocking the view occasionally parted, giving her a brief view of the spectacle she was missing. The lights, the
signs, and the activity, she wanted to see it all for herself. She thought, Derrick would have taken me on the strip.

  By Saturday night, Jacob and Stephanie were in their hotel room getting ready for their last night together in Vegas. Stephanie had been in the bathroom for nearly an hour when Jacob knocked on the door, “Can I come in soon? I need to start getting ready, too.”

  Stephanie answered through the closed door, “I'm almost done. I promise, it's worth the wait.”

  Stephanie had gone into the bathroom with a bag, promising to have a surprise for Jacob when she came out. The door opened, and Stephanie came strutting out to Jacob. She wore a loose black dress that flowed just above her knees. The low-cut design showed just enough cleavage to tease while still leaving something to the imagination. She lifted her skirt slightly, raising the bottom to a mid-thigh level and just high enough to show Jacob she was wearing the same black thigh highs and garter she wore for Derrick. Jacob then noticed she was wearing a pair of black platform, spike heels; however, he had no idea she had recently worn the same heels during her encounter with Derrick.

  “You look amazing,” Jacob said while struggling for words. “What do you want to do tonight dressed like that?

  Stephanie said in her flirtatious voice, “Well, last night we just went to dinner and a show. Tonight, let's go do something fun. I have the perfect idea.”

  Stephanie and Jacob took a cab to the Palms Hotel, and they walked straight to the entrance for the chic nightclub Ghost Bar. As they got closer, they saw an enormous line of other party-goers waiting to get in. Jacob asked an employee how long the wait was, and they were told approximately three hours.

  “Holy shit, Steph. I'm not waiting three hours in line.”

  “Neither am I, wait here,” Stephanie said before walking away.

  Jacob watched as Stephanie went to a nearby ATM machine and dug into her tiny clutch purse. She conducted a transaction at the machine then returned to Jacob, grabbing his hand. “Come on, follow me,” she said.