by J. J. McAvoy
“Just wait for another one.”
“Okay,” she agreed, sliding into one of the rows, her green dress puffing up when she did.
Just when I sat down next to her to wait, another person moved to the stall, but jerk face Santa Claus came out. He didn’t look at me. Well, I think he couldn’t see me over all the other people. He apologized to the guy trying to go in next. For some reason I couldn’t look away. I had this feeling in me and I didn’t know what it was.
“Where are you going?”
I didn’t realize I was standing and moving until Dona spoke.
“To the bathroom,” I lied and started to walk through the crowd.
“Ethan!” one of my dad’s guards called out to me.
“Bathroom!” I lifted my phone for him to see. I knew he was still following me, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t doing anything bad. Plus, all the people made it hard for him to catch up.
When I made it out of the main chapel, I looked to my left and right, but the fatso was gone. I went right because…well, why would he go to the church gift shop? The farther down the hall I went, the darker it became, and the light coming in from the blue stained glass made it look like the sky before it rained. I walked and walked until I got to a hall with a sign that said ‘priests only.’ Ignoring it, I walked down the hall. Most of the doors were closed, but one was cracked open the tinniest bit. I heard his voice.
“What do you mean the audio did not work?”
Tilting my head and looking through the slit, the fatso stood near the glass window, trying to look out at someone, gripping the phone in his hand.
“Fine. Fine. That doesn’t matter. The boy confessed it. I heard him say with his own mouth that he and his parents were murderers.”
What?
It was only then did I notice the wires on his desk.
It clicked.
He was new.
He was new and came to this church, my parents’ church, hating my parents.
“So you’re saying even if I testify it’s not enough? What do you want me to do? Catch them in the act?” he yelled so loudly I guessed he didn’t hear the door as I came in.
But then again it was even quieter than I thought it was.
“Look, the deal was…no, you listen to me! The deal was I do this and no one finds out about Ohio. I will not—ugh—ahh!”
“—ugh—ahh!” Those were the sounds he made as my knife went into his back.
Thump.
The phone slipped out of his hands as he tried to turn. I pulled the knife from his back and I watched as his red robe got darker and darker as the blood left his body.
“What…what…what did you…?”
“This.” I stabbed him over and over again, anywhere I could, his huge body falling backward, trying to grab onto the desk but crashing to the floor.
“Aww, man!” I groaned at my now broken knife. “I just got this one too!”
Sighing, annoyed, I picked up the phone, which was already disconnected. Stepping over him, I grabbed the wires and pulled and cut them.
“Mon…mon…”
“Monday?” I turned back to him.
He was trying to crawl, but to where I didn’t know. “Mon…”
“Monkey?”
His belly rose and fell, rose and fell. He was in shock, I think. He was staring at me in shock. His blue eyes shone with tears, not sad tears. Or forgive me tears. Just another liquid coming out of his body.
“Monster,” I said to him. “That’s what you want to call me, right? This week in school they made us read Frankenstein. It was cool. I liked it. I like books that make me think. That’s why I’m in the advanced class. My favorite part is when the monster looks at Dr. Frankenstein and tells him it’s his fault. It kinda reminds me of now. You called me a monster. I walked away. Then you threatened the monster. And so if it comes down to you or me, I have to pick me.”
“Go to—”
Taking out my second knife…well, Wyatt’s knife, I stabbed him in the throat and pulled it out quickly. When I did, blood went everywhere. Wiping my face, I walked to the stained glass window, trying to see what he was looking at before.
“Ethan?”
Turning around, I saw it was my dad’s guard. He looked between me and the guy in red…I wasn’t sure if he was a cop or priest. Pulling out his phone, he dialed one number before speaking.
“Dozen Lilies delivered to my location,” he said, walking closer to us.
“From Ethan,” I added.
He just stared at me, and so I stared back.
“Yes, that’s right. A dozen lilies from…the second. Let the boss know.”
“Let them all know,” I whispered mostly to myself, staring at both of the knives in my hands.
Rule 103: always have a knife.
Discover More by J.J. McAvoy
Ruthless People Series
Ruthless People
The Untouchables
American Savages
A Bloody Kingdom
Declan + Coraline (a prequel novella)
Children of Vice Series (the children of Ruthless People)
Children of Vice
Single Title Romances
Black Rainbow
Rainbows Ever After ( an after-the-happily-ever-after novella)
Sugar Baby Beautiful
Child Star
That Thing Between Eli and Gwen
About the Author
J.J. McAvoy was born in Montreal, Canada and graduated from Carleton University in 2016 with an honours degree in Humanities. She is the oldest of three and has loved writing for years. Her works are inspired by everything from Shakespearean tragedies to modern pop culture. Her first novel, Ruthless People, was a runaway bestseller. Currently she’s traveling all across the world, writing, looking for inspiration, and meeting fans. To get in touch, please stay in contact via her social media pages, which she updates regularly.
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