Why had she come this way? What had made her choose this path as some ironic contradiction of a shortcut? Whatever reason it had been, she was already regretting the decision.
Pages of an abandoned newspaper fluttered by with the gusty wind. Each one shouting different headlines on the recent disappearances. The echo of her heels on the pavement bouncing back from the silence of the surrounding boulevards. Stiff air wallowed around her with each new powerful breath of wind.
Walking down the street, she knew it had been a bad idea. Not just the shortcut, but before that. Refusing the ride from her boyfriend had not been her conscience, but her determination to prove she was independent and unreliant of his self-proclaimed skills. After their argument over this, the heat of the moment had forced her to storm out of her boyfriend's house to try to find her way back to her own home. This prove to be a difficult task a she never went anywhere by herself, responsibility falling upon her lack of navigation. Admitting that fact was enough for her seclusive mind; it was one staggering blow to her ego. We're her egotistical manners to blame for her explosive outbursts towards those she held close?
Her snap back to reality was caused by the splash of the glimmering moonlit puddle she had stepped in. Fear enclosing her in a small suffocating box of still air. She suddenly became aware of just how cold it was. Wrapping her scarf around her neck one more time in a futile attempt to keep warm, she allowed her thoughts to drift back to her boyfriend.
They used to be so happy. She recalled the times of joy and laughter when she had felt like the luckiest girl in the world with his romantic gestures. She could always count on him to cheer her up when the pressures of life proved to be too much. What had happened to those days? Lately, things between them have been reaching new heights in stress levels. In the past few weeks, the growing tensions gave way to more arguments over minute details and faults that each found within the other. Every quarrel had the same result: him walking out and disappearing for a couple of days with no trace or way to reach him. Her apologies would usually have to wait after she had her epiphany to realize the mistakes she had made.
She glanced up. Finally, she had entered familiar surroundings; hr house was not far now. A couple of blocks stood between her and a chance to ease her mind from the night'a events. Turning the corner, she allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief as she could see the grim outline of her house in the distance. Her pace grew languid with each step as the rush of relaxation engulfed her. She was finally able to walk confidently down the street and when she arrived at her door, she lazily searched through her bag for the keys.
After entering her home, she felt the need to turn the lights on in the hallway--almost as a signal to the world that she was safe and sound. Placing her stuff on the round table in one heaping mess, she decided that all she needed was a change of clothes and a good night's rest to feel better in the morning. Perhaps sleep would surprise her with a prepared apology for her boyfriend.
Just as she was about to ascend up the stairs, her thoughts were interrupted by the obnoxious sound of her doorbell. She contemplated whether she should answer because surely it couldn't be anyone sane at this time of night, but the stranger continued to ring as if in desperation. Coming to the conclusion that it would be a losing battle, she walked back towards the door. Opening the door, she expected to find a lost passerby or confused delivery man, but who she found was none of these.
"Vanessa, listen, we need to talk."
An array of emotions came over her. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or upset. Mulling it over, she decided she was ecstatic that he had shown up. The tone if his voice foreshadowed an apology--one that was greatly needed.
"Zack, I'm so glad you're here. I'm sorry for everything that went wrong between us. Can we just get over this and let it all go?"
As a form of agreement, he wrapped his arms around her. In the midst of their embrace, she felt the pinch in her back and the last thing she saw was the stone cold face of her boyfriend and his hand grasping the bloody knife
