mad hatter // r.s.l.

13 : rivers

The drive was very silent, only the sound of Brady's playlist in the background. Rydel was too guilty to even look at me.

"How could you?" Was all I could say. "Ellington would move mountains for you, and you go and cheat on him for what? Money? A promotion?"

"It's not that easy, Ross." She sighed. "Can we just leave this out?"

"No we can't. Tell me why I walked in on you having sex with your boss." I gripped the steering wheel with anger. She flinched at my words. "Speak, Rydel!"

"Okay, fine! Yes it was for the money, but it's because I'm saving to buy Ellington something and without that cash, I'll never afford it, so thanks to whoever decided to kill him." She said bitterly. I looked at her. "What?"

I looked away, producing a dry chuckle. "It's strange to see a different side of somebody you thought you knew inside out."

"It' was a mistake, Ross. You've made your share, remember April-"

"Don't. Fucking. Mention. Her."

She sunk back in her seat, looking out of the window. "Could you not tell Ellington? I want to do it myself."

"Do what you want." I parked outside of her house. "Bye, Rydel."

---

Bradley looked at me, pulling the mug away from her lips. "Damn. I didn't expect that twist in the story."

"Yeah, me neither." I sighed.

"Hey. It's not your fault, she made the bad choice, you just luckily found her before anybody could." I looked into her eyes and she grinned. "Aww, you look so cute when you're sad."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" I chuckled.

She shrugged. "Perhaps."

"You're quite the mystery, Bradley." I sighed, sitting back on the couch. She looked at me quizzically. "What? I don't know much about you!"

"Ask."

"When was the last time you had sex?"

She glared at me. "You know I haven't."

"I'm sorry, I was trying to make you awkward- hey!" She aimed a cushion at my face. "Right, a good question... what is the most memorable night you've had so far?"

"Oh my god! This one time, Luke, Gabi and I decided to just go to a takeaway and pig out. After that we just went to the park at like 3am and just messed about." Sadness crossed her face for a second. "Sad that my best friends are my siblings."

"It's not sad, because it's the same for me." I replied. "And you have me?"

"Of course I do! You're like a husband at this point; without the PDA of course." She giggled. "Now you, sir."

Brady pointed her foot at me and my eyes widened. "I have a question. What is your biggest mistake up to date?"

I scratched my head. It would be expected for me to speak about the drug incident, but, there was something worse. Bradley now stared at me. "I met a girl, senior year, Skye. We hit it off right away, and even went to prom together, but back then, I was quite the fuckboy and I cheated on her many times- but she always always came back to me. I loved her, but I couldn't leave other girls alone."

"In fact, you remind me of her- especially the dark humour." Brady laughed. "But one day she had enough of my cheating and left me. I remember that day as if it was yesterday, mainly because it was the hardest I cried my whole life. I played this girl despite loving her to pieces, but I allowed her to slip out of my hands, Skye Mathews."

That was also why Bradley attracted me; they were very alike.

"That name..." She thought, then gasped, covering her mouth. "Ross, I am so sorry."

A few years ago, Skye was involved in a car accident where her car was hit by a train late at night and she made the news for over a month.

She was also the only one to know about my ways.

It just hit me that Bradley had crawled over and hugged me. "I'm sorry if I triggered you, I'm so so sorry."

"It's okay, you didn't." I played either hair. "It just tends to hit me, occasionally."

"I hope one day somebody talks about me the way you talk about her."

"That's guaranteed."

+++

I paced the basement, looking at the images stuck on the pin board. I traced her features delicately, admiring her beauty. She blew anybody and everybody out of the water by miles.

And my infatuation is only growing.

Ironic that in a room where I washed my hands following a kill, I was daydreaming about the girl I liked. Love wasn't my favourite feeling; I felt powerless, as if she was calling the shots, which in a way she was.

I touched one of my three rifles, planning tonight's kill. The thrill was fading, and I was becoming sloppy; tonight I was determined to make this one of my best ones for a while.

Today's target was Frank Williams, a guy who not only I loathe with an ever burning passion passion, was the reason Riker was arrested and kicked out of university. He blamed a rape story on him only because he had sex with her days before she was raped by Frank. The case came clean, because she decided to speak (after I spoke (heavily threatened) to her) but Frank got away with it anyway. She's currently in a mental hospital.

Why he did it? Banter.

He was the worst kind of scumbag, and I have the perfect method to end him. I changed into darker clothes and put on gloves, packing four 4kg of Lye into the back of my car and driving to his house.

My kills aren't as spontaneous as they seem; there is background to my beloved victims- for example, Frank leaves his bedroom window open at night. Rookie move.

I placed the container inside first, then allowed myself in. He was downstairs, bath water at the ready. Swiftly, I closed the door, adding the Lye to water slowly. Once it was all inside, I found something to stir it in, making it seem like cloudy water.

Frank was up minutes later, in which I had hid myself out of sight with the baseball bat I kept in my car at all times. Once he spotted me behind the door, I barely allowed him to get a word in edge ways before I clipped him over the head, the impact sending him heads first into a corrosive solution of sodium hydroxide.

I had to step back quickly as it splashed, then I pushed the rest of his body quickly as the smell of his burning flesh was too much to take. After that, I took one last look at his back, which was the only visible thing, then bounced.

Now I definitely had the upper hand.

for all non-chemistry geeks like me, simply google the effects of Lye (sodium hydroxide) on the body 😊