"That's what you get for fucking with a bitch like me," Melissa recited as she listened to the City Girls and dined on Abchanchu's heart. The music echoed in her loft as she carefully cut the heart into small pieces before she shoveled it into her mouth and gently chewed. "Mmm, you taste great to be such a piece of shit," she remarked before giggling and continuing to devour the bloody heart that remained on her plate.
Abchanchu's cold, dead body sat directly across from Melissa at her long, glass dining room table. His eyes, now glassy blue and white, were level with her head. His large, cold, hard hands drooped at his sides. His short, black, curly hair was matted in the back from his head being leaned against the back of the tall white chair. He sported green and black custom jordans, straight dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt with the phrase, "C.R.E.A.M" on the front in green lettering and green money signs on the back. He also wore a large hole in the middle of his chest where his heart was a few hours prior.
Every now and then, Melissa glanced up from her meal to gaze at the view from her dining room. She lived in a high rise building in Hoboken, New Jersey on the twentieth floor with a spectacular view of the Hudson River. The walls of her living room, dining room, and bedroom that were facing the Hudson were made entirely of glass. The glass wall in her bedroom opened via a remote she kept velcroed to the wall by her bedroom door. Beyond the opening glass wall was a large balcony decorated with a canopy daybed, a long string of small Chinese lanterns, large white candles that sat on top of round woven stands, a small bookcase filled with Stephen King and J.K. Rowling's best works, and an area rug covering the whole balcony that pictured a basket of kittens. While the overall decor in her loft screamed elegance, the balcony was the most decorated. The balcony was her sanctuary. The balcony is where she first developed a taste for human flesh.
A year before the night Melissa devoured Abchanchu's heart, her relationship with Samael was coming to a messy end. A six month roller coaster ride filled with sub par sex, insincere promises, physical altercations, betrayal, and a pending court case built on lies was the recipe for the tornado that ruined the foundation Melissa and Samael attempted to lay for their relationship. The relationship was never perfect, as no relationship is, but the domestic violence charge Samael filed against Melissa was the last straw. She had too much to lose. She was gaining fame from being a surgeon known for saving lives. She could not afford a domestic violence charge. She would never forgive Samael for attempting to ruin everything she worked so hard for, and the last time he came to her house, she let it be known.
"Get out of my house Samael, now," she demanded.
"No, just talk to me. We can work this out. I'm sorry."
"SORRY? Exactly what are you sorry for? Barging in my home when I placed your things outside so I wouldn't have to see you? Lying to the police and telling them I punched you in the chest when you have a heart condition? No, you can't be sorry for those things. Maybe you're sorry I'm angry because I don't want you anymore, but you can't possibly be sorry for your selfish actions. You carefully thought about everything you did before you did it and you still did it. You did everything you wanted to do at the expense of my emotions, of my future. So you can save that sorry and get the fuck out right now. Or should I pull a you on you and call the police to escort you out since you don't have permission to be in here in the first place?"
"Melissa, don't be like that. I love you. I didn't mean to hurt you. We can fix this."
"You didn't mean to hurt me...interesting. You're right though, we can fix this."
"You believe we can?"
"Yes, I do. You can fix this by getting out of my home and I can fix this by cutting your sorry ass off for life. That's how 'we' can fix this."
"Seriously, just talk to me." He stepped forward and grabbed her arm. She quickly snatched it away."
"Motherfucker, don't touch me. Get your shit and GET OUT!" Tears of frustration grew in Melissa's eyes, matured on her cheeks, and died on her jaw. All she wanted was the same peace she had before she met Samael. Arguing, screaming, and negativity as a whole were things she protected herself from before she met him. But over the last six months, those very things became the norm and she was tired of it, tired of him. He had to go.
Unable to figure out what to do other than call the police, which as a black woman she was not prepared to do no matter how famous or successful she was, she retreated to her sanctuary on her patio, leaving Samael standing in the living room. However, he did not stand there and allow her to have space for very long. Like an apparition she couldn't get rid of, he appeared on the patio shortly after she laid out on the daybed. She stared at the stars in the night sky, ignoring him until he sat down within inches of her.
"Why won't you leave? I don't want you here. I don't want you in my life. I don't want to draw attention to myself by calling the police. I also just don't want to deal with police at all. I just want you to go away and stay there."
"I love you Melissa."
"Love? What do you know about love? You've used me, betrayed me, turned your family against me, lied to me, lied on me, and given me the bare minimum for months. That's love to you?"
"Melissa, I will change. I will be better."
"I hope you do change and you become better...for the next woman. I want nothing to do with you anymore Samael. We are done. It's over for good." Melissa continued to stare up at the stars. Samael hung his head.
"I won't leave until you talk to me, until we fix this." Melissa stayed silent and still as Samael stared at her. He stared for a long time before he turned around and put his face in his hands. She was really done this time and he knew it.
Without warning, his hands that just recently held his face, were wrapped around Melissa's neck. She squirmed and slapped his arms, but he did not move. His grip was deadly. Fortunately, Melissa regularly trained with a local boxer and had seen the movie Enough so many times, she could recite all the lines word for word. So while struggling for air and energy, she twisted her body to the side. Then she elbowed his inner elbow to bring him closer and slightly loosen his grip. Like a chain reaction, she kneed him in the abdomen as hard as she could the second after she elbowed him. He let go of her neck, let out a shriek, and descended from the couch to the rug like a bird that was shot out of the sky. Melissa, now standing over him, gave him a hard kick in the stomach, causing him to cough up blood, grab his stomach, and curl into the fetal position near her feet. She stepped back.
"You barge into my home, refuse to leave, refuse to accept our relationship is over, and then revert to your fuckboy ways and attack me? I should fucking kill you." The excruciating pain Samael was in caused him to remain silent. Melissa stared at him for a few seconds, disgusted. She then walked away towards the master bathroom on the other side of her bedroom.
"Alexa, turn on the lights," she commanded. The bathroom immediately lit up to reveal a clawfoot tub, sit down rainfall shower, and mirrors covering all the walls. She looked at herself in the mirror above the marble trough sink, specifically eying the bruises where Samael held her neck. Her cocoa brown skin did not bruise easily, but it was black where his hands attempted to cut off her air flow. "I'm going to fix that motherfucker," she whispered to herself as she opened the medicine cabinet. Her eyes scanned the shelving in the medicine cabinet until they landed on the sedative that was strategically placed behind a large bottle of sleeping pills. "There you are," she proclaimed as she reached for the bottle. She put the bottle in the pocket of the black silk robe she had been wearing that evening, opened the bottom drawer under the sink, and retrieved a syringe before she walked back onto the patio.
Melissa glanced down at Samael for a moment, repulsed by his presence. She redirected her attention to the sedative in her pocket and syringe in her hand. Carefully, she filled the syringe with the sedative and leaned over to administer it to him when he unexpectedly kicked her in the shin. She screamed as loud as she could and dropped the bottle of sedative. It rolled toward the couch as he quickly got up, covered her mouth using one hand, and restrained her using the other. She bit his hand so hard, she drew blood that flowed into her mouth. Samael grunted, slightly loosened his hold on her, and swung his hand back only to make a fist and swing it forward into her head. Melissa let out a shrill cry and stabbed him in the leg with the needle she had concealed until that moment. Gradually, his grip loosened until he fell the floor unconscious. Melissa stood still, trying to catch her breath and stop her mind from racing. A small amount of blood remained on her lips. She licked her lips. Her mind stopped racing and a light bulb flickered on in her brain.
A few hours later, Samael awoke sitting at her dining room table. Needed Me by Rihanna filled his ears as it belted out of the speakers. His arms and legs were tied together with zip ties. Melissa sat at the other end of the table with a plate in front of her covered by a stainless steel dome. "Hello Samael," she greeted warmly. "Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your rest." He attempted to speak, but couldn't. Something was wrong. "Remember I bought these domes to surprise you with what I was cooking? Well, tonight is another special surprise for you." She smiled pleasantly as she removed the dome to reveal his tongue and hands on the plate. He wiggled in his chair as he attempted to get free and scream. His efforts were futile.
"You're not a fan of dinner tonight? Well, I'm not a fan of your physical and verbal abuse baby. You know that up until this point, my life has not been easy. I worked hard, harder than most people ever had to work in my profession, to get to where I am. I had to overcome so many obstacles and you turned into one." Samael tried to scream to no avail. Melissa put her elbow on the table and propped her head on top of her hand. She looked gleefully at Samael. "You know, the Ashantees of West Africa used to eat the hearts of their enemies," she explained before picking up her fork and knife, cutting into his tongue. "I never thought I would be partaking in cannibalism, but when I bit your hand earlier, it was quite delicious." She took one final glance at him before putting a forkful of his raw, bloody tongue into her mouth. "This is yummy. I wish I could share with you," she teased. "I've always loved tacos de lengua. Who knew one day I'd be substituting that for my ex's tongue fresh out of his mouth." Samael continued to moan, and Melissa continued to eat until the tongue and fingers were mere memories. Eventually, Samael passed out from fright and loss of blood. The moment he stopped screaming and his head hung, was the very moment Melissa shoved a scalpel into his chest.
Samael awoke screaming. "Shhhhh," Melissa whispered. "I asked you to leave and you wouldn't. I asked you to go away and you wouldn't. Now you don't have to. For the very last time, your heart can be inside of me," she muttered as she continued to cut his chest open. Blood poured onto his ridiculously priced white gucci shirt and balenciaga jeans. His screams slowly subsided until they complete dissipated. She continued to carve into his chest until she freed his heart, placed it in a ziploc bag, and stored it in the refrigerator.
"Alexa, call Goo."
"Calling Goo," the digital assistant responded. The phone rang a twice and then he answered.
"Hey sis. What's up?"
"Hey. Can you come over and bring Buu? I want to talk to you two about something."
"Sure, give us like thirty minutes. We'll be right over."
In less than thirty minutes, Melissa's brothers showed up at the door. "Hey, come in." They discarded their shoes at the door, walked into the living room, and sat on the couch.
"So what's up?" Goo asked.
"Are you okay?" Buu interjected while squinting his eyes and looking at her neck.
"Yes, I'm fine. I need your help though. I killed Samael." Her brothers looked at each other and bursted out in laughter.
"Melissa, if you want us to go beat him up, just say so. You don't have to give us a fake scenario to see if we'll help you take care of something," Buu reassured.
"I'm serious," Melissa countered as she rolled her eyes. "Come into the dining room." Her brothers followed her in the dining room to find Samael's arms and legs tied like a pig prepared for a luau, head hung low, and lower body covered in blood that was dripping in a pool beneath him on the marble floors.
"I don't even want to know what happened. What do we do?" Goo asked.
"Just help me clean up and take him to the morgue you work at. We can cremate him and he things he came here to get. If we can hurry up and get everything cleaned, we can be done with this and him before the sun comes up." Buu and Goo looked at each other, looked at Melissa, and then separated to get cleaning supplies out of her hallway closet. This wasn't the first time they had to help Melissa clean up a mess and they were sure it wouldn't be the last. She was their only sister and she went above and beyond to help them whenever they needed it with whatever they needed it for, so whenever she needed help, they came running with no complaints.
After hours of scrubbing various parts of the loft, wrapping and lugging around Samael's stiff dead body, transporting the body, burning the body along with Samael's belongings, and their bloody clothes, the deed was done. Upon leaving the morgue, the siblings would return to Melissa's loft for a grand breakfast she would spend almost two hours making. They'd laugh, talk, joke, and reminisce like siblings do when they get together. Once their bellies were full and their minds at ease, they would depart and go on about the rest of their day as if the past twenty four hours didn't happen...until the next time it happened.
"Hey bro. Can you and Goo come over? I need to talk to you two about something."