Well, here it is guys. Chapter 3.
I hope you enjoy it.
I'm worn out from writing nonstop and now I shall rest.
PS: DISCLAIMER: There is some content in this chapter that might upset you if you love animals. Just wanted to warn you. Don't worry, I love animals myself!!
Jilted
CHAPTER 3
Patti was already in a stall by the time Denise caught up with her. Denise quickly slipped into an empty one down the row and removed the scissors from her backpack. Her hands were sweating so bad she nearly dropped them. She was crazed with the need to kill the b^tch that would dare talk to Jeremy.
The toilet flushed and Denise heard Patti step come out of the stall. Water flowed as she began washing her hands. Denise eased the door of the stall open. Patti was bent over the sink, her back a perfect target. Denise stepped closer.
Closer.
Scissors clutched in her right hand just ready to plunge them through flesh and bone.
Patti sensing someone was behind her looked up and saw Denise's reflection in the mirror. "Oh hi. I didn't know anyone else was in here."
Damn it. "Yeah, I just walked in." Denise slipped the scissors as unobtrusively as she could back into her backpack and stood next to Patti at the sink. She dug in her purse until she found a hairbrush and began brushing her hair in hard furious strokes.
Patti wiped her hands on a some paper towels and watched her. "You're Jeremy's fiancee' right?"
Right and don't you forget it b^tch. Denise smiled a syrupy smile and nodded.
"Yeah, I was talking to him a little while ago," Patti continued. "He was in kind of a bad mood. When I asked him why the wedding was called off he practically told me to mind my own business."
Anger welled up inside Denise. What a nosy b^tch. An idea came to her then and she latched onto to it. Lowering her head, Denise began to cry crocodile tears. "I don't know why Jeremy called off the wedding," she whimpered. "I can't get him to talk to me. I've been under so much stress these past few days. None of my friends want anything to do with me. They think I'm crazy just because I had this major meltdown at the church. Well, how do they expect me to act when the love of my life just walks out on me? It's just not fair!" Denise began to sob furiously into her hands. Gwyneth Paltrow, eat your heart out.
Denise's eyes shifted to the side. Patti was looking at her all concerned. "Hey, I'm sorry. I can't imagine how you must feel."
No sh*t. You'll never know. No one will ever know.
Patti handed Denise a tissue. "Thank you," Denise said softly and wiped her eyes.
"Hey, do you want to come over to my house and hang out? It might make you feel better."
Denise had to fight to hold back her victorious smile. "Your house?"
"Yeah, we can order a pizza or something. My mom will be home but basically we'll have the place to ourselves." Patti laughed. "I haven't even told you my name yet. It's Patti." She smiled and flashed her braces.
"Patti," Denise said. "That's a pretty name." And will look so lovely engraved on your tombstone.
* * * *
Denise returned home from Patti's to find a familiar figure sitting on her bed reading a skateboarding magazine. A person she nicknamed "Spidey" in deference to their never ending love for the cartoon superhero. In fact, Spidey was wearing a red Spiderman T-shirt at that very moment.
"Hey Spidey."
"Denise!" Spidey put down the skateboarding magazine. "Where have you been?"
Denise set her car keys and stuff on her dresser then plopped into her beanbag chair. "I've been over at Patti Emmett's. Hanging out with my new best friend." She smiled like the cat that had just swallowed the canary.
"You've been what? Patti Emmett is a nosy motormouth. She's in my freshman English class. She had to take it over because she failed it last year."
Denise quickly filled Spidey in on the confrontation she had with Jeremy that day and how she had witnessed Patti flirting with him. "You don't know how bad I wanted to kill that b^tch. I had the scissors out and everything but at the last minute I realized there was no way I could do that at school and get away with it. So, I got this idea to trick her. I told her what an ass Jeremy was and how all my friends think I'm nuts and have deserted me. Then I started crying like there was no tomorrow."
Spidey smiled eagerly. "And she bought it?"
"Hook line and sinker," Denise said with satisfaction. "After that she invited me over to her house."
"But why? If you can't stand the chick, why go to her house?"
Denise leaned closer. "Remember the old saying, 'Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer'?"
"Umm, no, not really."
"Oh well. It's just a saying I read somewhere. It means to be aware of your enemies's weaknesses at all times in order to keep them from getting the best of you. That's why I went to Patti's. I now know what hours her parents work, if she has a burgler alarm, what doors and windows are locked and which never are. It's gonna be so easy to get in that house, Spidey." Denise smiled wickedly.
Spidey bounced on the bed. "You're a genius, Denise!"
Denise laughed. "And you will too if you just watch and learn."
So, when are you gonna sneak in her house?"
"Later this week. Right now, I'm in the mood to do some Christmas shopping." Denise got up from the beanbag chair and picked up her purse and keys. "I've got the perfect gift in mind for Jeremy. Just because he threw me away like garbage doesn't mean I can't get in the holiday spirit". Seeing the expression on Spidey's face, Denise quickly added, "Don't worry it's the kind of present he deserves. Wanna come with me?"
"You bet!" Spidey hopped off the bed.
Thirty minutes later Denise and Spidey exited Peterson's Butcher Shop. Denise carried a small styrofoam container as if it were gold.
"I can't believe Mr. Peterson believed my story about getting my cat something for its birthday."
Spidey laughed. "Yeah, senility rules."
Denise opened the small ice chest she had brought along in the car. "I have to be careful. I don't want this to spill before it's time," she said as she carefully lowered the container inside.
Spidey then snapped the lid back on and set the ice chest back in the car. The twosome buckled up and pulled out of the parking lot.
Denise began explaining how Jeremy was extremely squeamish. One look at blood and he was as sick as a horse. "It's a well kept secret of his. He would die if any of his buddies knew what a wimp he was about blood."
"But I don't get it. You two always watched horror movies together."
"Yeah, but he always turned away when the killings were going on. All that blood never seemed to bother me. Never bothered me at all," she said softly. Denise smirked as she stared out the windshield.
Their next stop was at a neighborhood drugstore to purchase wrapping paper for Jeremy's present.
"Here's some really cheap stuff on sale, " Spidey said, picking up a roll of paper with garish Santa Claus faces on it.
Denise made a face. "You've got to be kidding. Only the best for my man." She laughed derisively
After a few minutes of looking, Denise decided on some high quality red metallic wrapping paper with a green sparkly bow to match. "And now the next thing on the list," she said, heading for aisle five of the store. Denise stopped in front of the pesticides display and began browsing through the different brands of rat poison.
Spidey looked at her in horror. "Denise, you're gonna poison Jeremy?"
"No, silly. I want to keep him alive for just a little bit longer. You'll find out tonight what I have in mind for this stuff," Denise said, as she admired the box of rat poison she had selected. And no matter how much Spidey pleaded Denise would say not one more word about it.
* * * *
Later that night, Denise slipped into the boys locker room at the high school. Jeremy was staying late for basketball practice. Denise knew his combination and quickly opened his locker. She placed the cheery Christmas present on top of some wadded up clothes and a pair of sneakers.
Denise then looked around the room, searching for a place to hide. The showers were definitely out. She wanted a clear view of Jeremy and his reaction. She spotted a locker across the aisle from Jeremy's and opened it. It was empty. The perfect place to hide if she could just squeeze inside. With her 5'2" stature, she just might be able to make it.
Male voices sounded in the hallway, coming closer. It was now or never. Denise slipped inside the locker and shut the door. Sweat began running down her face from the heat. She heard Jeremy's voice along with a couple other guys.
Locker doors slamming. Laughter.
Come on, Jeremy. Open your locker. Denise wanted him to find his present and puke his guts out in front of his friends.
But he didn't. Instead he straddled the bench a few feet away and opened a textbook and began jotting down notes in his notebook.
"What are you doing, Sumpter? Homework? You don't have time for that...you'll make us late for the movie," one of Jeremy's teammates complained.
"No, I won't." Jeremy scribbled a bit more rapidly on his paper. "There, all finished. I'm just gonna take a quick shower then meet you guys outside."
His teammate sighed. "Alright, but hurry up."
Jeremy picked up a towel from the bench and headed for the showers. Seconds later, Denise heard water running. Damn it! She had wanted an audience but now the only person going to witness his humiliation would be herself. It was better than nothing, she supposed. She stepped out of the locker for a moment, stretching her cramped legs.
A couple minutes later, the shower stopped running and she jumped back inside. Denise put her eye to the locker slats. Jeremy emerged out of the steamy air wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his small waist. His wet curly hair dripped down on his face. The skin on his chest glistened with water droplets.
Denise's heart began beating fast and the locker became almost unbearably hot. It was all she could do to stop herself from bursting out and throwing herself on him. She missed his hugs and kisses. Touching him. It was a shame they wouldn't be getting married. What beautiful babies he would have made. Especially girls.
Jeremy spun the dial on his combination lock and opened the door to find a surprise waiting for him. Inside was a small box wrapped in red metallic paper. A green bow was perched on top. He knew that Denise was the only person that knew his combination so this had to be from her. For a minute, he felt hopeful that she had forgiven him.
His smile quickly died though when he picked up the present. Something was not quite right. Why was the box so cold? And why was there something sloshing around inside it? Jeremy began feeling uneasy. What the hell was going on here?
For a moment, he debated about whether he should open the present but curiosity overcame him. Tearing off the bow and paper, he lifted the lid from the box. His field of vision began to narrow and darken. Never in a million years did he expect to find what was inside. Bobbing around in a pool of blood was a heart! An extremely tiny one. Some kind of animal's.
"Oh sh*t!" Jeremy yelled and tossed the box to the floor. He leaned his face against the cool surface of his locker, trying to will the room to stop spinning. It was at least five minutes before he could open his eyes and take stock of what happened. Blood was splattered all over the floor and some lockers. There was even blood on himself.
Trembling, Jeremy went over to the sink and splashed cold water on his face several times. He grabbed some paper towels and began to clean up the mess on the floor as best he could. He shivered in revulsion as he picked up the squishy heart with a paper towel and threw it in the trash.
Underneath a bench he found a white piece of paper A note that had evidently fallen off the box. He picked it up and among the blood splatters on the surface he began reading:
You were too much of a chicken to marry me so I got you a present most like yourself. A chicken heart to match your own. Merry Christmas, Jeremy! You b^st^rd!
Your jilted bride,
Denise
xoxoxo
She's crazy, Jeremy thought. Absolutely crazy. He put his head in his hands. "Why are you doing this to me, Denise?" he moaned.
Jeremy wadded the note up and threw it in the trash. He washed his hands free of the blood and splashed more cold water on his face. He then stripped off his towel and quickly got dressed. Jeremy was just zipping up his jeans when his teammate Scott showed up.
"Did you fall asleep in here, man? Come on!"
"I'm not going," Jeremy said quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't feel so good. I just wanna go home." Jeremy turned and looked at Scott.
"Whoa! You're white as a ghost. What's the matter with you?"
"I....I must have overdid it or something. Can you guys just drop me off at home?"
"Yeah...sure."
Jeremy stopped at the entranceway to the locker room. "Did you hear that?"
"What?"
"It sounded like someone laughing."
"I didn't hear anything."
"Yeah, it sounded like it was coming from over there...near my locker."
"Sumpter, you really need to take it easy. You're starting to hear things now."
"Yeah....I guess so." But Jeremy wasn't convinced.
* * * *
Jeremy almost caught me today...I've really got to be more careful from now on, Denise thought as she snuck out of her house. But it was all just so funny. Seeing him crawl around the floor cleaning up all that bloody mess. I wish I had had a camera. I could have taken pictures and posted them all over school. Revenge at its finest.
The neighborhood was deathly quiet. The street lamps giving off just enough light to barely see the pavement. She picked her bike up from where she had lain it against the house and placed a plastic bowl inside the bike basket. Wheeling it down to the edge of the street, she waited for Spidey.
The job would have been so much easier and quicker if Denise could have used her car but she didn't want to take the chance of anyone in the neighborhood seeing the headlights or being awakened by the motor. Just then, she saw Spidey approaching down the street.
"They're all asleep over there. No lights on or anything."
"Let's do this then," Denise said grimly as she mounted her bike.
The two figures pedaled furiously to Jeremy's house. The less time it took, the less chance there would be of either being seen or caught. Breathless with nerves and from the four mile bike ride, they arrived at the Sumpter residence. Carefully, they laid their bikes down on the sidewalk. Denise was thankful they had passed no cars and had not been detected by any neighborhood dogs.
"You stay here," Denise instructed Spidey. "If anything happens, just get the hell out of here. I don't want you to get caught."
Spidey nodded.
Denise then entered Jeremy's yard, practically tip-toeing on the paved driveway and through the grass. She knew where Bear's doghouse was and headed in that direction. Softly, she began calling the lab's name, hoping he wouldn't be so startled at her presence that he would start barking. Eventually, she heard movement in the doghouse and a dark shadow emerged.
"Hey boy " she whispered, giving Bear a pat on the head. The dog licked her face and the tear that ran down her cheek.
"I've got something for you," Denise said, lifting the lid off the plastic bowl. She turned the bowl on its side and let the pound of hamburger meat slide onto the grass. "Eat up, boy," she encouraged him.
Bear sniffed the meat and seconds later began to wolf it down. "That's a good dog," Denise praised him, as the tears fell freely.
Bear stopped eating for a second, as if puzzled by the sounds of Denise's sobs. He looked up at her and wagged his tail then resumed eating. It was at that moment that Denise nearly took the meat away from him. Maybe he hadn't ate enough to hurt him yet. Maybe he would just get really sick.
But Denise's heart hardened quickly. She wanted to hurt Jeremy and this was the surest way to cause him pain. She knew how much he loved his dog.
Finally, Bear was finished eating. Denise gave him one last pat. "Bye Bear....it was nothing personal. Maybe someday we'll meet again." Sobbing, she practically ran back to the street.
"Did you do it?"
Denise could hear dread and also the hope that she hadn't in Spidey's voice. "Yes," she answered. And I never want to talk about this ever again."
Spidey stood there watching her ride away, feeling enough remorse for both of them.
* * * *
The next morning Jeremy went outside to feed Bear before school. Although he thought it odd that the dog wasn't there to greet him as usual, he wasn't too concerned. He found Bear laying in front of his doghouse. Jeremy smiled. "There you are, you lazy dog."
But something was wrong. Bear didn't move or raise up upon Jeremy's approach. Maybe he's sick, Jeremy thought, becoming alarmed. He knelt down by the dog and noticed right away that he wasn't breathing. He touched Bear and found his body cold and stiff.
Rigor mortis had already set in. It was apparent Bear had been dead for hours.
"Oh no," Jeremy moaned. "Oh God." He stood up and ran back inside the house, stumbling once in his haste. Trying to fight back the tears that weren't cool for a sixteen year old boy to display. He found his mother in the kitchen and threw himself into her arms. "Bear's dead, Mom," he said, finally breaking down. "Bear's dead."
The Sumpters rushed Bear to the vet. Although it was too late to save him they were determined to find out the cause of death. Bear was young and healthy, there was no reason for him to have died.
"There's no doubt about it," the vet said after examining Bear. "Your dog has been poisoned."
"What!" Jeremy said sharply.
"The blood test results show extremely high toxic levels of rat poison in Bear's system. It would be safe to wager that nearly a whole box was consumed."
"A whole box!" Mrs. Sumpter shot a bewildered glance at her husband. "But where could he have gotten that much?"
"I don't know. This looks to me like a deliberate act than just an unfortunate accident. There's some real sickos out there that love to do this kind of thing. Animal haters or just people that get their kicks from hurting others. They hide the poison in meat, usually hamburger and the animal consumes it without a second thought."
Jeremy sunk down in a chair. This wasn't happening. It was all a nightmare. His best friend couldn't be gone. He just couldn't.
"Now I understand you all live in the suburbs and you're not allowed to bury your pets on your property," the vet continued. "I've got a place out in the country that I can take Bear to. There's a field with a lot of flowers..."
Jeremy zoned out. It hurt too much to listen.
"Is that okay with you?" his mom gently asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
A tear ran out of Jeremy's eye as he stared off into space.
"Son?" his dad prompted him.
"Yeah, " Jeremy said in a choked voice. "Bear would like the flowers." He stood up abruptly and walked out of the vet's office.
His parents followed him outside a couple minutes later. "I know who did this," Jeremy said, becoming agitated. "I know who poisoned Bear."
"Who?" his mother asked.
"Denise."
"Denise! Why on earth would you say something like that?" Mrs. Sumpter asked.
"Because she's crazy! The other day she threatened me at school and then last night she put that chicken heart in my locker. I just never thought she would have hurt Bear. He was the reason we met in the first place."
Mr. Sumpter wasn't convinced. "Oh, come on! That incident with your locker was just a harmless prank. The girl is pissed at you and she has every right to be! You can't expect us to think that sweet girl hated you so much she would kill your own dog!"
"That sweet girl is going to kill me next if you don't watch out! Why won't you guys listen to me? Geeze!" Jeremy stormed away from them.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Mr. Sumpter called after him, shocked at his son's outburst.
Jeremy turned back around. "School! I'm not letting her get away with this."
* * * *
Denise sat in her history class daydreaming. Wedding gowns, Jeremy, and satin sheets spun through her mind as she doodled an odd mixture of hearts and knives on her paper. All of sudden, the classroom door burst open. Denise looked up to see Jeremy heading straight for her.