“It must be working.”
“What do you mean?”
He grabbed the back of my head. I let his tongue roam my neck while I let the music of false desire flow through me. This was it. His hands on my body, his mouth searching my skin. Fake lust trembled through me. It would only take a few more minutes now.
He unzipped his pants, whipping himself out. Then he climbed back onto the bed, staggering forth until he was on top of me. He steadied himself, using my shoulder to balance. His eyes closed slowly, then opened. I lifted my head.
“What is it?” I asked, my voice more upbeat than I had intended.
“Lie down,” he said, his voice hoarse.
I laid down and he climbed on top of me, his breathing labored like we were already midway through the act. He looked down at himself, limp in his hand, then turned to me, his pupils large.
“John?” I asked.
He slumped forward, his shoulder jamming into my nose, his body weight collapsing into me. He was heavy.
But it worked. He was dead.Finally.
I laughed, the jittery nerves circling through me. Everything was electric. I had never wanted to kill anyone, but if John wasn’t abusing me, then it would be someone else, and that was a good enough reason for me to murder him. I grunted, trying to push him off of me, but with his dead weight, he was heavier than I expected. I leveraged my body, rolling him to the side until he fell, his body thudding to the floor.
I hated that I felt relieved, but I did. An overwhelming sense of security swarmed over me, like I wasn’t just looking at John, but my ex too. Taking control of staying silent for so long. Finally making things happen, instead of letting everything destroy me. Because I was so tired of being afraid.
And I wasn’t under their control anymore.
John’s eyes fluttered open. How was he still breathing? He reached up, grabbing for my leg, but I jumped back. He hurled, puking on the ground, chunks of chewed-up food stuck on his chin.
The poison might have been working, but I needed to end this now. I was never going to let anyone hurt me like that again.
I ripped the lamp off of the nightstand and swung it at his head in a hardwhack!With each strike, a lightness flooded through me, the adrenaline making me invincible.Whack! Whack!I flattened his head, the pulp sprinkling the floor.
Now,he was dead.
I got out my phone, addressing a text to the contractor for the in-ground pool and spa company.I’ve got to cancel,I sent.I know I won’t get my refund. But thank you. My husband and I are having a disagreement about the addition.
Understood,he responded.Shall we come back and fill the hole?
Not at this time,I sent.
A final response:Thank you for adhering to our policies,ma’am.
Next, I texted our house staff:Please take the next few days off.John had to go on a business trip. You’ve earned your paid vacation.
A few of them sent thank you texts, including my favorite housekeeper. I crossed my fingers that putting the dirt back into the hole would be much easier than actually digging it.
I wrapped John’s head in a few towels and bags, hoping that would save the blood from getting everywhere, then dragged his body to the stairs, letting him fall down the steps like a bag of cement. Clunk, clunk, clunk. I tried kicking his body to the backyard, but I stubbed my toe. I grabbed his shoulders like before, dragging him to the sliding glass door. Before moving the body, I checked my neighbor’s property; he was still gone. I had originally planned to wait until my neighbor went inside for the night, but he must have been out. It was my time.
At the hole, I kicked my husband’s body into the ground. Dirt scattered across his face, and my bare feet were cool in the damp earth. I grabbed a shovel from the garden shed, then started burying his body, a lightness filling me with each motion. Sweat glistened across my skin, the silk robe sticky. I threw my robe on the ground. The dirt sprinkled my lingerie, but I kept going. Kept shoveling. I couldn’t stop.
“Interesting midnight activity,” a man said.
I jumped, my body surging with adrenaline. A man leaned against a tree, smirking at me. My new neighbor, the man from the vitamin store. Shadowed by the branches, his dark eyes were flecked with glowing embers of light. I fixed my grip on the shovel. I was covered in dirt. John’s feet were still visible, poking out of the earth.
As long as the man didn’t come any closer, he wouldn’t see John’s body.
“You’re trespassing,” I said, my voice stern.
“And you’re burying a corpse.” He peered around my shoulder. “Your husband.”
