Page 1 of Psycho Sinners

1

SCARLET

Everyone makes mistakes, we all do things in the heat of the moment.

That’s what I kept telling myself as I watched the bar burn before me. The glass exploded out of the windows as the flames licked the brickwork, and I shuddered at the sound. I flicked my lighter open and shut. The clicking of the metal case was oddly soothing, and something I’d done since receiving the gift. Maybe I was a slight pyromaniac—we all had our vices.

Everyone has a random lapse of judgment. We all fuck up.

Every girl has problems. That new cute guy at the coffee shop you can’t get out of your head, your sister stealing your shirt and lying about it, or even the dreaded flat tire. Or little quirks, like the way you sound like a donkey when laughing, or how you wind up covered in bruises because you’re clumsy as hell.

Not me. No, I had big girl problems and big girl issues.

Like right now, as I watched my cheating fiancé’s bar burn to the ground because I had a moment of rage.

Well, ex-fiancé now.

Yeah, maybe I had problems.

“Definitely going to jail for this one,” I muttered as I leaned against my car, glancing at the engagement ring I still sported.

Maybe my so-called quirks were a little bit extreme.

But when I’d found the man who’d told me I was the love of his life only a week ago after proposing, in bed with the new waitress and doing all sorts of naughty things, I saw red. In our bed. In our house. The bitch had known all about me, I’d met her on the odd nights that I’d gone in to see him at work bringing him snacks or just saying “Hi.”

The audacity of the pair of them.

I’d reacted accordingly, of course. I’d socked her right in the eye, because, c’mon, bitch, girl code, and then when he’d gone to intervene, I’d made sure those precious jewels would need icing.

I’d wanted to burn our house to the ground as I’d stormed out of there, but instead, I decided to do one better. Rather than scream and shout and put on a show for the neighbors, I’d driven off, a new wicked idea in mind. His cherished bar, the place where he’d met that little hoe, the place he’d decided to destroy our two year relationship, was going to be my roman empire.

Well, kudos to them, she didn’t understand girl code, and he was a lying, cheating sack of shit.

I pulled out my phone while pocketing my lighter, sirens sounding off in the distance as people began exiting the buildings around me.

I dialed my best friend while getting into my car and pulled away, my stomach churning.

Everyone was aghast at the blaze, standing on the sidewalk as they gaped, and I chewed my cheek as I glanced in the rear-view mirror at my handiwork.

At least I’d made sure the place was empty before using the spare key he’d given me.

“Hey, Scar, what’s up?” Naomi’s sweet voice was a balm to my jitters as she answered my call.

“Tommy cheated,” I stated, not an ounce of despair or hurt in my tone. I didn’t have time for that shit. Sadness and heartbreak were useless emotions, they didn’t serve me any purpose.I’d had my heart broken more times than I could count, and I was done being upset over worthless men.

“What the fuck? What happened? Are you okay? Where are you?” She fired off questions as I drove, the inferno behind me lighting up the night sky and dousing it with smoke. At least it was a lone structure not close to any buildings. I may be crazy, but I wasn’t murderous.

“Um, that’s a story of itself, but I fucked up,” I admitted as I watched a fire engine roar past me, the sirens wailing.

“Was that a fire truck? What happened? What’d you do?” Naomi’s tone shifted, like she was scolding a toddler and not a grown-ass woman. She knew me too well, we’d been chaotic friends for too long.

“I burned the bar down.”

“Well, fuck me, that’s a big one, Scar.”

“I know, what do I do?” Okay, maybe I was having concerns about my brashness and rage now. I’d simply acted, but I knew no one would get hurt.

“Was anyone hurt? Was the building empty? Please tell me you did not burn Tommy in there. I can’t be involved in that,” she said with exasperation and a touch of true fear.

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