Page 26 of Hello, Listener
“What was that?” He asks without turning around.
“I heard you on the phone. You told someone you were on your way home from work. Was it your wife?”
“Why the fuck is it any of your business?”
“You normally tell your wife you’re at work while you’re assaulting women in bars?”
“Listen, asshole…” He turns around with one hand in his pocket and the other now clutching his phone. His large, dark brown eyes look me up and down. His expression is almost humorous, with his mouth open in shock as he notices my size. The fucker has to look up at me and it makes this all the more exciting.
Within seconds, I reach my arm out and grab his ink-covered throat. His wide eyes now look like they would burst out of his sockets. I would fucking pay to see the jellied texture explode on his smug face. The image in my head paints a large smile on my face.
“You didn’t answer my question.” I drag his limp body to a nearby alley between two buildings, and I slam him against the brick siding. I can hear him trying to catch his breath. “Are you ready to tell me who you were talking to?” The blue hue on his lips matches the lights on the sign of the bar across the street.
“I’m waiting,” I tilt my head so that I can get a good look at him before I decide if he lives or dies, “but I’m losing my patience.” He nods his head in a panic, and I loosen my grip.
“The bartender came ontome,” he says in between his disgusting choking sounds.
“Did she?” I tighten my grip. “Is that what you’re going to tell whoever you were talking to on the phone? You know, from my perspective, it looked like she didn’t want anything to do with you. We could ask her if you’d like? Or maybe we could see what the person on your phone has to say about all of this?” I grab the phone he still has clutched in his clammy hands.Disgusting. His eyes become swollen with tears. That is all the response I need. With one hand, I tap on the screen with my thumb, still gripping his throat with the other. I turn the screen towards him, allowingme to use his face to open up his phone. “Maybe she’d like to see what kind of man you are.”
His camera is through a ridiculously long list of apps on his phone. “Oh, there you are.” I select the icon, hit the record option, and turn it in his direction.
The echoes of his head hitting the brick wall radiate through the alley. Hitting his head against the brick in front of me is pure justification for what he did. His eyes go heavy, and his neck goes limp in my hand. “It’s a pity. She has to deal with men like you. Men who stare and try to touch her.” I slam his head into the brick once again. The sound of his skull breaking reverberates through the small area. I let go of his throat, and his body slides down the brick wall, leaving a trail of blood made by the crack in the back of his head.
I hit the stop record button on his phone and stare at his body slowly leaning further down the brick wall. My eyes move from the body in front of me to the recording. Listening to the sounds of his cranium ramming into the side of the building coincides with the echo of his body falling onto the concrete beneath him. I throw it on his limp form when I’m done listening to the melodic sounds.
“What the fuck am I going to do with you now?” I question, crouching down, looking down at the lifeless body lying at my feet.
The handle on my switchblade feels cool in my hands as I reach into the side pocket of my pants. This knife has been my sense of security since the city is notorious for pushy assholes. Who knew I would be using it to make my mark? Moving the knife between my fingers, I look down at his limp body. “What to do with you…” I ponder, picking my front teeth with the blade. “Oh, I know…” his hand is small in comparison to mine. The sharp edge of the blade gently moves over each finger, allowing me to examine each of his fingertips. The blade on my knife is sharp enough to make a clean cut through the tips and remove his fingerprints.
Pushing the knife through his skin is the easy part. It takes some force, sawing through each finger, reminding me of Christmas dinner when I was a child. Slicing my knife through butter was a satisfying notion, knowing it would be spread across the freshly baked bread sitting in front of me. The thought of the pure taste made me salivate until I made the first satisfying bite.
Cutting through the tendons is more of a task. The smooth slice stops once the metal hits the tissue. I add pressure to the blade and cut through the fatty layers. The sound of the knife scraping against the hard pavement resounds through the alley. I find myself sitting on the wet pathway, removing the man’s appendages behind the large dark green dumpster, once again hidden in the shadows.
I store his severed fingers in the pocket of my jacket as I look over my work with full approval. His limp body continues to fall slowly down the slippery brick building. His body sits comfortably against the dark green dumpster. In this position, he looks like a limp rag doll with the plastic fingers nibbled off by the family dog.
Next, I remove the hair tie that is holding his long, dark brown, and now bloody hair. With his blood-caked hair plastered to the side of his face,he’ll no longer need this.I place it in my pocket next to the ten unattached fingers. His hair falls, now covering his shoulders. His eyes are barely open and vacant. With his empty stare, he looks towards the wall of the other building that stands just a few feet away. “I couldn’tstandthe way youstared at her,” I whisper close to the dead man in front of me. Moving my knife in between my fingers, I lean in closer, my nose almost touching his.
My knife goes into his eye socket so easily. I move it around, creating a tiny slit, making the removal easier. Using my blade, I carefully remove the other eye. His dark brown orbs come out so easily, reminding me of removing a soft-boiled egg from the hard shell. They’re small in my hand and have an awkward shape. Moving the pad of my thumb over the dark pupil. “You know, now that I think about it, I don’t think she appreciated it either.” His useless eyes go into the other pocket of my jacket. I kick his boot and walk in the direction of the empty road.
A Body Has Been Discovered
My night comes to an end when I hear loud sirens in front of my apartment complex. The light from the day peeks in from my cheap, plastic blinds.Shit, what time is it?With my eyes barely open, I feel for my phone on my black nightstand next to my bed. The brightness from my phone screen temporarily blinds me, and the multiple missed calls and texts from both Janice and Jace sharpen as my vision adjusts. I sit up under my comforter and lean my head up against my black wooden headboard. The blurred words become clearer the more I scroll through the countless text messages from Jace alone.
Jace
Idk how many times I’ve tried calling your ass!
Jace
Damn Thalia! Pick up your phone!
Jace
Listen Bitch. If you don’t answer your phone, I’ll come down to your apartment myself!
Well, shit. I guess I should call him. His phone only rings once until he picks up. “About fucking time, bitch.” Jace answers.
“Good morning to you, too.”
