Page 17 of Caution Tape

“Never mind.” He lowers his gaze to the screen of his phone and sighs. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Who?” I ask absently.

“Jessi…”

“Oh. Right.”

“I’m actually kind of nervous,” he admits with a laugh.

“You’ll be fine. I’m sure you both will meet and then live happily ever after.”

He laughs again. “That would be nice.”

“You’ll become the best of friends. Move in together. Get married. Have a baby. Have some more babies,” I mutter dryly while pouring myself another drink. “Before you know it, you’ll be celebrating your thirtieth anniversary and looking back at your mundane life wondering where the hell all thattimewent and how it all went to shit in the end.”

He’s staring at me with a look of disapproval when I meet his eyes.

“Well, fuck, Cora,” he mumbles, taken aback. “I don’t even know how to respond to that. That was—“ Hesitating, he nervously gulps down the rest of his beer. “That was really depressing.”

“It’s the truth, Jerri.”

“You should really just keep some thoughts to yourself.”

I frown. “Why?”

“Because you come off as cold sometimes.”

“So what?” I ask, leaning against the counter. “I am cold. That’s just how I am.”

He rolls his eyes and devotes his attention to his phone. “Whatever, Cora. Appreciate your words of wisdom.”

“Would you rather I lie to you?” I question. “Tell you that life is beautiful? That what’s meant to be, will be? That everything happens for a reason?” He stays silent. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

“Hi there, pretty lady,” a voice interrupts us. I feel them place their hand on my shoulder, causing me to spin around and snatch his arm, twisting it behind his back. My voice is low next to his ear as I tighten my grip, nails digging into the soft flesh of his wrist.

“Touch me like that again and I’ll peel your face off to use as my next Halloween mask. Capiche?”

He lets out a small gasp as I give him a shove across the kitchen.

A few people laugh. Others just stare.

“As strange as you are…” Jerri eventually says. “Never change, Cora.”

“I don’t plan on it. Now let’s go dance.”

Nolan

Natalie has been talking all night about how hot it’ll be to fuck in our costumes, but by the time I half-carry, half-push her into her bed, she’s asleep. I take her shoes off and cover her carefully with the blanket. If she’s comfortable, she’ll sleep longer, giving me more time to be away before she wakes up and notices.

I strip the suit off and dress in a black long sleeve shirt and jeans. In addition, I have gloves, a black mask, and a long, thick rope.

My hands are shaking with excitement by the time I get to my car, and my heart is hammering in my chest when I finally get back to the party. I opt to park down the road away from streetlights. Reassuringly, the ache in my head is completely gone.

There is a wonderful sense of clarity and purpose. The world has simplified into a very narrow corridor. I have one goal, one objective, one desire.

Kill.

I send another message.

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