Secrets that you keep

“Can you keep a secret?” I whisper to my boyfriend, Eddy, who calmly wraps his arm around my waist. I lean against him as the warm sunset starts to change positions with the night sky.

“I can keep a secret, love,” he responds with his well-known sweet smile. “Why? Is there something you want to tell me?”

I grab his shirt collar and pull himself closer to me. “What would you do if I say that I am a witch who preys on handsome men’s hearts. Like yours, dearest, ” I tease as I slowly run a finger down his defined jaw to his toned chest.

He shivers underneath my touch which only riles me up. “I would allow you to do so. Besides, how do you intend to do that, love? You already have my heart out on a silver platter for you and you only,” he responds huskily.

I couldn’t help myself, but bite my lip at the tone of his voice. I prop myself up from the couch and hold my hand out. “I have one idea! Let's try it out!” I gesture for his phone.

He looks confused for a moment before realizing what I want. “Why do you need this? You know I am an open book to you, love.” 

“Well…” I twirl a blonde ringlet on my finger. “I want to show you a trick that will only work when I use this app on your phone. I practiced on my phone, but I can only access it once. I want to show it to you,” I say calmly. “It was adorable that I just have to show it! Please!”

Eddy chuckles and hands me his phone. “Okay then, princess. Enjoy your heart out.”

I scroll through the app store to find the one that can give him the time of his life. I give him back his phone, filled with excitement. “Easy! I already feel like a magician!”

“So, what now, Ms. Witch?” he asks with a raise of his brow. “What kind of magic will you bestow upon this lowly human?”

“Clench your phone in your hand and wait!” I lightly command as I clench my own as an example.

“Like this?” He clenches the phone and makes his knuckles turn white.

l nod enthusiastically. “For this part. I have to stand away from you and turn my back.” I did as I say. As we wait, my mask of innocence drips away and a sickening grin replaces it. 

“What is it supposed to do? Vibrate and tickles me?” he jokes.

“No, dearest. The app is now going through every file you own and see if there are any messages, emails, or any sort of communication that counts as you having another girl behind me!”

I can sense his confusion deepening while studying his phone. “Wait, slow down… What do you mean—Gah!” He gasps painfully. The phone slips from his hand and falls to the floor with a thud.

I turn around and bend low at his pained face. I see how a small needle penetrated his skin. The dark liquid slowly runs up his veins, coating his arm with poison. “I knew it. I saw your wandering eyes for Jessica. I notice you text someone other than your ‘best buds’ when we do things together!” I fume.

“D-Darine… Please… W-We d-don’t have to d-do t-this…” Eddy struggles to plead for his life. He tries to stand to get close to me, but he dedicates his whole body to fight the toxin. He kneels on the floor as he inhales large amounts of air.

I can only laugh at his pathetic state. “I remember how I felt those days. The feeling of worthlessness. The never-ending question that looms above my head: Will I ever be enough? Now you will feel the same pain I went through only ten times worse!”

The poison starts to run down to his legs, and torso but evades the last vital organ in his body: his unforgiving heart. I caress his skin for the last time, reminiscing on our lovely memories. “You were the best boyfriend I ever had. Too bad that you will end up the same as the others. What a pity.”

His body starts to spasm and foam starts to pour out from his delectable lips. With a shaking hand, he reaches towards me. “An-Anti-do-dote… P-Please!”

I cup my hand to my ear. “What? I can't hear you?”

“Darine…” After his final breath, he slumps headfirst to the floor. With one last touch on the corpse, his body disintegrates into ash, leaving his plump, red heart. 

I sigh as I pocket the organ into a metal case from my satchel. 

Soft notification pings from the dropped phone. Suddenly, a ringtone about keeping in touch replaces the insistent, annoying pings. I crawl towards it and turn the metallic garbage over. The J with no photo comes up. I groan and read the texts she recently sent.

“WTF Eddy! I keep getting spam from your text messages!”

“I want nudes, not hacking stories!”

“U R weird!”

“When R U gonna text me back? Is your gf gone yet?!”

I try to keep myself from vomiting at my ex’s death bed. Why did I even consider being with that douche in the first place? Whatever…

“We are… through, Jessica” I start to type. “ I… am blocking you, by... the... way. Don’t try... to... find me…” I crush the phone after sending the message. All the shards crumble to the carpeted floor, disintegrate like its former owner.  

I shoulder my satchel and open the door to leave the room. I can’t believe sorrow will take over in the next few weeks, but I know I will get over him like what I did to thousands of men since I turned eighteen. 

Chanting a spell, I open a portal back to my world. A world where other beautiful beating hearts live only for me, the deserving one. 

“Unfortunately for all the men I conquered, two can keep a secret, if one of them dies.”

With a happy skip to my step and enter my portal. Maybe I’ll come back once my beauty and youth restore once more.