Just Another Nameless Victim

"I just spent the entire evening in the library reading romance books with him, wanting nothing more but to feel his lips against mine."

In shock, I quickly turned my head to face her. Her black hair was flowing with the wind, as she leaned against the bridge, staring out at the ocean. It was beyond beautiful.

"Wh-what?" I managed to get out.

"Yep. It was you the entire time." She turned her head slightly, meeting her alluring hazel eyes with mine.

We've been best friends for over three years now. We've gone from rivals to classmates to friends to best friends. And that's where it was supposed to stop. Nothing more, nothing less. But the more I got to know her, and the more I got to spend time with her, the faster my heart went. Every. single. time. And it was only until this very moment I figured out that I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

*****

A few minutes before...

"Omg, they found each other in the end! Now they'll get married and be together forever!" She fantasized. It was adorable how oblivious she acted; as if the world was nothing but sunshine and rainbows.

"You realize they probably won't get together again right?"

"Stop being such a pessimist Dyl! they will figure out and when they do, they'll be together again and BAM true love at its best!"

I laughed. Together, we just spent four hours in the library reading nothing but romance novels. It was supposed to be enjoyable, but when you have feelings for the girl that you're reading them with, it's hard not to feel a smidge of jealousy whenever the main characters do anything romantic.

"Ugh, I wish I could have the perfect love story!" There it was. The wish that made my heart blast into smithereens. She had a crush, one that was obviously not me. She always ranted on and on about him, how she liked him but he didn't like her. I felt the exact same way.

"Well maybe if you would just tell me who he is, I could help you," I say, trying not to sound anything but teasing. Even though she's everything I wanted, I still want her to be happy, even if it meant that it wasn't with me.

"Do you reeeally want to know?" She reeled, leaning towards me, trying to get me to back down. I played along.

"I reeeally do," I teased leaning closer. I could feel the butterflies forming in my stomach.

"Okay, how bout' this. I give you a bunch of hints and with them, you try to eliminate and figure out who it is." Easy enough. She leaned even closer waiting for me to accept the challenge.

I'm about to have my heartbroken, I know it. But I still end up learning closer to the point where our faces are only a few inches apart as I whisper "game on."

"...he has brown messy hair, and his name starts with the letter D."

Ten minutes passed. We decided to walk home while playing our "game". Over 50 possibilities eliminated. Only three left.

"That leaves Daren, Dwayne, and Dawson," I observe. So close.

"Alright. Here are your final three hints: He's a bookworm with amazing grades, he's one of my friends, and he has an interesting past."

I process the pieces of information, making three crosses, each through someone's name.

"Wait, everyone's eliminated then, there's no one left." Confusion rises as I go through the hints and the names, seeing if I made a mistake.

"Nope, there should be one." She softly says. At this point in time, we were already halfway home, stopping right in the middle of a bridge surrounded by cherry blossom trees. I stop to think, as she leans across the railing, facing the ocean.

"That's impossible," I comment, going through the names for the second time, still lost.

"Want another hint?"

***

present...

"I thought- It was me?" I'm in utter shock. Has it really been me the entire time?

"Yeah, I-" She pauses. Suddenly, she spins around facing me, eyes glassy. It takes a minute to realize she's crying.

"Hey, what's with the tears?" I carefully ask as I slowly reach my hand to touch her soft, warm cheeks. I caress her face, stroking my thumb across her cheek, wiping away her tears.

She doesn't respond. She just dips her head so I don't see. I carefully pull her head back up, trying to word what I want to say carefully.

"Hey, look at me." Slowly, her eyelids open, and her eyes once again find mine. I smile, knowing exactly what I want to say.

"You know, I've liked you since the moment I saw you. I just was too scared to admit it. Scared that you would reject me. Scared that you wouldn't want to be friends anymore. Scared for our relationship. Yet, you still pulled up the courage to tell me, even if it might have brought upon rejection or humiliation. You always were the brave one." That got her smiling.

"Really?" She asks, her smile getting bigger and bigger as I nod.

"Really." Our faces are only 3 inches apart. I look at her once more, she nods. I have the go. Slowly I close the gap.

Time seemed to stop. The only hint that it didn't was the wind blowing cherry blossoms all around us. My heart pounded louder and louder, feeling as if it was going to burst out of my chest. Every time she leaned in, I pressed harder, not wanting to let go. Her lips felt warm and soft, the only sensation I was able to process. The only hint that this was all real, was the emptiness felt when she would slowly lean back for air. But once she came back, it felt like a dream once again. Slowly, I brought my hand to her hair and the other to her face as she rested her hands against my chest. Her hair was soft and smelled like coconuts. Slowly, I brought the hand on her face back to my side, and to her chest. Softly, I pushed, applying a small bit of pressure. She leaned back and gasped. I'd finally done it.

"What-" She uttered in confusion. She looked down, and the realization downed her.

"Why," Tears started spilling as she slowly started falling back, I caught her delicate body in one hand, smirking.

"I'd give it another minute before your gone. Any last words?"

My parents are serial killers. Together, they've had over one hundred victims. Once they lay their eyes on someone, it's impossible to escape. I was no different. Forced to kill as a child, tortured till I obeyed, became a force of habit as a teenager.

"I-I thought you cared, wh-why?" She gasped.

"You thought you were something special, didn't you? Well, let's make sure we get this right this time." I leaned in closer, enjoying the moment.

"You are just like the rest of them. I spent three years, grooming this very moment. Three years, trying to get you to develop feelings for me, only so I could kill you in the most enjoyable way possible." I take a slow deep breath in, a sense of happiness and satisfaction taking over me. This girl has been the hardest target so far. But I've done it. I drove the knife into her.

She gasped, trying her best to stay alive, but it was of no use. The knife was deep enough into her heart to only last her a minute-tops. I gently lay her down and pull the knife out. She softly screams in pain. I get up, take one last look at my best work, smile, and walk away, spinning the knife covered with blood in my hand.

"D-did you ever love me Dyl?" I stop. I only was able to get a few steps away from her before she screams those 6 words. I refuse to turn back but I can't help but answer.

"No. You're just another nameless victim."