The Vivisection of Edith

I peeked outside my bedroom window, a chill running up my spine as the thought of another person present made me tremble. It was dark outside, making it impossible to see anything besides the street lights and the scarce traffic below. It surprised me that even the city goes to sleep at night. 

You’re being paranoid. Stop being stupid. I thought, closing the curtains and turning away from the window, trying to collect my thoughts and keep my mind straight. 

To get my mind off things, I walked to my living room and sat down on the couch, my Shih Tzu, Katie, hopping up beside me to rest her tired body. I adopted her after she was rescued from an unsuited home for her. Health problems wrecked her body, and the family wasn’t providing the medication she needed to have a good quality of life. Even though I was just a broke high school graduate trying to achieve the dream of being an artist, the money that was supposed to be my college fund helped me out in paying the medical bills and getting the medication. I prayed that one day, I’ll be able to earn enough money to pay for them with my own paycheck instead of money from my rich grandparents. 

I sighed, picking up the TV remote and letting Katie snuggle in my lap. I scrolled through the channels, trying to find something interesting to watch, even though I barely watch any TV anyway. 

Eventually I found a baking competition to watch, and figured I should make myself a snack, even though it was almost eleven at night. Whatever, I am an adult and I can do whatever I want, I thought. Besides, work doesn’t start until the afternoon tomorrow, and as for the morning I was my own boss when it came to my artwork. I had a couple drawings to frame and then send to a couple nearby cafes, and my paintings were still drying. It was only my second day here in my new apartment, I should get a nice break after all my unpacking. 

I dug in my fridge for something to eat, but there was only bottled water, bread, and vegetables. I had some money, I could buy candy from a nearby convenience store. 

I quickly put on my shoes and my boyfriend’s jacket, which was heavy and perfect for the late autumn weather. With my purse slung across my body, I waved to Katie before exiting my apartment and locking the door, double checking to make sure it was secure. With Katie in there, it brought me ease when I was positive the door was locked tight. 

After a quick elevator ride down to the ground floor and entering the deserted and quiet sidewalk, I whistled a tune on my way down the street. The nearest convenience store was only a few blocks from my apartment, so this would only take a few minutes. 

I suddenly felt a vibrating feeling on my side, and I pulled out my phone from my pocket. It was a call from my boyfriend, Arcus. I answered it, confused with why he wouldn’t just text me. We both hated phone calls, and only did when it was absolutely necessary. 

“Hello?” I asked, checking the street before crossing, just a habit I’m trying to develop since I’m now living in the city. “Violet? Thank god you picked up. Where are you now?”

I stopped in front of the store, checking the time on my watch. 

“I’m by the convenience store you showed me the other day, just gonna grab some food. Why do you ask? Are you okay?” I said, observing my surroundings in paranoia. 

“I’m fine, but you might not. Listen, I just got a call from your mom. She was screamin’ and yellin’, telling me to give you to her. I told her that you weren’t here, but then she told me your address. That crazy…” A string of unprintable terms left his mouth, all of which he has used at least ten times to describe my mother, and all of which I agreed with. “I don’t know what she plans to do, but you need to hurry home and lock the windows and doors. I’m terrified of that woman.”

“Hey, my apartment is on the fourth floor, and I locked the door before I left. I’ll just get my groceries and-”

“No, you need to go now. I’m afraid for Katie, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Do you want me to call the police? Why haven’t you filed a restraining order against that woman?”

I sighed. Arcus was right. But why now? Why would my mother come after me now? How would she get a hold of my address or Arcus’s phone number?

“Don’t call the police, not yet anyway. I’ll get home and make sure she doesn’t get in. If you don’t hear a text from me in the next few minutes, come over. Bye, see ya.”

“Okay, bye. Stay safe.”

I hung up and took off down the sidewalk to my apartment building. It was a miracle I stayed so calm in that conversation. The more I thought about what Arcus said, the more terrified I got. How did my mother find my address? How did she get Arcus’s phone number?

That woman is a psychopath. 

In a hurry I entered the elevator and hit the button with a four on it, the elevator not moving fast enough for me. Not possibly fast enough for how dire this situation was. 

The overlong elevator ride made my mind go crazy over what my mother could be doing right now. My father was dead, and the rest of our family was on the other side of the country. Arcus was only a couple blocks away in his apartment, I could call him to stay with me for tonight. But then again, if my mother knows his number, she mind as well know his address too. 

Why couldn’t I have a mother that would just get out of my life?

Once the elevator stopped, I sprinted down the hall to my apartment, and my heart stopped. 

The door was wide open. 

My god. Holy galactic Jesus lord in heaven…

“Edith!” I screamed. “I swear to god, if you even touched Katie you’re a dead woman!”

I ran inside, no sign of Katie in the living room, and then I heard a yelp from my bedroom. Katie’s whimper, a sound that I knew like the back of my hand. 

Oh god, oh no… Please don’t be hurt, please don’t be hurt, please-!

I ran down the hallway and turned the corner to my room. When I entered my bedroom, I was met with a sight that made my blood run colder than ice. 

My mother was standing there, holding the limp body of my pet Shih Tzu in her two shaky hands, and then dropped the body on the floor. At first, I was unsure of what happened. Maybe she just hit Katie with a blunt object or something, and she was fine. But the more I stared at my precious dog, I realized that she wasn’t moving, not an inch. She was dead. 

I expected her to do some damage, but I never thought she would actually kill her. 

She was crazy. No word in the English language could describe the moment, the two of us standing there with a dead dog between us. 

Subconsciously my hand went for my purse, and pulled out the switchblade I carried around, for situations like this. I thought I would need it for a criminal I’d have to fight off or someone who would try to potentially kidnap me, not my own mother. 

Or, at least, that’s what I hoped for. 

The ten inch blade gleamed in the bedroom light, an unused weapon that I didn’t want to use against my own mother. But then again, she didn’t hesitate to use one against my own brother. 

“Don’t you dare move, or I’ll gut you like a fish.” I threatened, using my other hand to grab my phone. “Trust me, I won’t hesitate.”

For a moment, I thought for the first time I saw fear in her eyes, until she giggled in that falsetto voice of hers. She was nuts, insane, completely out of her mind. No rational thought or reason could make her human, could fix her. 

“You don’t have the guts to do it. Not against your own mother. Just put it away, Violet.”

She took a step towards me, but I didn’t move back or anything, I lifted the knife towards her, pointing the lethally sharp blade towards her face.

“Don’t. Move.”

However, I didn’t realize that she had a gun until in the blink of an eye, she shot my leg, making me scream in pain. I crumpled to the floor, still clutching the knife tightly in my hand. 

“I thought I had told you before to listen to me, Violet. You didn’t want to end up like your brother, and yet you decided to pay attention to that stupid boyfriend of yours.”

All rationality flew out the window as I lifted the knife, and with a warrior cry I stabbed her thigh, blood spewing out of the wound like a waterfall the minute I pulled it out. A deep howl left her throat, the sound like what you would expect from Satan himself. For having such a high-pitched voice, this sound was a harsh contrast. 

I stumbled to my feet and ran out of my apartment, my cursing mother limping behind me. I didn’t know if there were any more bullets in that gun, but my mind was focused solely on getting somewhere safe and calling the police. The elevator couldn’t possibly shut fast enough as I ran inside and slammed my fist against the ground floor button, the doors slowly shutting. There was nothing more terrifying than watching my mother slowly make her way to me, the doors not shutting fast enough. My heartbeat was going a mile a minute, the shrinking distance between us making her grim smirk look bigger. Her unfocused eyes were twitching, but I could tell she was looking at me, in the most disgusting, disturbing, horrific ways imaginable. 

Finally, the elevator shut, and made its merry way to the ground floor. Despite how long the ride felt, I didn’t give myself the chance to sigh in relief. I wasn’t in the clear yet, she still had a gun, she was only wounded. 

Once the elevator opened, I bolted out of the elevator to the sidewalk and I ran down the street. I turned the corner and shakily lifted my phone to my ear, the emergency number dialed and I was just waiting for the operator to pick up. Every second I waited for that divine voice to bring me aid, the more it reminded me of The Incident. 

So long ago, but it was vivid, and it tore everything apart…

“How could you?!”

I threw the coffee table over on its side in our living room, right in front of the rest of our family. My aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, everyone. My mother walked in, wearing one of her luxurious dresses that she bought with the fortune my father left behind. 

“How could I, what?” Mother asked, acting all innocent. 

The rest of our family was completely oblivious of my mother, my real mother. Sure, when we had family gatherings she was the best person in the world, but the minute that me and her are alone she becomes the devil. And that’s why I hated her. She had this mask that I couldn’t show everyone else because that was what they’ve only seen. 

“You know exactly what! You murdered your own son! My brother! Why didn’t you confess?!”

She pretended to be hurt, a serious and grim expression now plastered on her face. 

“Violet, I don’t know where this crazy idea is coming from, and we don’t joke about death here, especially murder.” She said, in her warning tone. 

My younger cousin took a step forward, placing a hand on my shoulder, “Violet, we should-”

“No.”

My cousin backed away from me, frightened of the fight that was going to take place right in the middle of our living room. However, I had the advantage here. We could yell and scream all we wanted, but in the end my mother couldn’t hurt me. It would wreck her reputation and expose her. 

“Admit it, you old witch,” I snapped, crossing my arms. “You got a sick thrill of getting rid of all the evidence. You loved watching him die.”

As confidently as I could say those words, I could feel the urge to cry at the thought of it threatening to break my own act. I missed my brother more than anything, and just thinking about how close he was to being free from my mother made my heart ache even more. 

“Violet, stop being crazy and return to reality. I didn’t kill your brother. We may never find his killer, but you can’t blame it on me.”

Yeah, right. The only reason my mother was still able to walk freely in her husband’s home is because there wasn’t enough evidence. 

I swore that I would one day kill this woman if she ever dared to trap me like she did with my brother. 

As I told the operator the apartment building address and my situation, I clenched the phone in my hand so tight I thought it would shatter like glass, but the comfort of another human being knowing my situation brought me more comfort than anything. 

Suddenly, a loud, power-demanding sound surprised me, and the gleam of metal was visible on my right.

“Ugh, I missed.”

My mother stepped out, pulling the gun away and holding it in the air. Her unfocused eyes combined with the lethal weapon in her hand caused me to hyperventilate. I could attempt to stab her, but that gun was much faster. 

“Miss? Miss? Just hold on, help is on the way.” The operator yelled from my phone, still in my hand.

“The police? You seriously called the police?” Edith asked, her eyes trying to look at the hopeless knife in my hand. “Just come back home, and we can sort this out like adults. Or are you going to gut me like a fish? You said you won’t hesitate, so why don’t you do it? Don’t be a wuss, not now. I know I raised you better than that.”

I want to stab her. 

But she would kill me before I’d get the chance. 

I don’t want to go back. Anything but that. 

After years of trying to convince my family that this woman was the devil, I haven’t gotten anywhere. My circumstances didn’t help me. All of our relatives lived on the other side of the country, and my mother’s act was flawless. I hoped that running away to a city, with my boyfriend just a few blocks away, would put me at ease and help me cope with the loss of my brother. 

Well, that didn’t do anything. The witch could find Arcus’ phone number, his address, and my address. She even killed Katie, the only living being in the world that even listened to me. 

Suddenly, I heard another boom!, and Edith collapsed to the ground, clutching her right arm, which didn’t hold the gun anymore. It hit the cement, and I screamed when it fired on impact. Luckily the bullet didn’t hit me, and it flew off somewhere else. On my left, I saw a tall figure walk out into the street. 

“Oh my god,” It was Arcus, holding his own gun in both hands, which were violently trembling. “Did I…”

Edith screamed inaudible nonsense at me, and before she could collect herself and grab the gun I quickly took the opportunity to stab her in the neck, blood splattering all over me. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her mouth agape in horror and defeat. I didn’t pull out the knife, my hands were too weak at the moment to do that. Arcus helped me stand upright, both of us in disbelief of what we did. 

But, we were free. 

“I guess,” I said, hoping to lighten our spirits, despite the great amount of trouble we’ve made for ourselves. “I got myself a restraining order, just not how I expected, huh?” 

He grimly chuckled, burying his face in his left hand while the right was wrapped around my shoulders. 

“You’re crazy to joke at a time like this.”

Down the road, red and blue lights shined through the night and blinded us when the cars parked before us, cops pulling out their guns and pointing them at us, shouting commands. I couldn’t hear them, I was too shocked and happy to be able to do anything but stand in place like a statue, while Arcus immediately dropped to his knees and held his hands up, sweat dripping down his forehead. 

That was the difference between me and Arcus. I’ve dealt with the police, I have an understanding with them. He’s had a deathly fear of the police ever since I’ve met him. 

I glanced at the motionless body, surrounded by a pool of blood. Never before in my life, have I seen that person look so helpless and defeated.