Forget Me Not

Janie:

My hands ache from the rapidly developing blisters on my palms. My arms feel tight and burn from the intensive labor of digging a hole in the damp earth, big enough for a person to fit inside. Tonight, I’ll show him what true love looks like, even if it means spilling blood. I force the pointed tip of the shovel into the dirt, time and time again, until I feel a bead of rain splash on my cheek. I heed Mother Nature’s warning and begin to drag Ms. Bumble Gum Pink Bimbo Barbie, I mean Brynn, into the loamy soil. With the rain tonight, I won’t need to come back to flatten the freshly dug unmarked grave.

Brynn and I were polar opposites. She was cheerful, chatty, confident, drop-dead gorgeous, and wore too much pink. She was tall with a generous bust and an athletic frame. She wasn’t curvy, she was unrealistically thin. I could see her ribs protruding from her abdomen like she hadn’t eaten in four days. Her hair was blonde with dark roots and golden locks that draped around her face. Her curls were soft and perfect. I coiled one around my finger while standing over her lifeless body. She lay there in an unnatural position, legs bent out of shape, likely broken from the careless drop into the grave. Her hair was puffed out and wild with frizz from the trip in my trunk. She wore clean and bright white sneakers with thick padded platforms on the bottom, but they were sullied from the mud and dirt I dragged her through. Her eyes were blank and still, fixated on the space between life and death. Her skin is cold to the touch like refrigerated meat, but her limbs have begun to stiffen. Death is cold, death is lonely, death is silent. I hope she spends an eternity in the depths of a chilling frozen hell. Fire is too humane for women like her. I hope she spends the rest of her eternal sleep so cold that her remains freeze beneath the dirt.

As for me, I prefer the color black. Black is the color of the ink that stains the pages of my soul. I wear black clothing nearly every day to shroud my figure or lack thereof. I stand short, around five feet tall. I wouldn’t consider myself to be conventionally pretty. I would say I'm more unique than anything. I have pale skin with wide-set light brown eyes. My nose has a slight angle downwards at the tip creating a subtle rounded bridge. My figure probably conveys comfort rather than dedicated care. I have jet-black straight hair that hangs down to meet my lower back. I haven’t cut my hair in over ten years. I don’t wear makeup and wear my clean face as a badge of honor. Women who wear makeup are liars, women like Brynn. I’m a fox, I slip through the shadows and use darkness as my ally. I don’t make time for socialization, I don’t need it. All I truly need is Hunter Quinn, the man across the street. Now that Barbie, I mean Brynn, is out of the picture, he is MINE.

What hurt more than anything, was that Brynn and Hunter got matching Alpine Forget-Me-Not tattoos on their wrists because that was the flower he gifted her on their first date. He plucked it from the small garden in his yard and placed it gently in her curly hair when she visited for the first time. I had observed her from my bedroom window that day and watched as she wantonly paraded around his yard with the flower in her hair. She didn’t do it justice. Blue is not her color, it washes her out. It was that exact moment that I knew, Barbie was trying to steal my Hunter. Little does Barbie see that I’m the one who gifted the Alpine Forget-Me-Not flowers to him as a welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift when he first moved in five years ago. He even let me plant them for him!

I toss a few more Forget-Me-Nots on top of Brynn’s body as a triumphant vow of ironic remembrance. I now look forward to the new bloom of the freshly planted flowers.

“Forget me not, Brynn” I whisper into the cold night right before I toss a shovel full of dirt on top of her, aiming for her open mouth.

2 Days Prior - Janie:

I sit in my dark bedroom, hovering by the window that faces Hunter’s house. My curtains are shut, the television is off, and binoculars are in hand. I slip the binoculars between the curtains and continue to watch Hunter and Barbie argue at the dinner table. Hunter’s house is directly across the street from mine. He has yet to add curtains to his large bay window that provides a pretty clear view of the entire downstairs of his home, such a hetero guy thing to do. I’ll never complain though. Brynn stands from the table abruptly and leans across the table to emphasize her words and livid expression to Hunter. I think it’s disrespectful and rude of her to behave this way to a man who just cooked her a hot meal for dinner. I wouldn’t complain, I would eat every last bite and ask for seconds, even if it tasted like paint. Brynn doesn’t appreciate Hunter as I do. Brynn doesn’t understand him like I do. Brynn doesn’t track his schedule and habits to know exactly where he will be at all times. She doesn’t know how to protect him like I do. Brynn is an unconcerned girlfriend. It’s unfortunate for her, but she must go. She doesn’t love Hunter like I love Hunter.

I watch as they continue their dinner in utter silence. The pair sit there, facing one another, but never making eye contact. After they finish dinner, Hunter takes the dirty dishes and loads the dishwasher while lazy Brynn goes upstairs to get ready for bed. If I were Brynn, I would do the dishes for Hunter. I would have thanked him with kisses and dessert with some red wine before bed. As if Hunter had read my mind, he grabbed two crystal wine glasses and poured his favorite red wine into each glass. Hunter loves Malbec, a heavy fruity blend from Argentina, his birth country. However, he is a Type One Diabetic, so he only pours a small amount of wine. Hunter is strikingly handsome, so handsome that it’ll catch you off guard. He’s tall and lean with the muscles of a professional soccer player. His skin is golden olive and radiates warmth. With hazel brown eyes that shine like copper and dark brown wavy hair that’s perfectly tousled, he looks like my divine master. His image was modeled after a statue.

Poor Hunter is lost in the pursuit of love when it’s been in front of him all along. I observe Hunter take the wine to the bedroom. His bedroom curtains are installed, but he rarely closes them. I wonder if he knows that I’m watching. The soft glow of the bedroom light illuminates the apologetic expression on his face. He's bringing her a peace offering, but he must be doing it out of obligation. When Hunter and I are married, I’ll surely remember to bring him tokens of my affection and ensure that he never needs to grovel. He is perfect, he is mine.

I set my binoculars down. I can’t bear to watch what comes after the apology. That should be me in his bed. That should be me he undresses. The jealousy I feel makes my body ignite with scorching heat inside. I scream and slam my fist into the wall next to my window. The pain shooting down my knuckles and into my hand distracts me. I stalk out of my room and head to the kitchen. I open my fridge for a drink to quench my thirst after seeing a shirtless Hunter. As I shuffle around the condiments in my fridge door, I discover the vial of insulin I stole from Hunter’s house a few months ago. I snagged it for emergency purposes, of course. What if he ran out of insulin? What if he had an emergency and needed someone to save him?! I knew I would always be watching him. I could keep him safe.

I put the insulin back, closed the fridge because nothing seemed appetizing, and ordered some Chinese takeout. I opt to have it delivered. About thirty minutes later, I heard a knock on the door. I open the door to greet the man holding my food, but to my surprise, it’s Brynn. You have got to be kidding me. Her eyes are wet from the tears staining her cheeks. I make a quick decision to welcome her in, so I offer her a warm cup of coffee that I had just brewed to continue my nightly watch over Hunter. It’s better she's here rather than over there. She accepts the coffee mug I offer and takes a small sip.

With no hesitation, she states “Hunter and I are going through it. I’ve noticed you chat with him around the neighborhood.” She says apprehensively. “Have you noticed anything off about him lately? Have you seen anyone going in and out of his house, other than myself? I know it’s unfair of me to ask you considering you’re his neighbor, but I’m hoping female to female, you’d be willing to share anything you know with me.”

Little does she know that I’m the woman who has been leaving the items around his house. I stole the spare key he had under his front door mat, how original. I made a copy and returned it the following night. No one ever noticed. Every week for the last month, I planted small items around his house to make her believe he was unfaithful based on her little discoveries.

The first item was a single gold hoop earring. I planted it in his bathroom, behind the towels. That way she may find it when she showers. The second item was a used tampon in his garbage can. He would assume it was hers. The most recent item I brought over was a sexy pair of purple lace panties. I put them in the drawer he gave to her for when she spends the night. I knew she would find them there and know for a fact that they weren’t hers. Clearly, it worked because she was sitting in my house like easy prey that wandered into a lion’s den.

At that exact moment, I hatch my plan to remove her for good. Now was my chance because she’s here alone, vulnerable, and ready to leave Hunter. It’s the perfect opportunity to assume she is breaking up with him and blocking his number, at least that’s what Hunter will think.

“I’m so sorry Brynn, I had no idea you guys were having troubles. I haven’t seen anyone or any woman coming in or out, but I did see a red SUV in his driveway about a week ago.” I lied to her.

“Really? Do you know what time of day and how long did they stay?” she asks impatiently.

“It was at night because I had just returned home from my monthly book club meeting. The car was gone by morning though.” I lied again.

In truth, there was never a red SUV and there is no book club, but she doesn’t need to know that. I wander back over to my fridge and snag the vial of insulin and the spare needle I kept with it. I discretely slip it into my pocket and excuse myself to the bathroom for a moment. As soon as I’m out of her line of sight, I’m booking it for the bathroom. I shut the door quietly and locked it for extra measure. I suck out a lethal dose of insulin and don’t even bother to get the air bubbles out of the syringe, there is no point. I hide the remaining insulin and the vial under the bathroom sink for now. I hurry back to the kitchen where I left Brynn. She’s wildly texting someone on her cell phone. One can assume it’s Hunter she’s furiously tapping away at. I creep up behind her with as much stealth as I can muster. I jab the small needle into her upper right arm and slam my thumb down on the syringe to administer the insulin.

Brynn yanks her arm backward and cups the spot I just stabbed. Her eyes are wide with confusion as she looks at me.

“OWWW! What did you do to me?!” She screams.

I stay silent, take 3 steps back, and watch as she attempts to stand. Her body is already processing the injection and she sways. Her hip slams into the kitchen counter to catch her and she slams a hand down on the countertop to stabilize herself. She looks at me again with fear in her eyes this time as she realizes I drugged her. Her eyes flutter rapidly as if she's fighting to stay conscious. Her fleeting breaths rob her of her ability to speak or ask questions.

“You’re okay Brynn. Relax your body and let the sleep take you. You’ll wake tomorrow morning.” I lie again.

Death wins the struggle and her body drops to the floor. Her eyes are shut and her chest is still rising and dipping, but each breath comes slower than the last. The space between each gasp begins to feel like a building suspense. Finally, after ten minutes pass, her body lays still on my kitchen floor. She may not be through death’s door yet, but it won’t be long.

Present Day - Janie:

Hunter shoves my hands off of his chest as I plead with him to forgive me. After I buried Brynn, I planned to take her keys and move her car in the early hours of the morning. Hunter had stayed up all night, waiting for her and caught me attempting to move her car. I lied and told him that Brynn asked me to move it for her, but he suspected my lies. Hunter is smarter than I give him credit for. Brynn believed my lies willingly. I should have known that my Hunter would see the real me. I confessed my love to Hunter, but he threw my affection back in my face and spit heinous words at me. I know he didn’t mean it because he was angry with me, but we have a lifetime to work it out. His actions don’t come without consequences though. I need to make sure this doesn’t happen again. He needs time to remember why he loves me too. His cruel words felt like ice in my veins, it hurt me. Hunter hurt me. He deserves a time-out.

One Year Later - Janie:

I framed him for her murder and even gave witness testimony at his trial. He needed to know that I was the one in control. I’m the one he is supposed to love. He will answer to me and he will apologize to me if he wants to avoid a life long sentence in Prison. What I wasn’t prepared for was the plea deal he accepted before the trial ended. He intentionally chose prison over me. Fine. He can rot for a few years and then we will work things out. He is so damn stubborn, but that’s real love, passionate, wild, life-altering, and unforgettable.

Hunter:

Spending the next 13 years in prison was not how I planned my future. In fact, I’m here to seek revenge. From the moment that I met my strange little neighbor, I could see she had a crush on me. She was friendly enough, but I wasn’t interested. I kept things polite and cordial given that she was sweet on me and she was my neighbor. I didn’t want to lead her on and I didn’t want to make her feel alienated. She was my NEIGHBOR! Little did I know, it would be my biggest mistake.

To exact my revenge, I paid a fellow prisoner to send a friend over for a chat. You reap what you sow little neighbor.

Hired Hitman:

“Hi ma’am, I’m so sorry to bother you this late at night. My dog escaped from my house in the neighborhood behind yours. Have you seen him running around here? He’s about fifty pounds, he’s a mini golden lab, and he loves to swim. I noticed you have a small above-ground pool in your backyard. Can I take a quick peek around to see if he’s splashing around?” I say with my charm turned on.

“Sure, come on in. You can only access the backyard through the house.” Janie states plainly.

I step inside and peer around to confirm there’s no one in my immediate line of sight. I follow Janie to the back of the house where she opens a sliding glass door that leads to the backyard. I slowly reach into my jacket and pull out a thin metal wire that I quickly wrap around the front of her throat and pull the wire taught to cut off circulation. She struggles with her back pressed against mine. She is small, I don’t even need to brace myself to hold her in place. She wriggles and kicks in an attempt to escape me, but she can’t gain any leverage, she’s too weak.

“I have a message from Hunter.” I whisper in her ear before death steals her from me.

She goes still at my gentle words. Her body goes limp and I hold her tightly for another moment to ensure she leaves this world. Otherwise, I lose out on my payday.

Her eyes flutter shut as I whisper again “Revenge is a dish best served cold little neighbor.”.