It had been a week since she had concocted her mastermind plan to disappear from the face of the earth, well at least the face of Seattle anyways. She sat in on the oversized sofa, in the beige sitting room the sun illuminating the natural golden highlights is her thick blonde locks. In front of her lay an untouched glass of wine, as well as a collection of forged birth certificates, driver's licences and passports that would have to make due until next Friday morning, when she was scheduled at the Spokane legislation to legally change her name. She figured it would be two risky to commit such a deed immediately after her "disappearance." Letting out a sigh she glanced at her watch, 4:30. She would have to start soon.... Derek was expected home around six from his interview. She wondered how it went, although she knew she would never receive the opportunity to find out. Like the appropriate girlfriend she had wished him the best of luck this morning when he swished out of the door, despite the fact she truly believed he belonged in the OR.
Solemnly she picked up the collection of internet articles on the recent Seattle home invasions, they all followed a generic pattern, each one as almost as eerie as the last. First the burglars barged into the house, breaking anything and everything they can find that was not of value, then they threatened the residents, forcing them to reveal any knowledge of valuables on the property. Finally they remove all witnesses from the crime scene, supposedly kidnapping them; the only remainder of their existence being thoughtful painting of rouge, smeared thoughtlessly across the floor. Only one victim had turned up as cold as stone on the side of a ditch. The getaway vehicles included the generic van, as well as the victims own... which in 2 of the 3 cases ended up in the bottom of a ravine just outside Seattle. Although the crimes where obviously disturbing, there was still one dark twist.... before they where slaughtered the victims where allowed to leave a message on the answering machine... one last goodbye to everyone they ever loved.
She took another glance at her watch 5:00, the black leather strap was neatly clasped by a piece of white gold. Her mother had given her this watch, ages ago when she was 13. Tired of her tardiness she had purchased it for her for her birthday, sadly she had to admit it was probably the most thoughtful gift Ellis had ever given her. She let out another sigh... inhaling the stuffy air of the house. Taking one more glance around the familiar room, she tried to block the memories that flowed into her mind like water in a babbling brook. Making her way over to the thick flannel curtains, her mind drifted to Derek... this would surely kill him, but she knew he would be happier in the long run. She took one long gaze out at the Seattle skyline; she knew she would long for this. Every since she had first moved back to the Emerald city she had made it a habit to gaze thoughtfully out of the window at the skyline. It provided her peace, and often in times hope. After endless minutes she pulled the curtains shut and threw back the glass of scarlet courage, preparing herself for the sequence of events she was about to commit.
She began with the living room; frantically she threw the lamps onto the floor, as well as raped the walls from their paintings. Quickly she advanced through the remainder of the house unravelling the life she had worked so hard to keep; she ripped clothes from their drawers and frantically gathered valuables from hiding places. Eventually, she approached his office, the burlap sac of jewellery and heirlooms dragging behind her petite frame. He hadn't touched this room in months, and she could see a film of dust which had collected on top of the desk. Her memory flashed back to this morning, Derek in his suit jacket and dark jeans. He wore his red shirt, which always managed to make her stomach summer Sault. He looked like, himself again. Happy go-lucky Derek, it was almost as if sleep had refreshed his memory reminding him of who he really was, to bad he didn't remember to kiss her goodbye.
The sudden ringing of her cell drew her from her daze, she flipped it opening revealing the secret identity of the caller... Shit, it was Derek. He must be on his way home by now she reminded herself, she looked at her watch 5:40, crap. Quickly she twilled the lock on the safe, stripping it of its pale green paper treasures. She drugs the sack into the hallway aligning her adjacent to the machine.
She pressed the tiny record button, and begun to record, a waterfall of emotion engulfing her, drowning her. With every word he voice grew higher, and by the end she was down to a mere whisper.
Derek... I love you... I'm in love with you, and I always will be in love with you.
I never deserved you... and you probably deserve someone a lot better then me.
I'm sorry that it ends like this.... I'm so sorry.
Promise to do one thing for me.... take Richard's offer...
The will is in the third drawer of the filling cabinet... everything you need to know is in there.
And Derek... I picked, you I choose you, and I loved you... and if I had the chance I would marry you.
But don't let that hold you back from staring over.
Goodbye.....
She ran though the checklist in her mind, she had everything but.... no she couldn't take that could she? Was it over stepping the line? But... she needed to make the burglary seem as real as possible. She raced into the kitchen and opened the drawer grabbing the familiar silk box.
"I'm so sorry Derek," she whispered allowed as she pulled the ring from the box, and slipping it into her pocket.
Finally, to pull of the whole thing she picked up a chef's knife from the counter and ran it under a trickle of hot water. Trembling she drew it across her forehead, an initial burst of thick red fluid gushed from her forehead, gathering in large ponds on the caramel hardwood. Frantically she grabbed a towel and pressed it on her forehead, as she be lined it for the door. She threw the sac over her shoulder and stumbled into the car. She quickly flicked on the ignition a swerved the car out of the driveway, just missing a series of garbage cans and parked vehicles on her way out. She could see his vehicle rounding the corner, from the opposite side of the street. They passed each other as if they where strangers, but she couldn't fight the urge to push the speedometer up another 10km/h.
She drove straight for another 15 minutes, juggling her attention between the road and steady flow of life that drained from her forehead. A spell of dizziness over came her and her barley managed to pull into a Wal-Mart parking lot. Nervously she pulled a suture kit she had managed to smuggle fromthe hospital, and began to mend the open wound. Afterwards she gazed in the mirror thoughtfully, her face was somewhat wiped of all color, and her blonde hair fell on her shoulders like a waterfall polluted with faint streaks of sulphur. She looked like utter crap, but overall she looked relived. She pulled of the parking lot smoothly, almost flawlessly and continued down the pale gray road. 20 minutes from now she'd be on the outskirts of town.... 20 minutes from now she would be free.
