It eats away at me even as I stare at the face of my one true love. He's handsome in a very rugged way. His face always has some sort of scruff or beard to it. Though he usually has it closely shaved. His raven hair shines like stars in the night and his eyes, god his eyes. Not only do they look at me as if I am the most amazing thing that's ever graced this planet they look like tranquility. Like being in the woods in the summer, looking up into deep green leaves that wink with the sunlight.

I know this will never go away, this feeling that I have no matter how happy I become it will always linger. He's asleep now, gently snoring as I lie awake in the middle of the night wondering why I was ever created. Why anyone of us were. He never has a care in the world, to him there are no consequences.

Something I truly envy.

It lingers in the corner, a dark mass. Growing, adapting to the changes in my life.

It's better at adapting than myself.

I've been with him for a while now.

We've been dating maybe two years?

Doesn't matter.

It decides that we are too close.

That it's time to end whatever he and I have.

So I shove my legs into my black skinny jeans, pull my white and black baseball tee over my head and steal one of his hoodies.

He's always in a deep, deep sleep after we fuck.

We go at each other with every ounce of our beings.

I stand over him, enjoying him one last time before I leave.

My sisters can have their counterparts but I….

I cannot.

It isn't fair to him, he will always have me and my demon.

I press a small kiss to his forehead.

After this he won't exist.

He will be nothing more than a notch in my belt.

An enemy I concurred in a different way.

I can't help but linger a little longer in his room. He's the only happiness I've had in a while. Even when my sisters' love lost its luster.

I leave feeling hallow and

It follows.

I wake from the dream.

Or maybe more of a memory.

I swallow, it stands at the edge of the bed.

Staring, having no words.

It doesn't need them.

The form is enough.

I curl in on myself wanting to sob but nothing comes out.

I've been dried up for a long

Long

Time.

PING

I've gotten emails nonstop since last night and I haven't checked a single one.

I glance at my phone, 9am.

Knock knock

"Hey Buttercup we're going to go explore a bit okay? Find us if you can?" Bubbles asks from the other side of the door. I can hear her breathing, nice even breathes.

Another being who has minimal to worry about.

To be haunted by.

I never let them see the bodies.

I wish I never let them watch me do it.

"Okay." I half whisper and I hear Bubbles sigh.

"She probably has some work to catch up on." Blossom reassures her. I hear my apartment door close and I lie in bed for a few more moments.

I reach under my bed and grab a handle of alcohol. I chug and reach for the one that's further back.

I'll be sober before they come home.

Well I should be.

I rise and feel the barrier I built for the bathroom brush my mind. I sigh and text the maintenance guy to come by after my sisters leave.

He agrees.

Asking if there will be more than that to fix.

I don't answer because I don't know if I want to fuck in a week. If they even stay that long.

They can no longer be around me for long periods of time.

"That's because everytime they see your face, they see the life you took from them."

I had to.

You have to believe me that…

That I had to do it.

Because when I ripped that heart out I ripped…

PING

The email snaps me out of it.

I find my laptop quickly.

I read from the beginning. Wade and Thompson have both been blowing up my email, increasing the price tag.

Then I start to notice a few more police departments are emailing me too.

Offering a lot.

I take these, the files that they have aren't who they think they are.

Phantom nor copycat.

(insert shitty PD here) PD,

I'm sorry to disappoint but the files that you have sent me are of no relation to the 'Red Devil' nor the 'Glowing Phantom.' They are actually (insert dumbass criminal in previous files sent to me). I have completed the pervious files as requested. I expect the same price tag for these files that was promised from the second email sent, as I was not taking on more work but the answer was so obvious I hated to see more innocent lives lost to mediocre detective work. I will withhold the completed request until the wire has been accepted by my financial institution.

Deepest Regards.

Buttercup.

I write that same email about ten or more times in the course of four hours. Their files easy detective work and I am appalled by how lazy these police departments are.

But hey if I did my math right,

Especially with the scare of a copycat or worse on the loose,

I should have roughly a mil by the end of the day.

The states always had the worst PD.

I get to my last two emails.

One from the local police department, I can't fully understand it. I can understand Japanese when it's spoken but I never learned to read it. I will have to ask Bubbles to translate.

The other is in both Japanese and English.

Which is odd, it's from a koroshimasu hmail

A random, how could they have gotten my email?

I know you hacked into my surveillance system six months ago.

It took me that long to trace the IP address. You're quite good. At first I couldn't figure out why someone would want footage of the sidewalk near my house.

Were you looking for this?

A pic screen is attached of the tall figure I was looking for. I can see that it is a man by the broad set of the shoulders, I can't see his face as his hood is hiding his features. The man in the grainy black and white screen seems familiar.

The worst part of all of this

I watched that sidewalk for hours. Days' worth of footage to get nothing.

But it was the one across the street. His I only watched for an hour time frame.

Damn, bad foot work on my part.

I hope I have your interest. I know that this is an oddity.

The height I mean and after the phantom struck at the naval base near my house I thought maybe…maybe this is what she is looking for.

Yes I know you, you are the infamous TOUGHEST FIGHTER.

My favorite growing up. I have a hobby like this too.

Hunting for….oddities.

-Koroshimasu

"It seems I'm starting to catch up to you."

Fuck

I really hope this creep doesn't show up at my door. But at this point I don't care. I try to enhance the image as best I can for hours, removing background and even some of the graininess but nothing changes the fact that I can't make out the…..

"Buttercup what are you looking at?" Bubbles asks from behind me and I, out of instinct, strike her.

Her cheek blooms a nasty bruise.

My heart sinks into my stomach and I go to comfort her.

"It's alright I snuck up on you." She says softly, trying her damndest not to cry.

"Buttercup you've got to see what Bubbles made me buy...Bubbles what happened?!" Blossom drops her bags and rushes to the sunshine sister.

"I snuck up on her." She says, "Don't worry about it."

Blossom still tries to fuss over it until her eyes land on my desk, littered with bottles.

"Have you been…day drinking?" She asks stunned.

"No." I lie.

"Is that why you hit Bubbles? Cause she was getting too close a look at your laptop?"

Here

We

Go.

Blossom loves to twist things.

"No what the hell?"

"You've gotten out of control, if you needed help why didn't you say so?" She ask, digging in her pocket for her phone, "Look you need to write this number down. You're going to go to my therapist. Dr. H.."

"I'm not going to a fucking shrink."

"We are far beyond talking love." It whispers right into Blossom's ear. But she doesn't react.

Somedays I wish she would.

"I really think it would beneficial. It can't be good for you to be locked up in your apartment. Have you really been working or have you been lying?"

"Why are you on my case? You aren't my mother." I growl, starting to lose it.

Rage is easier than reason.

Much easier.

"Guys." Bubbles tries to chime in, but Blossom talks over her.

"I'm on your case because I'm worried about you. You've…"

Great she's gonna fucking bring it up.

"Because you've sacrificed a lot for us."

"Guys.."

"Not now." Blossom says, she starts to drone on about how I couldn't be potentially damaged, how I could be fucked up. With every word she speaks the more I envision hitting her.

"Fuck it do it."

So I do.

And her orbital bone snaps from the pressure.

And Bubbles gasps so loud that it almost sounds like one of her sonic screams.

Blossom cradles her face with her hands. A dark liquid slips between her fingers and fall on the floor in droplets.

"Buttercup…" Bubbles places her hand on Blossom's back before she finally rights herself.

"Well it was nice seeing you. Hope to visit soon." She says in tight voice as she goes to collect her things.

"See you never." I say after her. Because I know it will be years before she sees me again.

If she even does.

Good less people snooping in my business.

Bubbles stands in the same spot. Trying to absorb what has happened.

Blossom never emerges from her guest room, instead I see her leave from the balcony.

Droplets of red and shinning transparent float in the air behind her before plummeting to the Earth.

Blood

And

Tears.

Shit.

Bubbles looks at me too stunned to say anything.

She goes to her room and locks the door.

For a split second I fear I have lost both of my sisters.

"Good riddance." It uses his nastiest tone. I snarl in response.

I listen closely but instead of the sound of rushed zipping I hear the hum of her sewing machine.

I let go of the breath I didn't realize I was holding. I top the bottle bottom up and plop myself in front of my laptop for the rest of the night.

It looms over me.

Icy fingers caressing my face, encouraging the tears falling down my cheeks. A shudder of pleasure courses through it.

"It has been too long since I've last seen you cry."