Hello My Dears! Welcome to a VERY unexpected mini one/shot that I whipped up for the Song to Story Contest. The song was "If I Told You" by Darius Rucker, and though perhaps meant to be a love song, I took on a little bit of a darker twist with it.

Please be warned, this one is dark!

You are so beautiful.

It is nearly impossible to tear my eyes from you; the slope of your swan-like neck, the sweep of your chocolate hair. The way your big, brown eyes look upon me as I'm over you, as if I'm the only man in the whole world.

You are everything good and beautiful in this world. I loathe to think of how you might look upon me once I confess to you my sins.

But confess, I must.

The name of the town where I began is insignificant, though you know it as surely as your own name. The man who gave me his name lived in that town in a small house. Perhaps he is still there, perhaps not. That is insignificant as well.

When I knew him, there in that house, he would beat me. He called it God's work as he brought a strap to my back. Deliverance and damnation were carved upon my soul by his hands.

No, my Love, don't look at me like that. There is no fixing the scars upon my soul.

Not that people have not tried. Countless people; therapists, social workers, volunteers, even a few psychics have tried valiantly to rescue me; to scrub the black marks from my mangled spirit.

None have managed it.

Does that hurt you, my Love? Does it wound you to hear of my suffering? Will you leave me now, as so many have done before?

Wait, a moment longer, please. There is more to confess, and I need your soft presence to give me the strength.

That man broke my body, my mind, and my soul, and for a very long time, I existed as a fracture. I sought out trouble and destruction. I blamed it on my youth, but I knew I was old enough to understand the consequences of my actions. I just didn't care.

Everything was meaningless, I was meaningless.

One day, it became too much. I could not bear to be in that town a moment longer, to see the faces that plagued my nightmares.

Forgive me, for leaving my Love. I possessed not the strength I carry today. I was young and wounded, and I left you and everyone else in that town.

I remember you, you know. I remember your smile, as bright as a full moon, and your eyes, oh God your eyes. More fathomless than any ocean. A man could be lost at sea in those eyes.

Your eyes have drawn me back, my Love. Haunting my sleep as I spent years away. I could not resist you any longer.

And now… now we are here, together, and I have never felt more alive.

Your family worries for you. I've seen it. They want you to stay here, marry that boy from the market, produce children that will grow up to repeat your lives.

But I see it in your eyes; you want me to take you away from it. I shall, my Love. I shall.

I could not put it off another moment. I have known many women in my time wandering far and wide, but none of them were you. Though they held similar hair and heights and eyes, none of them captured me as you have.

I confess all to you now; those women brought me great pleasure, but it was always you still on my mind.

I have done this all for you. For you, I have built my legacy.

Do you love me as I love you? Could you love me?

Shall I keep you forever, store your heart in a jar to hold with me until the day I'm shot down like a wild beast.

I will not go gentle, my Love. I will not surrender.

You are mine, and you shall always be. We will always have this moment. I will always remember the warmth of your blood on my hands, the divine shift in the world as your soul departed. I will always see your eyes as the caverns they held filled up and became flat. I hate you for leaving me, but I shall hold you for eternity.

You are mine. The only woman in dozens that has ever actually mattered, and I know you shall take my confessions with you. You, the keeper of my sins, my final bride.

Let me unwrap my hands from your throat and worship the marks I have left upon you, as you have left your own marks upon my soul.

Tonight, my Love, we have become one.

…

Your blood clings to my hands under the faucet, as if you are as reluctant to leave me as I am to leave you. But part, my Love, we must.

My reflection captures my eye, and for a moment, I hear your sweet voice in my ears. "Eyes as green as a devil," you once said. Did you really mean it? Did my eyes haunt you as yours haunted me?

A knock at my door breaks my concentration, and I turn the faucet off to answer it. I am grateful you are out of sight-I want no man to look upon you as I have now done. That is for my eyes alone.

I open my front door, and all the air rushes from my lungs. She is a sweet, young thing with dark chestnut hair and eyes as dark as the depths of the sea. She holds a pizza out to me, but for a moment, I am unable to speak.

Could it be that God has graced me with another chance? Another bride to adore and worship and hold forever? "Large pepperoni?" she asks, and her voice is angelic.

It takes me a minute to shake my head. "I haven't ordered food," I tell her. The blood is rushing through my ears, my heart slamming in my chest as new desire is awakened in me.

"Oh," she frowns. "Is this not 3894 Crescent?" she asks, looking at her receipt. I clear my throat.

"No, I am 3984. A very simple mistake," I assure her.

She blushes, and I feel my palms twitch. "Oh," she giggles. "I'm so sorry about that. Have a nice night!"

She slips back down the walkway, and I watch her go, feeling renewed and invigorated. Forgive me, my love, for you will not be my last.

Will you love me anyway?

Never written a serial killer before, and I have to say, it creeped me out, even though I had a blast with it. No plans on expansion, but I'm sure there is a lot more creepy in my future!