Evil Kisses
By: Odyssey
(Part two of the Evil-oution series)
It was not so long ago,
When I thought I'd never meet someone like you.
Wrong was I, thinking I'm in control,
Believing I'd never fall.
All my life I thought no one would
Melt a heart like mine, a heart so cold,
A heart hardened by the past, and
Protected by shields so vast.
Slowly I was falling
Without even knowing,
Only to find out too late.
I have no choice but to accept my fate.
I could dream, I suppose.
Forever, I could hope.
There will never be any 'us', that's our destiny,
So I wake up to reality.
I lied when I said
I didn't love you,
That my feelings for you
Are through…
I lied,
Not because I wanted to,
But because I love you,
And I still do.
I wouldn't do a thing to hurt you,
But I just have to let go.
I can't hold on much longer,
Because for us, there's no forever.
****************
I wake up next to Jeff the morning of my birthday, November 23, his emerald green eyes staring into mine deeply. He smiles at me, and kisses me on the cheek, but I can't help but wonder exactly what Adam was doing right now. I hadn't seen him, hadn't talked to him in a little over a year now, and the fact that I had upset him so much was troubling me constantly, even though I know he never really loved me, or at least, I think. "What's wrong, Lissa? Something bothering you?" I shake out of my dream world, thoughts drifting back to what was, instead of what could have never been. "What do you mean? Nothing's bothering me, Jeff. Why?" "I dunno, you just seem very far away and preoccupied these past couple of weeks. Worries me when you act like that, baby." "Well, maybe I've been a little preoccupied, but it's just personal matters. Nothing much," I say, sitting up, feeling slightly uncomfortable being in this conversation with Jeff. Not that I didn't like talking to him, it's just uncomfortable to talk to him about things like that, especially Adam. "Oh, that reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you about something, Melissa." "Yes?" Jeff sighs. "These past couple nights, you've been talking in your sleep…" "I told you to expect that, Jeff, before you even got into this relationship with me and you know that…" "No, let me finish. You've been talking about Adam, Melissa. Is there something you're not telling me?" I look Jeff in the eyes. "Okay, maybe I'm feeling sorry for him. I mean, after the little thing between us that night I haven't spoken to or seen him, Jeff, and I'm feeling guilty, and responsible for hurting him so bad. Wouldn't you?" Jeff laughs, a little disgusted. "Are you saying you regret what you did?" "No, Jeff! That's not what I said. I love you, and you should know that by now. If not, you have some serious problems." I get up and walk into the bathroom, turning the shower on to get ready for the day. Adam, where are you now, I wonder.
****************
"So, Jason, what's up?" I say as I sit down at his table later that morning at a local restaurant. "Well, I wanna tell you about Adam." I laugh. "What about him? I'm happy, I'm with Jeff." "I know, but he's… not. I mean, he's kinda been flippin out lately, saying things like he's gonna murder Jeff and shit, except he's making plans on it and going into extremely graphic detail. He's scaring me, Melissa, and I don't think that you and Jeff are safe in Cameron anymore." My face fades, and I don't know exactly how to take what Jason has just told me. "What are you saying, Jay?" He grabs my arm gently, and stares me in the eyes with a cold gaze that sends shivers up my spine. "I'm saying that you should go back to New Orleans until I can get this straightened out with Adam…" "Hell no! Never! I'm not going back to New Orleans. I've spent my entire life there, and I've had it up to here with New Orleans, Jason Reso!" "Please, Melissa," he says, his blue eyes softening with concern. I sigh gently, turning my head away from him. "Why?" "Because I don't want you to get hurt, Melissa. You're my friend, why would I want you to get hurt?" "Well I don't want you staying here and get hurt either, Jason. If we go, you're going with us." "Melissa, I…" "You're going, or I'm not. Take your pick." He stares at me, pain and despair deep inside the gaze. "Please," I ask him again. He looks up at the clock, and his eyes widen. "Oh my God… I have to get going, I'll call you later, Melissa." He hurriedly gets up, and rushes out the door. What was wrong with him, I ask myself, shrugging it off a moment later.
****************
"But, Jeff…" "Hell no! I'm not going!" "You have to go!" "I don't have to do anything! I'm staying here, and that's that. And if physco Adam comes through here trying to murder me, I'll tear his heart out!" "I wish you would go," I say calmly. "I wish you would stay." He puts his hands on my shoulders as some means of comfort, and I pull away. "I have to get ready to go." He sighs, turning away from me as I walk into our bedroom. I sit on the edge of my side of the bed, waiting for something, even though I don't know what exactly I'm waiting for. How could Adam have turned so… evil, I ask myself. Because of you, I hear a voice inside me say. "You really wanna go through with this?" I hear someone say from behind me. I turn around, and my heartbeat begins to slowly increase. "Jason, I…" "Because if he doesn't wanna go, I'll go with you." "When did you get here?" I ask him. "Well," he starts, walking over to me. "I got here about five minutes ago, and I know it wasn't exactly the right thing to do, but I listened through the back door to the discussion you and Jeff had, and, well, I wanna let you know that I'd be happy to go with you down there. I'm not gonna be able to talk to Adam about it like I thought I was going to…" "What happened over there, Jay?" I say, getting up and walking over to stand in front of him. He looks at the ground, and I pull his chin up for him to look at me. "When I started talking to him, he snapped, Melissa…" he says, a tear hanging in the corner of his eye. "What happened, Jay?" I say softly, using my thumb to wipe the tear from his face, which had since slid down. He pulls the sleeve of his black t-shirt up to his shoulder carefully, and black, dried blood crumbles from a huge, deep gash on his upper arm. "He did that? To you? But you're his best friend! Why would he do something like this to you?" He looks down and shakes his head. "I don't know, Melissa. I wish I did." He pulls the sleeve back down, and I shake my head in disbelief. Of all the people, Adam did this to Jason? Those guys have been best friends since they were like, two years old! How could this happen? "We're taking you to the hospital and getting that stitched up." "No." "If you don't, it'll only get worse, Jason!" "I'm not going to the hospital."
****************
"I hate hospitals," Jay says as we walk into the hospital. "Well, you'll get over it," I say, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. He smiles mysteriously. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were getting a kick out of bringing me to one of the worst places in the world." I grin back at him while signing him in. "Who, me?" We look up as a nurse comes out of a room and says his name, calling him back. "Good luck!" I say, a sneaky grin on my face. "Yeah, when I get out you're gonna owe me, you brat!" I smile at him, and blow him a kiss to shoo him on his way. He goes inside, and I wait for him. A few minutes later, I hear the most God-awful screams coming out of the room. Guess he doesn't like stitches too much, I think to myself with a smirk. "Do we have someone here named Melissa Withrow?" a frustrated nurse comes out and says into the waiting room. "Um, that's me," I say, standing up. She smiles and walks over to me. "Could you come back here with your friend Jason Reso? We're having some, um, problems with him…" "Yeah, I know what you mean. He hates stitches!" She laughs, and I follow her back to the room where Jason is. "Melissa! You're here! Tell them that I can't have stitches!" "He's fine, he can have stitches," I say, grinning at Jay. He mouths the word 'traitor', and clamps his fingers into the cushion of the table. They begin to clean the gash again, and his eyes squint shut tightly. His breathing gets more labored, and he shields his face with one hand and his blonde hair. "Aww, Jay, come on now. Be a big boy!" I say jokingly, walking over to him and taking his hand into my own. He squeezes it tightly as they begin to stitch him up, his hand jerking every time they push or pull the needle through. They finish about five minutes later, and he gets up off the table. He gives me an evil, yet playful look, and I smile at him. As we walk out the door, he finally decides to talk to me again. "I can't believe you!" he says, looking down at his arm. "Well, it had to be done, Jay. And you know it!" He sighs. "Yeah, I guess you're right, for once!" he says, smiling at me while we get in the car. "This coming from the person who had his hair dyed… what was it again… purple, in the ninth grade because he thought it was cool?!" I say, a smile in my voice. He flushes. "Well, I thought it was a good decision at the time!" A few minutes later, we pull in the driveway of Jeff's and my house and get out of the car. I search for the key a minute, and begin to unlock the door, only to find that it's already unlocked. "That's weird," I say. "What?" "The door was already unlocked. Jeff never leaves it unlocked." "Oh… hey, maybe I better go in first, just in case," Jason says, walking into the house. He turns on the light, and Jeff is not there. "Jeff?" I yell into the house, walking through and looking for him. "Jeff?!" I walk upstairs and look through the rooms, only to find that he's not there either. "Where could he be?" I say to Jay as we meet up again. "I don't know, I can't find him anywhere, either." Then the phone rings, and Jason answers it. "Hello?" he says. After a pause, he says, "Where are you, man?!" "Who is it, Jay?" "All right, hold on." He shakes his head and puts it on speakerphone. "Melissa!" a velvety voice says, and my heart practically stops as I think and realize who it is. "What do you want, Adam?" I say, barely able to choke out his name. "I have your little boyfriend…" he says, a smirk in his voice. "Oh my God… where is he?! Let me talk to him!" "I'm afraid you can't do that, baby!" "Why not?!" "Well, let's just say he's a little… tied up at the moment…" "Oh my God… Oh my God. What are you going to do to him?!" Adam laughs. "Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure, Melissa? I'm sure Jeff is having the time of his life…" he says, his voice getting rougher and jerking on the word life, followed by a sharp scream. My face drains of all color, and I sink down in the floor, beginning to cry. "Damn it Adam, what the hell are you doing?! You can't just run around kidnapping people and torturing them! Are you fucking crazy?!" Jason demands. Adam just laughs. "Dear, dear Jason, how's your little cut doing? After all, I was aiming for your chest with that knife, but you were lucky, you know. Flipping that table over onto me was pretty intelligent, for someone of your level." "Screw you, Adam! Where the hell is Jeff?" I hear Jeff scream pitifully in the background, followed by a loud thump. I scream, and Adam laughs again. "Something the matter, Melissa?" I grimace at the sound of his voice, and hold my stomach, feeling as if I'm about to throw up. "Let us talk to Jeff, Adam," Jay says calmly. "No can do, bro. He's kinda, well, cutting up right now," he says, a smile in his voice followed by three or four loud sickening groans. "We're tired of your sick jokes, you son of a bitch!" Jason says to him, clinching his fists at his sides. "To be quite honest with you, I could care less. Now, come to the end of English Road at four-thirty, pm. You know it goes into some woods; get out of the car and walk down the path farthest to the left. You can pick Jeff up there, nowhere else and no sooner, do you understand me?!" Jason looks down at me, and I shake my head in agreement. "Fine, Adam." "Good. And no police, because I will be watching you and if there are police, you will pay, oh yes, you will pay dearly… goodbye, friends." "Adam, wait, you son of a bitch!" But it was too late. Adam had already hung the phone up. "Oh my God, Jason… Adam's going to kill Jeff…" I say, beginning to sob uncontrollably. Jason kneels in front of me and wraps me up in his arms, pulling me close and holding my head against his shoulder. "He won't do it, Melissa. He's faking it." I think for a moment. "Then why did he do that to you?" I ask him, hinting at his arm. He sighs. "I don't know, Melissa."
****************
We pull up at the end of English Road around four twenty-eight. Waiting for four-thirty is the most tense minutes in my entire life. Finally, the dashboard clock reads four-thirty, and we immediately get out of the car. We begin walking down the path, and finally come to a small building with a note taped to the door. I pull it off quickly, and slowly read the words, processing each one:
Dearest Jason and Melissa-
Well, you've made it this far, but after you see the inside of this building, you won't make it very much farther… at least, without losing your lunch! Hahaha!
-Adam
My face drains once again, and Jay jerks the note out of my hand. He reads it quickly, and throws the door open, unleashing a nauseating smell reeking of decomposed bodies. We put our hands over our noses and walk inside, switching on a single light in the middle of the room. I release a horrific scream when I see what damage Adam has done. Hanging from the light in the middle of the room, is Jeff. Only, it's what was Jeff. A purple-haired corpse hangs from a rope in the middle of the room attached to the light, it's snapped neck dangling sickeningly towards the ground. Lower, in its abdomen, a huge hole where the stomach once was reveals a gaping hole scraped deep inside his body, insides hanging out of it. My face flushes, then fades, and I really don't know what emotion to feel. An intense depression and remorse for what had happened comes over me, and I hold my stomach. I begin to feel dizzy, and Jason catches me before I fall. He walks me over to a wall, and I stay there for a moment, thoughts racing through my head. And then it hits me. "Oh my God, Jason. What about Matt?" Jason turns slowly to face me, and shrugs his shoulders. "He wants to play games? Well, I can play, too…" he says, beginning to grin wildly. He steps outside and begins to yell, "You wanna play games, Adam?! Why don't you come out here and play like a man then, bitch!" "Jason, please don't do that…" I say, coming out towards the middle of the clearing with him. "Well, if he's so big and bad, he can drag his slack-ass out here and fight face to face!" I can't help but laugh at the last remark, and I don't notice Adam walking up behind us. I hear a loud thump, and Jason falls to the ground, holding the back of his head. "Oh my God, Jason!" I say, falling on my knees beside him and putting a hand gently on the back of his own hand. "Let the games begin, then." I look up to see Adam's sickeningly happy face, grinning. "How could you do this? To your own best friend?" I ask him, extremely scared and fearful for Jason's and my life, but even more angry. "Simple. You remember… a letter you gave me? You put it under the door, the last time I saw you…" I think, but I can't seem to remember. "You look confused, Melissa. Let me clarify for you. I do have it memorized, after all:
Never say I love you, if you really don't care.
Never talk about feelings, if they aren't really there.
Never hold my hand, if you are going to break my heart.
Never say you are going to, if you don't plan to start.
Never look into my eyes, if all you do is lie.
Never say hello, if you really mean goodbye.
If you really mean forever, then say you will try.
Never say forever, cause forever makes me cry.
No more, Adam. No more.
Once Love, Melissa.
"That was just the tip of the iceberg, baby! You see, after I got that note, I realized what a fool I was, ditching you once again. And I want you back, Melissa. And I decided that the only way to do that was to eliminate the Hardy Boyz, which I have done! Or, at least, Jeff, anyways..." I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. "Only then, I didn't realize that my own best friend would betray me and become yet another obstacle in my way to you…" he says, walking over and kicking Jason in his side full force. Jason groans and holds his side in pain, tears coming to his eyes. "You see, Jason was in the original plan to help me, you know. But he couldn't handle it; he just couldn't go through. You see, the grand finale was our demolishing of you, darling. Because if I can't have you, no one else can!" He comes up behind me and grabs my hair, pulling me away from Jay. I scream, and try to kick him in vain. He just laughs, and continues to pull me behind the building. When we get behind it, he picks me up and ties both my wrists to two ropes hanging from the top of the building, pinning me against the wall. My feet are hanging above the ground, and I furiously kick at him, only to have him laugh at me. "Wild, aren't we? I guess I'm going to have to restrain your feet as well…" he says, taking the ropes from the bottom and tying my feet down. I scream horrifically, and Adam puts his hands over his ears. "You're going to have to stop that," he says calmly, walking over to a small table about ten yards away. He turns back around, and my breath stops in my throat. I see a silver shimmer in his hand, and I realize what he was planning on doing. "You're going to…" I start, more a statement than a question. He smiles evilly, then shakes his head yes. I begin trembling and tears begin streaming down my face. He walks over to me, and slides the knife's metallic blade around the curve of my chin. "Shhh," he says. "Please don't," I say quietly through my sobs. He shakes his head, and sighs. "I'm sorry, baby. I have to, though," he says, unbuttoning the buttons of my white shirt. "I'll be right back," he says, grinning and walking around the side of the building, drawing a gun from his back pocket. "No…" I say through my sobs, a knot rising in my stomach as I realized that he had every intention on shooting Jason. After Jason was gone, who would come to help me? Who else knew about what Adam was doing? Then, I hear the gunshot ring through the woods, and my heart almost stops. God, please, please let Jason be all right! But when Adam comes around the building with blood on the front of his shirt, I begin to cry uncontrollably. "You cold hearted son of a bitch! What the hell is your problem?!" I scream at him. "Whatever do you mean?" he says. "You just killed your best friend, you bitch!" I say, about to explode. I feel my blood rush straight to my head and the anger boiling inside me, my feelings quickly changing from fear to hate. "He was such a self-centered son of a bitch anyways. And why are you worried about it anyways? Could it be that you have certain… feelings for our dear friend Jason, maybe?" he says, walking towards me slowly with the blade held tightly in his hand. Suddenly the fear comes rushing back and I push myself as far against the wall as I can, only to have him laugh at me again. "Nowhere to run, Melissa," he says, running a finger along the blade, slicing himself open deeply. But so intent on me, he doesn't even notice that he cut himself. He sets the point of the blade at the top of my stomach, and pulls it down slowly, not deep enough to really do any damage, only deep enough to have me bleed in the trail. He cuts the middle of my stomach slowly, the pain gripping the very core of my soul, and I begin to cry all over again. He then takes the blade and cuts me all the way down the insides of both my arms, the pale white flesh becoming coated slowly in crimson blood. After a few minutes, I begin to get slightly hazy, much to Adam's pleasure. "Do you feel it yet, Melissa? It's the blood loss. First, you get sleepy, then you fall asleep. Forever. It's a slow way to die, but at least it's not painful. After all, I wouldn't want to hurt you, baby," he says, sliding it around my chin and cutting the flesh. I blink my eyes slowly, barely able to open them. "Where's Matt…?" I ask him slowly. "He's at home, baby. I didn't think he was significant enough in this situation to eliminate him as well." I shake my head, and my head falls over to the side. "I think I'm gonna pass out…" I tell him. He just smiles. "It'll be okay, hon. Soon, you'll never feel any pain ever again. I promise," he says, kissing me on the cheek. And a moment later, an illusion before my eyes shows Adam falling to the ground, grabbing his chest after a… gunshot? "Melissa! Melissa, wake up, please!" I hear someone say. My eyes hazily open, and I see Jason standing in front of me, holding my head in his hands. "Melissa, are you okay?" I wearily shake my head no. He bends down and unties the ropes holding my feet, then my arms, and takes me into his arms in a bundle. He carries me back to the car, and lays me in the back seat. A few minutes later, everything begins to fade away. "Melissa, don't close your eyes! Hold on, babe, please hold on. I'm gonna take you to the hospital right now. You're gonna be all right, hon…"
****************
I wake up a few hours later in a hospital room bed, and hear talking out in the hallway. I close my eyes and push my head back into the pillow, only to hear someone walk into the room moments later. Someone kneels down in the floor beside my bed, a slight moan coming from the person as if they were in pain. I feel someone take my hand, and I know who it is as soon as they begin speaking. "Well, Melissa, you made it. They say that you're going to be okay," Jason says. Does he know I'm awake? "I was just talking to the police, you know. They said that Jeff is dead. I'm so sorry. But there is some good news; I killed Adam," he says, a smile in his voice. "They said that no charges would be held because of the circumstances. He shot me in the side, but I'll be all right. Now I'm waiting for you." He sighs deeply, and his voice begins to tremble. "Melissa, you just can't die… you don't realize what that would do to me right now. I mean, I actually killed my best friend. I know that he had done all that stuff to me and to you, but I've had my whole life with Adam, Melissa. And now, if you died, I'd have nobody…" Then he begins to cry, and he buries his face in the covers. "Jay, all we have is each other now. I wouldn't leave you if my life depended on it," I say. He looks up at me, and a huge smile crosses his face. "You're okay! You're really okay!" he says, immediately grabbing me and hugging me tightly, taking care not to press his wound anymore. "Is Jeff really…" I stop, barely able to contain the flood I was about to cry. Jason shakes his head solemnly, the most sobering move in my entire life. I bury my face in his shoulder and begin sobbing uncontrollably, the pain ripping at my heart and soul immensely. I see a bright white flash of light behind my eyes. "It's all my fault!" I sob to Jason, him cradling me back and forth in his arms. "No! It's not your fault, do you hear me?! It was all Adam," he says harshly. "No! You don't understand, Jay… the last thing Jeff and I had was an argument… I didn't even get to tell him goodbye. And if it weren't for me, Jeff would have never been in this mess in the first place… my fault…" I trail off. He shakes his head and assures me once again that it wasn't my fault. After nearly half an hour, I fall back asleep, Jason in the chair beside my bed. We were alone now, but it would be okay. I knew it.
The End
By: Odyssey
(Part two of the Evil-oution series)
It was not so long ago,
When I thought I'd never meet someone like you.
Wrong was I, thinking I'm in control,
Believing I'd never fall.
All my life I thought no one would
Melt a heart like mine, a heart so cold,
A heart hardened by the past, and
Protected by shields so vast.
Slowly I was falling
Without even knowing,
Only to find out too late.
I have no choice but to accept my fate.
I could dream, I suppose.
Forever, I could hope.
There will never be any 'us', that's our destiny,
So I wake up to reality.
I lied when I said
I didn't love you,
That my feelings for you
Are through…
I lied,
Not because I wanted to,
But because I love you,
And I still do.
I wouldn't do a thing to hurt you,
But I just have to let go.
I can't hold on much longer,
Because for us, there's no forever.
****************
I wake up next to Jeff the morning of my birthday, November 23, his emerald green eyes staring into mine deeply. He smiles at me, and kisses me on the cheek, but I can't help but wonder exactly what Adam was doing right now. I hadn't seen him, hadn't talked to him in a little over a year now, and the fact that I had upset him so much was troubling me constantly, even though I know he never really loved me, or at least, I think. "What's wrong, Lissa? Something bothering you?" I shake out of my dream world, thoughts drifting back to what was, instead of what could have never been. "What do you mean? Nothing's bothering me, Jeff. Why?" "I dunno, you just seem very far away and preoccupied these past couple of weeks. Worries me when you act like that, baby." "Well, maybe I've been a little preoccupied, but it's just personal matters. Nothing much," I say, sitting up, feeling slightly uncomfortable being in this conversation with Jeff. Not that I didn't like talking to him, it's just uncomfortable to talk to him about things like that, especially Adam. "Oh, that reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you about something, Melissa." "Yes?" Jeff sighs. "These past couple nights, you've been talking in your sleep…" "I told you to expect that, Jeff, before you even got into this relationship with me and you know that…" "No, let me finish. You've been talking about Adam, Melissa. Is there something you're not telling me?" I look Jeff in the eyes. "Okay, maybe I'm feeling sorry for him. I mean, after the little thing between us that night I haven't spoken to or seen him, Jeff, and I'm feeling guilty, and responsible for hurting him so bad. Wouldn't you?" Jeff laughs, a little disgusted. "Are you saying you regret what you did?" "No, Jeff! That's not what I said. I love you, and you should know that by now. If not, you have some serious problems." I get up and walk into the bathroom, turning the shower on to get ready for the day. Adam, where are you now, I wonder.
****************
"So, Jason, what's up?" I say as I sit down at his table later that morning at a local restaurant. "Well, I wanna tell you about Adam." I laugh. "What about him? I'm happy, I'm with Jeff." "I know, but he's… not. I mean, he's kinda been flippin out lately, saying things like he's gonna murder Jeff and shit, except he's making plans on it and going into extremely graphic detail. He's scaring me, Melissa, and I don't think that you and Jeff are safe in Cameron anymore." My face fades, and I don't know exactly how to take what Jason has just told me. "What are you saying, Jay?" He grabs my arm gently, and stares me in the eyes with a cold gaze that sends shivers up my spine. "I'm saying that you should go back to New Orleans until I can get this straightened out with Adam…" "Hell no! Never! I'm not going back to New Orleans. I've spent my entire life there, and I've had it up to here with New Orleans, Jason Reso!" "Please, Melissa," he says, his blue eyes softening with concern. I sigh gently, turning my head away from him. "Why?" "Because I don't want you to get hurt, Melissa. You're my friend, why would I want you to get hurt?" "Well I don't want you staying here and get hurt either, Jason. If we go, you're going with us." "Melissa, I…" "You're going, or I'm not. Take your pick." He stares at me, pain and despair deep inside the gaze. "Please," I ask him again. He looks up at the clock, and his eyes widen. "Oh my God… I have to get going, I'll call you later, Melissa." He hurriedly gets up, and rushes out the door. What was wrong with him, I ask myself, shrugging it off a moment later.
****************
"But, Jeff…" "Hell no! I'm not going!" "You have to go!" "I don't have to do anything! I'm staying here, and that's that. And if physco Adam comes through here trying to murder me, I'll tear his heart out!" "I wish you would go," I say calmly. "I wish you would stay." He puts his hands on my shoulders as some means of comfort, and I pull away. "I have to get ready to go." He sighs, turning away from me as I walk into our bedroom. I sit on the edge of my side of the bed, waiting for something, even though I don't know what exactly I'm waiting for. How could Adam have turned so… evil, I ask myself. Because of you, I hear a voice inside me say. "You really wanna go through with this?" I hear someone say from behind me. I turn around, and my heartbeat begins to slowly increase. "Jason, I…" "Because if he doesn't wanna go, I'll go with you." "When did you get here?" I ask him. "Well," he starts, walking over to me. "I got here about five minutes ago, and I know it wasn't exactly the right thing to do, but I listened through the back door to the discussion you and Jeff had, and, well, I wanna let you know that I'd be happy to go with you down there. I'm not gonna be able to talk to Adam about it like I thought I was going to…" "What happened over there, Jay?" I say, getting up and walking over to stand in front of him. He looks at the ground, and I pull his chin up for him to look at me. "When I started talking to him, he snapped, Melissa…" he says, a tear hanging in the corner of his eye. "What happened, Jay?" I say softly, using my thumb to wipe the tear from his face, which had since slid down. He pulls the sleeve of his black t-shirt up to his shoulder carefully, and black, dried blood crumbles from a huge, deep gash on his upper arm. "He did that? To you? But you're his best friend! Why would he do something like this to you?" He looks down and shakes his head. "I don't know, Melissa. I wish I did." He pulls the sleeve back down, and I shake my head in disbelief. Of all the people, Adam did this to Jason? Those guys have been best friends since they were like, two years old! How could this happen? "We're taking you to the hospital and getting that stitched up." "No." "If you don't, it'll only get worse, Jason!" "I'm not going to the hospital."
****************
"I hate hospitals," Jay says as we walk into the hospital. "Well, you'll get over it," I say, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. He smiles mysteriously. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were getting a kick out of bringing me to one of the worst places in the world." I grin back at him while signing him in. "Who, me?" We look up as a nurse comes out of a room and says his name, calling him back. "Good luck!" I say, a sneaky grin on my face. "Yeah, when I get out you're gonna owe me, you brat!" I smile at him, and blow him a kiss to shoo him on his way. He goes inside, and I wait for him. A few minutes later, I hear the most God-awful screams coming out of the room. Guess he doesn't like stitches too much, I think to myself with a smirk. "Do we have someone here named Melissa Withrow?" a frustrated nurse comes out and says into the waiting room. "Um, that's me," I say, standing up. She smiles and walks over to me. "Could you come back here with your friend Jason Reso? We're having some, um, problems with him…" "Yeah, I know what you mean. He hates stitches!" She laughs, and I follow her back to the room where Jason is. "Melissa! You're here! Tell them that I can't have stitches!" "He's fine, he can have stitches," I say, grinning at Jay. He mouths the word 'traitor', and clamps his fingers into the cushion of the table. They begin to clean the gash again, and his eyes squint shut tightly. His breathing gets more labored, and he shields his face with one hand and his blonde hair. "Aww, Jay, come on now. Be a big boy!" I say jokingly, walking over to him and taking his hand into my own. He squeezes it tightly as they begin to stitch him up, his hand jerking every time they push or pull the needle through. They finish about five minutes later, and he gets up off the table. He gives me an evil, yet playful look, and I smile at him. As we walk out the door, he finally decides to talk to me again. "I can't believe you!" he says, looking down at his arm. "Well, it had to be done, Jay. And you know it!" He sighs. "Yeah, I guess you're right, for once!" he says, smiling at me while we get in the car. "This coming from the person who had his hair dyed… what was it again… purple, in the ninth grade because he thought it was cool?!" I say, a smile in my voice. He flushes. "Well, I thought it was a good decision at the time!" A few minutes later, we pull in the driveway of Jeff's and my house and get out of the car. I search for the key a minute, and begin to unlock the door, only to find that it's already unlocked. "That's weird," I say. "What?" "The door was already unlocked. Jeff never leaves it unlocked." "Oh… hey, maybe I better go in first, just in case," Jason says, walking into the house. He turns on the light, and Jeff is not there. "Jeff?" I yell into the house, walking through and looking for him. "Jeff?!" I walk upstairs and look through the rooms, only to find that he's not there either. "Where could he be?" I say to Jay as we meet up again. "I don't know, I can't find him anywhere, either." Then the phone rings, and Jason answers it. "Hello?" he says. After a pause, he says, "Where are you, man?!" "Who is it, Jay?" "All right, hold on." He shakes his head and puts it on speakerphone. "Melissa!" a velvety voice says, and my heart practically stops as I think and realize who it is. "What do you want, Adam?" I say, barely able to choke out his name. "I have your little boyfriend…" he says, a smirk in his voice. "Oh my God… where is he?! Let me talk to him!" "I'm afraid you can't do that, baby!" "Why not?!" "Well, let's just say he's a little… tied up at the moment…" "Oh my God… Oh my God. What are you going to do to him?!" Adam laughs. "Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure, Melissa? I'm sure Jeff is having the time of his life…" he says, his voice getting rougher and jerking on the word life, followed by a sharp scream. My face drains of all color, and I sink down in the floor, beginning to cry. "Damn it Adam, what the hell are you doing?! You can't just run around kidnapping people and torturing them! Are you fucking crazy?!" Jason demands. Adam just laughs. "Dear, dear Jason, how's your little cut doing? After all, I was aiming for your chest with that knife, but you were lucky, you know. Flipping that table over onto me was pretty intelligent, for someone of your level." "Screw you, Adam! Where the hell is Jeff?" I hear Jeff scream pitifully in the background, followed by a loud thump. I scream, and Adam laughs again. "Something the matter, Melissa?" I grimace at the sound of his voice, and hold my stomach, feeling as if I'm about to throw up. "Let us talk to Jeff, Adam," Jay says calmly. "No can do, bro. He's kinda, well, cutting up right now," he says, a smile in his voice followed by three or four loud sickening groans. "We're tired of your sick jokes, you son of a bitch!" Jason says to him, clinching his fists at his sides. "To be quite honest with you, I could care less. Now, come to the end of English Road at four-thirty, pm. You know it goes into some woods; get out of the car and walk down the path farthest to the left. You can pick Jeff up there, nowhere else and no sooner, do you understand me?!" Jason looks down at me, and I shake my head in agreement. "Fine, Adam." "Good. And no police, because I will be watching you and if there are police, you will pay, oh yes, you will pay dearly… goodbye, friends." "Adam, wait, you son of a bitch!" But it was too late. Adam had already hung the phone up. "Oh my God, Jason… Adam's going to kill Jeff…" I say, beginning to sob uncontrollably. Jason kneels in front of me and wraps me up in his arms, pulling me close and holding my head against his shoulder. "He won't do it, Melissa. He's faking it." I think for a moment. "Then why did he do that to you?" I ask him, hinting at his arm. He sighs. "I don't know, Melissa."
****************
We pull up at the end of English Road around four twenty-eight. Waiting for four-thirty is the most tense minutes in my entire life. Finally, the dashboard clock reads four-thirty, and we immediately get out of the car. We begin walking down the path, and finally come to a small building with a note taped to the door. I pull it off quickly, and slowly read the words, processing each one:
Dearest Jason and Melissa-
Well, you've made it this far, but after you see the inside of this building, you won't make it very much farther… at least, without losing your lunch! Hahaha!
-Adam
My face drains once again, and Jay jerks the note out of my hand. He reads it quickly, and throws the door open, unleashing a nauseating smell reeking of decomposed bodies. We put our hands over our noses and walk inside, switching on a single light in the middle of the room. I release a horrific scream when I see what damage Adam has done. Hanging from the light in the middle of the room, is Jeff. Only, it's what was Jeff. A purple-haired corpse hangs from a rope in the middle of the room attached to the light, it's snapped neck dangling sickeningly towards the ground. Lower, in its abdomen, a huge hole where the stomach once was reveals a gaping hole scraped deep inside his body, insides hanging out of it. My face flushes, then fades, and I really don't know what emotion to feel. An intense depression and remorse for what had happened comes over me, and I hold my stomach. I begin to feel dizzy, and Jason catches me before I fall. He walks me over to a wall, and I stay there for a moment, thoughts racing through my head. And then it hits me. "Oh my God, Jason. What about Matt?" Jason turns slowly to face me, and shrugs his shoulders. "He wants to play games? Well, I can play, too…" he says, beginning to grin wildly. He steps outside and begins to yell, "You wanna play games, Adam?! Why don't you come out here and play like a man then, bitch!" "Jason, please don't do that…" I say, coming out towards the middle of the clearing with him. "Well, if he's so big and bad, he can drag his slack-ass out here and fight face to face!" I can't help but laugh at the last remark, and I don't notice Adam walking up behind us. I hear a loud thump, and Jason falls to the ground, holding the back of his head. "Oh my God, Jason!" I say, falling on my knees beside him and putting a hand gently on the back of his own hand. "Let the games begin, then." I look up to see Adam's sickeningly happy face, grinning. "How could you do this? To your own best friend?" I ask him, extremely scared and fearful for Jason's and my life, but even more angry. "Simple. You remember… a letter you gave me? You put it under the door, the last time I saw you…" I think, but I can't seem to remember. "You look confused, Melissa. Let me clarify for you. I do have it memorized, after all:
Never say I love you, if you really don't care.
Never talk about feelings, if they aren't really there.
Never hold my hand, if you are going to break my heart.
Never say you are going to, if you don't plan to start.
Never look into my eyes, if all you do is lie.
Never say hello, if you really mean goodbye.
If you really mean forever, then say you will try.
Never say forever, cause forever makes me cry.
No more, Adam. No more.
Once Love, Melissa.
"That was just the tip of the iceberg, baby! You see, after I got that note, I realized what a fool I was, ditching you once again. And I want you back, Melissa. And I decided that the only way to do that was to eliminate the Hardy Boyz, which I have done! Or, at least, Jeff, anyways..." I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. "Only then, I didn't realize that my own best friend would betray me and become yet another obstacle in my way to you…" he says, walking over and kicking Jason in his side full force. Jason groans and holds his side in pain, tears coming to his eyes. "You see, Jason was in the original plan to help me, you know. But he couldn't handle it; he just couldn't go through. You see, the grand finale was our demolishing of you, darling. Because if I can't have you, no one else can!" He comes up behind me and grabs my hair, pulling me away from Jay. I scream, and try to kick him in vain. He just laughs, and continues to pull me behind the building. When we get behind it, he picks me up and ties both my wrists to two ropes hanging from the top of the building, pinning me against the wall. My feet are hanging above the ground, and I furiously kick at him, only to have him laugh at me. "Wild, aren't we? I guess I'm going to have to restrain your feet as well…" he says, taking the ropes from the bottom and tying my feet down. I scream horrifically, and Adam puts his hands over his ears. "You're going to have to stop that," he says calmly, walking over to a small table about ten yards away. He turns back around, and my breath stops in my throat. I see a silver shimmer in his hand, and I realize what he was planning on doing. "You're going to…" I start, more a statement than a question. He smiles evilly, then shakes his head yes. I begin trembling and tears begin streaming down my face. He walks over to me, and slides the knife's metallic blade around the curve of my chin. "Shhh," he says. "Please don't," I say quietly through my sobs. He shakes his head, and sighs. "I'm sorry, baby. I have to, though," he says, unbuttoning the buttons of my white shirt. "I'll be right back," he says, grinning and walking around the side of the building, drawing a gun from his back pocket. "No…" I say through my sobs, a knot rising in my stomach as I realized that he had every intention on shooting Jason. After Jason was gone, who would come to help me? Who else knew about what Adam was doing? Then, I hear the gunshot ring through the woods, and my heart almost stops. God, please, please let Jason be all right! But when Adam comes around the building with blood on the front of his shirt, I begin to cry uncontrollably. "You cold hearted son of a bitch! What the hell is your problem?!" I scream at him. "Whatever do you mean?" he says. "You just killed your best friend, you bitch!" I say, about to explode. I feel my blood rush straight to my head and the anger boiling inside me, my feelings quickly changing from fear to hate. "He was such a self-centered son of a bitch anyways. And why are you worried about it anyways? Could it be that you have certain… feelings for our dear friend Jason, maybe?" he says, walking towards me slowly with the blade held tightly in his hand. Suddenly the fear comes rushing back and I push myself as far against the wall as I can, only to have him laugh at me again. "Nowhere to run, Melissa," he says, running a finger along the blade, slicing himself open deeply. But so intent on me, he doesn't even notice that he cut himself. He sets the point of the blade at the top of my stomach, and pulls it down slowly, not deep enough to really do any damage, only deep enough to have me bleed in the trail. He cuts the middle of my stomach slowly, the pain gripping the very core of my soul, and I begin to cry all over again. He then takes the blade and cuts me all the way down the insides of both my arms, the pale white flesh becoming coated slowly in crimson blood. After a few minutes, I begin to get slightly hazy, much to Adam's pleasure. "Do you feel it yet, Melissa? It's the blood loss. First, you get sleepy, then you fall asleep. Forever. It's a slow way to die, but at least it's not painful. After all, I wouldn't want to hurt you, baby," he says, sliding it around my chin and cutting the flesh. I blink my eyes slowly, barely able to open them. "Where's Matt…?" I ask him slowly. "He's at home, baby. I didn't think he was significant enough in this situation to eliminate him as well." I shake my head, and my head falls over to the side. "I think I'm gonna pass out…" I tell him. He just smiles. "It'll be okay, hon. Soon, you'll never feel any pain ever again. I promise," he says, kissing me on the cheek. And a moment later, an illusion before my eyes shows Adam falling to the ground, grabbing his chest after a… gunshot? "Melissa! Melissa, wake up, please!" I hear someone say. My eyes hazily open, and I see Jason standing in front of me, holding my head in his hands. "Melissa, are you okay?" I wearily shake my head no. He bends down and unties the ropes holding my feet, then my arms, and takes me into his arms in a bundle. He carries me back to the car, and lays me in the back seat. A few minutes later, everything begins to fade away. "Melissa, don't close your eyes! Hold on, babe, please hold on. I'm gonna take you to the hospital right now. You're gonna be all right, hon…"
****************
I wake up a few hours later in a hospital room bed, and hear talking out in the hallway. I close my eyes and push my head back into the pillow, only to hear someone walk into the room moments later. Someone kneels down in the floor beside my bed, a slight moan coming from the person as if they were in pain. I feel someone take my hand, and I know who it is as soon as they begin speaking. "Well, Melissa, you made it. They say that you're going to be okay," Jason says. Does he know I'm awake? "I was just talking to the police, you know. They said that Jeff is dead. I'm so sorry. But there is some good news; I killed Adam," he says, a smile in his voice. "They said that no charges would be held because of the circumstances. He shot me in the side, but I'll be all right. Now I'm waiting for you." He sighs deeply, and his voice begins to tremble. "Melissa, you just can't die… you don't realize what that would do to me right now. I mean, I actually killed my best friend. I know that he had done all that stuff to me and to you, but I've had my whole life with Adam, Melissa. And now, if you died, I'd have nobody…" Then he begins to cry, and he buries his face in the covers. "Jay, all we have is each other now. I wouldn't leave you if my life depended on it," I say. He looks up at me, and a huge smile crosses his face. "You're okay! You're really okay!" he says, immediately grabbing me and hugging me tightly, taking care not to press his wound anymore. "Is Jeff really…" I stop, barely able to contain the flood I was about to cry. Jason shakes his head solemnly, the most sobering move in my entire life. I bury my face in his shoulder and begin sobbing uncontrollably, the pain ripping at my heart and soul immensely. I see a bright white flash of light behind my eyes. "It's all my fault!" I sob to Jason, him cradling me back and forth in his arms. "No! It's not your fault, do you hear me?! It was all Adam," he says harshly. "No! You don't understand, Jay… the last thing Jeff and I had was an argument… I didn't even get to tell him goodbye. And if it weren't for me, Jeff would have never been in this mess in the first place… my fault…" I trail off. He shakes his head and assures me once again that it wasn't my fault. After nearly half an hour, I fall back asleep, Jason in the chair beside my bed. We were alone now, but it would be okay. I knew it.
The End