He didn't get back home until dark. It was pouring down rain and he didn't have his hood on. Arthur walked down the street, his body soaking wet, and went into the building, his depression clearly evident on his cold, gaunt face. He thought he would find the answer he was looking for when he went to the hospital, but he didn't. He only found out the awful truth about himself. He was unimportant, a nobody, a ward of the state raised by the hand of a devil woman who never showed him one scrap of affection.

Arthur went over and pressed the button to open the doors to the elevator. He stepped inside and took the trip up alone. His mind was all a blank. He didn't know what to do or who to turn to. He felt his whole entire life was nothing more than a fucking joke. Thinking it over, Arthur slowly looked to his right, imagining Sophie giving him the same finger gun motion to her head. He knew exactly what she was trying to tell him. He wanted to see her. He wanted so much to tell her how he felt about her. Would she return the same feelings he had for her? Part of him wanted to say yes, even though he knew she already had a boyfriend.

Arthur didn't know why he loved Sophie or even obsessed over her. She didn't know he existed and they never shared but one conversation with each other. They had no chemistry together. It could never be. Either way, Arthur had to see her. There was something he needed to do.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Arthur stepped out and went down the hall, walking past his own apartment and going down toward the one at the very end. He eyed the doorknob and placed his hand on it, turning it to see if it was locked. It wasn't.

Arthur pushed the door open quietly and walked inside, eying the coats and child's backpack hanging up. He walked in further and looked around the living room. He walked over to the wall, running his hand over a finger painting drawn by a little girl. He noticed the TV was showing a sheet of snow, the reception lost and broken. He went over and sat down on the couch, hunched over with his head hanging low, his wet hair dangling in front of his sad face. He looked like a broken bird.

He heard the door to the bedroom open and heard footsteps approaching. Sophie gasped in shock. Oh, my God! What are you doing here?"

Arthur didn't answer her or look at her. He could already tell she didn't want him there.

"Your name's Arthur, right?" Sophie asked him. "You need to leave. You're in the wrong apartment. You live down the hall."

"I've had a bad day", said Arthur, his voice low and quiet.

Sophie didn't hear him. She tried to stay calm and not do anything to upset the crazy man sitting in her living room. "I really need you to leave. My little girl is sleeping in the other room."

Arthur lifted his head and slowly turned it and looked at Sophie, who remained where she was, not wanting to approach him any further than she should. He raised a finger to the side of his head, echoing the same gun finger motion she showed him before.

Sophie raised a hand to her mouth, letting out a soft gasp.

Arthur stared at her with sorrowful eyes, longing for her to return his feelings for her. "Why don't you love me?"

Sophie lowered her hand and said, "You need some help. Is there somebody I can call? Is your mother home?"

Arthur lowered his hand and told her, "I don't have anywhere else to go. I just need somebody to talk to."

Sophie took a risk and slowly walked over to Arthur, who stood up and continued to stare at her.

"What do you want, Arthur?"

At first, Arthur didn't say anything. He just stood there, looking at her. His body was shaking, though she probably thought it was from the rain. Sophie saw a strange look in his eyes, showing her a monster behind two glistening eyes of envious green. She feared the worst and thought about about running over to the phone to call the police, but she never got the chance to do that.

Without warning, Arthur grabbed Sophie by her throat and pinned her down to the floor, his slender hands crushing her neck and cutting off the air to her lungs. Sophie tried to scream, but she couldn't. Arthur was choking her. She scratched at his wrists to try and get him to stop, but he was too strong. How could a man who looked so fragile and weak actually be so strong and powerful?

Arthur didn't care how badly he was hurting her. He already had a fucked up day. He wanted to take his anger out on somebody. Sophie was the perfect victim. She gagged and was quivering beneath him, the light fading from her eyes. Her biggest fear was not for herself, but for her daughter. This seemingly-harmless man was hurting her, strangling her. She felt tears running down her cheeks.

Eventually, she stopped moving. She wasn't breathing. Arthur felt a faint pulse, then he felt nothing at all. He could have sworn she was dead.

The sound of thunder rumbled outside, then there came the sound of a little girl's frightened voice. "Mommy?"

Arthur snapped out of it and looked over toward the bedroom, wondering if she heard what just happened.

"Mommy, I'm scared."

The girl's mother did not answer her. Nor would she say anything ever again.

Arthur released his grip on Sophie's body, then stood up and walked out of the apartment immediately, shutting the door behind him. His face was dark and he showed no remorse for his actions. He went back to his apartment and locked the door and leaned against it. Right away, he burst out laughing, his face filled with agony. He took off his wet jacket and then the rest of his clothes until he was stripped down to nothing but his underwear. He walked over and sat down on the couch, going into a heart-wrenching fit of stressed out laughter. If he had a list of his top ten worst days ever, this would be number one. Having found out that he was adopted and abused as a child, finding out he was not the son of a rich man, and having lost the woman he yearned for the most, Arthur felt he was on the brink of loosing himself over to his insanity again. First the subway murders, and now this.

He paused his laughter and reached for a cigarette and tried to light it, but had to stop himself and let the uncontrollable laughing take its course. He leaned over and hugged the pillow beside him, hearing somebody on the bottom floor telling him to shut up. Arthur sat up and tried taking a drag, but started laughing again. He leaned forward until his forehead touched the coffee table in front of him, hearing the siren of an ambulance approaching. The flashing red lights outside indicated it pulled up in front of the building. Somebody must have called about Sophie, probably her daughter. Because her mother would not make it through the night, Sophie's daughter would grow up to become an orphan. Arthur sat up and drew in a breath of air, finding the thought to be very amusing in a dark, twisted way. He brought the cigarette to his lips and breathed smoke into his lungs, chucking softly as it gave him an idea about what to do with the woman who raised him and gave him hell since the moment he was born. It was time to say goodbye to mommy dearest. It was time to say goodbye to Penny Fleck.