Renee was closing up shop along with her coworkers after a long day. They said goodbye to each other and went to their cars. Renee was happy to finally be off of her feet and drove directly home so that she could take a bath. She smiled at the thought of finally cuddling with her boyfriend in the tub as well and unwinding. Even though he had told her that morning before he left that he was catching a ride with his friend, Renee decided to pick him up from work. He usually waited outside of the alleyway for her when she did come pick him up. As Renee drove down the street towards the buffet restaurant her boyfriend worked at, she saw a swarm of police officers and the fire department at the place. Now she was worried that something had happened since her boyfriend didn't answer her call when she got off of work. She pulled over on the opposite side of the road, cut her engine off, and got out of the car.

A policeman saw her approaching the crime scene and held up his hand to stop her.

"Ma'am, I cannot let you by. This is a crime scene," he said.

"My boyfriend works here and I tried calling him but he didn't answer. I'm worried about him," Renee said. "I see one of his friends right there. I just want to know if anything has happened to my boyfriend."

The officer looked behind him to see the victim's friend sitting down on the sidewalk with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and his eyes glued to the road.

"Ma'am, do you know a man named Phil Landerson?" the officer asked Renee.

"Yes, I do. That's my boyfriend," Renee said. "Where is he? Is he here?"

A grave look took over the officers face as he looked Renee into her eyes.

"I'm sorry, ma'am...but your boyfriend has been murdered."

Renee thought her ears were playing tricks on her when she heard what the police officer had told her.

"WHAT!?"

"Ma'am-"

"HE'S DEAD!? WHO KILLED HIM!?"

Chris quickly ran over to Renee to comfort her as she fell to the ground. He helped her to the sidewalk and placed the blanket over her.

"I'm so sorry," Chris said.

Another police officer came over to see what was going on.

"Ma'am, are you related to the victim?" the officer said.

"Yes...he was my boyfriend..." Renee said. When she saw a body in a black bag get lifted onto a stretcher she stopped breathing for a few seconds. "I need to see him..."

Chris and the officer guided her to the ambulance. Renee braced herself as the black bag was unzipped and she was shown her boyfriend's corpse. She broke down crying once again and couldn't stop crying. The officer gave Renee a number she could call to contact someone about the murder.

"What happened?" Renee asked.

"Some guy tried to rob me and Phil came out and tried to help me fend him off. The guy pulled out a knife and stabbed Phil in the neck as he tried to take the guy down again. I'm so sorry, Renee. I tried to fight the guy off."

"I'm sorry for your lost," the officer said.

"Thank you," Chris said.

Slowly making her way back to the car, she got in and turned the car back on.

"I know you're very heartbroken right now. Do you want me to drive you home?" Chris said.

"I'm...I'm alright..." Renee said quietly.

"You sure?"

Renee slowly nodded her head and closed the door to her car. She started the engine and went straight home, knowing she had to deal with everything again tomorrow.

Who was the monster that did that to her boyfriend? Why would someone do something like that? So many questions ran through her mind as she drove home. For the first time, she would walk into her home alone.

The next couple of weeks was hard for Renee as she helped Phil's family rearrange his funeral. Renee was grateful she had the chance to kiss Phil on his forehead and say goodbye to him one last time. After the funeral, she headed back to his mother's house to be with her and the family. She didn't eat much and instead went to lie down in bed. She hadn't gotten any sleep whatsoever ever since his murder. The police had told her that they're continuing to find the criminal who murdered her boyfriend. Renee didn't think of the culprit as a criminal and instead an evil monster who took an innocent life. Her poor heart was broken and only with time would it heal. Chris knocked on the door of the room.

"Renee?"

"Come in," she said quietly.

She sat up as she wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"How're you holding up?" Chris asked.

He sat next to his best friend and hugged her.

"It's going to be hard living without him," Renee said. "Why did that guy try to rob you? Why did everything happen the way it did? Why, why, why!?"

"I wish I knew, Renee. I really wish I knew. It's a cold world out there. That night, he talked about how he was going to give you a nice foot massage when he got home from work."

Renee chuckled.

"I'm gonna miss that, too."

"Oh. Hold on..." Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet. "He wanted to give this to you."

The bracelet had "I love you" engraved on it. Renee's tears flowed out of her eyes again as Chris placed the bracelet into her hands. Renee closed her hand and held onto the bracelet with all of her might.

"I'm gonna miss him so much..." Renee said.

"I know, honey. I know. I'm gonna miss him, too. He was such a good friend. Helped me out whenever he could."

Renee spent the rest of the evening laughing, crying, and beginning her journey of healing.

Her coworkers at the diner where she worked also offered her condolences to her. Her boss told her that if she needed to leave work she could anytime she felt like it and even gave her extra days off if she needed them. Renee needed something to keep her mind off the tragedy and focused on something else. Anything to keep her mind off of the terrible events that transpired during the last two weeks.

During her lunch break, Renee downed two big bowls of chocolate ice cream, one without fudge and one with a lot of fudge. One of Renee's friends sat next to her in the booth she was sitting in and rubbed her back.

"How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Hanging in there. I'm really hanging in there, Evelyn."

"Aww."

"It was hard falling asleep in bed by myself for the first time in forever. It's so hard..." Renee wiped tears away from her eyes and ate another bite of her ice cream. "If they don't find the guy who did this, I give up."

"Don't. The police will find the asshole who killed Phil."

"I truly hope so. I truly hope so."

Evelyn hugged Renee and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"They will. If you need anything, just call me. Okay?"

"Okay."

When Renee got home, she kicked off her shoes and put food in her cat's bowl. The cat was happy she was finally able to eat and ate every drop of her food. Renee poured some water in his water bowl then laid down on the couch.

If only she could turn back the hands of time and rewrite history. Phil would be tickling her right now but now he's resting soundly in his grave. As tired as she was, the thought of this kept bothering her. She got back up, went to the kitchen, opened up some of the cabinets, and slammed a few glass plates down onto the hard floor in the kitchen.

"FUCK!" she screamed out loud to herself.

She cried and cried as she walked to her bedroom and fell on her bed.

"It's not fair...it's just not fair..." she said.

Getting back up, she took off her uniform and bra then laid down under the covers in her bed. She wanted this nightmare to be over with. She didn't want to deal with the pain and suffering anymore. She wanted it to stop. This nightmare had to end soon. Hopefully, when she woke up.

However, that was not the case. This was the new reality she had to deal with because of some petty criminal who was a monster.

Renee sighed and turned off her light as she fell asleep.