Eventually the sunlight hit Floretta. Her phone was ringing several times in the early morning hours but she ignored everything around her. She had shut down. Eventually she heard the front door unlock and Seth's voice.
"Floretta!" He yelled.
He ran through the house and stopped at the bloody scene in the bedroom.
"What the fuck?" He looked from Corey and up to Floretta. "Floretta!"
He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her out of the bed and out of the room. She broke down in the hallway and cried all the tears she had held in over night.
"What the hell happened?" He asked.
"I killed him," she answered. "It was the only way. He was never going to let me go. He was going to kill you if I didn't kill him first. It was you or him."
"Then you made the right choice," he said.
"Are you going to call the police?" She asked. "Are you going to leave me now?"
"No," he said.
It wasn't even an option in his mind. He was never going to leave her no matter if she had just killed her ex. Instead he was going to help her.
"Okay, we need to figure this out. No one knows he's here. Where can we hide a body where it will never be found?" He asked.
"Bury it below freezing level. That way it won't resurface," she said.
"You and your crime shows," he chuckled. "We can do that on my uncle's old farm. He's still out traveling and he has some land he never uses."
He walked over to the upper wall closet Corey had been hiding in. He pulled down the blankets they stored there.
"Let's roll him up in these. Then we need to clean. We need to get rid of the sheets and the clothes you're wearing. Tomorrow we'll go buy a carpet for this room to be sure no traces of blood will be left for the naked eye to see. You need to delete the pictures and the recordings, and we need to get rid of the camera and the knife," he said.
"Why are you doing all this for me? You can walk away, Seth. You've done nothing wrong," she said.
He walked over to her and gently grabbed her chin.
"Because I love you, pretty flower," he pecked her lips. "We're in this together."
"I love you too, gorgeous," she said.
"I am gorgeous, aren't I?" He grinned. "Okay, let's get to work."
They worked together for many hours. They cleaned the home, drove to Seth's uncle's farm, and buried the body as far away from the house as possible between some bushes and trees where no one would ever go dig. Then they started a fire in the outdoor fire pit and burned her pajamas, the bed sheets, the blankets, and everything Corey had on him. While they stood there watching the flames, he pulled her in for a sideways hug and kissed the top of her head.
"We're gonna get through this," he said.
"I was thinking," she said.
"About what?" He asked.
"Let's get a dog," she said.
"Yeah?" He asked hopefully.
"A big dog to protect us if we ever need it," she said. "Like a rottweiler maybe."
"That sounds perfect," he hugged her. "I love you, pretty flower. We're getting a dog. This is a fucked up day but I'm happy."
"Me too," she said. "I'm happy, Seth. You've always made me happy."