"The vultures are disguised as humans."
Scarlet Turner has her last semester of high school planned out: graduate as best as she can and take care of her sick mother. But when she's told she won't graduate because of the pile of tardies she's collec...
THE BACKSTAGE HALLWAYS DIMMED as the play ran its course. Rumbles of hushes and the blanket of silence that fell over the audience thundered in her ears. She wandered the halls, looking for the one mask that Juliet needed for her scene.
She re-traced all of their steps, checked every dressing room, every bathroom, every room, and she came back empty-handed. That small mask was nowhere to be found.
"Where are you?" she whispered into the dark. As if the mask could somehow hear her desperate pleas. "I need you right now."
A chorus of laughter reverberated through the auditorium. Scarlet froze only to hear Thomas continue performing. She exhaled and kept searching through every corner, hoping that the glittery pink mask popped out at her. Jake recited his lines to Thomas, and the crowd cheered.
A Golden Boy indeed.
After the tenth time roaming the halls in her attempt to find the stupid mask, she stopped dead in her tracks and stomped her foot against the vinyl tiles. The lead could not perform a masquerade scene without her mask. If it was bad for an extra, it was terrible for Juliet. Scarlet had to find it.
"When you look in the wrong places, you'll never find what you need."
A cold tremor traveled down her spine as her muscles turned rigid. Her gaze lifted to the front to find the hallway empty. She slowly turned on her heel, and came face to face with Elliot, who held the glittery mask in one hand and a large kitchen knife in the other.
Those amber eyes she remembered watching from so close were surrounded in red. He wiped at his nose with the sleeve of his hand, holding the knife. His movements were clunky and shaky.
"I tried," he cried. "I tried to make you understand." He threw the mask onto the ground with all the force in his arm. The long feather on the right side came off, floating towards the edge of the wall. A small puff of glitter flew up from the impact, but Elliot trained his flashing gaze on hers. "I tried so hard."
Scarlet swallowed the lump in her throat. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" Elliot yelled. She flinched, and he sobbed. Pressing a hand to his forehead, he bent forward, crying out onto the floor. She wondered if she should do something, anything, to calm him down, but she was frozen.
She spotted the mask. It was too close to him. Even if she tried to pretend to comfort him, she wouldn't want to risk anything else happening between them. She stepped back, planning on getting one of the prop guys to help, but Elliot snapped back his attention.
"I wanted us to be happy together, Scarlet," he sobbed. "We were made for each other, and I tried to make you see that. But you had to go and fall for Jake." He wiped at his nose with his sleeve again, sniffling hard.
"Elliot, we agreed to be friends," she whispered.
He pointed the knife at her, and the audience roared with more laughter. Her heart rose up to her throat as Lindsey recited her Juliet lines. Sweat gathered at her forehead when she realized the masquerade scene was coming up, and fast. But none of that mattered as much as she stared at the edge of his blade.
"What are you doing?" She took her chance with her question to back up even more, but Elliot noticed. His eyes traveled to her feet before barging down the hall towards her.
She shrieked when he pinned her against the wall. The cold steel of the knife bit the sensitive skin of her neck. Tears stung her eyes as she held his gaze.
That amber stare widened, almost unstable. The lion inside came out, but it wasn't careful and calculated. This lion had enough and struck out without hesitation. And Scarlet got stuck under its paws, looking straight at its large teeth.
"I love you," he said. A laugh bubbled up his chest and he retreated his knife back. "I love you so much, Scarlet. I am so in love with you, I can't think of anything else!" Before she could even unstick herself from the wall, he pressed the knife back to her neck. "You are everything in my head. And I don't want it to be different. I love you. I love you so, so much."
A whimper escaped her lips as he dug the blade deeper into her skin.
"But when you went on over to Jake..." he trailed off. "I had to try to make you see that you were meant to be with me, but you never saw reason." Tears rolled down his own cheeks.
"Elliot, please," Scarlet wheezed as he pressed harder.
"I'm so sorry, my love," he weeped. "I didn't mean to, I swear. She was just there. And what was I supposed to do?"
Nothing made sense as Elliot went blabbering about. Scarlet struggled for air, feeling the sharp edge start breaking apart her skin. She gasped out.
"I'm sorry I killed her," he continued. "I didn't want to. I didn't. I promise I didn't."
Her eyes almost bulged out as she shifted in his grip. The tears down her cheeks mirrored his. She tried to cry something out, but nothing came out. Any attempt at words would cut her limited air supply.
But his words pierced deep into her soul, harder than the knife at her throat. All she could do was cry. Cry for her situation. Cry for her mother. Cry for the inevitability that he would commit the same crime after he was done with his spiel. And no one would notice her absence until it was too late.
"I never wanted to hurt you, my love." He trailed kisses down her jawline, still holding the blade in place. "You have to believe me. It was never about her. It was between me and you. But now I am here to make things right."
The ceilings above seemed higher than usual. She felt smaller in comparison, as if under a microscope as Elliot pressed slobbery kisses all over. The play continued without a hitch. The audience clapped and cheered at appropriate times. But she was there alone, trapped in the lion's clutches.
"You forced my hand, Scarlet, but all will be made right." Elliot retreated the knife from her skin, and she coughed up for air, falling onto her knees at his feet. He grabbed onto her hair, pulling her face up to look at him. He raised the knife up, ready to strike. She choked on a sob as the blade gleamed in the dim lighting.
"Get away from her!"
Scarlet backed into the wall as Jake shoved Elliot to the ground.
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