My Murderous Finale - ✔️

Chapter 15

I knew I was in bed alone the moment I woke up the next morning. I rolled over with a groan and squinted as the sun filtered in the room, my head filled with a gradually worsening throb. More than I wanted to admit, I missed the presence of Milo in bed with me. I enjoyed last night with him more than I wanted to think about at the moment. I didn't have the time to unpack all the emotions I felt when Milo and I were together.

I slid out of bed and tiptoed through the house. I spotted Milo asleep on the couch in the living room and smiled. I was unsure when he had left the bed and came out here but I knew it was so Kellan wouldn't wake up and find us tangled together in bed. I made it out of the house without waking anyone up and waited for my Uber back home. Once home, I slid into my own bed and slept a few more hours.

My phone vibrated under my pillow waking me later, early in the afternoon.

I hated leaving the bed this morning :( you're pretty comfy

The smile that spread across my face was so big my cheeks hurt. I texted him back quickly, burrowing deep in my covers as I did.

I was pretty lonely when I woke up and you were gone.

I wasn't tryin to get beat up by your brother.

I had to laugh at that cus I was pretty sure Kellan wouldn't do a single thing to Milo. He'd probably lecture me and say how gross it was I was with his best friend like we're still children, but I doubted he'd actually be pissed. I was about to reply when he texted again.

I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you after Miami

I was kinda curious as to what he'd say next or even why he hadn't talked to me but instead, I just said

It's ok

I held my breath waiting to see what he'd say next.

Is it bad that I don't want to leave you alone?

I read the text 5 times before I could reply to it. My heart was racing and I was oddly excited. Something about Milo made me feel like I could be honest with him. Maybe not with everything in my life, but definitely things like this. Finally, I found the courage to respond but I couldn't seem to find the words, so I simply said,

No.

Can I call you?

I agreed, stomach tied in knots, and waited for the phone to ring. I shouldn't be nervous talking to him, but I felt like after the night we had it would be awkward. Milo proved me wrong and we talked for hours. I quickly relaxed, realizing it was incredibly easy to talk to Milo, even after doing secret things with him. It felt like talking to a friend I'd known for years. A voice in the back of my head kept questioning why he wanted to get to know me if this was just sex. But I tried to ignore it as much as possible. I laughed and laughed, more than I had in years. It had been so long since I'd had a friend and that in itself made me grateful for him.

By the time we hung up and I finally climbed out of bed, it was five in the afternoon. While showering my mind kept drifting back to the night before with Milo. I tried to clear my thoughts and not think about them. Getting aroused and constantly thinking of him would only complicate things when I needed to think about and focus on getting out of this situation here at home.

Around eight that night, the door opened downstairs and my body was instantly on alert. Evan was home early and I had no inkling of what his mood or state of mind was. Thinking of how different I instantly felt knowing he was home after the great mood I'd been in today and the last few weeks, solidified any doubts I had about leaving. I busied myself trying to have something to do so he didn't see how I already started to shake. I wasn't prepared for the version of Evan that walked into our bedroom moments later.

" Elli, it's been a while. I'm glad to see you." Evan said with an eerily genuine smile on his face. He walked towards me and I froze. Shock rippled through me when he stopped in front of me and leaned down to kiss me. I stood there still unmoving as he kissed my lips for a moment before pulling away to look at me. " Are you ok?"

" Yea, I'm sorry I am just surprised to see you so soon, I didn't think you were coming home until later this week," I told him while shaking my head trying to get my thoughts together. He just smiled down at me.

" Honestly," he leaned close, his lips sickeningly close to my ears. I prepared for the 'sike' moment when he went back to his normal self. " I missed you," he whispered.

" Oh, well I missed you too, Evan." I lied with ease after I had a moment to get past the shock of the moment.

" Good, now get dressed, I made a reservation for us at my favorite restaurant," he informed me before he wiped his thumb across my cheek and walked back out of the bedroom.

I stood there a moment still confused by this version of Evan. It wasn't that Evan never had moments where he acted like this, a stark contrast to his normal behavior, it was just that it had been years since I'd seen it. The last few times he'd switched his behavior like this, was early on in our marriage, as he gradually became more and more violent. He would overcompensate for a short period of time after a particularly violent climax of events. Previously I looked forward to those times because I believed they were genuine remorse for how he treated me. They were a glimpse at the old version of Evan that I had met right after high school. Those small bits of him had kept me from leaving early on. After so many times though, I realized that it was all a calculated scheme to keep me from leaving and stuck in the vicious cycle of violence and narcissism.

I walked to my closet and searched for a dress to wear for the evening. No matter how disgusted I was by Evan, I still had to play along with his games a little while longer. That way when I did leave, I'd be set for a while on my own while I tried to find a job and an apartment. After deciding on a red, slip dress with a cowl neckline that stopped just past my knee, I hurried to put my makeup on. It didn't surprise me that Evan wanted to eat this late, but still I tried to get ready as fast as possible. I left my hair down and kept my makeup simple, then quickly put on a pair of strappy black high heels. Evan walked into the bedroom at the same time I walked out of my closet. He nodded his head in approval at my outfit before pointing at my chest and starting to walk out the door.

" Take your bra off, I like it when your nipples show through those silk dresses." he told me " I'll be waiting in the car so don't take long."

I wanted to scream. The thought of Evan staring at my nipples and excited nonetheless, that everyone else was as well, made me want to vomit. There was a pit in my stomach as I stood in front of my closet floor length mirror staring at myself. I pulled the straps of my dress down, ripped my bra off then pulled them back up, wiped a tear from my face then headed to the car.