Dark Secrets

Chapter 5

      They say when you start a new relationship it usually goes well at first because both partners are trying to please the other. But after a period of time you both gradually revert to your normal selves. That's when the 'honeymoon' is over and you find out what your partner is really like.

So after a couple more weeks I think we started entering this phase of our relationship. I found out that Jasmine was indeed prone to jealousy. I mentioned Nikita's name one day in relation to my job with her, and Jasmine glared and me and told me to stay away from that little slut or she would do something about it.

I also found out she had a short temper, and we started having arguments over trivial things. It was usually me that had to back down otherwise she would go on seething about it for hours and give me the silent treatment.

About this time I also noticed something a little strange about her. In the first three weeks I had known her we went out a lot, to pubs and clubs, sightseeing, cinemas, harbour cruises. But over the previous few weeks she always wanted to stay at home at nights and on weekends. It seemed the only time we went out was to the nearby supermarket for grocery shopping.
When I brought up the subject she became annoyed and snapped at me that we should be saving money by not going out. I didn't dare ask her what we were supposed to be saving money for.

But if I was careful to avoid subjects which I knew set her off, and if I never mentioned Nikita's name again, then things were reasonably okay between us.

Then one morning at work my mobile phone chimed with an incoming text message. This was nothing unusual, Jasmine often texted me when I was at work, although not quite so often in recent weeks.

I picked up the phone and stared at the message in disbelief. Was this someone's poor idea of a joke? A joke in very bad taste! I looked at the number it came from. I didn't recognise it. Could it be genuine? Should I show it to Jasmine?

I couldn't properly concentrate at my job for the rest of the morning, the words of the text message kept repeating themselves over and over in my brain.

Did you know you are living with a killer?

Finally it was lunchtime. I met Jasmine as usual in the foyer of the building and we walked down the street to our regular café. She seemed to be in a good mood that day, smiling at me over lunch asking me how my morning at work had been.

I couldn't tell her about the text. It would destroy her good mood. Who knew how she would react. The message had to be fake anyway, someone making a bad joke. But who was it? I briefly thought of Nikita maybe trying to break us up. No it couldn't be her. She hadn't spoken to me much since our last meeting in my office, but she always smiled at me in passing and asked how I was.

We finished lunch and returned to work. That afternoon I decided to text the sender of the message. I kept it to three words.
Who are you?

Then I waited, but by five o'clock there was no reply.
As we rode home on the train Jasmine noticed me checking my phone every few minutes. "Are you expecting a message or something?" she asked.

"No," I said, quickly changing the screen to an open internet tab, "Just making a move in a chess game." 

I actually did have a chess game going which was just as well because Jasmine reached over and grabbed the phone from my hand. She looked closely at the game. 

"You are playing some bimbo called Aurora88? Look at her avatar. Could she wear a skirt any shorter? She obviously wants men to notice her. Has she been flirting with you?"