Hedon

Hedon - Chapter 15

  Caston didn't need a reason to kill Hannah. He didn't need a reason to kill anyone. It was something he simply enjoyed doing. Something that he sometimes felt like he had to do.
  But he knows that he's going to go to Malachi for help afterwards and Malachi is going to need to hear a reason why Caston killed his girlfriend. He figured overhearing Malachi tell Noah how miserable he is with Hannah and how he doesn't want to hurt her is reason enough. If she's dead, both of those problems are solved and Caston gets to kill someone. Win-win.
  It was quite easy to get to her house, as she drove herself to school every day. He followed her on his motorcycle and slowed down as she parked in front of her house. He waited for her to get out of the car and then sped past at a fairly controlled speed, hurling himself over the handlebars and aiming his runaway motorcycle towards a patch of trustworthy looking grass.
  "Oh my gosh!" Hannah ran over to him and knelt down. "Are you okay?"
  "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Caston attempted to get up and then faked a loud wince.
  "No, you're clearly hurt. Look at your leg." She gasped gently, glancing at the exposed skin.
  Caston looked down, seeing his pant leg pushed up to his knee and a harsh, bloody scrape trailing up his shin. "Oh shit."
  "Yeah, why don't you come inside? I can clean you up." Hannah said, holding her hand out to him.
  "You're just gonna let a stranger into your house?" Caston quirked a brow.
  "You're not a stranger." She said, helping him stand up. "You're Caston, right?"
  "How do you know my name?" He asked, walking beside her and feigning a limp.
  "We go to the same school. And you know Malachi, don't you?"
  "Yeah, kind of. How do you know that?"
  "He's my boyfriend. I know things about him." Hannah chuckled gently. "And he has pictures of you on his phone."
  "He what? Ow." Caston groaned as they started to climb the stairs.
  "You guys are friends, right? Or were friends?" Hannah asked, opening her bedroom door. She lead him inside and sat him on the edge of her bed.
  "Whatever he wants to call it." Caston shrugged.
  Hannah left for a second, then returned with a first aid kit. She knelt in front of him and started cleaning the blood off of his shin with alcohol swabs. "So what happened between you two? Malachi didn't really tell me much, just that you guys don't hang out as much as you did over the summer."
  "That about sums it up."
  "Was it like that thing with him and Noah? Did people think you were gay or something? Chi seems kinda sensitive about that kind of stuff." Hannah said, now applying neosporin to the clean scratches.
  Caston chuckled and leaned back on his arms. "You could say it was something like that."
  "You love to dance around the truth, don't you?" Hannah looked up at him, after placing the first big bandage on his leg.
  "I actually love to fuck the truth senseless, but I have this little thing in my brain that won't let me out people." Caston made a face. "Oops."
  Hannah placed the last bandage, then looked back up to Caston, her expression confused. "What are you talking about?"
  "I'm not gonna get in the middle of your relationship. If Malachi said we stopped hanging out as much, then that's what happened. If he didn't give you a reason, then there wasn't one." Caston shrugged, pulling his pantleg down and standing up.
  Hannah followed his action, closing the first aid kit and then placing it on her dresser.
  "You're a good friend. I know too many people who would sell out their best friend for a joint or a locker room handjob."
  Caston laughed. "A good friend? Sure. If a good friend goes over to his friend's girlfriend's house and plans to kill her."
  "What?" Hannah looked at him like she didn't process what he said.
  "You heard me." Caston tilted his head and stepped closer to her.
  "So it was blood in that picture."
  "What pictures are you talking about!? Malachi doesn't have any pictures of me." Caston huffed.
  "He's my boyfriend. I've seen his gallery before."
  "Stop saying that." Caston rolled his eyes.
  "Do you like not like having your picture taken or something?" Hannah chuckled.
  "You just don't get it, do you? My boyfriend this my boyfriend that." Caston stepped closer to her. He pulled his knife out of his pocket and flicked it open. "Malachi loves me."
  "What?" Hannah laughed, her eyes slightly wide. "Is...is that why you're going to kill me?"
  "No, I'm killing you for fun. I just thought that before you die, you should know that your boyfriend doesn't love you." Caston smiled, then slashed the knife against her wrist.
  Within seconds, one line became five and then five became ten. Her arms looked like distressed jeans and her white carpet was turning red beneath her. Her face was becoming pale and Caston stared at her silently with his head tilted. He watched her chest slowly rise and fall as she sat slumped against the wall.
  Caston heard the front door open and close, followed by an unenthused "I'm home."
  He pocketed his knife and quickly walked down the stairs, slipping past Hannah's mom, who ha disappeared into the kitchen.
  Caston picked up his helmet off of the ground, tugged it on, then lifted his motorcycle from the grass he had ditched it in. He threw his leg over the vehicle and sped away towards Malachi's house. The journey was muscle memory at thus point, but Caston figures it's because it's not far from his own house.
  Caston took his helmet off, shook his sweaty hair, then walked up to the front door. He knocked firmly, but not too loud. He also used his elbow, as there was still a bit of wet blood on his hands and Miss Jameson probably didn't want blood on her white door. It swung open after a few seconds, revealing a well-dressed Malachi with a fairly neutral expression.
  Malachi eyed Caston up and down calmly, then sighed. "Cas, please tell me that's your blood."
  Caston showed his teeth. "Ooh you're not gonna like this answer."
  "I can't help you this time, Caston. I'm on my way to Hannah's. She's expecting me." Malachi walked past him, closing front door behind him.
  "Yeah...about that..." Caston rotated his body slowly to face Malachi.
  Malachi turned around. "Cas...what did you do to her?"
  Caston examined his bloody hands, then looked back up to him. "You see...it's been a while since I've killed someone. I missed it. And it just seemed so perfect. You're miserable and you don't want to hurt her. Problem solved. Well, it would've been, but I got...interrupted, so she's like...not dead? I think?"
  "What the fuck, Cas? And you just ran over here? She's probably gonna talk. You're gonna go to fucking prison." Malachi huffed.
  "Nooo I don't want to." Caston pouted.
  "You're a murderer, Cas. You should already be in prison, but you know why you aren't? Because of me."
  "What if I get to her first?" Caston asked, pointing a finger at Malachi.
  "What? No."
  "Not to kill her just to talk to her." Caston rolled his eyes, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.
  "And you think that would work?" Malachi raised his eyebrows slightly.
  "It's worth a shot, don't you think?" Caston said, then walked down to his motorcycle.
  "You realize you just made everything worse for me, right?" Malachi sighed.
  Caston turned to him, grabbing his helmet off of the handlebar. "How so?"
  "I can't break up with her right after she almost died, Cas."
  "Oh. Is that what you were going to do?" Caston jabbed a thumb behind him.
  Malachi nodded. "Yes."
  "Oh. My bad. If I would've known-"
  "Yeah, only if you would've known a lot of things, Cas. Fuck." Malachi huffed, running his fingers through his hair.
  "My life motto, honestly." Caston tugged his helmet on, then gave Malachi a two fingered salute, "Wish me luck." He mounted his motorcycle and then drove off.
  Caston wondered for a second if he still would've killed Hannah if he knew that Malachi was going to break up with her. He chose to believe that he would've. Because Malachi had nothing to do with it. She was just an easy target.
  He exhaled heavily as he once again hopped off of his motorcycle. He didn't really know what he was going to do or say to whoever opened the door, but winging it had yet to fail him.
  He opted for the doorbell this time, using his elbow again and keeping his hands in his jacket pockets. He figured it was best to not put his bloody hands on display.
  The door opened and a middle aged blonde woman was now standing in front of him. Caston could tell she was Hannah's mom and her calm, almost careless, composure wasn't at all strange to Caston, as he too felt the same lack of emotion at times like this.
  "Hi, is Hannah here? She's supposed to start tutoring me today." Caston smiled gently.
  "No, she's in the hospital." The woman sighed, really putting Caston's emotion detector to the ultimate test.
  "Oh my gosh, what happened? Is she okay?" Caston wanted to applaud himself for how genuine he sounded.
  The woman sighed again. "She's fine. She attempted suicide, but much like everything else that she does, she failed." An ugly, sarcastic half-smile briefly covered the woman's face.
  "Oh. Do you know if I could go see her?"
  "I don't know. It's up to the hospital to decide whether or not to let you in, not me."
  "Right. Okay. Bye then." Caston turned around and heard the door close behind him. "Mother of the year, everyone. I shoulda killed her instead. Damn."
  Caston decided to stop at a gas station to wash his hands before going to the hospital. He figured it would be weird and possibly alarming for the staff to see a guy walk in with bloody hands. He also thought it would be strange for him to pose as her friend and not bring her something.
  He walked through the gas station, scanning the snacks, candy, and drinks. From the twenty or so minutes that he was in her bedroom, he gathered that she's a basic white bitch. What do basic white bitches like?
  "Whatever. She gets what I get." Caston mumbled, grabbing things off of the shelf.
  He opted for the things he likes because if she rejects his very generous gift, then at least it won't go to waste and he can still enjoy it.
  He swung the bag out of the gas station and then again on his way into the hospital. Caston has learned a lot in his seventeen years, but right now, confidence was the thing that was coming to his aid. If you approach a situation confidently, more times than not, it will go your way. Plus Caston is just great at what he does.
  He feigned the same sad, worried look that he did with Hannah's mom (that totally went to waste) and was allowed right back to see her.
  He opened the door without knocking, seeming to surprise Hannah, but not nearly as much as he expected.
  "Caston," her voice was calm and tired sounding, "What are you doing here? You're one of the last people I expected to visit me."
  "After your mom, I hope. That woman is piece of fucking trash. And I kill people." Caston walked towards her bed and sat the bag at the end of it.
  Hannah chuckled, honestly throwing Caston off a bit. She looked at the bag. "What's in there?"
  "I figured they'd think it's weird if I came to see you empty handed, so I got you some stuff."
  "That's so sweet of you."
  Caston honestly couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or genuine. He gave her a weird look. "Yeah. Whatever. I got blue Fanta because, it's literally the best one. I got some of this fuckin white cheddar popcorn because it's so fucking good I could eat a whole bag in one sitting--I have before. And then I got some candy, but you have to eat your dinner first, young lady."
  Hannah continued to hold a gentle, fearless expression, another soft laugh passing her lips. "Thank you."
  "Yeah, whatever. I was stopping for me anyway and I needed to make sure I could get in here to talk to you."
  "To make sure I don't tell on you?"
  "Uhhhh maybe."
  Hannah chuckled. "I'm not gonna say anything."
  "Oh. Okay. Cool." Caston nodded with each word, then titled his head. "Why?"
  Hannah took a breath and gingerly sat up a bit more. "Because you helped me."
  Caston made a face, almost cringing. "With what?"
  "A few things. I've been discontented with my life for as long as I can remember. For almost my entire life, I've wanted to kill myself. To just find a way out and never come back. You made me realize that I don't want to die. I just want to change the life that I've been living. I want to live on this earth, just not here. Not with my mom. You also helped me to better realize something that I kind of already knew. I don't love Malachi. When you told me that he didn't love me, even if they were just empty words, they should've hurt. The thought of him not loving me should've saddened me, but it didn't. I truly care for him, but I'm not in love with him."
  Caston nodded, tucking his hands into his back pockets. "Okay. Glad I could...help, I guess. So we're cool?"
  Hannah chuckled again. "Yeah, we're good."
  "You're not too bad. I almost regret trying to kill you." Caston said, grabbing a blue airhead from the bag and throwing himself down into the chair that was facing the bed.
  "You gonna eat your snacks?" Caston asked as he chewed, pointing to the plastic bag.
  "I'm not really hungry." Hannah said, eyeing the exposed contents of the bag.
  "Don't be an anorexic bitch. I bought that for you. Eat it." A few silent seconds passed. "I mean that with tender love and care, of course."
  Hannah smiled gently, still intently looking at the bag.
  Caston leaned up and grabbed one of the blue Fantas. He held it out to her. "Try it. I swear, it's amazing. Jace loved them and you know how picky he is about his flavored beverages."
  Hannah looked from the bottle and back over to Caston quickly at the mention of Jace. She slowly grabbed the soda, then opened it and took a drink.
  "Good, right?" Caston asked, putting a foot up on the bed.
  "You have a habit of making yourself at home, huh?"
  Caston shrugged. "I'm comfortable everywhere."
  Hannah sat up more, her back no longer against the pillows, making her slouch a bit. "What else did you get?"
  Caston grabbed the bag and turned it upside down, dumping the contents onto the bed.
  Hannah looked at them for a second, then grabbed the bag of white cheddar popcorn.
  "Yeah, I knew I could trust you." Caston leaned back into his chair, another airhead in his hand.
  The door opened with a click, making Hannah look over behind Caston, who continued to ear his airhead, unbothered.
  "Chi." Hannah smiled softly.
  Malachi's footsteps sounded behind Caston and then he felt a swift smack on the back of his head. "That's for trying to kill my best friend."
  Caston titled his head back, looking up at Malachi. "I thought I was your best friend."
  "You lost that title when you fucked my brother and then again when you killed my dog and again when you tried to kill my girlfriend."
  "Damn." Hannah said, intently watching the two boys and tossing popcorn into her mouth.
  "Sorry I'm not perfect." Caston said dramatically, waving his hands mockingly.
  "You don't have to be perfect. You just have to not kill people that I care about."
  Caston tsked and shook his head. "There goes my self destruct plan."
  Malachi glared at him.
  "I'm joking, obviously. I'm too hot to die."
  "I see the appeal, Chi. How could you not fall in love with such a perfect creature?" Hannah said, motioning to Caston.
  "Right?" Caston agreed with a smirk.
  "Cas, sarcasm."
  "Oh. Right. Well, my mom didn't love me, so it only makes sense that no one else would." Caston said casually.
  "What? That's so sad." Hannah pushed her head towards Caston, looking at him with a gentle expression.
  Caston scrunched his face up at her. "Not really. I've never like...cried about it, so. Not sad."
  "Well, you killed her, so kinda hard to be sad about it."
  "Chi." Hannah said in a warning tone.
  "What? It's true." Malachi held his hands out.
  "Doesn't mean you have to rub it in like that."
  "Hannah, I'd like you to meet Caston, the guy who almost killed you."
  "He apologized." Hannah shrugged.
  "Actually, I didn't."
  "Well, I forgave you and that's all that matters." Hannah said, continuing to eat her popcorn.
  "Cool." Caston nodded, opening the second blue Fanta and taking a drink.
  "Just like that? He tried to kill you. How am I the only one distressed by this?" Malachi sighed.
  "Because you're too tightly wound, babe. Let loose. Prep the asshole of your life before you fuck it."
  Hannah and Malachi both looked over to Caston, holding similar amused expressions.
  "I take back my sarcasm from earlier, you're a delight." Hannah chuckled.
  "Along with being super attractive, hilarious, and just an overall wonderful person to be around, I also kill mothers. So let me know if you want me to take care of yours. I'm gonna kill someone soon anyway, so why not make it worth your while."
  "You don't have to-"
  "Okay." Hannah said, cutting Malachi off.
  "Awesome. When and how? Want me to go now? I can. I will." Caston dusted his hands together and sat up.
  "Calm down, Cassie." Malachi chuckled.
  "I didn't get to kill someone when I wanted. It's like a sneeze that never...gets sneezed."
  "Beautiful words, Caston."
  "Thank you. I try." Caston said, then looked over to Hannah. "Is your mom still home?"
  "She should be. She doesn't work today."
  "Are you guys really planning a murder right now?" Malachi crossed his arms, his expression stern, but slightly amused.
  "You've met my mother. She doesn't deserve the title and she doesn't deserve to live pretending to be someone she isn't. She's hurt me and my dad and it's only a matter of time before she turns on my little brother." Hannah said, her face sad.
  "See? I'm doing a good deed, babe." Caston smirked, walking towards the door.
  "Are you just like...going now?" Malachi asked.
  "Yeah. I'm wasting time being here. I'll be back for dinner, don't worry." Caston rolled his eyes.
  "Don't you need my help?"
  "Not yet. I work alone, sweetie. You're just needed for the cleanup." Caston winked, then closed the door behind him.
  Caston never went into a situation with the intention to kill someone. It always just happened. He got too confused or overwhelmed. He got curious. But now he knew that he was going to specifically kill someone. It felt great.
  He felt calm and prepared. He walked up to the house and and knocked. Hannah's mom opened the door with same unenthused expression she had earlier.
  "Hello, Linda." Caston smiled, smacking the door farther open and brushing past her into the house.
  "Can I help you?" She turned to him, an offended look on her face.
  "You can. Thanks for asking." Caston walked into the kitchen and looked around, spotting the intruder's perfect weapon; a kitchen knife. He grabbed the biggest one and held it behind his back.
  "Is this about my daughter? Did she do or say something to you? Did she cheat on you? Steal from you? Whatever she did, I'm sorry and she will be punished for it."
  "Oh Linda, you've got it all wrong. Your daughter didn't do anything." Caston smirked and tilted his head, pulling the knife out from behind his back. "You did."
  Her eyes widened with fear and Caston's stomach bubbled excitedly. She started backing up and he knew she was going to head for the landline in the living room.
  "What- what are you doing? I don't understand."
  "You're backing away, so I think you understand perfectly. I'm going to kill you." Caston smiled.
  Her chest was rising and falling rapidly and the way she looked at Caston in fear only increased his want to kill her.
  "Backing away is only gonna make this worse for you." Caston said, still slowly walking towards her.
  "I don't understand why you're doing this." She said, her voice shaking.
  "My dear, Linda. Don't you know? Your daughter asked me to." Caston followed his words with a harsh stab to her stomach. He smirked, "Oh yeah, that's the stuff."
  Caston pulled the knife out, making Linda let out a loud, pained sound and clutch her stomach. Caston buried the blade into her stomach again, this time a little higher. He stabbed her again and again and again. Each one felt better than the one before it.
  She was now laying on the floor, no longer moving or breathing. She looked dead, but Caston wanted to perfect a skull stab. Exactly how hard does he have to stab?
  Caston squatted down next to her and used two fingers to pushed her head to the side. He gripped the handle of the knife tightly and watched it disappear in Linda's temple.
  "Oh okay. That wasn't hard at all." Caston chuckled, pulling the knife out.
  He walked into the kitchen and over to the sink, flicking the water on. He rinsed the blade of the knife off, watching the blood swim down the drain. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to text Malachi.