ROTTEN {18+}

Peppermint Oil (PROLOGUE)

Berenice's Pov.

"Oh my god you killed it." My neighbours son screamed as we look at the bird that was now lying on its side seemingly lifeless.

Taking off my helmet i run to help the bird, i was a kid so I don't think that we knew what actual murder meant .

"Berenice is a murderer!!!" Aidan screams causing other kids to run away from me as i picked up the bird and tried to ask for help.

Sighing  in exasperation i put the bird in the little basket compartment in front of my bike and ride back home.

"I thought you said you were going out to play" My dad says looking up from his laptop. My dad was a forensic scientist and he often worked with the police, he took today off because he had a cold but the man would rather die than rest.

Barrelling past him i run upstairs so he couldn't see the half dead bird in my hand and take me to jail. Looking back i make sure that my dad isn't following me then i close my room door.

I get out my princess handkerchief and lie the bird onto it and i rush to the bathroom to get the first aid kit from behind the mirror. I also grab my dad's iPad so i could hopefully watch a video on YouTube about bird first aid.

I try attending to the bird but it was already dead and i was too scared to take it down again else my dad sees me and puts me in those prison bracelets.

I grab my empty jewellery box and place the dead bird in it letting it serve as a coffin of some sort, if dad went to work i could then dispose of the bird.
.............
I love my dad don't get me wrong but how could he stay in the house for a week? There was a dead bird in my room.

"Berenice.... I'll be taking the week off so we could spend more time together, i feel like I haven't been bonding with you properly since mom left."

You gotta be fucking kidding me....... I thought. I might've been eight at the time but the type of media I consumed was not for eight year olds.

"M'kay." I say with a false excited look on my face, how was i going to get rid of that bird?

Later that night i had a hard time sleeping, i just couldn't. I didn't have any devices and I wasn't allowed any without supervision at least not until i was 12. The iPad of the other day was just by luck and the fact that my dad left it carelessly on the bathroom counter.

I sit up on my bed, my room suddenly felt eerie as it was hosting a dead animal.

Suddenly I felt a spark of curiosity. I knew that once something died it would start decomposing. I had watched a shit ton  of crime documentaries and to top it all off my dad was a forensic scientist so i knew these things.

I turned on the light and somewhat excitedly stalked toward the jewellery box that was shaped like a heart and adorned with all sorts of things. It reminded you of all those pink  coquette accessories.

Outside the box was the most beautiful thing that you had seen but inside the most disgusting work of nature was taking place.

Unlocking the box with a key that dangled on my necklace I'm met with the most putrid smell causing me to slam it back closed. But i was still intrigued, I couldn't shy away so at 3 Am, i found myself sneaking into my dad's lab to steal some peppermint oil, mask , gloves and some things I've seen that he uses to  dissect animals for his 'studies'.

After i put some peppermint oil onto my mask i  open the box again, this time smelling close to nothing. It intrigued me seeing the worms wriggle around the bluebird's now ugly deformed body.

Something once beautiful was now repulsive, incredible. I didn't bother touching it, instead i let the worms do the dirty work, I couldn't bear to throw it away, instead i hid the jewellery case at the bottom of my toy box.

Everyday after school or home school with my neighbour's kids I would spend at least one hour watching my bird decompose and eventually, reduce to nothing but bones and stained feathers.

I needed more, maybe a bit bigger.
My clean- ass self wouldn't allow me to touch the bones of the bird but I really wanted to re use the box as a casket. As if the universe was trying to give me hints or speed up my idea process a squirrel lands on my bedroom window, it had a white spot on its eye. It had been nicknamed Sam, it was friendly with humans around this block.

Mind you, i lived no where near a forest. If anything my house was in the middle of a city.

There it was, the next thing i wanted to watch rot. I never liked its ugly face anyway, okay maybe i did but i needed something to die, our ugly ass chihuahua was too big to hide, i hated that dog from day one. I wanted a german shepherd or a doberman but daddy didn't like big dogs.
I'd kill it later, once I figured out where to hide it's ugly bum.

Gathering some cashews and peanuts from the kitchen, i put them into a napkin using the spoon we used to dish our dog's food. I wash the spoon later though, i wanted to watch that dog rot in private.

I mixed rat poison into the nuts and peanut butter,the squrriel would be non the wiser.  As i said the squirrel was practically domesticated and took treats from everyone , there it was still waiting by my window, i set the killer treats down and let the squirrel have the time of its life.

It dies a few minutes later, i had grabbed it and practically choked the life out of it when the poison didn't kill it fast enough. It lay there now lifeless and limp.

I stare at it for a while before i hear the shuffling of feet and footfalls alerting me of my father's presence. I stuff the squirrel into my box and lock it then I rush over to my desk to do some homework.

I speed through the homework not that it was difficult, i may have inherited my mother's looks but i had my father's brains.

My dad peeks through the door to see his cute little monster solving some questions on basic algebra.  He sits beside me and ruffles my hair and only corrects me once when i put the wrong answer despite having the working done right.

"Berry, sweetie its -5 not -2."  He says with a chuckle, scooting closer he rubs my head again. "You're getting good at this baby." 

I smile at him, ever since mom divorced him for some gigolo he had been my everything, he didn't dump me on his mother's hands or gotten himself a girlfriend to take care of me. He single handedly raised me, he tried too hard...... it was sad to see him suffer or hear his cries at night when he desperately called her to come back.

At some point he threatened her with suicide although i knew he wouldn't do it, i hugged and kept an eye on him . He was a kind man and didn't deserve the bull shit he was going through.