Twisted Devotion

Masked Intentions

It's a quiet night, nothing but the sound of purring engines can be heard. Shadows dancing upon the wall of a dark alleyway, the shadows of two people clearly visible. Ethan reed stood in front of a girl. He had always despised her. Despite his feelings, he kept a calm and warm smile on his face. "Why do you bully her?" Ethan speaks, breaking the awkward silence. The girl looks at Ethan with a disgusted look in her eyes, "did you really call me all the way over here to be a bitch?" She says with a clear tone of disgust in her voice. "Answer my question," Ethan said, his tone being more insisting. "Fine," the girl speaks in an annoyed tone, "it's because she deserves it, like have you seen her? She's disgusting". An unusually bright smile appeared on Ethans face, it's like he already knew what she was going to say. "Like you deserve this?" Ethan says in a bright and happy tone before taking his hand out of his coat pocket. He was holding something, he carefully pressed the button setting its mechanism into work, a small blade appeared from within, he was holding a switchblade. The girl takes a nervous step back, "what are you going to do?" She says with a clear tremble in her voice. "Take out the trash." Ethan says, his voice still sounding bright and happy. Ethan slowly approaches the girl, "if you don't struggle too much it'll hurt less" Ethan says, the girl inching backwards, almost completely frozen in fear. Ethan now standing right in front of the girl, a wide welcoming grin plastered on his face. "You psycho." the girl managed to utter out, clearly too afraid to make a move. "You're too kind." Ethan says before driving the blade into the girl's stomach. Ethan twisted the blade, hearing the screaming of the girl was like music to his ears. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he pulls the knife and stabs her again, and again, and again. The crimson blood of the girl soaked into her clothes, leaving a large wet stain. The girl, no longer able to stand, sinks to her knees. The girl was sobbing and screaming, "I don't want to die" she managed to get out between sobs. Ethan, towering over flashed her bright smile, before she flopped to the floor, almost completely lifeless. Ethan softly giggled in excitement before slitting her throat with one swift move. The amount of adrenaline coursing through his veins, no drug could replicate that. He carefully pocketed the knife before going on his way, leaving her body in the alleyway.

*the morning before*

Ethan stood behind the counter at the convenience store, helping an older lady bag her things. "You're such a kind young man." The woman speaks. "Just doing my job." Ethans says, placing the last item into her bag, "don't downplay yourself, Mr. Reed." The woman says before playfully pinching Ethans cheek. Ethan flashes her his always warm and bright smile, "thank you, ma'am" he says, "have a nice day". The old lady moves her way out of the store. Anticipation fills Ethans chest, it was almost four o'clock, the girl he liked always came in at four. Seeing her always filled his stomach with butterflies, an unfamiliar feeling he had never felt before. Nervously tapping his fingers on the counter, he watched people come and go out of the store. It felt like hours while only five minutes had passed. The softly clanging of the chime at the door indicated a new customer in the store, a group of girls had entered, one holding her arm over the shoulder of another girl. The girl clearly looked uncomfortable by their presence. Ethan's heart almost skipped a beat when he saw who it was. It was his beloved Olivia, surrounded by the group of girls.

"You know what to do." One of the girls speaks out before pushing Olivia towards the counter. Her always happy demeanor is now visibly replaced by anxiety. "Can I umm..." Olivia speaks with a clear tremor in her voice, "can I have a pack of Marlboro light?". I slightly tilt my head, "the girl hasn't smoked a day in her life. Why would she buy it now?" Ethan thinks to himself before giving her a warm smile, "of course, ma'am" he speaks in his happy customer service voice. Turning toward the cigarettes, he can hear things being shuffled around behind him, but he pays no mind. "That'll be 6,50" he says while keeping an eye on the girls behind Olivia. He knew they were stealing. He just wouldn't be able to prove it. Olivia hands him a 10, Ethan accepts the cash before swiftly counting out the change. "Do you want a receipt with that?" Ethan asks politely. "Um, no-" Before Olivia could finish her sentence, she received a slap on the back of her head from one of the girls, "cmon let's get outa here, I'm starving". Ethan stares at the girls in disbelief as they exit the store. "How could they be like that to her?" Ethan thinks to himself, biting his lip, drawing a little blood. He knew who those girls were, Sylvana, Michelle, and Rebecca. Ethan thinks back from when Sylvana gave him her number. They had texted before, but she always seemed rude and flakey.

While Ethan was on his break, he stood in the alleyway trying to get a breather. It was always so damn stuffy in that little store. He reaches into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes, despite him trying to quit his habit, always poked up its ugly head. While he lit his cigarette, he heard a group of girls approaching, Ethan could already tell who they were. Sylvana, being the loudest of the group, as always, was swearing like a sailor while seemingly complaining about nothing. Ethan stood out of line of sight from the girls, standing behind the yellow dumpster of the store, he could clearly hear a lot of bitch, shit, and fuck come from the girls, their conversation becoming clearer the closer they get. "You're such a useless bitch," Sylvana says, almost yelling, "how can you not remember something as simple as a cigarette brand. Ethan could hear a loud slap echoing through the alleyway. "But-" he could hear Olivia try to speak but yet another slapping sound echoes through the small alleyway. Ethan could feel his blood boiling, "how could they lay their hands on MY Olivia" he thinks to himself while gritting his teeth. Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he steps out from behind the dumpster, "everything okay here, ladies?" He asks in his customer service voice, the girls giving nothing but an annoyed look in return. "Let's bounce," Michelle says, clearly irritated by Ethan's presence. The girls walk off leaving Olivia alone with Ethan, she had been staring at the floor the whole interaction. Ethan slowly approached her, "are you alright?" He asks. Olivia looks up, a red mark clearly visible on her face, "oh, I'm fine, don't worry." Olivia says before smiling through her tears. Ethan stands taken aback, he takes her hand in his, "you know it's okay if it's not, right?". Pressing her hand to his chest,"I would do anything to help you." Ethan says, dropping his cheerful mask. "You know," Olivia begins "sometimes I wish it all went away"

This was all Ethan needed to hear, he knew exactly what his next move was going to be