ultraviolence // kai anderson

the sacrifice

    It's Christmas Day. Amanda has been dead for eleven days without a single soul noticing. It's alarming and sad and working in my favor all at once. Though it's nice to not have to feign surprise or sorrow, I'm constantly at the edge of my seat waiting for the ball to drop. However if everything has worked out the way I intended, nobody but fate will be implicated.

    Over the past seven days, I've spent four of them overnight at Kai's. Now that there's no one to hold me accountable at home, I'd rather be with him than alone, and it seems to be what he prefers as well. Something, somehow, is off with us though. I've chalked it up to him not being able to trust me again yet after failing him twice, and in more ways than one with my last fuck-up. I've chickened out of a murder request, lied to him about it, questioned his punishment and made him look soft in front of the others. I deserve to have to do what he's requested of me -- but that doesn't make it any easier.

    Nevertheless, tonight is the night. I'm going to carry out Kai's request, and make it everybody's problem.

    I'm at the Rosses childhood family home, Eric is hosting as he has like he has every year since his divorce. Jace, having been honorarily invited with me in place of Gregory, is getting himself some eggnog from the kitchen, completely unaware of the night that awaits him. I've taken three pills in preparation for what I'm going to do.
   There's multicolored lights twinkling on his very real Scotch pine tree, mistletoe tacked to the ceiling here and there, thick white candles at the center of every table, and old-fashioned Christmas music playing from a radio in the living room. The dining room table where I sit beside Lacey has a plethora of festive treats-- all store-bought of course, but one might argue those kind are even better than homemade. There's gingerbread men, tree-shaped Little Debbie cakes, white-chocolate covered pretzel sticks and then some.

    "Have you heard from him?" Lacey asks me as she adjusts a few napkins.

    "No," I reply. She doesn't even need to specify with a name; there's only one Him that matters. "But he'll be here."

    "Hey, girls?" Eric calls from the kitchen. "Will one of you come check these brownies while I get the ham cut up?"

    "I got it," my chair screeches on the floor as I scoot back to stand. "Looks like someone's just getting here, you can get the door." I suggest to Lacey, gesturing with my head to the two blurred silhouettes passing the living room window from outside.

    In the kitchen, I find and grab a toothpick to stick in the center of the pan of brownies, and when it comes back clean, I pull them out with a festive oven mitt. Leaving them on the counter to cool after cutting them into nine squares, I dust my hands over the sink and go to rejoin Lacey in the dining room. My heart stops.

    I'd expected the two shadows to be more of Eric's friends, some middle aged single men he knows from work or golfing or the bar who have no wives to spend the holiday with. Them, I expect-- not Haven with her arm linked through Kai's.

    I know they can both see the instant outrage on my face; Kai looking slightly less amused than Haven. Nothing but the multitude of witness is protecting her from my wrath. What the hell is he playing at? Why bring her here when none off the group are supposed to be seen together? Is he trying to break me, punish me further for my mistakes? Him aside, the bitch on his arm would soon learn not to touch what's mine.

    "You heard from Greg?" Eric startles me, then apologizes when I visibly jump. "I would kick his ass for missing Christmas if he didn't promise me a twelve pack and New Years Eve out once he's back from his trip. I texted him a few days ago, but haven't heard back."