The Neighbor II

Best Kept Secrets

"Cassie, love," he calmly said, while staring directly into Tony's eyes, "do me a favor, will you? Look away." Tony looked confused, as did Cassie. But she did as she was told and looked away. Tony, still distracted with Cassie, suddenly felt his wrist snap and fell to the ground in pain.

He held on to his wrist and screamed. Ben, in the meantime, was looking over the gun. "I know what it's like to loose a child, Tony, especially one that has been murdered," Ben said as if it were a regular conversation. "But, had you known that Jackie miscarried, I probably wouldn't shoot you right now."

Tony looked up at Ben in shock. Ben smiled and said, "I cut out her tongue because she wouldn't shut up about how some wanker got her pregnant. She said she miscarried and she was thankful because her boss would have murdered her." Tony still looked confused, so Ben elaborated, "She was a prostitute, you idiot."

He lifted the gun and shot Tony in the head.

Cassie jolted awake from her sleep with the sound of a gun ringing in her head. She tried to shake her head to get rid of it, but it kept ringing and ringing and ringing...and then it turned into cries. They kept getting louder and louder, until she turned her head and saw Ben bouncing Michael in arms, trying to shush him. 

"Are you alright, darling?" He asked her. She absentmindedly nodded and slowly got back under the covers, while Ben eyed her suspiciously. He walked back into Michael's room, still trying to calm him down. 

Cassie buried her face in her pillow and pulled the covers up over her head. She tried to close her eyes to go back to sleep, but all she could see was Ben's face as Tony held a gun to his head; how emotionless he was, as if he knew Tony was never going to pull the trigger. 

No matter if she closed her eyes or not, she could still hear the gunshot ringing in her ears. It was a horrible high-pitched noise that she'll never be able to forget. They never talk about it, not since they first moved here. Ben made it sound like it was a done deal, it happened, nothing more to discuss. 

But there was so much more. He never told her what he did with the body. He never talked about the others he killed. She tried talking about the fact that he had openly admitted to killing his parents, but he shrugged her off. There was so much to be answered, but he wasn't providing any answers. 

She practically jumped out of her skin when Ben suddenly pulled the covers quickly off of her. He was standing over her at her side of the bed and looking down at her with a quirked eyebrow. "What are you doing?" He asked. 

Cassie knew that if she brought up the fact that she was thinking about Tony and all the others, he would get upset. So, she simply told him, "Trying to get back to sleep." Unfortunately, he could see right through her. 

"It looks like you're hiding from me," he said, his voice dropping dangerously. She shifted uncomfortably, but then said, "Well, this would be a shitty hiding place then." He smiled at that, and then climbed back into bed. He spooned her tightly and entwined their legs together. 

He kissed her shoulder, then asked, "What was your dream about?" She shook her head as an answer. She didn't want to go through this right now. "Was it about Tony?" He asked. She sighed, but didn't say anything. That's the only answer he needed. 

"It's over," he told her sharply. "Get over it. We're starting over now, remember?" He rested his hand on her stomach. "I haven't taken another soul in over a year. I'm doing that therapy you wanted me to do so you wouldn't leave me. The best you can do if forget about that scum of the Earth. Everyone else has." 

**

Chicago, The Edwards' Home

"Max! Be careful, honey, no cannon balls!" Of course, right as Jenny tells him that, he cannon balls into the pool. Jenny laughed and shook her head. Her sister, Margret, touched her arm to grab her attention. Jenny looked over as she asked, "How's he doing?" 

Jenny gave her a small smile and said, "Fine. We're all fine. I mean, I don't know what I expected to happen by moving here. It was only a matter of time, I suppose." Margaret looked curiosity at her sister. "But he left without any trace," she told her. "Didn't take any clothes, didn't leave a note."

Jenny simply shrugged. Margret continued, "Didn't you mention he was obsessed with your neighbor? Carlton, was it?" Jenny nodded. "Yeah, only because the asshole called child services on Tony. Whenever Tony would go out, I knew he was going over there. He would park is car around the corner, and then spend his time watching Carlton and his wife fuck." 

Margret looked a little brought back. "Excuse me?" She chuckled. "He would watch them?" Jenny nodded, and then sighed. "Eventually, he ran into the sister, Sarah. They both came up with some plan to catch Carlton doing something to Cassie. Tony didn't have the time, neither did the sister, so they hired someone to do it. That guy ended up getting the shit beat out of him by Carlton, and then he died that night."

"How do you know all this? And why didn't you tell me? Why not tell the police?" Jenny made sure Max wasn't in ear range, then turned her body to Margret. "Tony told me. I promised him I wouldn't say anything because I was with him on all that. Carlton had no right to call child services on us. Tony was convinced it was his bitch wife."

She leaned back into her chair and continued, "But he got over it soon enough. After that guy Chuck died and the sister got thrown in jail, he told me to let it go or else the same thing would happen to us. So, I got over it. I think Tony got over it by fucking the wife. Or the sister. But I don't know. He's gone and it's over. That's it."