The C Word

Chapter Eighteen

At 12:30am on the dot, the preset alarm on Livy Marie's phone went off. She snapped awake and turned it off as quickly as she could. Judd was completely knocked out and didn't even stir. He remained still, confined in the power of deep sleep. She smiled knowing that her concoction of alcohol, weed, and Promethazine had worked to the fullest and kept Judd in a slumber coma. She had at least eight full hours to complete her plan and when Judd woke up, his memory of the night before would be foggy. She could easily slip out and back in without ever being caught.

This time, she texted her mom saying that she was spending the night with a "friend". Her mom didn't question her and she didn't elaborate. Livy Marie then saw that Judd's cell phone was ringing. Due to his screen lock, she could only see that he had a few missed calls and unanswered text messages. To cover her tracks, she laid on top of Judd and took a picture of them together then uploaded to Instagram. She tagged him and captioned it, We had a great evening but it's time for bed y'all. Nite! #WeInLove #SleepBetterWhenWeTogether

She then got out of the bed and placed her jeans back on. She went into Judd's closet and put on a black sweater and one of his darker colored snapbacks. Livy Marie checked on Judd once more before grabbing his keys and heading outside. She couldn't even help but to laugh at the fact that his new paint job was already starting to peel off on his truck. She continued to laugh as she got inside and drove to the bowling alley. She could barely focus or sit still because she was beyond excited. After tonight, all her problems would be solved.

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When she arrived, she parked in the back of the bowling alley and hid Judd's truck where she had hidden her own Jeep just weeks prior. She got out and quietly snuck on the side of the building and waited for the last of the employees to leave. Nevaeh then locked all but the side door so that the cleaning crew could finish before she set the alarm. Livy Marie waited until the cleaning crew was on the other side of the building and appeared preoccupied before entering the bowling alley. She stayed alert and carefully but quickly made her way up to the attached apartment.

Livy Marie could see that the door to the apartment was slightly opened and that Nevaeh was on the phone with someone. Nevaeh was loudly complaining about how Judd had been M.I.A. because she was back in town but claimed that it was only a matter of time before he came back to her due their baby. She went on to state that she wasn't really sure who the father was but would claim Judd until he proved her otherwise.

Nevaeh expressed her hope that her baby would keep Judd from seriously committing to Belle as well. Livy Marie was more offended that Nevaeh dismissed her relationship with Judd as an "temporary distraction". Nevaeh then finished off her beer and told the caller that she was about to go smoke a cigarette.

Livy Marie wasn't sure if anyone else was in the apartment since she didn't know where Nevaeh's adopted parents were located. They owned another Ball Up Bowling Alley in the next neighboring town so they may have been gone. Nevaeh also had an older brother but he had moved away years ago. She slowly opened the door so that she could enter the apartment without making a sound. She followed in the direction of where Nevaeh had went but couldn't hear anything outside of her pounding heartbeat. She was nervous and could feel sweat sliding down her back.

The door to Nevaeh's room was open and she observed Nevaeh to be leaning over the railing, smoking a cigarette. Livy Marie just shook her head at how selfish and stupid Nevaeh was being towards her unborn child. As Livy Marie entered Nevaeh's bedroom, the only light and sound provided came from the flat screen on the wall. She moved swiftly but the minute her foot stepped on the patio, the wood flooring made a noise. Nevaeh started to turn around while calling out for Judd but Livy Marie was quicker. Before she could be discovered, she pushed Nevaeh from behind sending her over the railing. Nevaeh's screams were short before she hit the concrete ground below with a thump.