Serial Detective: Love Til "Death"

The Checklist

Chapter Five: The Checklist

All day in class I was unable to focus on what any of my teachers were saying, as if they actually made sense to me to begin with. My lack of interest in school was not the reason for my lack of focus today however. It was last night, which was a very BIG night for me. I finally had gotten laid, and to any normal guy my age this would be the hot topic of discussion among my peers but that would not be 'big news'. Instead the thing that got me all bent out of shape was me telling Amanda that I loved her.

What the fuck was I thinking? Dammit!

Was it bad enough for having a psycho bitch prove that she loved you by killing everybody who fucked her, but...? I trailed off because a new thought had entered my head. I was so dumb before I wanted to smack myself for not noticing earlier. This crazy chick wants to kill everybody who she was fucking, to erase her dirty, slut life past. Now the thought lingers, how many people did she fucked, probably the whole school. Well if you had asked one of these dudes that take pride in putting another notch on their belts, they would say yeah, she had offered herself to the whole school.

She really don't plan on killing everybody who she fucked, is she?

For all I could tell she did not show up to school today, so I used lunch to hang with Charles in our normal spot, outside by the tennis courts. The tennis team occupied the court but we just wanted to sit there, eat and enjoy the weather and the girls wearing the tight shorts. Now I really knew what it was like, okay losing focus.

"Earth to Hort! Helloo! Did you hear me!" Charles brings me back to reality. I blinked my eyes in confusion, not knowing that he was talking while I was day dreaming.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I apologized.

Charles sighs before picking up where he left off. "I was saying how nice it would be to go to the beach for the summer. The whole school is basically going. Nonstop partying for two whole weeks. Man next week is not coming fast enough."

"Yeah that would be fun."

My mind is not into summer vacation, I want to know what I should do with Amanda. It was the only thing on my mind and there was no end of finding a solution in sight. I felt like yelling, screaming, letting it all go.

"What am I going to do!" I blurted out cutting Charles in mid-sentence. He looks at me cocked eyed with a puzzled look on his face.

"What's wrong Hort? What are you talking about?"

I bury my face in my hands as I rest my tray of food in my lap.

"Promise not to tell anybody." I responded.

He agreed still with a confused look on his face. I begin to bring my head back and stare up in the sky, I guess for confidence or confirmation.

I take a deep breath. "I told Amanda that I loved her last night after we fucked."

I hold my head down to prepare for Charles' judgment that is about to come my way.

"You did what! Come on man you know better than to tell a hoe that you love her! Not ever!" Charles explodes on me.

"She's not a hoe." I become defensive. I know she had issues that lead her to become what she is, but it's not really who she was. Or am I just being hypocritical.

We went back and forth, him calling her a slut and me defending her and explaining her abusive past. It ended in silence as we both sat there finishing our lunch. As the bell rings to mark the end of the lunch period, Charles stands up holding his tray. 

"Look, because we’re friends, let me do some digging. Maybe she is not like that no more. If you love her, it's okay. She's a really pretty girl."

He walks off leaving me in my thoughts. I wanted to be happy that Charles is deciding to give her a chance, but a part of me is worried that he might find evidence that proves that she hadn't changed, or worst.

Charles disappeared the rest of the day and I made it home with no phone call from Amanda. For some strange reason I began to worry about them both. Only God knows what they are doing. What if Charles found some evidence? What then, what would I do?

All the worrying and questions tired me out and I ended up falling asleep. The time on my cell read: 4:24pm when I had dozed off into my little dream world, reliving last night, the good part. The only thing that was different was the vibration I felt. I didn't understand, it felt real like it wasn't a part of the dream.

Why am I vibrating? Is this what it's supposed to feel like?

Then it happened, again. Amanda leans over closer to me, I can feel her breath against my neck, it smells like ice, fresh, like those ice breakers mints. It was weird how my senses are so in tune with my dream. Then as she leans, she whispers those words.

"Do you love me babe?"

"Yes, I love you."

I jumped straight up, sitting up on my bed, waking up in a cold sweat. My breathing was hard and deep. Looking down I realized I just ejaculated on myself. How does a wet dream turn into a nightmare? Okay maybe not a nightmare, but it did scare me, so would that count as being a nightmare? I could have sworn that I didn't just dream the vibrating and the mints smell. Suddenly I felt something uncomfortable underneath me. Reaching and raising up, I pull out the object that gave me such uncomforted.

My phone, it must have fallen onto the bed and I must have rolled on it.

I shrugged it off, at least it explained the vibrating, and someone must have called me. I unlock my cell and see that I had three missed calls. Holy crap, Charles called me twice! I realized there were two voice messages from him and a text message. I checked the first message.

"Hey Hort buddy, man you are not going to believe this! I'm in her locker, don't ask how I got into it, top secret. But yo, there is a list of names on this sheet paper, and guess what, Alex and Brian are both on that list. The list has at least forty names on it. Anyways I'm sending you a copy of the list. I'm going to investigate further, wait up for me okay bud."

A list? What kind of list was it? I decided to go to the next voice message.

"Yo Hort man, this is crazy, Tommy is dead, he's dead man. I followed her to his crib, oh God, oh God. He has no head, he's cut up just like the Alex and Brian was. Who is she! You got to leave, uh? Who's there, no! What the fuck, who the fuck are you! Stop, stay away from me!

The message goes blank, but it does not hang up. I listen to hear what happened. Then a voice came on and I froze, knowing and fearing for the worst.

"Who is this boy babe? I thought you loved me? Why are you hurting me? Nothing will stop me from loving you."

All of sudden Charles screams can be heard, I hold the phone away from me as tears runs down my face. His screams were loud, painful. She was killing him and I couldn't do anything. No, she had already killed him while I was sleep. When my best friend needed me, I was asleep, dreaming about his killer. I drop the phone onto my bed as if it was cursed or something and hold my hands over my ears to block out the screaming. Then his screaming stop with a muffled noise, must been him choking on his own blood. Her voice came back on the phone, just as my bedroom door opens. I look up with tears in my eyes. My body frozen stiff, I couldn't move for nothing, talk or think. I wanted to speak but stuttering came out. For the first time, I was afraid. In my doorway she stood, looking innocent, happy as if nothing happened at all. She speaks the same words at the same time the voice comes back on the voice message.

"I love you babe, nothing can keep us away from each other. I will do anything, and everything to keep it that way. I love you, and I will kill you if you ever leave me."