I made a promise a long time ago. A promise that I didn't realise I would regret. I didn't realise how life changing it would be.
You see, I was in love with this girl, as all boys in high school are. Her name was Dalilah and she was my only friend. We would talk on the bus rides to and from school on the daily. Here and there, back and forth. And she talked a lot. I didn't mind. All I ever wanted to do was listen to her beautiful voice. She had a pretty dark sense of humor. At least I thought it was a sense of humor. She told me about her hit lists and her urge to hurt and kill people. I always nervously laughed it off. Why? Well, she was hot! What else would I care about?
She was such a cuddly person, too. She would wrap herself around my arm or fall asleep on my shoulder. I loved that. It was nice to feel like someone trusted me that much. She shared everything with me.
Now you might be wondering why I didn't seem scared of her. Well, honestly, she promised that I was the only person she would never hurt. And, I guess, I trusted her.
I don't know why, but we had this incredible bond. The kind of bond you just can't explain. So, yeah, I really trusted her. And vise versa.
Anyway, there was this conversation I had with her that I completely forgot about until today.
You see, I was watching the news this morning, as I always do while I eat my breakfast, when one of the many stories they reported caught my attention.
"This morning around 4:30 AM a family was shot and killed in there home. John Richards, and his wife, Debby Richards, were both shot in bed.
"They were discovered around 5 O'clock AM. This is quite a..." That's about where I stopped paying attention.
You see, John Richards was my principal in high school, and also happened to be the first person on Dilila's hit list. This scared me to death. You see this could only mean one thing. I had to come through with my promise.
~
"Andy pleeaase! I wouldn't be that much trouble surely!" Dilia whined.
"You want me to hide you!? Daliah, I could get in so much trouble!" My eyes were wide.
"You're the only person I trust! I just need a place to hide out if I ever need a place to lay low."
"Dee! If you ever killed someone, you should turn yourself in, not hide away!" She wanted me to keep her safe if she ever got into legal trouble. She was crazy! "I thought you were just kidding!"
"Not at all! I need to kill people. I can't control it! Please Andy! I just need to know I have a safe place if I were ever to get into trouble."
"Even if I did help you, how would you find me? I mean I could live in another state for heaven's sake!"
"I will always be able to find you. We have a bond that is unexplainable." She looked into my eyes for a long time. And then she kissed me. I had been waiting for this kiss for years. And like an idiot, I fell right into her trap.
"Ok, fine. I-I promise.." She always knew how to manipulate me.
"Thank you, Andy. I love you more than life." Then she kissed me again.
That was the last time I saw her. She ran away from home the next day.
I was heartbroken and devastated.
I went to college the next year and eventually moved on. But I never forgot about her. She was right. We had an unexplainable bond.
~
I faded back into reality.
"The only evidence we found of the murderer is a note. All it says is. 'On my way.' We aren't sure what this means yet, but..."
I knew exactly what it meant.
The world stood still. Then the doorbell rang. I jumped 6 feet into the air. I walked slowly to the door. My hand was shaking violently. I couldn't focus on anything. What Was I going to say. I couldn't just let her stay here. On the other hand, all I wanted to do was kiss her.
I slowly turned the doorknob and opened the entrance.
"I have a delivery for a mister Andy Newman."
"Oh jeez.. Yeah that's me." I sighed then took the clipboard out of the delivery man's hand and signed my name. He handed me my package and walked away.
I walked into my living room and set the box on my island. I turned away from it but then turned back. What was in it? I mean, I didn't order anything recently. Maybe it's a gift from a friend. I mean my birthday was a few months ago, but it could have been late, right.
"It's nothing. It couldn't be anything of importance." I say to myself.
Man, all this stuff is really freaking me out. And then there's the fact that I live alone. I need a girlfriend. "Fine, I'll open it! There, are you happy!" I said to no one in particular.
I grabbed the nearest pair of scissors and carefully cut the tape keeping the box closed. I then opened the lid.
"It's empty." I flipped the box over then back around. And sure enough, it was completely empty. Who would send me an empty box!?
I sighed and threw the box into the trash. "I have to go to work."
I shut off the TV and walked out of the front door.
~
The day flew by. By the end of it, I forgot I was a customer service rep, and realised I was pretending to be a pilot.
"This is Blue Bird to home base, come in home base." I said as I pretended to be going through heavy rain. "The view is not good home base. We could use some help up here." Home base wasn't responding! I could get into some major trouble. "Home base! We're experiencing some major turbulence!" What was wrong with my contacts! Why wasn't my cry for help getting through! "Home base! We're going down! I repeat! We are going down! May God have mercy on our souls! Aaaaaaaahhhhh!" Boom!
"Ha ha ha ha ha! That was Awesome!" said the speaker on my headset.
"Uh, he-hello?" I asked confused and shocked.
"I guess you forgot to hang up on me. I've been sitting here, listening to your entire airplane adventure. Ha ha ha!" She laughed.
"I'm so-so sorry ma'am!" I was very embarrassed.
"No no! It's really ok. I enjoyed the story. Very tragic." we both chuckled.
"Well thank you." I smiled.
"Honestly, it's so nice to hear your voice again." She sighed.
"He he... what?"
"I'll be home soon Andy, make sure everything's ready. I love you more than life!" The phone hung up and my blood ran cold. Only one person in the world ever called me Andy.
~
I walked to my car slowly. Every few seconds, I would check behind me to make sure that I was safe. I had never been so scared then at that moment.
She had really meant it. She had really wanted me to keep that promise. I had really screwed up.
Then it hit me. "I forgot to lock my front door when I left." Just like before, the world froze. I was right next to my car and I couldn't bring myself to open my door.
Was she going to kill me? Or was her promise real too? I couldn't just protect her from the law for the rest of my life. Could I?
"What have I done?"
~
The car ride home was dense. I felt like I shouldn't break the silence.
I watched as the trees passed by my window. I couldn't focus on anything. My head was completely fogged up.
I pulled into my driveway and turned off the car. But I didn't get out.
I had taken the long way home, so it was around 9 O'clock. The sky was black. Since I lived so far into the country, everything was black. Everything except my bedroom light. I never leave the lights on in my house.
