Glen

Chapter 3

She was my angel in a land of demons. I would have given her the world and then some, but I wasn't what she wanted. I wasn't the "bad boy" type, she said. Ironic, right? This really meant that I wasn't the type to make her feel like her life was worthless. I've always wondered why women were into that.

We were so close, she and I. We did everything together, from watching lame reality TV to late-night study sessions. I was always the first to know about her new boyfriends.

The last one was a real douchelord. He was model; attractive with golden-blonde hair and, much to my surprise, a pretty impressive wellspring of knowledge. That's what made him so dangerous!

"Imagine that," Cody mumbled, smirking.

She thought he hung the moon, undeterred by his nasty demeanor. He was like an eyelash viper, stunning to look at, but full of venom and he was always ready to strike. Especially, when it came to me.

When they first started dating, he seemed polite, charming. I made the mistake of not recognizing those traits. Alice went on and on about how he and I should spend time together because she thought we'd be the best friends.

We stared each other down, both fully aware of how much we hated each other, but he knew how to play her. He would bat his eyelashes and talk about all the activities we could do together, just us guys. I was too busy imagining all the horrible things I wanted to do to him, just us guys.

For a while, we still had our hangouts. I dared to have some hope that nothing would change. As time progressed, however, she began to grow more distant, drinking more often. We would make dates that she wouldn't keep and when she did, she was anxious and irritable, staring at her phone. When a call came from him, she would vanish.

Before long, I stopped seeing her altogether. She ignored my calls and avoided me when I tried to approach her. When I tried to confront her, she yelled at me, telling me that her life was none of my business. At first, I was just miserable, having lost my only friend, but then the anger began to set in.

I managed to corner them at the campus bar, where I invited them both to my family cabin for the weekend. They refused, initially, but I'm persistent. It didn't take long to convince them to join me.

"Why did you invite him?" Cody asked.

"Why do you think I invited him?"

"You were going to kill him, only, weren't you?"

I had it all planned out. I would rid her of her misery, and I would be the hero. She would finally love me, and all would be right with the world. I could finally put my old life behind and be truly happy.

Before we made the trip, Alice's boyfriend took me aside and told me that if I didn't back off, he'd drown me in the lake, that I didn't "know who I was fucking with". If only he knew. We loaded up my van and headed out. No one said a word.

It was raining when I pulled up to the cabin, this time. The rain danced on the steely gray surface of the lake. The sky was dark, only brightened for a moment by the flash of lightning. Thunder roared, adding voice to the natural opera. I love a good storm. They're like a manifestation of my soul.

In the midst of the storm, Alice's cancerous growth left packing in all the luggage to me and Alice. While this was further proof that he was the definition of scum, it did give me a chance to talk to her alone. She confided, in me, how frightened and unhappy she truly was. I promised her that this weekend would make a world of difference.