Truth or Consequences

Untitled Story Part

Coralie Walker sat alone in her bedroom. The moonlight streamed through the open window casting shadows upon the wall. She was reading a book of some kind when all of a sudden she stopped. She set the book down on the bed and turned around slowly. Standing behind her was a tall man, about 6 feet in height. His face was covered by a doctors mask. Coralie began to scream but before she could make a sound the man was on her in an instant. One of his hands went to her mouth and the other to her throat. Her eyes widened in terror and his dark blue ones stared at her with such coldness it could have frozen Egypt. He dragged her off the bed to a corner of her bedroom with the most coverage before removing the hand around her throat to fish through his pockets for something.

While he was distracted Coralie took the opportunity to kick the man in the shin, sending him to the ground momentarily. Once he was down, Coralie jumped up and tried to run for the door but the masked man was quicker. He turned and grabbed her ankle, sending her crashing to the floor. He dragged her back towards himself and pulled her up by the hair.

"You think you could get away this easily? I won't be stopped." The man whispered in her ear.

Coralie's eyes widened once again but not in fear, in realization.

"How could y-" Coralie started.

Before she could finish the man backhanded her across the face and threw her with great strength into the previous corner. The sound of Coralie's leg breaking and her screams rang throughout the room and the man laughed dryly.

He reached back into his pocket and pulled out what he was originally looking for, a long thin knife. A light hit his eyes that was different then what was previously seen. Instead of the cold unfeeling eyes, they were gleaming with malice and bloodlust. Crouching down the man began to make incisions along her skin, not ones to immediately kill her but ones that would leave scars.

Once satisfied he looked up and down his work of art. In front of him was a broken woman, a shell of what she once was, and that pleased him. She had deserved what happened anyway. She had taken Giovanni away and that wasn't okay. Leaning down towards her face he looked directly in his eyes. For a quick second, there was a look of pain in his eyes but it quickly disappeared.

"This will be quick Coralie." The man whispered into her ear before plunging his gloved hand into her chest and ripping out her heart. Just like that Coralie Walker was dead. The man stood up, heart in his hand. He threw it up as one would a ball before crushing it in his fist. Satisfied fully that his job was done he left through the window, as silently as he came.

Giovanni Sanders was an average man, average house, average car, average job. The one thing he had that wasn't average and that was his girlfriend Coralie. He pulled up to her apartment complex and got out of his car. Grabbing a box of chocolates, a bouquet of roses and a bag of Dennys, he let himself into her apartment. He set the food bag on the kitchen counter before climbing the spiral stairs that lead to her bedroom. He reached the top of the stairs and proceeded to enter her bedroom, oblivious the carnage in the corner of the room. He looked at the bed, noticing she wasn't in it and set the chocolates on the bed.

He turned around to check the bathroom when he saw Coralie. She was laying in the corner of the room surrounded by a red liquid that looked like blood. Giovanni began to laugh.

" That's a funny one Coralie, you got me. Good prank." Giovanni said, still laughing.

When she didn't answer the laughter began to die out.

"Coralie. This isn't funny anymore." Giovanni spoke slowly as he began to walk closer to the corner where she laid.

He knelt down next to her and went to shake her when he noticed that she wasn't breathing. Giovanni began to shake her but now with the more urgent need of making sure she was actually alive. He moved from shaking her to putting his head on Coralie's chest to check if she was breathing. When he pressed his ear where her heart should be Giovanni's ear fell into the hole that was made previously the night before.

Giovanni pulled out his phone and frantically dialed 911. He hung up shortly after and moved so he was sitting cross-legged on the ground and pulled Coralie's head into his lap. He ran his hand through her hair whispering random things. He continued to do so until the faint sound of sirens got closer and closer. Soon they were blaring as if they were inside of Giovanni's head.

The paramedics came thundering up the stairs bursting into the room. They looked between Giovanni and the body of Coralie for a moment before taking action, checking her pulse and other vitals. During the process, a police officer had come and taken Giovanni downstairs to wait by the ambulance.

"Gio, pal, I know that this has got to be tough." The policeman began.

"Tough? Though Aiden? The love of my life just died, It's gonna be a bit more than tough." Gio replied angrily.

"I realize that now, and I'm sorry. We're also going to have to take you down to the station for a statement. I'd do it here but you know how the boss is." The policeman, now named as Aiden said apologetically.

Gio nodded, knowing it couldn't be done any other way. He and Aiden got into one of the various police cars and drove off, heading in the direction of the police station.

They drive for quite a bit of time before turning left into the parking lot across the street from the police station. Gio turns and looks at Aiden with a confused expression on his face.

"Just thought it might be a good idea for both of us to have something to eat before we start this. Anything off the menu, On me."

They pull up to the drive-through and Aiden orders a breakfast burrito for himself and a breakfast burger and coffee for Gio. After paying for their food they make their way across the street to the police station and go inside.

As they weave their way through police officers and desks Gio receives various sympathetic looks from everyone. He ignores them and stays focused on his task of getting to the back room. Gio and Aiden finally make it to the back room and they sit in the two unoccupied chairs.

"Okay, Gio, I'm going to need you to recall every event that led you to find Coralie's body."

Gio took a deep breath before beginning,

"Okay, well, first I went to the drugstore to pick up some chocolate and flowers cause today was supposed to be our one-year anniversary of being together. I stopped at Denny's so we could have breakfast with her. Then I drove from Dennys to her house and let myself in with the spare key she gave me. I went upstairs and set the chocolates on the bed noticing she wasn't in it. I turned around to look for her, then I saw her. She was laying on the floor dead, but I laughed. I thought it was a prank but as I got closer to her I realized she wasn't joking and I called 911. I held her until the paramedics came and you took me out, and now we're here."

Aiden nodded and finished writing this down. He looked up at Gio to see that he was trying to hold back tears. He got up and went around the desk, official police business be dammed. He wrapped his arms around Gio and he started to break down sobbing. Aiden comforted him as best friends would.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Coralie wouldn't want you to cry over her."

" I know but that doesn't mean I won't," Gio said through the tears.

"Understandable but Coralie wanted to be celebrated, not mourned. She wanted a celebration, not a funeral. And as her brother and boyfriend, we are damn well gonna make sure she gets it."