The Taste of Death

Chapter 5

          It had been a couple of days since I had that night terror and it didn't stop. I dreamt about that person that I killed every night and I couldn't remember who they were nor why I killed them, if I did. That day I had a session with Jamie and he told me that his step-mother Karen, hit him so much that his arms were covered in bruises to the point where it physically hurt him to pull the sleeves of his sweatshirt up to show me. I thought to myself, "Karen... you'll be 10th for sure, just you wait." Seeing a young kid with their arms covered in bruises, cuts, and scratches disgusted me, Karen Young wasn't going to get away with that. "Oh my, Jamie, why haven't you told your father?" I asked. "I have, he doesn't care, it's so bad, I have no clue what to do at this point and honestly I just want Karen to disappear or something. I know I shouldn't say stuff like this and I know I'm only seventeen but I'd love to just get away from my father and his psycho of a wife and be on my own," Jamie stated. Jamie was emotional at that point and I knew that I had to do something about all the pain he was going through. Jamie said that he wanted Karen to disappear but how would I have known if it would've made things with his father better? "When you say you want Karen to disappear, do you think that this would make things with your father better in the long run? Because that's what I would assume you'd want if something like that happened," I stated, in hopes of getting him to think about what he said, I didn't want him to have any reason to think of me as a reason for her disappearance when it happened. "I know it would make things better, things are always great when it's just my dad and I. Every time he meets a woman it's like he doesn't care about me," Jamie answered, he knew what he wanted and it was for Karen to disappear and I was good at that, so that was my goal. Jamie's mother, Debra Cruse, died due to cancer when Jamie was nine and Jamie's father used dating multiple women and consuming alcohol to avoid reflecting and feeling any emotion towards the loss of the woman he loved the most.

          After that session with Jamie, I knew what had to be done. I wasn't going to let something like this happen to a teenage boy. I went back to my apartment and Joe was waiting for me at the door as always. "How's it going my man? Today has been a productive day, and the 10th is certainly gonna be great," I told Joe, he was my go-to person when it came to conflict and if I wanted someone to talk to. I brought home take-out from Stanley's Sub Shop and sat down on the loveseat I had in my living room. Every now and then I'd toss Joe a french fry if we weren't begging and yapping but for the most part, I'd always devour all of the food I'd get from Stanely's. That night I couldn't initially fall asleep so I was tossing and turning in bed for about an hour before drifting off completely. It was almost midnight before I fell asleep and I had another night terror, but I could recognize almost every face that I saw in it. The person that I repeatedly hit, kicked, and hurt wasn't a random face, it was a kid that used to bully me in school for years until I reached high school, but it only stopped because I took their life. Every dream was almost identical as if my brain couldn't remember details in between the moments in the dream. It would start when I'm in elementary school, getting shoved and messed around by a kid that was slightly older than me, which just brewed a hatred to last a lifetime. After that it would jump to high school, where I attacked the bully during school. It would show those two moments because those marked the beginning and the end of the bully's reign of terror upon me and the other kids. Everything slowly started to come back to me as I started to open more memories in my dream. It felt like I was actually there, I relived me sneaking up on this bully on my way home from school my sophomore year of high school and killing him. Throughout all this though, I couldn't remember the bully's name, and quite frankly I didn't want to know it, I just wanted to erase all memory of this person forever, as I have new challenges to face and new obstacles to overcome.

          I shot up in my bed after the night terror seemed to get to a point where I couldn't remember anything else and I looked at my clock. "3:57 A.M." it read, I took a large breath and laid down as Joe started to wake and look up at me. "Sorry boy, I just had another one of those dreams, I can't get those thoughts out of my head for good," I told Joe. He stood up and walked slowly to me, licked me on the face once, then used his head to dig the comforter up above himself so he could crawl under it towards my legs. I felt him lay back down which then helped me feel comfortable, I dozed off with all the images from the night terror in my head but I didn't have another dream that night. I woke up at my usual time the next morning and went throughout my usual morning routine. I didn't have to go into the office until almost two hours later than usual due to me not having any clients on that day, so I took Joe on a walk. After all, Joe has been the only reason for my sleeping habits to somewhat fix themselves, so the least I could do was let him witness the outside world as he pleased. I took Joe to the dog park and let him run around and roam free, he wore a small black vest that connected to his leash, I liked it more than a basic collar because it doesn't scratch his neck nor choke him if I have to pull him in a different direction than the one he's attempting to go in. Joe gets a lot of attention from people for how friendly he is and how adorable he looks with that black vest of his. Joe enjoyed his time at the park as always and I made sure to let him play with his favorite dog of them all, Winnie. Winnie is the exact same type of breed as Joe, the only difference is Winnie's fur color and the fact that Winnie is a female. I would always say that Joe had a crush on Winnie alongside Winnie's owner Sarah, but I was certain that Sarah was attracted to me more than anything, I read people for a living and observe how they feel in certain situations, I knew that Sarah was attracted to me but I couldn't avoid it because I thought the same way about her. I was never the type to date, I would go on dates and speak with someone and then end up ghosting them in order to not even get close to getting caught for killing. Dating wasn't my strong suit and I was alright with that, but Sarah would always push to meet up for a playdate with our pets, so if anything, I was Joe's wingman. Once Joe and I got back to my apartment, I made sure Joe was content with food, water, and something on the TV and then I went to the office. I didn't do anything except read my notes on Jamie and examine the things that he had told me once I got to the office. The more and more I read, the more I wanted to go ahead and kill Karen. It was a while since I last killed and I wanted to feed my inner demon but I didn't want to mess anything up. After a couple of hours of on and off studying, I decided it was time. I was tired of waiting and that night was gonna be the night, Karen Young wasn't going to be able to torment Jamie any longer.