Unraveled

Chapter Nine: Zack!

"I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own."

Audre Lorde

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'She asked for a phone! She dared to ask for a f****** phone!' Zack couldn't control himself. He tried, he really did! But his anger got the best of him. How could it not?! She was the love of his life, of course he'll be jealous and get angry. He couldn't allow her to leave him for another man, not after all he has done and still doing for her. He had to teach her a lesson. Although he hated to inflict pain on her he needed to. How else would she learn? She was his and his alone. Why couldn't she get it? He had only loved her, madly. He saved her from her father and even had to change his last name to his sorry excuse of a mother's last name! Isn't that enough?! It should have made her obey him unconditionally.

The moment he saw the blood on her face he scooped her up in his arms and rushed her to the bathroom. He put her down on the toilet seat and got a clean cloth and some alcohol to clean the wound. All while caressing her and apologizing saying he didn't mean to and that he was just too jealous and too angry.

" I'm sorry my beautiful butterfly. If only you didn't ask for such thing! We were having a good time, why did you have to ruin it?!" he apologized one last time.

The love she had for him could be evident in the way she was waiting and anticipating him taking care of her. That's what he loved the most about her, no matter how many times he lost his temper she always knew it was unintentionally, and always forgave him. He was a good man after all.

When he was sure she was all clean he held her hand and helped her to her feet. He hugged her while whispering sweet nothings in her ear and as always she was so submissive again. Anticipating his touch… His lips… Just like he wanted. He walked them to their room and closed the door locking it even though no one else was in the house. He took off his clothes and got rid of hers all while she was quiet and submissive just like he likes.

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Zack couldn't let go of the fact that she was late that day. Even after he had punished her his mind was going crazy that he still did not know what took her so long. He left her on the floor, sleeping and left the house. He needed to clear his mind, deciding to go to the supermarket maybe they hired a new cashier and Veda couldn't resist his flirting. She never gave him a reason to doubt her, but he knew women weren't to be trusted.

Once he got there, he pretended to be shopping, wondering through the aisles, but he couldn't find anyone new who could be the victim of his anger. So he grabbed the first thing his hands reached, it was a pack of watermelon flavored gum, and walked to the cashier. There were a few people in line, when it was his turn he put down the pack of gum on the counter and greeted the girl in front of him "Good afternoon" he smiled politely at the girl.

"Good afternoon, sir. Is that all?"

" Yes. Thank you"

" That would be $0.70"

He took out a dollar bill from his front jeans pocket and handed it to her.

" It looks kind of busy today…?" he trailed off all while smiling at the girl innocently.

" Oh yes! This morning it was so crazy I regreted taking a double shift!" she said "We had a sale on the hardware section and it was like people were waiting their whole life for this. But at least I got some good tips!" she chuckled giving him back his change.

" Keep it" He realized Veda might have told him the truth and he felt like he was a jerk.

" Hey, do you sell flowers?" Flowers will definitely earn him forgiveness.

" Yes! We got some fresh bouquets that just arrived an hour ago. You can find them over there, Mindy will help you" She said pointing at the far end of the store " Mindy, could you please help this gentleman pick a bouquet?" The girl whose name was Mindy smiled at Zach and waved her hand for him to follow her.

" So is there an occasion for the flowers? Are they for a loved one? Dinner ? Or a visit to the hospital?" Mindy asked.

Zach looked confused and didn't like to be questioned, but he didn't show her that.

" Sorry it helps picking the right one " she explained " You wouldn't want to give your wife yellow flowers for a romantic gesture" she chuckled " Those are for when you're visiting someone that is sick" she continued, looking at his wedding ring.

The look of confusion vanished and he smiled at her " They are for my wife. No occasion, just showing her how much I love her"

"Awwww… We need more guys like you in this world. Those who appreciate their wives or girlfriends are rare. Your wife is a lucky woman"

"I am the lucky one" he answered. After picking the red roses and paying for them, he left the store. He decided to wander around to give his lovely wife sometime to rest. He passed by a women's store and saw some black pants with little butterflies on their bottom, he knew she'd appreciate them. The saleswoman suggested matching them with a red top which sounded perfect since red was her favorite color.

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Two weeks have passed and their lives went back to 'normal'. One day Zack came home before dinner and went to take a shower while Veda was preparing dinner. While in the shower he heard the door bell ringing which was weird, because they never had any visitors. He made sure of that, not even his boss or colleagues came over they never even saw his precious wife. The idea of her having a guest or worse... A guy coming over made his blood boil. So he got out of the shower to get dressed rapidly. When descending down the stairs he could hear a male's voice talking to his beloved wife. He skipped the last two stairs, buttoning his shirt and gawped at the scene in front of him. A man was indeed standing at his front door, shamelessly looking at his wife. He was almost eye f****** her! And she did not stop him!

Now Zach has felt anger before, but what he was feeling now was way more. He felt infuriated.

When Veda felt him behind her, she flinched and swallowed audibly. The cheating b****!

" Good evening sir." The man dared to smile at him like he did nothing wrong.

" Who is this?" Zack said, ignoring the man in front of him and glared at his unfaithful wife.

" I swear I do not know him!!" she defended herself " He says he is a Jehovah's witness…"

" Close the door!" he said calmly. She hesitated for a second and the guy started his introduction again. But was now addressing Zack, who still ignored him.

" Not interested. I said close the damn door!!" he almost yelled but controlled himself.

Veda closed the door and mouthed an apology, which did not go unnoticed. Zack snatched her arm and pulled her to the side, he looked through the peekhole on the door and saw there was a woman behind the man that he did not notice before. Just when they were turning around he opened the door again, apologized and sent them off, all while having his arm possessively around his wife's shoulders and mustering a tight smile. Once he was sure they left, he closed the door and shoved Veda to the wall. She started crying which angered him even more and without a word he slapped her hard enough to knock her off her feet. Then bent down and dragged her a bit further in the house but still in the doorway

" I'm sorry … I swear I do not know him… I swear…"

"SHUT UP!" he pulled her up by her hair, she tried releasing his grip but to no use. She was about to say something when he grabbed her chin and dug his fingers in her cheeks. " I f*****g SAID SHUT THE f**k UP! How could you?!! How could you let him LOOK at you like that!? Were you enjoying him EYE F****** YOU?! HUH?!" he was yelling and seething. " Why did you open the f****** door?!" This was her fault. If she didn't open the door wearing only leggings and a tight shirt… Now he can't stand seeing his wife's f****** face!.

She didn't say anything, just kept crying and trying to loosen his grip on her hair or chin. It drove him crazy. He let loose of her face and grabbed her neck, still grabbing her hair. Her eyes widened. He could not control himself anymore and added more pressure, squeezing her fragile neck. That's when, for the first time in a very long time, she tried to fight back! Her hands automatically grabbed his and tried ripping them off her neck, scratching them. But she failed. He pushed her against the wall again and chocked her with both his hands. He couldn't register how or when she kicked him in the groin and tried to escape towards the door. But because she was too weak already it wasn't a strong enough kick to slow him down. He pulled her with much force throwing her to the side. She hit her head against the foyer table and fell to the floor, blood oozing from her head. He panicked and immediately went to her side. Zack sat down on the floor and stared at his wife. She was not moving … She was not crying anymore! After a few seconds, he tried to move her but to no use, she was lifeless. He checked for a heartbeat and struggle to find any.

He got he got up suddenly and started pacing around her lifeless body. Then stopped abruptly and looked at the blood. It wasn't much so why was she not moving!

" Love, I'm sorry! Wake up, please!" but that wouldn't work. He tried to find a pulse again but he couldn't, yet again! He was not an expert but he knew he could not just take her to the hospital without anyone suspecting anything. People just don't understand they will be him. This is her fault! If she didn't try to run away, this wouldn't have happened.

He took her hand and dragged her limp body aligning her straight and rolling her in the carpet. Then left the house but not before making sure his clothes were clean and tidy and locking in the front door. He drove to his workplace and took the keys of one of their trucks, since he knew where they were. He had parked his car a few blocks away so no one would notice him.

Zack unlocked the front door and stared at the nightmare in front of him. He picked the carpet with his wife's body hidden in it and loaded it in the truck. then got in the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Good evening, Mr Miller" Ms Blake's screeching old voice greeted him. He did not need this nor could he afford her stopping him, or worse, questioning him. So he faked a perfect smile and greeted her back.

"Hello ma'am. I'm sorry I did not see you there"

"Always so polite. Don't worry Mr Miller, I just came out to throw away the trash…." she continued babbling but he didn't pay any attention to what she was saying. He had already heard what he needed, she just got out so she didn't see anything.

" You guys bought some new furniture?" Why was she so nosy!

" No ma'am. I'm doing my friend at work a favor."

"How nice of you. Mrs Miller is one lucky woman to have you" she said smiling.

" Do you need anything Ms Blake? I'm kind of in a hurry."

" Oh no! Please go ahead, drive safely" And with that he hopped back in the truck and drove away. He did not know where to exactly, all he knew was that he needed to disregard his wife's body.

It was dark and no one else could be seen around, so he took the opportunity and unloaded the carpet off the truck dumping Veda's body. Got in the driver's seat again and drove back and parked the truck back where it was. Zach walked back to his car planning what he'll do next. His heart ached for the loss of his wife, but it was her fault. She made him lose control. She drove him to push her. She turned him to into a monster!

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Removing the cloth from the body's face, with shaking hands. Sam took a look at it releasing the breath she didn't realize she was holding in.

" It's not her… This poor woman is not Veda Miller" she whispered to herself.