The Thorns Under Pedals

Chapter 4:

Months have passed. A lot of work needed to be done for tonight. Research took the longest time and patience to get those two when they were alone together. It was now exactly three months from when I discovered Rebecca’s betrayal to my brother. I had already known a good amount about her from my brother so she had been easy to figure out. Drake Collins was the one who was a struggle for me. However, this was great practice for the higher William’s family and their employees.

After much debate I was ready to start my revenge. Everything would have to go perfectly down to the last detail. There were obstacles I had to prepare for considering Drake was a bodyguard and was a former security guard. That meant he would fight at any opportunity he saw as a chance. My words would have to be carefully selected. Best choice is to keep Rebecca and him in separate places so she could not give off too much to Drake. Then I could bring her in after she was broken enough to see just how strong their connection to each other was. Both of them would already know what I look like I’m sure. Rebecca I didn’t care if she saw me the whole way through. Drake I did. Not because I was intimidated or scared of what he could do. The reason was I already knew he would be difficult to handle by most likely being calm and calculating while talking to get as much as he could in case he survived. He would be exhausted.

Drake would be a problem. I would just have to get what I could and when it was too much of a nonsense instead I would just kill him. After the kill I had to be more careful on the drop sit and to destroy my presence. I was a person that was direct to Rebecca by being in her life even if it was just from my brother. No clues for the police or Williams. I needed a solid alibi also.

All this and more thoughts later I was now jogging to Rebecca’s apartment in a gray hoodie, baggy jeans that were large for me, black gloves, and tennis shoes. I was on my way to set up the start of my plan. Rebecca would be out to work this late since she was at work until 8pm. That meant I had 3 hours before she got back to plant the perfume sleeping drought in her room. It had a heavy sweet smell and even made me sleep while putting it together. Thank god for having to take Chemistry class for this one.

I smiled at the thought of what Mr.Burns would think if he knew I used his lesson to do my revenge. Though to be fair it wasn’t intentional for him. We had gone through the normal day and were learning about different chemicals that were used medically. It just so happened that a classmate was having a difficult time with insomnia and the topic was shifted to sedatives that were made to help with that. That’s how Valerian perfume was created. It was a mix of the Valerian root and kava-kava to make a sedative much like the greek people used or in the World Wars. The little bits you learn in school that can lead you to incredible revenge.

Once I reached her door I took the bobbypen from under my jacket sleeve and started to unlock the door. This was easier to kneel down and do but living in an apartment the way she does I had to be careful of who is looking so I had to practice a lot to do this. I sighed in relief when I heard the click of the handle signaling to open. The door opened easily and was quiet. I looked at the locks that should have been in place and smiled. It worked nicely, I thought as I closed the door behind me. The spray I had used on them that was clear made them slick and slip easily so I was able to break in once the lock was taken care of.

I looked around her small one bedroom apartment and was a little impressed. She sure kept everything nice and clean for being so busy with two jobs. Her living room had quite a bit of game stations for gamers if they came by. There were bookshelves that held the romantic genre to history along with a section of movies. Movies that were a bore to me. There was no horror or mystery in the sections. How did my brother who loved a good horror movie everyday and Rebecca end up together?

I shook my head. Now is not the time. I had to make this quick. Silently I walked into her bedroom that led to her bathroom. I was sure she would be using the bed for their “fun” activities by going off what they had been doing these months. I gave the bed a good spray of the stuff and then headed to the corner that held her air freshener. It was one of those to fill them and plug them into the wall kind. I quickly made work of putting the mix into the filter. I left it where she had it next to the pull in outlet knowing that when she got home and ready for Drake that Rebecca would use it. To make sure that Drake would be knocked out I placed a few drops in Rebecca’s perfume bottle that was almost empty. She will be using the last of it tonight.

Now with everything taken care of to have them knocked out by the time I got here I moved towards the windows in the living room. Rebecca had a habit of checking the locks before going to bed but what she didn’t know was that every night there was one she forgot to check. That was because she never opened it so Rebecca had no reason to. With a little twist I unlocked the window closest to her bookshelf away from the tv. Rebecca had the book shelf covering the lock so that was most likely why she didn’t use it as well as the book shelf covering most of the space the window used. It was enough for me to slip in but not much else. I had already loosened the sheet that covered the window from the outside so I was all set.

With one final wish for this to work I left and erased as much evidence that I came by. Rebecca’s neighbors would be coming home in a few minutes so I left. I did not want to be there when they came home. I made sure to relock the door and wipe off the spray I had used so Drake would not notice if he would have. My feet were made to walk until I was back to the sidewalk then I jogged the rest of the way to my car.

My heart was beating so hard in my chest I was surprised no one heard it. Unless they assumed it was from jogging. The sun was going down into a beautiful sunset. I tried to think of the colors in the sunset instead of my heart rate. I calmed down a bit. The drinks at the party tonight would probably help. Hopefully the girls would not notice anything strange.

The clock on my car said I was five minutes early. Yet I was the last one to get to Isabella’s place. How early was I supposed to come? It has been a long time since I actually went to a party. This was my first High School one though. Freshman year I just cared about studying and trying to find my place at the school. Tenth grade was just boring since my parents wanted me to start thinking about what I wanted to do after High school. This led to a lot of club activities. Junior year I lost my family in the very beginning of the year and now almost a year after I am going to my first party just before senior year.

I take a deep breath and open my car door to step out. I didn’t get very far to the door before I heard someone opening the front door. Loud noises could be heard in the house from music to teenagers howling. There were a lot more people than Isabella thought would come. At this rate the police may be called. I did not have to stay that long though. I just needed to mingle and have enough people see me that would give me an alibi before slipping out into the night.

“Elizabeth! I didn’t think you would really come.” Isabella cheered while making her way over to me. She grabbed onto my arm and practically was dragging me to the door. Most likely thinking I was having second thoughts.

I forced a smile and hopefully an excited tone said, “Ya. I couldn’t wait to see what a party is like.” In fact I was dreading the actual party inside. Isabella was smiling at my response and looked me over. Her gaze took in the crismon short dress that landed just below my knees and the neck was similar to her own dress in the heart shaped style. My sleeves made my dress more modest by being off my shoulder but covering the rest of my arms in a long fabric like a kimono style. The light in the house makes the sparkles in my dress shimmer along with the bit of eyeshadow I had done above my light mascara. I felt like a puppet and she was my string puller at that moment.

Isabella looked beautiful in her light blue dress that was a little above the knee and had no sleeves that made her chest stand out more, black heels, curly locks, and a tad bit more makeup then she really needed. Though that was the trend for teenage girls right now. They also wore red lipstick which I thought was ridiculous on them.

“You should really dress like this more often.” She sounded impressed. However, there was a bit of something else. Jealousy?

I chuckled. “Not my style. It’s more comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt, thanks.”

“I don’t know. Don’t you see how the guys are checking you out?” She insisted.

Isabella did not have to remind me. I had been feeling their stares since we walked in. Their stares were the reason I chose not to dress like this to be honest. They made me uncomfortable and unsure of what to do. I guess you could consider me shy to the opposite s*x unless I was torturing them maybe. That is something I would find out with Drake.

“I’m pretty sure they are drooling over you Isabella. You have much more to offer in that department.” I say in a humble tone as if I honestly believed it.

Her facial features relaxed while taking the bait. Isabella kept pulling me to the kitchen and when we reached there I wanted to gag. At least two couples were doing drunk makeout sessions. Isabella ignored them and moved around one couple to grab us something to drink. By the look in her eyes it was most likely spiked. She handed it to me innocently and started to drink from hers. I brought the drink to my lips and pretended to swallow the liquid but really I only let it touch my upper lip. This seemed to satisfy her.

“Well, enjoy the party, Elizabeth. I have to greet everyone so if you will excuse me.”

“Of course.” I said watching her leave. Once she was out of sight I dumped the drink in the sink before grabbing an unopened bottle of water in the fridge. There was no way I was going to get drunk tonight. After I drank some of the water I left the kitchen to find something to prove I had been here beside Isabella’s words.

My eyes lit up when I saw a group taking a bunch of pictures. That was my ticket and then I could leave. A hand grabbed my arm before I could join the group. I frowned as the grip was a little too tight. Turning around I cringed as I didn’t recognize the guy that gripped my forearm. He wasn’t even a little bit handsome. The smell of alcohol was heavy on his breath and I cursed.

“Hey beautiful.” His words were slurred.

I silently stared at him.

“Why don’t you spend some time with me?”

“Let me go.” I said calmly.

He started to wrap around me more so I was closer to him. I was stiff with tension in his arms but he didn’t notice. I am getting really annoyed now. I was counting to twenty in my head when he began moving his head closer to me in an attempted kiss. That was not going to happen if I could help it. I quickly brought one hand up and held his head back. The drunk grumbled that it was muffled by my hand.

I glared at him instead of responding. Obviously he was too far gone to notice though. So I tried to pull my body free. That did nothing but tighten his grip. Having enough of this I leaned in to him and whispered for him only, “Let go of me or I will burn your arm off.”

“No need...to be…”He stuttered and moved back letting my arm go in the next second. “...testy.”

“Testy?” I asked, letting a little bit of annoyance come through.

“Ya Elizabeth. Enjoy the party.” Another voice said behind me. Internally I groaned. I knew that voice too well. He just had to be here to annoy me.

“Mind your own business Sharif Junior.” I grumbled as I turned to look at him.

Erik was smirking up at me from the spot he made for himself on the couch. His hand resting in his hair. Me glaring at him didn’t phase him in the least. Maybe because he was used to it by now. I could hear feet scrambling away in a hurry. The drunk was at least gone but now I had a problem. Instead of panicking I walked away from him to go to the group just like I had planned.

My mind was racing for the chance of him following me or figuring me out. The thoughts made this party suddenly exciting. For the first time in months a true smile was visible on my lips. The flashes and noise didn’t drop it either. I truly started to relax and enjoy myself for longer than I had thought.

I stayed long enough to hear the sirens blazing. The police had been called and everyone was scrambling out to escape. Laughing I easily slid out of Isabella’s window with a few people and got to my car. I started the engine and raced off just as the police reached the house. The people that weren’t fast enough got handcuffed. I saw in my rearview mirror at least ten surrounded by cops. No one was chasing after me or the others who sped off so I made my way towards Rebecca’s. Show time.