Between Love and Murder

by Chris Bedell

  I covered my mouth, muffling my screams. No matter how despicable Tommy was, I hadn’t wanted him to die. Yikes. Any negative opinion I had of Mallory didn’t compare to Kelly. She actually did it. She killed Tommy—not Mallory.

  “Well?” Kelly snapped, dragging me from my digression.

  “You killed Tommy, not Mallory,” I said.

  She cackled. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t play dumb. You grabbed the bookend and bashed it against his face over and over again.”

  Yeah. Time to get to the point. Kelly hadn’t done herself any favors by denying the truth. She was only wasting my time, and I couldn’t have that. Mom’s sleeping pill could wear off at a moment’s notice, and I couldn’t have her wondering where I was. If she became involved with the Tommy situation—then that added another variable. And it was a complication I couldn’t have. My reasoning was practically an unwritten law of physics—the chances of a problem becoming worse increased with each subsequent person who discovered the truth.

  “Fine,” she said. “You’re right. I killed Tommy, because there was no way Mallory would survive the scandal.”

  “Why help her after all your animosity?” I asked.

  Kelly placed her hands in her lap. “Haven’t you been paying attention? She’s my only family.”

  “Do we understand each other?”

  “What you and Gemma did sucks.”

  “You gave me Mallory’s locker combination,” I said.

  Yeah. If Kelly tried making me feel guilty, then I’d do the same to her. She had no moral standing in this situation, and she needed to be reminded of that fact ASAP. Hypocrisy was about as low as people got. I might not have been perfect, yet I had no problem owning up to what I did to Mallory in front of Kelly.

  “Doesn’t mean I like it—I did what I thought was right,” Kelly said.

  “Should’ve thought about that earlier,” I said.

  Kelly’s eyebrows inched upward. “What happened to you?”

  “Mallory happened. Anyway, it’s kind of odd you wanna set Mallory free, yet not take responsibility for your actions.”

  “Have you forgotten all this startled because you wouldn’t leave Archie and Mallory alone?”

  I groaned. “God. You sound just like your sister. What you two don’t realize is Tommy still had a gun on him.”

  “You better not hold this over my head for the rest of my life.”

  “Relax. I only want my happy ending with Archie,” I said.

  “You’re too young to worry about that.”

  “I’ll take my chances,” I said.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself. Sending your best friend away is horrendous.”

  “I’m doing what I have to do. Besides, she’s in a sanitarium—not prison. So, she’ll be fine.”

  “How do you live with yourself?” Kelly demanded.

  “I’ve already addressed that.”

  She bit her lip. “If you’re willing to blame Mallory for a crime she didn’t commit, then you can’t be too secure in your love for Archie.”

  Please. It’d take more than Kelly’s tough love to rattle me. She didn’t have a right to judge me, so I wouldn’t sweat her comment. Not when the euphoria from my happy ending with Archie surpassed any high from a drug.

  “Have you forgotten about that other thing in your safe?” I asked.

  “My curiosity doesn’t mean she’s guilty of killing those other boys.”

  “You saved the articles.”

  “It was just something to consider.”

  “We’re done.” I opened the car door without another word. The wind picked up, yet the breeze resembled the warmth from before—there wasn’t a hint of iciness to it. Then, I strutted up my driveway.

  Just because I reached my limit of arguing with Kelly didn’t mean I stopped contemplating the issue. I did what needed to be done, and I wouldn’t apologize for my behavior—I hadn’t physically harmed Mallory. Morality was also elastic. Doing the right thing sometimes meant doing the socially unacceptable thing. If roles were reversed, then Mallory would’ve betrayed me. In fact, she already had with pursuing Archie after my first conversation with him in addition to her indecent proposal.

  FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2019

  I smirked upon entering a room after school.

  “How did you get in here?” Mallory adjusted her white gown while remaining in bed. “I’m not allowed visitors.”

  “Said I was your cousin and bribed a nurse.”

  “I should’ve known you’d stop by.”

  “I had to see you for myself,” I said.

  “What do you want?” Mallory asked.

  “Thought it’d be fun to reminisce with an old friend.”

  Mallory grunted. “Enough bullshit—I know you didn’t visit me to catch up.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Say whatever you came to say, then leave, because you’ve got some nerve showing up here. Giving me the money was all you had to do, and we could’ve been done with each other. But no. You called the cops.”

  Mallory should’ve been more careful. Bitterness wasn’t a flattering emotion on her—it only reminded me of the worst side of her. Like the Mallory who didn’t have a problem with pursuing Archie for revenge or concocting an indecent proposal on a whim.

  “You didn’t snitch on Archie, Rebecca, Dan, and me to the police,” I said.

  “I’m not clueless—there’s no way for me to prove your culpability in Tommy’s death. I’d also rather handle you myself.”

  “How astute of you.”

  Mallory hissed. “Just go. You aren’t wanted here.”

  “Planting your diary, the gun, and flash drive in your locker is the least of your problems.”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “You didn’t kill Tommy.”

  “Maybe you should join me here—you don’t seem to be remembering things correctly.”

  Please. I wouldn’t have wanted to chat with Mallory if she were the last person on Earth after I finished gloating. No thanks. I had better things to do. Like wondering what colleges were worth applying to, planning dates with Archie, and working on my short stories.

  “You ran out to the woods and Archie chased after you,” I revealed.

  “So?”

  “And you know Kelly left the dance super early because of a migraine, but that isn’t the whole story.”

  “I don’t have time for this,” Mallory said.

  No need for Mallory’s overreaction. She didn’t have anything better to do—that was the advantage of being tossed away and forgotten about in a sanitarium.

  I let out a faint laugh. “Tommy was still alive after you hit him with the bookend.”

  “Impossible.”

  “I wasn’t outside in your backyard before I checked on you and Archie,” I said. “I was hiding against your den wall and saw Kelly hit Tommy with the bookend over and over again.”

  “I don’t believe you; Kelly despises me,” Mallory said.

  “She’s still your sister.”

  She quirked her eyebrows. “Why tell me?”

  “The only thing worse than your best friend setting you up for a crime you committed is being locked up for a crime you didn’t commit.”

  Yeah. The contempt radiating from her face was worth more than an acceptance from Columbia or Brown. For once, she understood what being helpless felt like. And maybe, just maybe, she’d become a better person someday. If she remembered the disgust that must’ve been oozing from her right now, then she might be less likely to get revenge or concoct an indecent proposal in the future.

  Her eyes bulged more. “Are you kidding?”

  “Nope. I finally got revenge—guess you shouldn’t have underestimated me.”

  “Do you hate me that much?”

  “You should know better than to ask that question,” I said.

  Mallory started panting. “I was trying to become a better person by
going to counseling.”

  “That was an act.”

  “Not this time.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I know better than to believe you,” I said.

  An acrid sent burned my nostrils. Didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed the odor before—cleaning product had a distinct aroma, and Mallory’s room must’ve been cleaned right before I arrived.

  “You should be ashamed of yourself,” Mallory said.

  “I did what I had to do, and Archie and I are gonna be so happy now.”

  “I could kill you right here and get away with it—my life can’t get any worse; I’m already locked away.”

  “Even you aren’t that clueless.”

  Mallory blinked. “No?”

  “You just revealed you wanna deal with me yourself.”

  “Maybe killing you right here and right now is my way of handling you,” she said.

  “You’re still guilty of other things even if you didn’t kill Tommy.”

  “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

  I clenched my teeth. “I know about Parker and Jordon. Parker allegedly drowned in his indoor hot tub while Jordon supposedly drowned in his pool. Yet they both played sports. And you can’t forget about the similarities. Parker cheated on you and Jordon cheated on Sami—your pal from the debate team. Seems like you’ve got a problem with guys who can’t be faithful. First Parker and Jordon and then Tommy.”

  “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “Maybe you’ve blacked out the events because you can’t cope with the guilt,” I said.

  “Okay. Let’s say you’re correct—you can’t prove anything.”

  “You’re right; I can’t. But you owe me honesty since I confessed everything to you.”

  She shrugged. “Fine, I killed Parker and Jordon. Happy?”

  “Hardly.”

  Yeah. My previous low opinion of Mallory didn’t compare to the one forming in my head. Mallory’s culpability with Jordon and Parker dying meant she was more depraved than I ever imagined. And said fact probably meant staring at my bedroom ceiling longer each night. Cheating didn’t mean Parker and Jordon deserved to die.

  “Leave,” Mallory spat. “I can’t stand the sight of you.”

  My smirk intensified. “Not yet. I deserve a few more minutes of gloating.”

  “You defeated me, so there’s no reason for your continued bragging.”

  “I’m not done yet.”

  “What are you babbling about?”

  “There’s something you should know about our threesome,” I said.

  She shrilled at me. “I don’t wanna listen to this.”

  “I don’t really care what you want.”

  “Archie was all I thought about it when it was our turn during the threesome. And I only slept with you because I didn’t wanna lose Archie in addition to how I couldn’t alienate you while I schemed with Gemma.”

  Yeah. This conversation was better than the anticipation of opening presents on Christmas morning. She finally got what was coming to her, and my only regret was how this moment wouldn’t last forever. Mallory deserved a lifetime of misery after all of her misdeeds.

  “You’re a prick,” Mallory said.

  I gave her a mock frown. “Ouch. My feelings are hurt.”

  “I’m gonna scream if you don’t leave in the next five seconds.”

  “You wanna know something?” I picked at my nail, peeling the excess white part off. “Sleeping with you was the worst ten minutes of my life, and I’ll never get that time back.”

  “This ends right now.” Mallory screamed before jumping out of her bed. She rushed over to me, my head banging against the wall. Her hands traveled from my shoulders to my neck while I tried catching my breath. Her grip was so tight that it felt like my windpipe would be crushed any second—like an elephant sat on my throat. No matter how much I budged, I couldn’t shove Mallory off me.

  So, yeah. Probably a matter of seconds before my life flashed before my eyes.

  Footsteps shuffled against the ground before two men in white scrubs burst into the room.

  “What’s going on?” asked a bald man.

  They pushed Mallory off me in a matter of seconds, yet my breathing didn’t slow down. If anything, my pulse soared faster.

  “What are you doing here?” asked the redhead. “Mallory isn’t allowed visitors.

  “Doesn’t matter—I was leaving anyway.”

  I exited the room and scurried through the hallway towards the elevator.

  Wow. I couldn’t believe how close I came to death. No amount of hubris was worth dying for, and I wouldn’t underestimate Mallory in the future.

  I would’ve been lying if I didn’t acknowledge my smile once I stepped into the elevator, though. My near-death experience didn’t erase the satisfaction radiating through me because of Mallory knowing I wasn’t weak.

  Pressing the lobby button happened after another beat, and I almost drew blood from biting my lip so hard. I had to pray Mallory wouldn’t be released from the sanitarium for a long time. I deserved a slight reprieve before speculating about Mallory’s next move.

  SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2019

  “You shouldn’t have visited Mallory,” Archie said.

  We sat on our towels while a salty odor drifted through the air and waves crashed into the sand in the distance. The first Saturday in April was the perfect opportunity for a beach outing—important to appreciate the good weather while we could.

  “I had to see her,” I said.

  Archie sighed. “Promise you won’t do it again?”

  “I won’t.”

  “Fantastic.” Archie ruffled my hair. “I’d hate if anything happened to you. I just got you back.”

  I winked. “Great to know you care.”

  “Is that seriously even a question?” he asked.

  “Relax. I was teasing.”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m gonna be on edge about Mallory for the foreseeable future. I can’t imagine what life will be like once she’s released.”

  “Here’s an idea. How about we don’t discuss Mallory?” I asked.

  He smiled. “Fine by me.”

  “Although I’ll say one more thing.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “Thanks for not judging me for framing her,” I said.

  He let out a louder breath this time. “I’m not happy about it. However, I’m not gonna let my disappointment keep me from being happy. Especially because she’s guilty.”

  My heart thumped faster for a split second. I didn’t wanna consider what would happen if Archie ever realized I knew Kelly really killed Tommy, no matter how much pleasure Mallory’s downfall brought me. If he discovered the truth, then he might dump me. Getting away with a second “despicable” thing pushed my luck, because the universe wasn’t that kind.

  So, yeah. Like everything else in life, I’d live with what I did—any guilt was fleeting. I won. Mallory lost. Game over—for now, at least.

  Chris Bedell's previous publishing credits include Thought Catalog, Entropy Magazine, Chicago Literati, and Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, among others. His debut YA Fantasy novel IN THE NAME OF MAGIC was published by NineStar Press in 2018. His 2019 books include his NA Thriller BURNING BRIDGES (BLKDOG Publishing) and his YA Paranormal Romance novel DEATHLY DESIRES (Deep Hearts YA). In addition to his YA Thriller BETWEEN LOVE AND MURDER, Chris has another book releasing in 2020. His YA Contemporary I’LL SEE YOU AGAIN (Deep Hearts YA). Furthermore, Chris graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2016.

 

 

 
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