by Ws Greer
Evelyn is decked in white and gray tonight—white tank top, light gray pants, and white tennis shoes. Her red hair is tied into a ponytail and bobbing behind her as she descends the steps, and her blue eyes contrast against the white of her shirt, making them stand out even more. Even when she's dressed for comfort, she's stunning, and I have to place my hand on the railing to steady myself for her arrival as she reaches the bottom step.
“Hi, Malcolm,” she greets me with a soft smile—one that tells me she's happy to see me, but also still upset.
“Hello, Evelyn,” I answer. “How have you been?”
“I've been okay. Just working. What are you doing down here?”
I take a step back so she can drop down from the last step. “Ah, just thinking. I tend to pace when I’m deep in thought and ended up making my way down here.”
“I see.” She steps next to me and I turn on my heel. We have nowhere to go down here, but we slowly start walking toward the end of the space where the bed is located. “So, why haven’t you called me?”
“Well, I could tell you needed some space, so I didn’t want to be the guy that was too pushy. I wanted to, though.”
“Then you should've.”
“Did you want me to call?”
“Maybe,” she answers with a shrug and playful grin. “I honestly couldn’t tell you what I wanted right after Ava showed up at the restaurant. I was just frustrated and confused. I know I was glad when you called yesterday, though.”
“Yeah? I won't lie, I smiled a little when you answered the phone. It was nice to hear your voice, I guess.”
“I guess I missed you,” she says and we both smile. Both of us seem nervous, so we don't let our eyes linger on each other for too long without looking away. This whole thing has made us a bit awkward.
“So, listen, I wanted to talk to you today because there's been a lot of confusion floating around in my head,” I begin as I sit down on the bed and look up at Evelyn, who remains standing in front of me. “We’ve sort of been back and forth with all of this for a while, and as soon as we sort of decided to push through it, Ava showed up and did what she does. I want you to know that I understand if you're over this shit with her. I’m over it, too, but at the end of the day, I know I’m the root cause for her acting the way she does and I need to figure out how to deal with it.”
I pause when I hear a creak from the floorboards upstairs. Evelyn hears it too and even glances up.
“You too?” I ask her.
“Yeah, I thought I heard something.”
“Yeah, I don't know. Anyway, I’m not sure if there is much more I can do when it comes to Ava, but I understand if you want to wait until the situation with her resolves itself before trying to be with me. Or maybe you don't want to deal with this at all. Either way, I understand if you’ve had enough of it. Nobody wants to deal with ex-girlfriend drama.”
Evelyn looks at me with something in her eyes I can't read. She’s so gorgeous, I just want us to be back to normal so I can lay her down on this bed and make her scream my name. I want that more than I can explain, but I digress.
“Malcolm, before I say anything else, I need you to understand that I don't blame you for anything,” Evelyn begins. “Sure, you made a mistake by hooking up with a patient, but who am I to judge when I've done the same thing with you? It’s not your fault Ava needs help. You've called the police, there's a restraining order on her, we’ve moved into a hotel, and there's nothing left. You have to live your life, and you can't control where Ava decides she's going to pop up. So, I don't blame you for any of this.”
I nod my head, feeling like this conversation has started great and we’re headed for redemption.
“However,” Evelyn goes on, and my heart sinks. “You are right that no one wants to keep having to deal with exes. I care deeply about you, but I’m a bit tired right now, and the thing that’s pushing me away is the fact that I don't feel safe. Ava isn't just a girl who shows up randomly or keeps messaging you on Facebook. She broke into your house multiple times, she set my car on fire, and she has followed you at least once so she could interrupt our dinner before it could even start. She’s a full on stalker who’s capable of violence. It’s scary, and I don't want to end up hurt or dead while we’re waiting for the cops to track her down. I’m sorry that I’m letting her get in our way, but I don't want to keep doing this if it means I have to constantly look over my shoulder and fear for my life. So, I'm sorry, but I don't think we can be toge … did you hear that?”
Evelyn is cut off by the sound of something hard hitting the floor above us.
“Yeah, I did. That’s the second time I’ve thought I heard something upstairs. Did you lock the door after you came in?”
Evelyn’s face instantly loses all of its color. “Umm, I don't … no, I don't think so. It was already unlocked, so I left it that way.”
My heart feels like it just jumped out of an airplane. “Shit. Okay, let's go upstairs.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
I get off the bed and Evelyn turns to walk with me toward the steps. The second they are in view, my eyes bulge when I notice a thin string of black smoke making its way underneath the gap on the bottom of the door. It slithers in and creeps its way down the stairs toward us one step at a time like an evil spirit coming to take us both.
“What the fuck?” I say, and it comes out as a whisper as fear has a stranglehold on my vocal chords.
“Malcolm,” Evelyn calls to me, and when I look at her, she has her eyes aimed up the stairs.
I follow her gaze and notice what she’s seeing. With the light on in the kitchen, I can clearly see shadows moving around. Someone is upstairs. The shadows flash right past the doorway to the basement before coming back and stopping right in front of the door. Evelyn and I are frozen in place as the knob slowly turns, and the door is pulled open.
“Oh my god,” Evelyn whispers, as more black smoke starts to crawl down the stairs from a thick cloud coming from behind Ava, who stands at the top of the stairs with a red gas can in one hand, and a nine millimeter pistol in the other.
Chapter 38
~ MALCOLM ~
“Ava? What the fuck did you do?” I hear the words come out of my mouth, but it’s like I didn’t even say them, because I’m frozen in place as I stare up at her, my eyes wide, my heart pounding.
Ava is wearing black sweatpants with a white V-neck T-Shirt and black boots. Her dark hair is hanging messily behind her back and her eyes look large and demented, even from this distance. From here, I can see her makeup is smeared, with her mascara running down her face from fallen tears. It’s a complete turnaround from the well-put-together girl I saw at the movie theater just a short time ago. This version of Ava has clearly fallen off the deep end, and I don't see her being able to recover from it. I’m not sure any of us will.
“Hi, Malcolm,” she greets me as if everything is absolutely normal, but black smoke is starting to billow above her head in the kitchen behind her.
“What have you done, Ava? How did you even get in here?” I ask, my heart beginning to pound as I start to hear crackling from up above, and I realize Ava really has done it. She set a fire in my living room or kitchen before opening the basement door. She really did it.
“I guess having a PhD doesn't make you smart, because your whore didn't lock the door after she just walked into this house like she owns the place. Such disrespect after I followed her here from her house. Now that we’re all here, I've exercised the only option you gave me, Malcolm,” Ava replies just as she swings her arm back, and tosses the red gas can onto the step in front of her. The can topples down the stairs, splashing gasoline everywhere. Evelyn and I have to move out of the way before the can hits the bottom, where it lands on its side and spills the pungent liquid near our feet. I scramble to set the can upright, but by the time I do, it’s too late. There is gas everywhere.
“Please don't do this,” Evelyn blurts as fear starts to consume her and she can no
longer hold it in.
“I’ve already done it, you fucking bitch!” Ava screams as she aims the gun in our direction and fires off a shot. The sound explodes around us like dynamite and I hear the bullet ricochet off of the concrete wall next to me.
“Fuck! Ava stop!” I yell back, holding my hands in the air like I’m about to be arrested.
“I’m sorry, baby. I can't,” she replies. Ava keeps the gun aimed at us as she starts to descend the stairs, and we step back a couple of feet when she reaches the bottom. If she pulls the trigger now, not even her horrible aim will save either of us.
“Oh my god, please,” Evelyn whispers under her breath. I look over at her and see the first tears starting to stream down her face. This is what she was talking about right before we heard Ava upstairs. She didn’t want to put her life in danger, and now the danger has reached a boiling point she may not survive. I feel so sorry for her. I'm so sorry for having gotten her into this mess.
“Bitch, you better shut the hell up,” Ava growls as she moves over just a bit and points the barrel of the gun directly in Evelyn’s face. “This is your fault, you know. I tried to get rid of you, but you're just so persistent. Look what you made me do. If you would’ve just left him alone, I never would’ve set the fire upstairs, and none of us would have to die tonight. If it weren’t for you, Malcolm and I would be in this exact basement right now. I’d probably be tied to the cross over there, while Malcolm works his magic on my pussy in that special fucking way that only he can. I’d be coming all over the floor in this exact moment if it weren’t for you and your pretty red hair and blue eyes. If you would’ve just taken the hint when I set your car on fire before, the house wouldn’t be on fire now. It’s your fault, so go ahead and cry. You deserve it. You’ve killed all of us.”
“Ava, what are you talking about?” I ask.
“Isn’t it obvious, babe? I said it a while back when we were in the movie theater and that little cunt kept looking at you at the concession stand. Do you remember that day?”
“Yes.”
“I knew you would, because I know you cherish our moments together the same way I do,” Ava says with a wide smile that quickly fades when she continues. “That day, I told the bitch behind the counter I’d burn the building to the ground with all of us inside before I let her have you. I meant what I said. If I can't have you, Malcolm, no one can. I've gone enough days without you—enough days watching from a distance while you spend time with this whore. That’s all over now. I’m here to end it for us. First, I’m going to shoot this homewrecker in the head, and then you and I will let the fire consume us, Malcolm. We’ll be bonded together, melted together forever. The flames will sear our skin until our cells merge together as we hold each other. We will die in each other’s arms the way old people do when they die of old age after a lifetime of happiness together. That’s the storybook ending I’ve written for us, baby. It’s beautiful.”
“Oh my god,” Evelyn says as heavy sobs begin to wrack her body. The door to the basement is already on fire, and it won’t be long before the flames ignite the gasoline on the steps and reach out for us.
“You've got that right, doctor. You’re about to meet your god right now,” Ava announces, and I know if I don't move, this is really going to happen. “Goodbye, Evelyn. The rest of the ending is for Malcolm and I only.”
Evelyn looks at me, her face lined with tears. She knows it’s coming, and I can see the acceptance in her eyes.
“I love you, Malcolm,” she whispers, and my heart drops.
I look back to Ava and watch as she tightens her grip on the gun. Her fingertips turn white as she squeezes the weapon tighter, preparing for the kickback, and just as her finger starts to squeeze the trigger, I spring forward, throwing my body into hers.
The gun goes off with an ear-splitting bang just as Ava and I fall to the floor. Ava tumbles backwards and is tripped by the bottom step. She hits the staircase hard and drops the gun, just as I quickly look back at Evelyn, who’s also on the ground.
I see blood on the floor, but I know it’s not coming from her head. My heart thunders under my rib cage as Evelyn suddenly lifts herself up and reaches for her shoulder, where the blood is coming from. She lets out a pain-filled scream, and I’m so happy to hear it, because her screaming means she's still alive.
I have absolutely no time to celebrate, because as Evelyn screams, Ava starts trying to get up so she can search for the gun that has fallen under the staircase. I see it, but she doesn't yet, so I jump to my feet and turn to Evelyn.
“Are you okay? Can you get up?” I ask as I kneel down next to her and assess her arm. I can clearly see the bullet wound in her shoulder. She needs a hospital as soon as possible.
“It’s my shoulder,” Evelyn replies, climbing to her feet. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go!”
Both of us disregard the bullet wound and dart for the stairs, but when we reach the bottom step, two problems stop us in our tracks. The first is Ava rising to her feet. The second is the fact that the door to the basement is completely ablaze and so is the top step. Even if we could jump over the flame and land in the kitchen, I can see from here that the entire first floor is engulfed in thick flames.
“Fuck! This way!” I scream as I turn around and start to run to the other end of the basement, where a small hatch is located at the top of the wall in the corner for emergencies just as this.
As we run, I know Ava is searching for the gun, and she’ll find it any second. We reach the hatch, and I struggle to get the small bolt moved over to unlock it, but I manage.
“You first,” I yell to Evelyn, and as I look back at her, I see two more problems behind us. One: the flames are now in the basement completely. The stairs are completely on fire and so is the puddle underneath the gas can. The second problem is that Ava is up, and she has found the gun.
The first shot rings out just as Evelyn begins to climb out of the hatch, and I duck as the bullet lands in the wall next to me. Evelyn gets out of the hatch just as the second shot blares. The bullet lands so close to me I actually feel debris from the wall sprinkle my neck. I reach up for the hatch and jump up past the rungs just as the third shot blasts and I feel a sharp, fire-like sting in my calf. The pain makes me buckle, but my adrenaline surges me forward, and I manage to pull myself out of the hatch with Evelyn’s help.
We scoot away from the open door as gunshots bark at us over and over again. I expect to see Ava’s face climbing out of the hatch any second now, so I kick the door and drop it closed, but the gunshots keep coming, and I know Ava will, too.
“Shit. Help me!,” I scream as I climb to my feet and limp my way over to the side of my neighbors house, where a large stack of chopped firewood rests for my neighbors fireplace. As I grab two logs, Evelyn ignores her wound and grabs two more before running back over to the hatch, where she drops them on top of the door. After unloading, she runs back to me and takes my logs as I limp my way forward. She sprints back to the hatch and drops the logs on the door, locking Ava inside, just before the underside of the house is rocked by a small explosion in the basement.
The gas can.
Evelyn and I drag our bleeding bodies to the street, where we collapse into each other’s arms on the sidewalk. As I cover my wounded leg with my hands, and hear the sound of approaching fire trucks, I look at my house and see the entire thing is aflame, even the second floor. Fire shatters my windows and waves out of the openings as if saying goodbye. Everything I own is burning in front of me, and I can't help the tears I feel stinging my eyes.
“Oh my god. Malcolm, look,” Evelyn says to me, distracting me from my overwhelming emotions. She points toward the house, and I follow her gaze to the hatch we just crawled out of. I half-expect to see Ava climbing out toward us, but instead, I only see flames. The logs on top of the door are now on fire as the hatch itself is burning. There is no way Ava could make it out of the house now.
There’s so much happening, and I’m so caught up
in my own emotions that it takes a moment for me to realize what the hatch burning actually means.
The hatch is on fire, and Ava did not climb out after us. That can only mean Ava didn’t make it out of the basement.
She’s still inside. She will never come out.
She’s gone.
Chapter 39
~ MALCOLM ~
“Okay, you’re all set, Mr. Colson. Thank you, and enjoy your stay at the Marriott.”
The cashier behind the mahogany counter hands me my plastic key card and offers a warm smile. I need it right now. I manage to summon up enough strength to smile back as I take the card and limp toward the elevator. By the time I reach the doors and step inside, I already feel exhausted.
The elevator starts to climb, and I use the privacy of this steel box to release some built up frustration. I squat and let my head hang, and the overwhelming emotion I’ve been feeling comes out in the form of tears.
It all happened so fast, I’m not sure how it could possibly be real. One minute I’m in the Black House waiting for Evelyn. The next minute, I’m dodging bullets as I pull myself out of the hatch as fire licks my heels.
The elevator doors part and I’m greeted by an empty hall with a hideous red and gold carpet. I’m grateful the hall is empty, because if someone had been waiting outside the elevator, they certainly would've caught me crouched down with tears in my eyes. Luckily I’m all alone, and I pull myself together enough to get up and slowly limp down the hall.
As I pass each door, my thoughts go into overdrive. I see it all happening again as I read the numbers stenciled on the walls directing me to my room—the room I’ll be occupying for quite some time.
