TRUTH OR DEATH

by Fabiola Joseph

  “I’ll just wait for Jacob in my car. Sorry again, didn’t mean to be a bother.”

  Annabelle turned to leave only to be called back by the friendly woman.

  “Don’t be silly. Raymond should be here any minute. Come in and have a drink.”

  “Are you sure? I really don’t want to be a bother. Let me call Raymond and see what he would like me to do.” Annabelle pulled out her cell phone and pretended to call the woman’s husband. “Hi, Mr. Mitchell, I am at your house and… okay… no problem. Your wife invited me in… okay… see you soon.”

  “Your husband says that his cell is low on charge and for you not to worry. He said that I may wait for him inside.”

  “See, I told you it would be okay,” the woman said as she held the door open for Annabelle. Little did she know that she was letting in not only Annabelle, she also let in the devil.

  His face…priceless.

  The small talk held her over. She was nervous and could hardly take the waiting of Jacob’s… Raymond’s arrival. His wife, whose name happened to be Anna, seemed very nice, just not nice enough to save her or her family.

  “So, what is it like working for an investment firm? The men are not too hard on you, are they? I know that there’s not a lot of women there.”

  Annabelle could not believe her ears. Jacob had told her that he was a criminal lawyer. At that moment, she was happy that she didn’t put herself out there and ask him to clear a few things off of her record. She had thought about it, but didn’t want to scare him away.

  “Well, you know men and how… well, they are not always easy to deal with, but I am a strong woman. I never let them get away with anything.”

  “Yes, I know how they can be; that’s why I am so happy I found my husband. He really is a special man.”

  Every time Anna used the words, “my husband,” it only added fuel to the enraged fire Annabelle felt inside. Anna’s husband should have been hers. The house, should have been hers, and even the life that her man and his wife was living should have been hers. Thoughts of what wasn’t hers but should have been had almost drowned out the sound of Jacob’s car pulling up.

  She came back just in time to hear him yell, “Honey, we’re home.” Annabelle stayed seated in the kitchen as Anna went to go meet her husband and child at the door. Annabelle could hear the whole conversation from her seat.

  “Hey, babe, Linda is waiting for you in the kitchen.”

  Their footsteps got closer as Jacob asked, “Linda?”

  “Yes, I have the checks you forgot to sign.” As Annabelle said this, she stood up and turned around to face Jacob. The minute his eyes landed on her, he turned as white as a ghost. He could no longer move; his feet felt like they were glued to the ground.

  “Checks?” Jacob asked with his mouth hanging open.

  “Yes, I have them with me. I could have waited outside, but your wife insisted that I come in. She’s such a sweet girl. Now I understand why you talk about her so much; she’s wonderful, Raymond.”

  “You okay, baby?” Anna noticed that her husband wasn’t himself. “And where is your ring?”

  Annabelle smiled as Jacob’s words came out jumbled and were clearly lies.

  “I must have left it by the sink in our bathroom this morning. I didn’t even notice that I didn’t have it until I got to the office.”

  Anna looked down at her husband’s empty ring finger once more and told herself to make sure to check the sink in their room. She was a trusting woman, but wanted to make sure her husband’s story checked out.

  “Mommy, Mommy, Daddy got me a new toy.” As Junior ran to his mother and showed her his new toy, Jacob got himself together.

  “Let’s get these checks signed so I can get out of your hair. Your wife made a scrumptious looking meal. I have taken up enough of her time.”

  “You all take care of business while I get Junior washed up and Linda, you must stay for dinner, you did help.”

  “Oh, no, honey, I don’t want her to feel like she has to eat with her boss, too.” Jacob looked like he wanted to shit himself once his wife invited Annabelle to dinner.

  “Don’t be silly, Raymond. So, are you up to it, Linda?”

  Annabelle looked at Jacob and back at his wife. A smile crept across her face that should have told Anna that everything wasn’t kosher.

  “Sure, I would love that.”

  ***

  “What in the fuck are you doing here?” Jacob grabbed Annabelle’s arm and swung her around so hard and fast that he could have ripped it off.

  “You wrote a check that your ass is about to cash. Get the fuck off of me before I start screaming.”

  From that moment, the face-off began. By the end of their meal, a winner would be crowned.

  The Gates of Madness

  The sound of Annabelle’s voice is what woke him up.

  “Hello, Reverend Bell, I am so sorry to call you at this time of night, but I thought that it would only be right.” The phone was on speaker so Jacob was able to hear a two-sided conversation.

  “What is the problem, Annabelle?”

  “Well,” she answered as she poured herself a glass of wine, then, continued.

  “It turns out that Jacob had been lying to me. See, he has a whole damn family that he’s been hiding. He doesn’t live where I thought he lived and hell, his name isn’t even Jacob.”

  The reverend sat up on the couch he was sitting on and paid more attention. “What? How do you know this?”

  Annabelle broke everything down to the Reverend minus the fact that she was now at his house, and by the end of it, he was blown away.

  “So what are you going to do now?

  “I have my plans, but they are not up yet.”

  “HELP, HELP, REVEREND, SHE HAS ME TIED UP, HELP.” The reverend heard the phone drop and soon after, Annabelle’s voice.

  “If you fucking scream one more time, I am going to cut off Junior’s head.”

  At first, Jacob thought that he was alone. That he was the only one tied to a chair. It wasn’t until her words that he even bothered to look around the room. That’s when he saw them. His wife was in a chair, chained just like he was and his son was sleeping on the couch.

  “How in the hell did you do this?”

  Jacob’s voice was no longer loud. Instead, his voiced projected fear and confusion.

  “The gravy, didn’t you notice that I ate everything dry? If you were half as good of a boyfriend as I was a good girlfriend, you would have remembered that I love gravy. You would have asked yourself why I didn’t have any tonight. Now be a good boy and shut the hell up.” Annabelle walked back to the phone where the Reverend was waiting.

  “Annabelle, I have already called the cops. You can’t do this.” Annabelle laughed and poured another glass of wine.

  “Where are you going to send them? The address you have on your books is a fake one. He always paid cash so there’s no paper trail. Oh, and this phone, I have a good 60 minutes of untraceable talk time. After that, it won’t matter, I am going to want you to find me, us, by then.”

  “You cannot do this, Annabelle. You---”

  “I didn’t call you to talk me out of this. I just wanted to show you that there are some people that you just can’t fix. This man played the both of us, Reverend. He wasted your time and mine. He pretended to work hard for this relationship, he acted as if he wanted to fix things, and for what? He wasn’t going to leave his wife, he---”

  The sound of Anna’s grunting interrupted Annabelle’s thoughts.

  “And there she is. Nice to see you again.”

  It took a minute for Anna to gather her thoughts and realize that she was chained to a chair.

  “Why am I tied to this chair? Raymond, honey, what’s going on? Oh my God, where’s Junior?”

  “Keep your fucking voice down. Your son is on the couch, and well, I am going to sit back and let Jacob, I mean Raymond, tell you, tell your wife why your family is about to be taken from you
.

  “WHAT; OH MY GOD, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? RAYMOND, WHATS GOING ON?”

  Annabelle was standing behind Anna before she could even blink. She covered her mouth with her left hand and with her right, stuck the very same kitchen knife that she cut the onions with for dinner, into her thigh.

  “That was just a warning. If you scream again, I am going to take the knife out of your leg and ram it right into your son’s head, understood?” She waited for a nod mixed with whimpers and tears. When she got it, Annabelle took her seat and put her phone back up to her ear.

  “Now Rev, its story time. If you want to stay on this phone, I suggest you stay quiet.”

  As Annabelle waited for Jacob to speak up, the reverend muted his phone and tried his best to help the police locate the exact house where the massacre was about to happen.

  The Truth at Last

  Anna was shocked at the things that her husband revealed. She felt as if she was living with a stranger at that point.

  “So all of this time, just one year into our marriage, you have been with her? Why; why would you do that? Didn’t I make a happy home for us, didn’t I give you everything you ever wanted and needed?”

  Both women waited for his answer, and as hard as it was to answer it truthfully, he did.

  “Well, with you, everything was always so perfect, Anna. We never fought, we just… we were always so damn perfect and well… it just wasn’t fun at times.”

  “So, wait,” Annabelle interrupted. “I was entertainment? I was the bitch who you toyed with just so you could add some spice into your life? That’s fucked up. Let me ask you this. Your wife’s name is Anna and my name is Annabelle. Did that have anything to do with you messing with me?”

  Both women waited.

  “Yes, well, sort of. When I saw you, your looks attracted me to you. So when we started talking and you told me your name, I kind of looked at it as fate.”

  “You really are a sick man, Raymond. How could you do this to me, to us?”

  Annabelle tuned out the couple and looked at her watch, time was running out. The phone would only be untraceable for another 25 minutes.

  “Well, Reverend, it’s time to end the party. I know that you really tried to help us, but Jacob's lies led us down this path to hell.”

  “Annabelle, listen to me. You really do not have to do this. Time will heal pain and only leave a scar. If you do this, this will last forever. Killing Jacob---”

  “Who said I was going to kill Jacob? Killing him won’t change anything, but taking away everything from him will.”

  “But, you---”

  Annabelle hung up the phone. Time wasn’t on her side. The couple only caught the last of her words. So they watched her closely. They stayed calm until she made her way to their son.

  “Belle, please baby, don’t do this. I beg you, don’t hurt them. I fucked up; hurt me, just don’t touch them.” Jacob’s begging stopped her in her tracks. She walked over to where the couple was chained and stood between them.

  “Don’t hurt them? Hurt you? Now, what good would that do? Your wife is pissed, angry at you. Soon after your death, you would just become a distant thought. You would be the man who hurt her and that would ease the pain of your death. Sure, I thought about coming over here and maybe fucking you in front of her, but… what good would that do? It would only make her more angry. Speaking of fucking you…”

  Annabelle stood in front of Jacob and unzipped his pants.

  “That dick was just so good this afternoon, mind if I taste it one more time?”

  She didn’t wait for an answer. Right there, in front of his wife, Annabelle pulled out Jacob's pole and got on her knees.

  “This dick has always been so delicious. Wouldn’t you agree, Anna?”

  With that question looming in the air, Annabelle pulled Jacob into her mouth with her lips. Jacob tried with everything in him not to moan, not to get hard, not to enjoy it, but when it came to great head, Annabelle was a pro. Within minutes, his little big man stood up to the occasion.

  “See, Anna? This man is just no good. Look how hard he is, with you sitting right in this room. He’s a fucking dog, a no good fucking dog… but a dog with great dick, nonetheless. Now, you have 10 minutes to make me cum.”

  Annabelle pulled up her skirt, pulled her panties to the side, and slid down Jacob’s meat. She rode him backward, just so she could watch the reaction on Anna’s face. She moaned, moved her hips, and made sure to tell Jacob how good this all was to her. Soon, Jacob couldn’t hold back. Her warm opening and dirty talk was an escape from what was really happening. He figured, in his selfish mind, that he should enjoy Annabelle one last time. He damn near made love to her. Kissing and licking on her neck, just how he knew she liked it. He closed his eyes and pretended that they were in her apartment, or his car, or the movies. That was the thing with Annabelle that drove him wild. If she wanted to have sex, she would give it to him in a church, if that’s what it took to curb her craving.

  “That’s right, Jacob, fuck me like you love me; yes, baby, I’m about to cum.”

  Anna, Jacob’s wife had to close her eyes. She wanted to cry for help, she wanted to scream in hopes that someone would come and save them, but was too afraid.

  “Why Raymond, why would you do this to us? Look at you; you are enjoying her touch. Oh, my God, what kind of monster are you?”

  Anna’s question fell on deaf ears. Her husband and his mistress were in their own world. All she could do was silently let the tears fall and pray that she and her son made it out of this alive.

  As both Jacob and Annabelle climaxed, everything became clear to her. Jacob only loved himself. He came first and to her, it would always be that way. If they lived, there was no way she was going to take him back.

  “Woooweee. Thank you, Jacob, now, with only ten minutes left, it’s time for the unthinkable.”

  Annabelle made her way to the couch where Junior slept and picked him up.

  “What are you doing with him? You said if I made you cum, you wouldn’t hurt us.”

  Annabelle walked to the middle of the room and laid Junior down on the floor.

  “I said no such thing. Trust me, it pains me to do this. On my way here, my plans were a little different. I was going to kill you, kill her, and take Junior with me, but as I looked at him, he’s too old. He would never forget you and honestly, I would never be able to live with myself after what I am about to do.”

  “What are you about to do?” Both Jacob and Anna asked.

  “This.”

  With one swoop of her hand, Annabelle pulled out a plastic bag and swiped it across the air to get it to open. Horror filled the room as Junior’s parents watched Annabelle cover their son’s head with the bag. In the background, she could hear the couple screaming and pleading, but she let her mind drift to a different place. She needed to be absent for what she was doing because even in her crazy state, Annabelle knew that she was committing the ultimate sin, and just couldn’t be present for such a horrific crime.

  Under her, she felt his little body shake and tremble. He gasped for air and thrashed around on the floor, but soon, his little body just stopped moving. She made sure to stay there a few minutes just to make sure he didn’t have any life in him anymore. Once she was sure, she just sat there for a few minutes. She looked down at his lifeless body and became angry. She jumped to her feet, walked over to Anna, and pulled the knife from her leg. She rushed over to Jacob and slashed him across the face.

  “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT; THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT.”

  “Please, oh my God, please stop, my son, you killed my son.”

  “And I’m just getting started.”

  As Jacob sobbed for his son, Annabelle walked over to Anna and stood behind her.

  “Jacob, look at me. LOOK AT ME!” Annabelle screamed.

  She waited for Jacob to raise his head and look their way.

  “This is all your fault.”

  “I FUCKING HATE YOU,
RAYMOND, I FUCKING HATE---.”

  Anna felt nothing but pure hate for her husband as she screamed and belted out her last words.

  Annabelle raised her hand high in the air and came down hard. The knife entered Anna’s heart and came back out cutting off her last words. Over and over again, to the point that both Annabelle and Jacob lost count. She didn’t stop until she had another lifeless body in that room.

  “Just kill me. I can’t take this shit. You have taken everything that I have loved from me.”

  Annabelle walked to where she left her phone and picked it up with her bloody right hand. She called Reverend Bell and waited for him to answer.

  “I am at 33434 Good Luck Rd. By the time the cops get here, there will only be one alive.”

  “Annabelle, what have you done, what have you done?” the reverend asked.

  “Tell them to ask Jacob, I mean, Raymond when they get here.”

  Annabelle ended the call and looked down at her watch. She only had a few minutes to speak to the love of her life. She really didn’t need him to say anything, she just wanted to make her point. She pulled out the gun that was in her bag and made her way over to her lover. Jacob’s eyes grew big out of fear.

  “Don’t worry, my love, this bullet is not for you,” she said as she stroked his face.

  “See, letting you live is the biggest injustice that I could ever do to you. Every morning when you wake up, you will have to face the truth. Everything that happened here today happened because of you. You killed not only your wife, but your innocent son. I want you to remember this for the rest of your life. I love you, Jacob… yeah, I know, that’s not your real name but you will always be Jacob to me.”

  With his sobs as the soundtrack to her grand exit, Annabelle lifted the gun to her mouth, slid it in as if it were Jacob’s chocolate stick, and pulled the trigger. Moments after, the door to the house came tumbling down, almost representing what was left of Jacob's life, and the cops came rushing in.