Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

Fragile

“A fragile heart is an easy thing to break. I give you fair warning; it won’t be as simple as you think to win him over.”

“I’m well aware there’s more than one way to a man’s heart, not just through his rib cage,” she says with an evil smile. He grabs her, and they kiss.

“I love it when you talk dirty like that, about all the inner things,” he says. She pushes him away and laughs.

“Dermott, we have expired. You are now nothing but a memory to me. How can I make you understand?”

“Just like that? After everything I’ve done for you? I won’t be just thrown to the kerb like the rest. I deserve better than that. I deserve MORE!”

“This is not a discussion or a competition; this is fact, plain and simple. It is how it is, and how it will be,” she says. Her brow furrows, her lips tighten, and her hands clench into fists.

“That’s not how it works!” he says, grabbing her by the forearms. She twists away from him and shoves him again.

“Don’t be foolish. We are through; it is time to move on…” She stops mid-sentence as she feels a hand gently run up her back and softly wrap around her neck. She lets out an energised breath, and then the hand grips her tightly. Panic sets in as the grip tightens, her breath coming in frantic, shallow gasps. She struggles, but it’s no use. Desperately, she gasps for air, trying to form words, but the hand squeezes tighter. Her knees weaken, her vision starts to vibrate, and pockets of black and white flash before her eyes. From the corner of her eye, she spies Dermott standing a few feet away, his face confused, surprised even, but not disappointed. Then the darkness engulfs her, and she feels the ground come to meet her face.

He crouches over her, squeezing with everything he has, until he’s certain she is beyond hope. Then he releases his grip and stumbles backwards onto his backside. For the next few moments, he sits there, staring at her body, until Dermott breaks the silence.

“I-I-I can’t believe you did it. I can’t believe the bitch is actually dead,” he says. “I almost didn’t think you’d come. I thought, I thought for a moment I-I-I might have to do it myself.”

“I almost didn’t,” he says, his eyes fixed on her body.

“I’m glad you did. She was determined to go through with it all, to make her move. She had all she needed from me, taken everything I…”

“I know, I heard what she said. What I did needed to happen. Otherwise, she would’ve moved on to the next, and then the next after that. But I had a chance to change it all. To stop her. To end it,” he says, looking up at Dermott, tears in his eyes. Dermott pulls him to his feet, and they kiss.

“Now do it. You have to, otherw…” Dermott doesn’t get to finish as the man drives a knife into his stomach. He lunges forward, letting out a cry of agony as the pain rips through him. He clutches his shoulder and smiles into the man’s pale, saddened face. “Don’t worry, once this is all over, we’ll go away, somewhere speci…”