The Truth Hurts

40 │life of the party

"Kandice?!" Morgan's voice echoes through the hallway. His footsteps grow louder as he walks through the broken porcelain that was once a lamp and reaches her bedroom door, his shadow casting in through the slits in the wood. "Kandice, what happened up here? Are you okay?!"

"Go away!" Kandice cries, shaking her head as she stares down at the blood dropping from her wound. With each drop the stain in the carpet grows darker.

"Kandice, what the hell happened?!"

She jumps up from the floor to her feet, still sobbing. She wants to trust him but she can't. "I SAID GO AWAY!"

He bangs on the door with his clenched fist. "Kandice, open the goddamn door now!"

"I called the police!" She lies. Blood seeps through her fingers as she continues to hold her wounded arm. "They're going to be here any minute so you better run, you fucking lunatic!"

She hears a slight creak and glances to her right to see the bathroom door slowly crack open. Caught up in the moment, she had forgotten it is shared between her room and the guest room. Her eyes widen and she takes a step back, staring at the door as she waits for it to move again. Nothing but blackness can be seen through the small opening.

"Open the door!" Morgan hollers.

The bathroom door kicks open and she screams, the killer pouncing on her and tackling her to the bed. He reaches down to clench onto her neck with his left hand, still holding the knife in the other, and lifts her up from the sheets.

In the hallway, Morgan presses his ear against the door to slightly hear the scuffle from inside the room. He turns his body and uses his shoulder to slam into the door, attempting to break the frame.

As she kicks desperately at the floor, the killer drags Kandice to the back of her room with his grasp around her neck. He pulls her up to shove her back against the patio doors leading to the outside balcony. Slowly, he raises his knife and steadies it as he pinpoints the tip of the blade at the bottom of her eye socket. She attempts to scream, yet again, and his clench tightens.

The knife rises in the air, the killer satisfied with his targeted spot. Her eyes widen as she sees her reflection in the blade, gasping helplessly for air. His arm suddenly drops, the blade swiftly swinging down toward her just as she turns her head to side to dodge it. The knife slightly grazes her cheek as it misses and breaks through the glass door behind her, sending the two crashing through the shattered door as they tumble to the concrete floor of the small balcony.

Hearing the struggle, Morgan continues to slam into the door with his shoulder, the dresser drawer in front of it rattling with each blow. "Kandice!"

She groans, rolling over in the glass as she slowly uses the metal railing to lift herself up to her feet. She sees the killer, still lying down, and quickly turns to grab onto the top bar of the railing. She leans forward, peering down at the horde of party goers below her.

"HELP ME!" She screams, banging on the railing. Nobody can hear her over the music, one of the speakers mounted just a few feet below the balcony. "HEL—"

She's grabbed by her hair and yanked back into the knife, the blade thrusting into the lower side of her back. She cries, the pain agonizing as the killer twists the blade as it pulls it out and he backhands her with his other hand, sending her tumbling back down into the pile of glass.

Morgan hits the door with his shoulder again, the wood splintering down the middle. He tries to peek inside but can't see anything past her bed. He continues to slam his body against it. The adrenaline in his system increases, making his blows stronger with each attempt. "Kandice!"

Kandice, small shards of glass lodged all over her arms and legs, clenches onto the bottom of the railing as the killer climbs on top of her. She continues to scream, a rather useless act considering no one can hear her. He gazes down into her widening eyes as he slowly, and perhaps tauntingly, lifts the blade high in the air. A tear forms in her eye and the second it drops so does his hand—piercing into her chest with ease. He lifts up and swings again. And again. Her screams are muffled by both the music and the blood bubbling out of her mouth.

Beneath the balcony a group of friends cheer as they take a drink. A girl in her late teens dances to the beat of the song as blood begins to drip on her, the shoulder of her white blouse quickly turning red. She doesn't notice, sipping from her drink as she continues to dance. Her boyfriend grinds behind her and, as his eyes fully open, he quickly pulls away.

Kandice's grip on the railing loosens as her arm falls limp. She lets out a faint groan as the killer plunges the knife into her chest one final time. Hearing the commotion die down outside, the killer looks up through the bottom of the railing and glances back at the bedroom door. Its hinges clatter against the loosening doorframe as Morgan slams into it again.

Outside, baffled teenagers gather around as they look up at the blood dripping from the corner of the balcony.

"Is it... blood?" The girl freaks out, dabbing at her shirt with a towel that her boyfriend had brought her.

Suddenly, Kandice's lifeless body tumbles over the ledge and the group quickly backs away, many of them screaming, as it crashes down into the pavement with a splat. Her arm falls inches short from the pool and blood slowly seeps onto the pavement and makes its way into the water, dispersing in all directions. The water splashes as teens panic, swimming over to the ledge to crawl out of the pool.

The split in the door grows wider as Morgan slams against it again, using all of his weight, and he hears the wood snap as part of the doorframe finally breaks off. The dresser slides forward, giving him barely enough space to squeeze into the room. He hears the music cut off outside, nothing but silence filling the air. Panicking, he glances around at the mess in the room and his eyes quickly focus to the broken patio door.

Morgan runs over to it, stepping onto the glass as he enters the balcony, looking down at the puddle of blood beneath his shoes. He grabs onto the railing and peers over, seeing Kandice lying flat on the pavement below surrounded by a large group of horrified classmates. Her dull eyes gaze up at the sky, but he can't help but feel like she's staring directly at him.

The crowd looks up at him, some gasping others screaming. A girl cries in the arms of her boyfriend. One of the boys is hurling by a tree. Another one calls the police.

♫ ᴘɪᴛʏ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ / ᴍᴇʟᴀɴɪᴇ ᴍᴀʀᴛɪɴᴇᴢ ♫