The Perfect Family

Blind-Sided

Vincent:

The next few weeks of manipulation and deception were going exactly according to plan; Stella was once again wrapped around my finger, and I was allowed to wander around the house freely.

I no longer had to stay in the basement overnight, which was both a blessing and a curse because Stella had me sleeping in bed with her.  Every night she held me close to her as she drifted off into a peaceful slumber, unaware of my plans to escape.

The only thing stopping me now was the fact that I needed to get myself a new identity, and that would be easy since Stella foolishly told me how she did it in a casual conversation we had a few days ago.

She told me that while I was still in my coma, she would often frequent seedy bars and hook up with random men so that she could forget her troubles.

This lead her to meeting a man who called himself 'Silver', a man who was an expert on forging fake documentation for a large fee. Stella paid him five thousand dollars to make her into another person, a doctor by the name of Hilda Stevenson.

Silver hooked her up with a new social security card, a new driver's license, a new birth certificate, and even a bogus medical degree. She was completely free of the burden of her old life as Stella Bennet, a life where she was pushed around by her parents and her doctors alike, and was now able to savor the fresh start that she had craved for so many years.

Now was my time to have a fresh start. All I had to do was get rid of Stella once and for all, then I would be one step closer to freedom. My new life with Emily and Cora was so close now that I could taste it, and it tasted sweeter than I could ever imagine.

I looked over at Stella, who was setting breakfast out on the dining room table, and smiled.  Matilda was already gone to school, which meant this was the perfect chance to dispose of her mother. 

When she got home, I would tell her that Stella went away on a long trip and didn't plan to return for a few months.  That would buy me enough time to make her understand why killing her mom was the only way the two of us could have a perfect life.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"  Stella asked suddenly, making my heart rate sky rocket.

"I-I was thinking about Matilda."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."  I rubbed the back of my head.  "I miss her."

She laughed and took a seat across the table, sticking her fork into the stack of pancakes she made.  "Well, she will be back home in seven hours.  Until then, we can enjoy having the house to ourselves."

"You don't have to work today?"  My voice sounded more anxious than I intended.  I knew perfectly well that today was her day off, but I wanted her to think that I hadn't been paying too much attention to her schedule.  That would make her suspicious.

"I'm off every Thursday.  You know that."

I shrugged and took a bite of bacon.  "Oh, yeah."

She rolled her eyes playfully and nudged my leg with her barefoot.  "You know, Vincent, we haven't had sex in over a decade.  How about I turn on some music and light a few candles?  We could make a whole day out of it."

My body tensed and I had to suck in a long breath to keep myself from becoming nauseous.  The thought of having sex with her made me feel more guilty than a fat person on a diet eating chocolate cake.

But I couldn't let her know that.

I forced a smile and said, "Sure, that would be nice."

She squealed with excitement and clasped her hands together.  "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!  You don't know how many lonely nights I thought about you while I was-"

"Woah!"  I shouted, not wanting to hear the details of her intimate moments with herself.  She looked at me curiously and I chuckled nervously.  "Sorry, but if you tell me too much I'm liable to jump across this table and take you now."

Her face turned red and she chewed on her bottom lip, staring at me hungrily.  "Go ahead and do it."

"But-" My face started burning hotter than the eggs on my plate.  "What about breakfast?"

"Screw breakfast!" 

She lunged across the table, knocking over dishes and making a terrible mess of the dining room as food spilled onto the wooden floor.  She grabbed my shirt and pulled my face into hers, planting her lips on mine before I could utter a word of protest.

I pushed her away from me.  "Stella, please!  You're destroying all of your nice dishes."

Her eyebrows plunged into a frown and she took hold of my shirt again.  "Who gives a fuck about the dishes?  I want you to do me on the table.  Now!"

"Alright, alright!"  I grabbed her shoulders to keep her from kissing me again.  "But, if we do this, I want to do it right."

I knocked the remaining dishes off the table and shoved her body in their place, pinning her wrists down with a sly grin.  "You stay here while I get something from the kitchen.  Don't you dare move."

She smiled and licked her lips, clearly aroused by the dominance in my voice.  "Yes, sir."

I went into the kitchen and grabbed two things; a red cloth napkin and a butcher knife.  I shoved the knife into my back pocket and returned to the dining area, displaying the red napkin with a grin. 

"What are you going to do with that?"  She asked, the smile growing on her lips.

I stepped behind her and placed the napkin against her eyes, tying it behind her head.  She became a bit tense and I rubbed her shoulders.  "Trust me."

"Okay."  She breathed, "I trust you."

I laid her back down and climbed on top of her, running my fingers through her soft hair.  "Do you remember the day we met at the hospital?"

"Yes."  Her voice quivered with anticipation.

"You were so beautiful, so innocent.  I knew you were the perfect pawn."

"What are you-?"  She started to say, until I pressed my thumb against her lips.

"Shhh...just listen to me."  I snaked my other hand up her thigh and squeezed it gently.  "You were the only reason I was able to escape, and for that I will always be grateful to you."

I leaned my head closer to hers and pressed my lips to her ear, taking my hand off her thigh to reach for the knife stashed in my back pocket.  "But I'm afraid I no longer have any use for you.  Goodbye, Stella."

I jammed the knife into the side of her stomach, watching with a smile as her mouth flew open in a pain filled scream.  Her chest moved up and down frantically and she reached her hands up to pull the knife out. 

I grabbed her wrists and held them with one hand, while stroking her sweat covered head with the other.  "You should not have tried to keep me away from Emily.  That was your fatal mistake."

"V-Vincent."  She choked as her mouth filled with blood.  "W-what have you done?"

I removed the napkin from her eyes and smiled down at her.  "I have taken my life back."

Her blue eyes filled with tears.  "M-Matilda...."

"Matilda will be taken care of."  I assured her, "You needn't worry about that."

She tried to say something else, but the blood in her mouth prevented her from speaking again.  All she could do was stare up at me, her body trembling and her face becoming drenched with tears, until the life was drained from her body and she moved no more.

She was dead.

And I was finally free.

****

RIP, Stella... :(