V-Day

V-Day 

My name is Wendy Kyle. It was always a never-ending, dark battle with my so-called friends, Gerald and Tiffany Wicci. One moment, we were like a close second family and then in a blink of an eye, they were my worse enemies. Hateful words were their weapons of choice. When we would fight, they would point out my every flaw and put salt on old wounds until I was a spineless jellyfish.  I was always walking on egg shells around them and tried to do everything to keep them happy. Even when I was five, when we first met, I had to prove myself worthy to be their friend.

When I met them, I think that they were already child sociopaths despite what the experts might say. I was the new girl and the youngest at school, having trouble making friends. I had knotted, red hair and an embarrassing gap between my teeth. I was also overly shy, sensitive, and submissive. I felt like everyone hated me and I was easily picked on. One day, our teacher Ms. Ploster left the room for a moment during art time. On my way getting my paint, I caught six-year-old sister and brother, Tiffany and Gerald drawing all over on the classroom walls. I gasped in shock and Tiffany quickly turned around to face me.

She smiled mischievously and said in a fake nice tone, “Wanna help us?” She handed me a red crayon and Gerald smiled knowingly back at Tiffany. I knew that it was wrong but I thought that they were being friendly. I took the crayon and timidly drew a heart on the wall. Footsteps were approaching and I fearfully looked over my shoulder. They told me that it was no one but when I wasn’t looking, they ran away.

“Wendy,” exclaimed Ms. Ploster, “Did you do all of this?!” I looked around and I saw Gerald and Tiffany hiding in the corner.

Gerald mouthed, “Do you want to be our friend or not?” I stared at them for a second. To a naïve child, they seemed kind. I was so desperate for some friends that I ignored the wicked twinkle in their eyes and made a stupid decision.

“Yes,” I told Ms. Ploster, “I did it.” I was sent to the principal’s office, was made to clean the walls, and even my mom and dad grounded me from the television for a week but I thought that Gerald and Tiffany were my friends now.

Years later in junior high and high school, they made me do more serious and dangerous things with them like robbing a gas station, when Tiffany gave an innocent, sickly man a heart attack by injecting with adrenaline, and dealing drugs, when Gerald almost shot me with a gun for crying and being scared. Gerald even took me to the Valentine’s Day dance as an award for helping them rob an elderly woman in which her helpless husband got hurt. Even though we never got caught for these horrible things, I was expected to take all of the blame for it if we did and keep my mouth shut.

I knew that these things were wrong but I was their puppet and they pulled every string. I sometimes got the guts to say no to them but they put me through hell for it. Playing with my insecurities, they completely tore down my self-esteem by saying that I was nothing but shit without them. They both also would beat me to a bloody pulp then shunned me for about a month, not talking to me, not even acknowledging that we were ever friends. Despite my efforts to remain strong, the loneliness would always become too overwhelming and eventually I would cave in. We would go back to normal and of course, I would never tell about their ongoing abuse. My parents thought that I just fell a lot.

Now, I was twenty-one. I was going to college, working on a creative writing major and an art major.  Gerald and Tiffany went to school for a semester and just dropped out. Now they both worked at the general store. Since the first day of college, I was focused and constantly worked on homework. I’ve had too busy to tag along with them and began to have the courage to say no more and more. College gave me confidence and I was growing up. I expected to have a big fight with them but surprisingly they tolerated my absence. Things seemed to be changing…well, that was until Valentine’s Day. 

It was a bitter cold Valentine’s Day with snowflakes violently blowing in my face. I was walking to their house while on my way to the library. I was just dropping off the Valentine’s Day gifts that I got them. I didn’t know why I bought them gifts. I was beginning to resent them and just wanted to fade away from their lives but I guess that old habits die hard. When I got there, it was as though they were waiting for me and they made me sit down for a while. Looking around, I noticed that we were alone. At first, we were just casually talking but then both of their faces became ominous.  

“Life has been miserable for us, Wendy,” said Tiffany with fake sadness.

“Why?” I asked uncomfortably.

“Cause our dumb parents won’t give us extra money,” sneered Gerald, “so I was thinking that you could help us rob…”

“No,” I said firmly, standing up and not even letting him finish, “I’m not robbing anyone, any place anymore. I can let borrow some money. How much do you guys need?” Before I knew what happening, Gerald slapped me across the cheek with incredible force, making me fall back.

“Watch your damn mouth,” he shouted, “We’re still your friends, college girl, and you’ll do what we say, got it?”

Fighting back my stinging tears, I said defiantly, “No I won’t and I don’t know if we were ever friends.”

He then practically pounced upon me and punched me in the face while Tiffany was off to the side, kicking me in the ribs. I tried to get away but Gerald pinned me down. “You ungrateful, selfish…,” they both spat at me as they beat me, “…weak, useless, dumb little skank!” Blood was gushing excessively from my face and my whole body was in total agony but I wouldn’t let them see me cry. I wasn’t that pathetic girl anymore. Their eyes looked so empty, so evil. Seeing deep into their toxic souls, something finally snapped within me and amazing strength filled me.

I kneed Gerald hard in the groin and pushed Tiffany down with a free hand in one move. They both howled in pain. I got to my feet and ran into the kitchen. I never thought that I could fight that way. It was like a kickass superhero possessed my body. While her brother was still screaming in pain, Tiffany chased after me but I tackled her to the kitchen floor. Straddling her, I punched her repeatedly in the face, in the ribs, in the head; blood squirting out everywhere and her bones making a sickening crushing sound. She was too bleeding uncontrollably and couldn’t move for a moment. Then, I stood up and got a butcher knife from the block, the metal making a loud scraping sound. I wasn’t just trying to escape anymore; now I wanted revenge. They wouldn’t stop me, they couldn’t stop me. Gerald now stood up and came at me but to his absolute shock, the minute that he came close, I shoved the blade into his gut.

“This…stops…here,” I said in a low, confident tone.

Coughing up blood, he stumbled back and fell onto the ground. Tiffany screamed and tried feebly to attack me once more but I punched her down again. She was now weeping over her brother. He wasn’t dead yet, only badly injured and bleeding profusely. Without saying another word, I pulled out the blade from him and calmly washed my hands, my face, and the knife at the sink. Then, putting the knife back in the block, I silently went upstairs, changing out of my blood-stained clothes and into Tiffany's clothes. Once changed, I headed towards the front door. 

“Where are you going?” asked Tiffany. I ignored her and kept on walking.

“Are you going to help us?” Tiffany asked hysterically, “Are you coming back with help?”

As I continued to walk out of the kitchen, I smiled and said sardonically, “Don’t hold your breath.”

I then walked out of their house, out into freedom and not ever knowing or caring what had become of them. Their strings on me were finally cut. I threw away my blood clothes into the library's dumpster. I wasn’t even worried about them telling the police on me because if they told, the police would eventually find out what they did to me and what they made me do.

(c)Lena Holdman, all rights reserved 2012/2015

I originally wrote this a couple of years ago but I edited it and added onto it tonight because I was in an editing mood and I always thought that it needed more. It's a creepy, gory Valentine's tonight, Kiddies! ;)