"That's bad for you. Three strikes."
I pull my knife, grinning at his panic. Right on cue, he starts begging. I love it when they beg.
I carve shallow lines into his skin – his cheeks, neck, chest. Not deep enough to kill. Just enough to paint. His alcohol-dulled body weakens faster than most.
Normally, this part excites me. But tonight, I'm already bored.
"You touched my Daddy," I hiss. "That's why you die tonight."
"What the fuck? Wrong guy, man. I'm not gay!"
I tsck. Foolish scum.
I don't waste another word. I rip a shirt from his drawer and shove it into his mouth. Neighbors don't need to hear.
From my pocket, I pull another knife. This is my sharpest one. My special one. Reserved only for the chosen. For the ones who matter.
For a heartbeat, I wonder what it would feel like against my own skin. Relief. Release. But not tonight. Not here. My blood is too sweet to mingle with this filth.
I turn back to him. His body is weak and trembling. He can't fight anymore.
Slowly, methodically, I cut off his fingers.
One.
By.
One.
His muffled screams are my background music that makes everything so much better. A lullaby to my madness.
When I'm done, I sit cross-legged in the middle of the bed. The man gurgles weakly beside me, but I don't need him for this part.
It's time to play.
Play!
Giggling, I pick through the fingers. The middle one belongs in the middle. It's poetic. But it might look better on the edge. Hmm, choices, choices.
I arrange the fingers carefully into a heart. Bloody, crooked, beautiful.
It's my present for my Daddy.
A heart.
Made of this scum's fingers.
I hum as I arrange them one way and then another. The heart must look perfect. When I'm done, I stare at my masterpiece. Hmm, something is missing.
Oh! I know what.
Wings.
My gaze drifts over his body. I browse his body parts like they're a toy shop for me to choose from. I settle on what's left of his hands.
I sever both hands at the wrist, arranging them as wings spreading wide around my finger-heart.
It takes longer than expected, but when it's done? Fucking beautiful.
