She said she needed the bathroom. She left her drink on the table.
The pen scratches slowly across the paper.
Earlier that day I took Dominic’s sleeping pills from the house. I crushed them.
My breathing grows heavier as the memory returns.
I waited for the moment when no one was looking. When she stood up and walked away. When the table was distracted. When the world wasn’t watching.
The pen presses harder against the page.
And I slipped the powder into her drink. I watched the powder dissolve.
I stare at the ink bleeding into the paper.
I told myself it was just enough to make her sleep. Just enough to make her stop existing in our lives. Just enough to protect us.
My chest rises slowly.
But deep down… I knew what I was doing.
My hand shakes now.
I knew she would drive. I knew she wouldn’t feel right. I knew something terrible could happen.
The confession sits there.
Unforgiving.
I killed Sophie.
Silence fills the room.
Then I write the final lines.
But you already know that. Because you watched me. Because you were always there.
Because you’re me.
I close the diary.
And slide it back into the drawer.
***
I sit in Dominic’s office long after the diary disappears back into the drawer.
The house is quiet.
Always.
So fucking.
Quiet.
I hate that word.
My eyes drift slowly toward the mirror across the room. For a moment, I just stare at my reflection. Then I stand and walk closer. And really look. The woman staring back at me looks the same.
