Page 40 of Abundance of Obsession

You know that feeling when you know for sure that something is about to happen? Something terrible that will reshape the course of your life?

This is one of those moments.

And I sense it with my whole being. It takes over every atom of my body.

I just know…

A package? What is he talking about? I see the dots showing that he’s typing. They appear and disappear. But no new message pops up on the screen. Instead, a photo appears. A second later, Nefix leaves the room, and I’m left alone.

My gaze is fixed on the photo.

Fuck! This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t the plan! I made it crystal clear what I expected from him!

The adult Jeremiah isn’t much different from the teenager he used to be. He’s more muscular and taller, but his eyes are just as dead as they were back then.

Dead. That’s the perfect word.

The photo shows Jeremiah’s body lying on the dirty floor. He’s in an orange prison jumpsuit with darker stains. It’s clear that it’s blood. His blood.

His left arm and leg are twisted at unnatural angles. Definitely broken. A bruised face also bears traces of blood. A thin trickle runs from the corner of his mouth onto the floor.

The eyes are open, staring at a single point, unmoving.

If that didn’t give me the obvious answer to what happened, the horizontal cut on his neck would be the clue. A river of blood flowed from that spot, now forming a pool around his body.

Dead. Jeremiah is dead!

I place my hands on the keyboard.

Zoe

Nefix! What have you done? You were supposed to beat him up. Not kill him!

Though I don’t see him in the room, the answer comes almost immediately.

Nefix

You’re welcome.

I press my trembling hands to my mouth. My breath comes faster than it should; my heart is racing, my pulse pounding in my ears.

This wasn’t supposed to happen!

The image of my childhood tormentor is still before my eyes. This time, what I’d wished for him so many times has come true. I wished for a death so cruel that he would understand what he and his friends had done to me every single day.

Yet, was that indeed my wish? I think so, but I’m not ready for the remorse that’s hitting me like a giant tsunami. A man is dead because of me.

I wanted revenge; I set it in motion. I wanted to destroy Jeremiah just as I did Nathaniel. It wasn’t my intention to become the monster that they were.

The world around me is spinning. My head is foggy, and I keep seeing the same thing before my eyes. Dead eyes, a slit throat, blood…

And yet a small part of me whispers, He deserved it; don’t regret what happened.

This should terrify me, but…

The chair creaks as I jump up and rush straight to the bathroom. At the last moment, I fall to my knees. My body protests as I empty my stomach, vomiting. It’s hot and cold, and tears stream freely from my eyes.

What if the information becomes public? What if they find me? What have I done?