Woman scorned

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hi, folks! Shame, here! Good news: I’ve found a solution that I think will help balance what I said I was struggling with last chapter. I believe this solution will allow the horror elements to remain without being robbed of their bite while also giving me a diegetic way to blunt some sharp edges. This is the good news.

The bad news is that things are going to have to get dark before that can happen. Like, way dark before that element can be introduced. So buckle in! Things gotta get worse before they can be better, but you gotta trust the process.

***

Talia was calm, or had been, on the drive over. Hank had tried texting and calling, but she just blocked his number, he wasn’t going to disturb her. That game wasn’t going to disturb her.

She’d tried calling Sarah, but she was blocked. Funny, she thought. Last week it had been Talia who’d blocked Sarah. Was that still the case, she wondered as she chugged two big gulps from a bottle of wine she’d stolen from Hank’s kitchen. Perhaps in her biography there was an explanation of Sarah getting tired of getting drunkenly called during sex sessions.

But that wasn’t real history.

Talia scrolled to her mother’s contact info, tapping the call button and ignoring all the messages of concern. Each passing ring pulled her heart lower and lower into her stomach. It wasn’t until the last ring did it truly hit Talia that to the rest of the world, she was a completely different woman. Maybe this version of Talia was less her mother’s pride and joy, and more a shameful nuisance.

“Ungh—Hello?” Her mother’s voice was fried and tired. But it was hers.

“M-mom?” Talia had to **** air into her lungs. She hadn’t thought of what she’d even say.

“Yeah what’s… It’s midnight, Bear.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Is everything ok? Did the payment not go through for your attendant?”

“I don’t…” Talia felt her throat closing up, **** her words back down. “I feel like I’ve just woken up from a nightmare.”

There was silence on the other end. Talia’s mom usually wasn’t silent. If an opportunity for her to speak came up, she’d take it. “Yeah?” Her response, when it finally came, was uncharacteristically short. Cautious.

“Mom, I don’t…” What could she even say? How could she tell her any of this? Would she just think she was crazy. “The last year hasn’t… it’s not been me. It’s like—idunno, someone else was living my life and now everything’s all fucked up and I’ve just woken up into it and I just need you to tell me that everything’s going to be okay because I feel like my whole life’s ruined.”

“Oh, Bear, no.” Her mother cooed from the other end as sobs echoed in the car. “We’ve been waiting for this. Gary and I knew you had some sort of break after Sarah and were stuck in some kind of episode that Hank took advantage of. Ok? None of this is your fault. I’m going to book you a flight to Berlin, ok? Are you at the house, right now?”

“No.”

“Ok, good. Don’t go back. Are you safe?”

Talia looked down at the plastic grocery bag in the passenger seat. She couldn’t go to Germany. How many rounds would the game play just on the flight over? How different would she be after the first day? Even now she felt that itch to start cooing and comforting her mom as if she were the child.

She couldn’t run from this game. But she couldn’t keep playing it, either. All she could do was keep losing it. “I love you, mom.”

“Talia? I love you, sweetie. But you need to stay calm, ok? I’ll buy you a ticket right now, we’ll get you a job here, you can leave everything behind—“

“Goodbye, mom.”

“Talia—“

She ended the call, picking up the plastic bag while she still had the resolve. Her spiraling thoughts were broken up by the whining roar of an engine zooming past at nearly a-hundred miles per hour, Talia catching a glimpse of a car that had been parked out front of Hank’s house when she’d left. Looks like Vera had the same idea.

***

Talia had blocked him. Vera wasn’t picking up. The light rain that been ever present the last week had given way to the bright sun that had been plaguing the rest of southwest Washington now that the little umbrella hanging from his dashboard had been driven who knows where. Far enough away to no longer dictate the weather here.

Hank paced around the house, frantic. He knew what they were going to do. He wasn’t an idiot. And it was his fault.

He collapsed onto the couch, eyes drifting to the cards left on the table. Their challenges. Was he really so repulsive? He knew, logically, that it wasn’t about him. But he couldn’t help the feeling that were it someone else playing this game instead of him…

Was he so distinctly humiliating of a sexual partner that sucking him off or making out with him triggered a suicidal urge in women? He didn’t want to engage in the challenges any more than they did, but was he truly so pathetically low?

If Kieran were in Hank’s place, they’d probably still be playing, he figured. Vera, eagerly so, and Talia reluctantly but still. Girls always liked Kieran. But Hank Tock? He almost felt stupid for having thought that he was at least marginally preferable to ****. And yet his **** need for validation and fellowship dragged two women into this horrid game, and his hideous and gross incelness had driven them to their deaths.

Even thinking such things made him feel even more pathetic of a thing. Powers beyond any of their understanding had altered their lives and humiliated all of them. And all he could think about was how sad it was that no woman would ever in her right mind sleep with him. He was just as horrid and disgusting as he’d always told himself. How awful, he thought, to be ugly and selfish.

Nobody was ever going to love him, he always knew that. His friends were all drifting away and leaving him behind, only calling when they needed a favor from someone who wouldn’t say no. Someone who couldn’t say no. His mother had torched any relationship he might’ve had with any family. He knew it, but he never really believed it. Nobody was ever going to choose him. Nobody was ever going to want him. Nobody was ever going to grieve him.

He had a nice seal; Suction, even, for a few minutes, cowardice sapping his strength to finally do what he’d resolved to. Ironically, the doorbell and furious knocks caused him to jolt in such a way that the gun almost went off accidentally, which he, for some reason fought against.

The door shook and rattled in its frame, accompanied by the bell spamming in his hallway. Maybe it was Talia. Or Vera. Maybe something went wrong. But Talia had his garage door opener. And Vera certainly wasn’t coming back.

Perhaps it was a demon coming to claim his soul. “Open the door!” A woman’s voice called from the other side, continuing to pound on the door like she knew what Hank was about to do. His eyes widened and he quickly tucked the gun into the back of his waistband, standing to his feet and wiping the tears from his eyes.

“Shit.” He caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror hung on the wall. He looked like a disheveled mess. Hair matted and clumped, beard wiry and frayed, eyes red and watery, But the knocking was somehow growing more furious as kicking became involved. “J-just a second!” He called, trying to dry his eyes with a t-shirt.

“Now!” The woman screamed, beating on the door with all the fury of hell. She was angry, whoever she was.

Hank opened the door, head instantly cracking to face the right as a hand stung across his cheek. He froze in surprise and so did the woman.

Her name was Natalie Pierce and the slap was the first act of **** she’d committed in twelve years. It was the most powerful slap she’d thrown at another person’s face, fifty-three percent more powerful than second place, and it was not something she had planned to do. Just seeing him there, hair messy, eyes bleary, still wearing pajamas like he’d just rolled out of bed—which was likely given his new lifestyle—compelled her to take her hand and strike the face of the man she once loved.

The man she wished she didn’t still love.

“F-fuck you!” She stammered out, trying her damndest to maintain the anger she’d had trying to kick the door in. Every second it was fading into a much more unpleasant feeling of devastation. It would have been easier to mourn him if he were dead than to live with the constant humiliation of what he’d become. Of what that whore turned him into.

Hank turned his head slowly to face his assailant, shock amplifying once he recognized her. She had gained a little weight, and Hank had never once seen her crying or angry, as they had never gotten that close. But it was unmistakably Natalie Pierce. The Natalie Pierce who thought that she’d been in a long-term relationship with him until six months ago. “N-Natalie! What-what are you—“ He needed to get her out of here before she got sucked into the game any more than she already was.

“What do you think I’m doing, asshole? I saw her little Facebook post! And—oh, unbe-fucking-lievable!” She widened her eyes, darting her face left to right as his eyes tracked hers. “Really? You can’t avoid eye contact for five fucking seconds? This is a serious conversation, Hank! My boobs are down here!” She pointed down to her chest.

“I-I—“ He looked down at her chest, grateful that she was wearing a sweater over her sundress. Since when does she like Star Wars? He knew he needed to get her out of here, but how? She was so angry. “Natalie, this isn’t—“

“No. I am talking, now!” She cried, tears starting to fall from her eyes. She had to take deep heaving breaths to steady herself. “I. Can be. Fun. Okay? We had fun!”

“Okay, I’m sorry.” He tried placating her. He could slam the door in her face. That would get her to go away. Tell her that he’s done with her. Insult her, spit on her, ignore her. But she didn’t deserve any of that! She didn’t do anything wrong. She was so distressed and hurt and he just couldn’t be the bad guy. There had to be another way.

“I’m fun.” She asserted, jabbing a finger into his chest. “I’m busy. But I can be fun. I’m sorry that I can’t have sex twelve times a day, ok? I’m sorry that board games just go over my head. But look around Hank!” She gestured to the overgrown yard, the chipping wood of the porch, and a pile of bills laid at the front door. “You were a teacher. We were… I mean, I was gone sometimes, but we were happy. I thought. Oh, and I don’t care if she hears this, but you let that mouse-faced, manipulative, self-righteous whore poison you with absolute nonsense!”

Hank nodded emphatically, trying not to contradict her. “Natalie, I’m really sorry for what happened to you—“

“Oh, what, like it was an accident?”

“No!”

“Some apology, Hank, really.” She pushed past him, shaking her head.

Hank went into panic mode. His first instinct was to grab her and yank her out of the house before she got anywhere near the board. But his hands stopped short of her shoulders. He couldn’t touch a woman like that! Especially one he wasn’t all that close with. “N-Natalie! Yo-you really can’t be in here!”

“Fuck you, you put my name on the lease, too.” She spun around. “Unless you forgot the credit problem I dug you out from? I thought I had, but then you fucked a woman all over our home and posted about it on Facebook and,” she tapped her temple with a humorless smile. “Jolted my memory.” She spun back around, Hank noticing the small leather rectangle in her hand with a wave of fear. “Whore? Sex maid? I’m done being a bigger person! You’re both being evicted!” Natalie called out with a sickening giggle as she strutted down the hall, throwing the book onto the board.

The spine of the book hit one of the game pieces and bounced off as if the piece were glued to the board. The new journal landed open on the couch. Hank wanted to stop Natalie from seeing the guest room, knowing the sight of condoms and lube would be too painful a thing for her, but he had to check if her journal was empty.

He scrambled for the book, leaning over the couch to find the blank white pages. Relieved, he closed the cover and shoved it between the couch cushions so it could be out of sight. He did not want another Vera situation. Natalie needed to leave as soon as possible.

“Natalie!” He called after her, jumping down the hall. The guest room door was open and he just knew she was going to be in absolute shambles just from looking at the mess. He stepped into the room but found that she was not in it. In fact, the room was completely clean. No trash cans, no condoms, no smell—even the bed was made. Was this what having a sex attendant did? “Natalie?”

“Where is everyone?” Natalie sauntered out of the master bedroom seemingly no worse than before. She pushed right past Hank and into the living room, spotting the board game. “Oh, so this was what you guys were playing in the picture. Chutes and Ladders.” She shook her head. “Seriously? You can’t ever play anything less complex than Catan with me, but suddenly you’ll tolerate chutes and fucking ladders?”

“Natalie,” Hank put his hands up. She didn’t deserve any of this. “It’s not what you think.” He just needed her to stop getting so close to the board.

Natalie let out a fake laugh, rolling her head back. “A little late for that, Hank.” She picked up one of the cards. “Get your nipples sucked by another player for forty-five minutes. Refuse or fail and receive an upgrade to one of your existing detriments. You have three hours.” She flashed him the most disgusted smile. “Nice, Hank. Really.” She launched the card across the room, falling into the couch and immediately beginning to sob.

Hank hated this. More than anything, he hated this. He felt like he really had cheated on her. But he knew the truth was so much worse. He’d robbed her of a life she had been so happy in. A life with a man named Xavier. They’d just gotten a dog, he’d seen on her Instagram.

“I… I don’t….” He felt his own tears coming to his eyes. All of this was his fault. What had he done to his friends? “It’s not real.” He grabbed his head, dropping into a squat, burying his face into his arms in shame. “None of this is real!” He looked up to Natalie, unable to stare at her chest and just crying. She, in turn, looked to him, face turning white as a ghost. “It’s all just a game! Please! You have to believe me! This is all just a stupid, stupid, stupid game!” He pounded his fists against his skull.

“H-Hank…”

“It’s a game! None of this is real! They—they’re gone! Oh my god! What have I done! I’ve ruined everyone’s lives!”

“Hank, p-please. Why don’t you just… give me the gun, ok?” Natalie pleaded, trying her damndest to keep calm. It was all really starting to make sense. She knew something was wrong with Hank with how suddenly and extremely everything had gone down. But now it was clear that he was severely psychologically unwell. A truth that came to her only after realizing she’d trapped herself in the room with a distressed, armed man suffering delusions.

It should have been obvious much sooner. Hell, even finding the journal with that note—write your name if you want to play—on the porch should have tipped her off as to just how unwell he was.

She’d been imagining lascivious, spite fueled hedonistic orgies. But she was beginning to understand that Hank may well and truly be gone. Warped and twisted into paranoia by the jealous, spiteful Talia Lee trying to keep him under her control.

He no longer knew what was real.

Hank reached behind his back, remembering the gun. It wasn’t too late. But he couldn’t… not in front of her. “Hank?”

“I’ll put it away.”

“Hank, I think you should give me that gun.” She said with some more resolve. This concerned Hank. Both were afraid the other was going to do something very stupid. He was going to do something to herself just to hurt him. Just to make him see what this version of him had done to her.

How evil a thing that was done to her. “It’s all part of the game!” He startled her with the suddenness of his outburst, burying his face once again. “You don’t want to play! Please just leave before things get worse! You don’t…” Had he the presence of mind, he’d have just shown her his biography. Flipping the pages infinitely might have convinced her that this was real. Or at least just a dream. But guilt of knowing he’d ruined at least three lives so far choked his ability to act.

Natalie, with a shaking hand, retrieved the notebook that had slipped its way up and out of between the couch cushions, a pen she hadn’t noticed on the table finding its way into her hand. He needed help. He seemed upset that she wasn’t playing his strange delusion of a game. So maybe if he thought she was playing along, he could be convinced to come with her and she could take him to the hospital.

“No, I do want to play, Hank.” She said, mustering all of her strength to be sweet. It was tough to see someone she cared about be driven insane. Especially when it was becoming clear that all the hurt he caused her was probably due to this psychotic break. Could he even be blamed? Was it selfish that it was easier for her to stomach this way? “See?” She scribbled her name into the book, just as the note had suggested. “See, Hank? I’m fun. I’ll play with you, ok? Let’s just put the gun away, yeah?”

Hank looked at her with horror, nearly vomiting from the disbelief. What would posses her to do such a thing? She didn’t even know what she just did to herself. He needed to end the game. Maybe, if he did it before she picked her piece, it could be stopped! “No! Natalie! Oh, God! I’m so sorry! Don’t play it! Please, whatever you do! Don’t play it!”

He scrambled to his feet and made a mad dash for his bedroom, locking the door and placing the gun in his mouth. He didn’t hesitate this time.

He felt a cold, assertive hand grab the gun just as he pulled the trigger, thumb catching the hammer before it could fall. “Seriously? You, too?” An angry woman’s voice asked, ripping the gun from his hand.

Hank opened his eyes, stunned by the sight of the girl from the magic shop. Milk white skin covered the chastising finger she waved in his face. Ice blue eyes regarded him like he was an unpleasant spill she had to mop up. Her hand heal a tiny, upside down umbrella, which she made a big show of flipping upright. “I told you to keep this upright. Simple instructions.” She gently balanced the talisman on his dresser so that the canopy was facing up. He could hear the rain had returned.

“Ophelia?”

“No,” she folded her arms, “Sophie. Ophelia’s my boss. My pissed off boss who made me do a house call on my day off because three players tried to off themselves! Now I’ve gotta come moderate a stupid magic sex game instead of sitting at home and catching up on The Pitt. You people are insufferable.”

“H-how could you sell this to—“

Her eyes flashed red with anger. Literal, hellfire red. This silenced him. “I told you to keep the receipt! God! It’s not even permanent, asshole. There! Big reveal down the drain! When you reach the end you get a wish and you can wish you never bought the game and then you go about your lives appreciative for what you have and ready to tackle the next big obstacle and—fuck, dude. You’ve got big balls. What guy could possibly try and, you know, after getting big balls? You suck.”

“I suck? I didn’t ask for this!”

“Yeah, you suck. Dr. King has a deposition, asshole. Now I’m stuck here for at least a week and I can’t find out how that plot line goes because poor little Hank and Talia are having too much awesome magic sex. Aw… poor babies—fuck you guys.”