It sickened me that Antonio had even touched her; she belonged to me no matter what we’d gone through and he was going to pay for what he’d done. Rancid thoughts and sordid images pumped anger through my veins like venom racing toward my heart as I lunged, tackling him and narrowly missing the coffee table. Over and over again, my fists struck his face with such force that the left side began to swell before I even finished with him. The floor and wall were spattered with his blood and the stains grew each time I made contact. Even when one of his teeth flew out of his mouth, I didn’t let up; I couldn’t.
Desperately, he used his last bit of strength to try tossing me to the floor, but there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity to make him feel the same pain that he’d inflicted on her. I clasped my blood-coated hands firmly around his throat and squeezed until I nearly lost feeling in my fingers. The smell of fear was heavy in the air and I couldn’t get enough of it. I was drunk with the need to make these his final breaths. As his eyes dimmed I smiled as consciousness began to slip further away from his grasp.
This was the first time that I’d actually seen red. I’ve heard people say it before, but I didn’t fully understand what that meant until this moment. My blood felt like ice flowing through my limbs as I brought him within inches of death. As he stared up at me, I somehow managed to squeeze tighter as the blood vessels in his eyes burst and the last bit of air sputtered from his mouth. It was such a rush knowing that in this instant I could end his life like he deserved. I continued to stare at his lifeless body lying on the floor long after I’d let him go. Watching him, I still felt like I hadn’t done enough compared to what he’d done to Sam. My fists were clenched as another wave of rage rolled through me. I couldn’t control it. The feel of his slick, warm blood on my hands made me want to hurt him more; one hit was all it would take at this point and I could see to it that the only way he’d be leaving here would be in a body bag.
He twitched twice and gave up the fight. With that, I stood over his body as flashes of him on top of Sam flooded my mind and I yelled out in anguish and rage; I could almost hear her screaming out in pain. He took from her something that was never meant to belong to him. I stood there, fully prepared to stomp his head in, but then I thought of her, alone, vulnerable, and unprotected if anything happened to me.
I tried to focus. I couldn’t do anything that would keep me away from her, not again, so I reached into his pocket and stole his wallet and cell phone and then messed up his apartment so it would look like a robbery gone wrong. I quickly grabbed a towel from the sink and used it to open the door, leaving it open so that someone would find him before he eventually took his last breath; however, if they didn’t find him in time, that’d be fine too.
I did a thorough scan of the parking lot before running to my car. About halfway there, something wasn’t sitting right with me, though. I couldn’t leave with there being a possibility that he could get back up and walk away from all this like nothing happened. I needed to finish what I started. And that’s exactly what I intended to do when I turned around and headed back inside....
Chapter15
Sam
When I awoke from my nap, AJ was gone. Maisha waited for me to fully come to, and then sat across from me on the other bed. After asking the same question they’d all been asking me nonstop – “How do you feel?” – she relayed a message.
“AJ said that if you wake up before he gets back to tell you that he loves you.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Did he say where he was headed?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
The statement was simple enough, but still it seemed odd. I eventually shrugged it off and relaxed against the headboard.
“Wanna watch something?” Maisha asked, handing me the remote.
“Nah…actually…I think I’m gonna call my mom.”
She glanced over, her expression sympathetic. “I think that’s a good idea.”