Red Roses

• Victoria Smith, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2021

It had been 290 days since I captured Elise. She was normal, life starved of excitement, a standard human being, miserable. So, I saved her, yet she did not show any appreciation. She was a medical student, average grades, average friends, a boring life to say the least. I had observed her and watched her day to day. I had been the one to discover her. Me. Julian Creed. Son of the Mafia in Deans Valley. Even though I showed her this act of compassion, she had hated me, resented me, I was the one person on this earth that she felt the most hatred towards. But that had all changed. “It all worked out” I whispered to myself as I twirled a strand of her golden hair between my fingers.
She sat on the sofa, eating a bowl of ruby strawberries cut into pieces, just as she liked it. A vibrant scarlet robe hung loosely around her frame, a colour I had learnt was her favourite. Two-hundred days ago she would have been frantically scurrying to get away, but here she sat, her leg brushing up against my own, head relaxing on my broad shoulders. This was her life now, exhilarating, passionate, things she had never encountered before in her old life. Everything was perfect, all the preparation had run smoothly and here we were. That was until she made the biggest mistake she would ever make in her existence. And the very last.
From the many months we spent together, trust had built up to an unbreakable bond we shared. She managed to pull at my heart strings to get whatever she wanted, though I would do anything for her in a heartbeat regardless. I had reluctantly let her leave, go back to her old home, as she wanted to see if her crimson roses still grew beautifully in the garden she used to tend to. I trusted her, I truly did, yet something had stirred inside of me when she walked out the door. I grabbed my jacket and slumped into the shadows behind her.
She walked down the concrete path, her steps developed to a stride and in no time, she broke into a run. My jaw dropped. She was trying to escape. “Help me! Somebody help!” All this time, I had myself believing she loved me. Tears blurred my vision. My heart dropped into a bottomless pit. I had no time to rationally react, and that was when our world crashed and burned.
I stood over her, hands trembling, heart racing. The air was damp in the basement. “I hate you! I always have you fool!” Elise spat harsh and hateful words. My mind was hazy, I searched for another option, but none emerged. I pressed the knife deep into her chest as it rapidly rose and fell. Her eyes widened when she realised. I frowned as a tear rolled down her soft cheek. She couldn’t really be in pain. Wasn’t red her favourite colour?