 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
It was a typical day in a typical New York publishing office. The hearts of many aspiring writers were being dashed within moments as Heather Frank, President of Butterfly Publishing, went through her daily mail. Manuscripts of every type poured in each day and everyday her depression deepened. Romance novels and autobiographies bored her to tears. She couldn’t believe that there were still people writing westerns. They were all sent to the shredder while a nice note was sent back to the author, simply stating, “Thank you for you interest in us; however, we are not searching for this type of material at this time.”
Heather longed for something new, something fresh, something no one else had. She wanted her own Patterson, King, or Cussler, but she wanted hers to be young and hip and, most importantly, marketable. She wanted to create the Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake of the literary world. Finally, on this typical day, a not-so-typical package landed on her desk.
Inside the package were a letter, a newspaper article, some photographs, and a manuscript. The letter read as follows:
Dear Ms. Frank,
This manuscript contains the final words of my best friend and a great writer, Rory Montoya. The names have been changed, but as you’ll see within the text, what was meant to be a novel became a harsh and tragic reality. I hope you are able to read it, and I thank you in advance for your time.
Sincerely,
Matt George
The letter was not whiny; it was not long winded. It was simple and intriguing. Heather was used to reading letters that either begged her to publish their work or explained why they’d be good for her. Those letters disgusted her. This letter, however, piqued her curiosity, and thus, she took out the manuscript, something she rarely ever did.
As she pulled out the manuscript, a few pictures of Rory Montoya and Jessica Carpenter fell to the floor. Heather smiled as she looked at the photos of the happy couple. Then she read the newspaper article entitled “ Former Couple Found Dead in Santa Ana Apartment.” The details were unimaginable to her. How could something like this happen? She thought to herself. She was about to find out.
In her hand, she held the manuscript of Enraptured. She began to read and was unable to put the book down for even a minute. She had found what she was looking for.
There really is nowhere else to start, but the beginning. I was standing over the bodies. The young couple with so much promise. The blood was everywhere. Dark auburn stains were taking shape in the carpet. The night was still, and there was not a sound. No one had heard them scream. At least, I didn’t think they had. I took a moment for myself. Being that I had never murdered anyone before, I wasn’t sure what I should do. I still held the knife tightly in my hand. The blood continued to drip off. I wondered if I should just drop the knife and run. Or maybe I should clean it and put it back in the utensil drawer? Maybe I should put it in his hand. Maybe hers? I wasn’t sure, so I just stared down at them, the girl that I loved and the boy that took her away from me.
The boy’s name was Rory Montoya. I guess he was fairly good looking, even though I wasn’t sure what she saw in him. He had grown up in Huntington Beach, California where he excelled at almost everything he did. He was quarterback of his high school and college football teams. He had an annoyingly perfect personality. Trust me—if you knew him, you wouldn’t question my slitting his throat for one minute. But for all his perfections, Rory had a deep personal secret. Once I had found out, the plan was simple: tell her about it, and she’d leave him and come back to me.
Well, she didn’t come back to me, obviously. Her name was Jessica Carpenter. Also annoyingly perfect on the outside, she was an outstanding volleyball and basketball player. A tall, beautiful girl from Santa Ana, she was your typical California girl. However, Jessica had a dark family secret. I should know; it involved me. That plan was simple, too: tell Rory and he’d leave her and then I could come back into the picture. Once again, it didn’t happen, so I slit her throat as well. It was the hardest part of the situation. There she was, the girl that I loved, the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and as I was pulling her thick brown hair back, she cried so intensely, I almost couldn’t go through with it. I held the handle of the knife so tightly in my hand. Her tears fell and glistened off the sharp blade. I began to cry as well. How come he was so easy to get rid of? I just kicked him in the balls and when he was bent over in pain, I slit that perfect throat of his. It was so simple and I got so much pleasure out of it. She hurt and lied to me; why couldn’t I do the same with her? Why was it so hard? Was it because of the memories we had? I wasn’t sure.
Rory rushed home from football practice. It was hell week at Chapman University. He wanted to get home and sign online as soon as possible. He wanted to chat with the girl that had stolen his heart, even though they had yet to meet in person. He waited impatiently as the modem began to dial up. It seemed to take forever. Then, finally he was connected, and there she was. His face lit up as he clicked on her screen name.
CUQB12: Hi
Skihrd4: Hey
CUQB12: How are you?
Skihrd4: I’m good . . . u?
CUQB12: Just got home from practice. It was a nightmare. Coach had us practice for an extra half hour.
Skihrd4: That sux.
There was an awkward pause for a moment as neither was sure what to say next. Rory had been trying to get this girl to go on a date with him and she kept denying him. One more rejection and he wouldn’t be able to take it.
Skihrd4: So, what’s going on?
CUQB12: Well, I was wondering if we could hang out sometime? I mean we do go to the same school. It’s kind of ridiculous that we haven’t met in person yet. Don’t you think?
Skihrd4: Yeah, maybe, it’s just I’ve been so busy lately.
CUQB12: Oh, okay . . . well, I’m gonna take a shower.
Skihrd4: Didn’t u take one after practice?
CUQB12: Yeah, but I still feel kind of gross.
Skihrd4: Okay, bye.
CUQB12: Bye
Rory signed off. He was feeling pretty dejected. All he had was a picture that she had e-mailed to him. She was so sexy. All he wanted to do was get to know her. He was sure that all he needed was one date. She just kept her distance for some reason, and he wasn’t sure why.