“Brandon, how much hatred do you think there is to dismember and mince up someone’s arm?!” As Nate Thurman, Brandon’s colleague, spoke, he was holding his arm against his nose to block the smell. He pointed at the disfigured arm to show Brandon. Brandon indifferently put on his gloves and rummaged around the trash can to find the remainder of the arm. The trash can reeked of rotten flesh and blood. Flies were swarming around it. Nate continued, “Brandon, I heard things are a bit weird around here recently. At the start of the month, people were saying that someone was screaming nearby.“They wanted to lodge a police report, but the noise stopped the second day.” Nate then glanced at the nearby neighborhood. “Brandon, do you think… you want to inform Wren Burr?” When Brandon heard that, he glanced at Nate and then looked over to the neighborhood that I was staying in. He said coldly, “I think she’s the safest person around here.“She’ll survive. There’s nothing to be afraid
She knew. Everyone knew. Brandon hated and despised nothing more than me.Everyone in our immediate circle knew that. However, when I was a teenage girl, I fell in love with him. To me, he was as bright as the stars. It just so happened that he was in love with someone else. When his parents disapproved of his relationship with Olivia, he got into a fight with his parents for the first time ever. It was my first time seeing Brandon like that. The light was slowly dimming in his eyes, and he looked extremely defeated. My heart ached at the sight, so I stole his passport for him and gave him all the money I had saved just so he could escape to see Olivia. As he left through the window, his eyes were sparkling like stars in the sky. He thanked me and promised to bring me to have dessert at Southern Memories. That was our very last friendly exchange. He did not manage to find Olivia. He lost his spark after he came back. He spent his days drunk in his room. When he w
On the way home, Brandon sent me a voice message. “Wren, is it fun to play hide-and-seek? “Can you stop playing these games?”His voice got louder as he got more agitated. “Can you stop being so shameless? You promised me that we’d get a divorce after six years. We only have two months left. Can you stop being a pest?”…It had been six years. Throughout those six years, all of our conversations sounded like this. “Can you not make this useless food? I don’t want to eat!” “Don’t meddle in Jack’s business! I feel embarrassed on behalf of him for having such a mother!” “Are you sick in the head? I told you that I don’t need it!” … Brandon, I only let you go because of my addiction. When Brandon reached Olivia’s home, confetti fell all around him. The confetti fell onto his head. Warm light shone upon his face. He looked flattered and helpless at the same time. “Daddy, Olivia can finally be my mommy!” Jack immediately hugged Brandon’s thigh as he swayed around.
That day, I followed Brandon to the police station. He went to many places and made many phone calls to try locating my cell phone. He also checked on the areas where the drug dealers were recently most active. He was usually calm when he handled any cases, but he ran many red lights on the way to Doe City. In the end, he had no choice but to ask for Nate’s support. Brandon was asking any random person he could get his hands on about any recent missing person reports. Brandon’s eyes were red as he did not catch any sleep last night. This missing person seemed very important to him. The passersby only patted him on his shoulder to comfort him as they said no. “Brandon, are there… any other news? I heard that yesterday, you…”It was rare for Nate to see Brandon acting this out of place. When they were about to leave, a street vendor suddenly stopped them. “I heard that you are from First Avenue.“Can you help me to look for a person named Wren Burr?” The old man took out
I had already forgotten what physical pain actually felt like. But when I saw myself in that video where I was crawling and struggling on the ground, I started to shiver. That was the first time I discovered that Olivia had some dealings with the drug dealers. My hands and legs were tied up, and I was gagged. My eyes were already blindfolded. I heard a familiar voice say, “This is Brandon’s wife. Kill her for me, and I’ll get you closer to Brandon.” I was struggling with all my might. My voice was muffled from my fear. When the cloth was taken off my eyes, I saw a thick syringe. Olivia was staring cynically at me. The other man who had a scar on his face, whom Olivia addressed as Scar, was holding the syringe and slapped me across my face. “Stay still!” I wanted to scare them. “Brandon will come and save me. Aren’t you worried about the consequences?”They only laughed at me. I was trembling. My nails were digging into my palms from anxiety. Olivia walked over and to
“Brandon! Calm down!” After Nate saw him, he immediately ran over. Brandon pushed him aside as he clenched his teeth. He stared at Scar and wished to kill him immediately. Only his integrity as a policeman stopped him from doing so. But when Scar took out my dismembered head from the wooden box in front of him, Brandon could no longer hold himself back. Nate tried to stop him but failed. “Didn’t you say you wanted to see me?” Brandon tried his best to calm down. “Why? Are you scared? Talk to me!” Brandon stood in the middle and held the knife in his hand. He glared intently at Scar. Scar only combed my hair calmly. “When your wife escaped from the cage and leaped from the top of the building, guess what she said when she died?” Scar suddenly recalled something and stood up. He walked toward Brandon and waved his fist in front of him fiercely. “Do you remember the mother and son that you arrested and subsequently died in the rehab? “Your wife was the same as her! She s
A week later, Brandon received a package. It was my journal that was taken away by Olivia. It had detailed my love and hatred toward Brandon, from when I was sixteen until I was twenty-six. I was floating mid-air as I watched Brandon carefully open the journal. [We got married. I begged him to buy me a diamond ring, then I could pretend he had proposed to me. But the diamond ring brochure that he had in his wallet was very pretty.][31 January 2015I accidentally fell down. Before Jack was born, I begged the doctor to call Brandon. Before the doctor could say a word, Brandon said, “Can you stop calling me? I’m busy!”It was quite painful. I did not know if the pain was from giving birth or from his words.] [4 April 2019Someone beat me up in the rehab center, but I did not cry. But when I was discharged and saw Olivia playing with Jack alongside Brandon like a true family, I cried. I squatted on the ground and cried very hard.For the first time in my life, I felt so wea
A week later, Brandon received a package. It was my journal that was taken away by Olivia. It had detailed my love and hatred toward Brandon, from when I was sixteen until I was twenty-six. I was floating mid-air as I watched Brandon carefully open the journal. [We got married. I begged him to buy me a diamond ring, then I could pretend he had proposed to me. But the diamond ring brochure that he had in his wallet was very pretty.][31 January 2015I accidentally fell down. Before Jack was born, I begged the doctor to call Brandon. Before the doctor could say a word, Brandon said, “Can you stop calling me? I’m busy!”It was quite painful. I did not know if the pain was from giving birth or from his words.] [4 April 2019Someone beat me up in the rehab center, but I did not cry. But when I was discharged and saw Olivia playing with Jack alongside Brandon like a true family, I cried. I squatted on the ground and cried very hard.For the first time in my life, I felt so wea
“Brandon! Calm down!” After Nate saw him, he immediately ran over. Brandon pushed him aside as he clenched his teeth. He stared at Scar and wished to kill him immediately. Only his integrity as a policeman stopped him from doing so. But when Scar took out my dismembered head from the wooden box in front of him, Brandon could no longer hold himself back. Nate tried to stop him but failed. “Didn’t you say you wanted to see me?” Brandon tried his best to calm down. “Why? Are you scared? Talk to me!” Brandon stood in the middle and held the knife in his hand. He glared intently at Scar. Scar only combed my hair calmly. “When your wife escaped from the cage and leaped from the top of the building, guess what she said when she died?” Scar suddenly recalled something and stood up. He walked toward Brandon and waved his fist in front of him fiercely. “Do you remember the mother and son that you arrested and subsequently died in the rehab? “Your wife was the same as her! She s
I had already forgotten what physical pain actually felt like. But when I saw myself in that video where I was crawling and struggling on the ground, I started to shiver. That was the first time I discovered that Olivia had some dealings with the drug dealers. My hands and legs were tied up, and I was gagged. My eyes were already blindfolded. I heard a familiar voice say, “This is Brandon’s wife. Kill her for me, and I’ll get you closer to Brandon.” I was struggling with all my might. My voice was muffled from my fear. When the cloth was taken off my eyes, I saw a thick syringe. Olivia was staring cynically at me. The other man who had a scar on his face, whom Olivia addressed as Scar, was holding the syringe and slapped me across my face. “Stay still!” I wanted to scare them. “Brandon will come and save me. Aren’t you worried about the consequences?”They only laughed at me. I was trembling. My nails were digging into my palms from anxiety. Olivia walked over and to
That day, I followed Brandon to the police station. He went to many places and made many phone calls to try locating my cell phone. He also checked on the areas where the drug dealers were recently most active. He was usually calm when he handled any cases, but he ran many red lights on the way to Doe City. In the end, he had no choice but to ask for Nate’s support. Brandon was asking any random person he could get his hands on about any recent missing person reports. Brandon’s eyes were red as he did not catch any sleep last night. This missing person seemed very important to him. The passersby only patted him on his shoulder to comfort him as they said no. “Brandon, are there… any other news? I heard that yesterday, you…”It was rare for Nate to see Brandon acting this out of place. When they were about to leave, a street vendor suddenly stopped them. “I heard that you are from First Avenue.“Can you help me to look for a person named Wren Burr?” The old man took out
On the way home, Brandon sent me a voice message. “Wren, is it fun to play hide-and-seek? “Can you stop playing these games?”His voice got louder as he got more agitated. “Can you stop being so shameless? You promised me that we’d get a divorce after six years. We only have two months left. Can you stop being a pest?”…It had been six years. Throughout those six years, all of our conversations sounded like this. “Can you not make this useless food? I don’t want to eat!” “Don’t meddle in Jack’s business! I feel embarrassed on behalf of him for having such a mother!” “Are you sick in the head? I told you that I don’t need it!” … Brandon, I only let you go because of my addiction. When Brandon reached Olivia’s home, confetti fell all around him. The confetti fell onto his head. Warm light shone upon his face. He looked flattered and helpless at the same time. “Daddy, Olivia can finally be my mommy!” Jack immediately hugged Brandon’s thigh as he swayed around.
She knew. Everyone knew. Brandon hated and despised nothing more than me.Everyone in our immediate circle knew that. However, when I was a teenage girl, I fell in love with him. To me, he was as bright as the stars. It just so happened that he was in love with someone else. When his parents disapproved of his relationship with Olivia, he got into a fight with his parents for the first time ever. It was my first time seeing Brandon like that. The light was slowly dimming in his eyes, and he looked extremely defeated. My heart ached at the sight, so I stole his passport for him and gave him all the money I had saved just so he could escape to see Olivia. As he left through the window, his eyes were sparkling like stars in the sky. He thanked me and promised to bring me to have dessert at Southern Memories. That was our very last friendly exchange. He did not manage to find Olivia. He lost his spark after he came back. He spent his days drunk in his room. When he w
“Brandon, how much hatred do you think there is to dismember and mince up someone’s arm?!” As Nate Thurman, Brandon’s colleague, spoke, he was holding his arm against his nose to block the smell. He pointed at the disfigured arm to show Brandon. Brandon indifferently put on his gloves and rummaged around the trash can to find the remainder of the arm. The trash can reeked of rotten flesh and blood. Flies were swarming around it. Nate continued, “Brandon, I heard things are a bit weird around here recently. At the start of the month, people were saying that someone was screaming nearby.“They wanted to lodge a police report, but the noise stopped the second day.” Nate then glanced at the nearby neighborhood. “Brandon, do you think… you want to inform Wren Burr?” When Brandon heard that, he glanced at Nate and then looked over to the neighborhood that I was staying in. He said coldly, “I think she’s the safest person around here.“She’ll survive. There’s nothing to be afraid
“Daddy, can we not see that woman?” My son, Jack Damon, was frowning and pouting. He appeared extremely annoyed. “Every time I visit her, she asks me so many questions! It’s as if she’s a complete lunatic.” He got more agitated as he spoke and stomped his foot in frustration. My soul was hovering mid-air. I was upset when I saw his frown. We only met once a month. I would prepare a few days in advance before he visited me. I made small treats and prepared the best trips possible. I just wanted him to be happy. I did not expect him to be the happiest at not having to see me. My husband, Brandon Damon, calmly dressed Jack up. He only frowned when he heard Jack mentioning me. “You only see her once a month. It’s your grandmother’s request. Just bear with it.“Don’t upset her, otherwise, we have to see her again. You get me?” After he said that, he ruffled Jack’s hair and sighed deeply. I grimaced. I felt bitter about it. I knew that Brandon did not love me, but it still