| [Prologue] [Chapter One] |
| Prologue February 14, 2001 Cody Bromwell knocked on the big wooden door, a dozen roses clutched tightly in his other hand. A few minutes later the door was opened. �Cody!� Mrs. McAlester greeted him with a large smile. �Lila is in her room, she hasn�t been downstairs since breakfast. She was eager for you to come though. Go right on up.� She stepped aside as she spoke, making room for him to enter the large house. �Okay. Thank you.� He said before running up the spiral staircase. He knocked lightly on the closed door to her room. When she didn�t answer he opened the door, knowing she would have said something if she had been dressing. Cody walked in, leaving the door open behind him. Lila wasn�t in her room. The door to her bathroom was slightly ajar. He listened and heard the water that filled the bathtub move. Then, all was silent. �Li?� he asked knowing she wouldn�t take a bath at the time he was supposed to pick her up. There was no answer. �Li?� Again, there was no answer. And again, there was the sound of water moving in the bathtub. Then there was only silence�once again. �Lila?� he asked taking a step closer to the bathroom door, his heart beating rapidly. He decided to try once more, �Lila?� Pushing the door, it slowly opened. The first thing he saw was the bathroom window, open, the white filmy curtains blowing in a breeze. Finally, the whole bathroom came into view. Lila was lying in the white porcelain tub, her wavy dark brown hair framing her face. Her eyes were closed as she lay, drenched in the red water. He couldn�t make a sound as the roses slipped from his hand onto the black tiles of the bathroom floor by his feet. As he rushed forward the sickly sweet smell became stronger. Dropping to his knees beside her, he reached up, touching the side of her neck. The pulse he was looking for was not there. He plunged his hand into the cold water, grabbing her wrist and pulling it up. The water was thick. He raised her arm out, exposing the strap of her nightgown resting on her shoulder. A nightgown that used to be white but was now growing red. Touching the blue veins beneath her pale skin tightly he let out a cry. He now let himself believe the obvious. Lila was dead. He kissed her forehead, taking her hair out of the mixture of blood and water that swirled around her. A piece of paper slipped from the ledge of the bathroom and fell to the floor. He picked it up and opened it. Dear Cody, I was looking forward to having you come today. To having you watch me slip the knife into my tummy. To have you watch me destroy my young and promising life so that I could be put out of the misery you caused me. But then I got to thinking about what it would be like if you came in here, and found me dead. I liked that idea better. My only regret is that I won�t be able to see the look on your face when you find me. So long! Farewell! Lila The note was typed in her favorite script font. Beside her name was a little drawing of a rose, her middle name, her favorite flower, and the flower he always brought her. The rosebud was colored in with a dark red marker. Red as the roses lying forgotten at the door. Red as the blood swirling around her dead body. He quickly read through the note again, her words tearing his heart into even smaller shreds. Then he finally screamed as he stuffed the note into his pocket. |