Bryan Smith - The Killing Kind

Rob swallowed. “Yeah.”

Roxie smiled. “Julie?”

“Yeah?”

“Take that thing in the bathroom.”

“Huh?” Julie stopped typing. “Why should I…? Oh. That skirt is hot.”

Roxie didn’t look at her. “Bathroom. Now.”

Julie got up from the bed with a huff. “I don’t see why I have to hide somewhere every time you guys fuck. Can’t I stay out here and watch?”

“No.”

“But-”

“No.” Now Roxie did look at her. “That’s final. Now go.”

Julie huffed and stalked off to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her. A few muffled curses emanated from the bathroom, but she soon fell silent and they again heard the dim sound of fingers tapping keys.

“We should take that fucking thing away from her. Sooner or later she’ll say something online that’ll give us away.”

“I doubt it. She’s smarter than you think.”

“You’re not worried at all?”

Roxie strutted over to him and leaned over him, bracing her hands on the arms of the chair. “Only thing I’m worried about right now is your failure to tear my slutty clothes off and ravish the fuck out of me.”

Rob slid a hand up her leg and under her skirt. “No panties.”

She giggled. “You like me, Rob?”

“Yeah.”

“A lot.”

“God, yes.”

Another giggle. “So show me.”

He showed her.

When it was over, Julie came out of the bathroom with the closed laptop tucked under her arm. She smirked at the sight of their curled-together nude bodies. “Guess what?”

Roxie raised her head off Rob’s chest. “What?”

“Once you guys got started, I opened the door a crack and watched.”

Rob groaned. “Jesus.”

“It was a pretty good show. My favorite part was-”

Roxie threw a pillow at her. “Shut up.”

Julie dodged the pillow and took a seat at the table, where she once again opened the laptop.

Roxie looked at Rob. “Maybe you’re right about that thing.”

“You’re not taking my laptop. I’ll crack your skulls open and eat your brains if you try.”

“Eat our brains?”

“You heard me.”

Roxie glanced at Rob and rolled her eyes. “Kids.”

Julie snorted. “You’re barely any older than me.”

“Old enough to make a difference.”

“What, three or four years? Yeah, big fucking difference.”

Roxie rolled off the bed and gathered up her clothes. Rob followed her cue and did the same thing.

Roxie pulled on her T-shirt and stepped into the little skirt. “You are being careful, right? Not saying or doing anything that might lead the cops to our door?”

“Whatever. I heard your little discussion. More of that treating-me-like-a-child bullshit. Relax. I’m doing all my posting and shit behind a proxy server to disguise the IP address. And I’m not saying anything that’ll give away our location.” She looked up from the keyboard to glare at them. “Okay? Happy?”

Rob finished dressing and sat on the edge of the bed. “Listen…there’s something we should all talk about.”

Roxie and Julie traded puzzled glances.

Roxie folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Gosh, that sounds serious. Is this gonna piss me off, Rob?”

“It shouldn’t.”

“So spit it out.”

“This thing with the spring breakers. We’re doing it tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. So…what comes after that?”

Roxie frowned. “What do you mean?”

Rob sighed. “I’ve been thinking…we can’t maintain this lifestyle forever. It’s a dead end.”

“I guess you have some alternative in mind.”

“I do. And it’s totally workable. Look…I haven’t even been gone a week yet. I can still go home and make excuses. I’ll say I met you and took off on a wild, romantic adventure. And everyone will buy it, because you’ll be there with me. When they get a look at you, they’ll totally get why I did it.”

Roxie chewed on a thumbnail. “I don’t know about this. Where would we stay?”

“I already have an apartment. You’ll move in with me. You’ll just be my new girlfriend.” He saw the doubt in her expression and pressed on. “You have to see how perfect this is. We can have a normal life together. Doesn’t that appeal to you at all?”

She stared at the floor and toed a tear in the carpet. “What about Lindsey?”

“What about her?”

“This shit would piss her off. It wouldn’t work.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“She’s a girl. She lives with you. She wants you. I can feel it.”

“That’s crazy. You sound fucking crazy right now. I know Lindsey. Trust me, she won’t-”

“What about me?” Julie’s voice, quieter than usual. “I notice you’re not talking about me at all.”

Rob looked at her and didn’t say anything.

Julie scowled. “I don’t fit into this big plan at all, do I? I guess I’m supposed to slink back home and make with the big apologies to Mom and Dad.”

“I’ve heard worse ideas,” Rob said.

“Fuck that and fuck you.”

“Fuck me? Listen, girl-”

“Shut up!”

Roxie’s strident tone silenced them. She sighed. “Rob. Baby. I love you. You know that. But I’m not gonna settle down into some nice fairy-tale life. I need to move around. Constantly. That’ll never change. And Julie’s welcome to stay with us as long as she likes. End of story.”

“That’s that, huh?”

“Yes. What I say goes. Thought we’d already established that.”

Julie loudly cleared her throat. “A-hem. Besides, your plan isn’t a realistic option anymore.”

Rob looked at her. “What?”

Julie turned the laptop screen toward him. “Looks like you’re about to become as famous as me.”

Rob got up and walked over to the computer. The first thing he saw was a picture of the abandoned Galaxie. That was bad enough. It accompanied a story about his disappearance on a Nashville paper’s website. As he began to read it, a sense of dread took root deep within him.

“Oh, shit. Fuck. I am so fucked.”

“Okay, maybe not as famous as me, because I’m pretty fucking famous. I’m like a real deal movie star. You’re more of a B-lister.”

Julie grinned at him from the other side of the table. His life was falling apart and she was amused by it. Fucking snide little bitch.

“You think this is funny? Shut your face, you little cunt.”

Julie’s grin froze. “Don’t talk to me like that.”

Roxie hushed them again. “When was the last time you talked to Lindsey or your uncle?”

“Shit. Fucking shit. The day after you took me.”

Roxie came over to stand next to him. “Looks like you were reported as a missing person the next day.”

Rob scrolled down some more and groaned. “Goddamn. They found that guy you shot in the woods.”

“I see that.”

“They’ve connected me to that. I’m a fucking person of interest in a fucking murder, Roxie.”

Roxie laughed. “That’s wild.”

He turned on her, his features twisting in disbelief. “Wild? That’s all you’ve got to say? It’s fucking wild? I can’t believe this. What about this is fucking funny? Both of you are insane. Please tell me what it is about the end of my world that’s so hilarious. I’d really like to know.”

Roxie shrugged. “This is no big deal.”

“How can you say that? There’s nothing about you in this article. No hint of an accomplice at all. So maybe this isn’t a big deal to you. Hell, maybe it just makes it easier to ditch me later. I mean, that’s what you’re planning anyway, right? After you’re done having your fun with me?”

She shoved him against the table and got right up in his face, giving him a forceful reminder of how intimidating she could be. “It’s not a big deal because I’m used to dealing with shit like this. I’ve been in the news before, too. For stuff I’ve actually done. I killed my whole rotten family. Butchered them. People freaked the fuck out and it was all over the news. But I didn’t get caught and the press forgot about me after a while. Same thing’s gonna happen with you. I’ve gotten real good at figuring out how to stay free. When to lay low. When to move. How to look different. I can help you do the same. They’ll never catch up to you as long as you’re with me.”