Jon Athan - Am I Beautiful?

“Okay. Love. Yeah, I can understand that. I can’t feel it anymore, but I can understand it. So, let me ask you something else. What would you prefer? I kill you and leave Riley with Adam—the very violent cheater who almost killed me—or I let you live and I leave with Riley, giving her the chance to grow up with a loving, protective mother away from a monster like Adam. Think about it, Amber. She would thrive with me in Japan. She would be safe there.”

Face twitching from the pain, Amber stuttered, “I–I don’t… I’m… Ry… Ry Ry… Don’t hurt… my baby.”

“Answer the question.”

Amber observed her daughter. Even through her blurred vision, she could see Riley was afraid of her. The toddler wouldn’t even look her way. But she wasn’t really afraid of her mother. After Miki’s amateur facial surgery, Riley didn’t recognize her. She didn’t know the bloody, mutilated woman at the end of the table was her mother.

Amber studied her husband. She saw the regret and despair in his eyes, but her image of him was permanently damaged by his confessions. She couldn’t trust him with Riley. But she couldn’t trust Miki, either. From her perspective, Adam and Miki were cut from the same cloth. They were perfect for each other.

Amber said, “Keep… Keep your hands… off my da–daughter.”

With disappointment in her eyes, Miki said, “You’re so stupid.”

She walked to a duffel bag on the living room sofa and took a roll of duct tape out of it. It made a loud tearing sound as she ripped a fresh strip off it.

Weak, Amber tilted her head back and said, “Do–Don’t ta–touch he—”

Miki slapped the duct tape over Amber’s mouth, aggravating all of the injuries on her face. Amber blacked out for two seconds, head buzzing like a hornets’ nest. Miki sat in the chair between Riley and Adam. The highchair groaned and squealed as Riley continued jumping in it. Her mother’s blood was now smeared on her cheeks and forearms.

“If you scream, I’ll kill your wife,” Miki said as she removed Adam’s tape.

Adam gasped for air, then he stammered, “I–I–I’m sorry. I–I’m sorry for everything. I mean it. I–I really do. You can… Do whatever you want to me, Miki. I–I deserve it. I hurt you. Not Amber, not Riley. Ta–Take it out on me. Cut my ears off, my nose, my lips, my eyes, my–my… cut my fucking dick off if you want to. Just please— please —call an ambulance for Amber and leave Riley out of this. Oh my God, please, please, please…”

Miki watched him weep for about thirty seconds, amused. There was something about his desperation that tickled her. She was reborn from suffering, so she could relate to his pain. But suffering was just a form of entertainment to her now.

She asked, “Do you know what the ultimate revenge is?”

“God, don’t hurt my family.”

“So, you do know,” Miki said with a sly smirk. “Physical pain is nothing. Your wife understands that and I know you understand it. Look at yourself. Your hands are trembling so bad. Your feet are shaking so much. Can you hear your feet tapping against the floor? Tap, tap, tap, tap . And I’ve barely touched you. Mental torture is the greatest form of torture. The ultimate revenge is… taking everything a person loves… right in front of them… while they’re helpless and hopeless.”

“You–You can’t do this. Miki, I’m begging you. Kill me. Leave them alone and kill me .”

Miki leaned forward, stroked his beard, and said, “Adam, you’re not listening. There’s nothing you can say to stop me. This is all part of the plan. Every single word I’ve said, every single act of violence I’ve committed, it’s all been part of my ultimate revenge.” She snickered, then she said, “I rehearsed all of this in my apartment. I mean, my place isn’t as fancy as yours, but it was good enough. Besides, with a bigger stage comes more room to perform, right?”

“Please, please, please, please, please.”

Adam looked and sounded like a malfunctioning android in a science-fiction movie, head shaking erratically as he repeated himself.

“You’re so cute,” Miki said. “Oh, you remember the word for ‘cute’ in Japanese, don’t you? No? It’s ‘ kawaii .’ You used it after I told you my name. You said it was cute, remember? I felt so good, so warm, that day.”

Adam stopped rambling. Although it angered him to see her reminiscing, a spark of hope glimmered in his eyes.

He said, “I remember. Yeah, I, uh… I remember seeing you the first time. There were… dozens of women in that bar, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off you.”

Miki narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side. Amber could barely hear or see them from the other end of the table.

Adam said, “I said it to you before and I’ll say it again. You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I lied to myself—to you—and I said it wasn’t true, but it was. And it… it still is. Miki, you are beautiful inside and out. You… This isn’t you. This is… something I would do because I’m a monster. You’re better than this… better than me. That’s why I… I loved you and I… I still love you.”

A tender smile blossomed on Miki’s face and tears of joy shone in her eyes. Adam smiled thinly, trying to keep a semblance of sincerity on his face. Miki caressed his cheek and leaned in towards him, as if she were about to kiss him. Adam thought about chomping one of her fingers, but he set his sights on her neck instead. He had to kill her to stop her.

Miki stopped with her face about a foot away from Adam’s. She sneered and huffed, then she pressed the tape over his mouth before he could lunge at her. He growled and shook his head while jumping with his seat. The chair’s legs thumped with each bounce. His chest hit the edge of the table, pushing a centimeter towards Amber.

Cackling, Miki took Riley out of her highchair, unleashing a storm of panic in the kitchen. She walked to the other side of the table, the toddler struggling in her arms. Adam and Amber jumped in their seats, trying desperately to escape from their restraints. Their chairs pounded the floor like war drums, scuffing and cracking the clean tiles.

Miki put Riley in the smart electric oven. She slammed the door shut, then she tilted a chair and propped it under the handle. She used the oven’s control pad to set the heat at 550 degrees Fahrenheit, then she pressed the START button. She skipped back to Amber’s side, swinging her arms while humming happily.

The toddler screamed in the oven, hitting its walls and door with her legs and arms. The red glow from the bake element illuminated the interior of the oven as it heated up.

Miki sat on the table in front of Amber. She planted her boots on Amber’s knees to stop her from jumping. She pulled her shirt away from her, then she cut it straight up the middle vertically with her shears. Amber’s breasts hung out, her areolas peeking out from behind her torn shirt. And it didn’t matter to her. She exerted the last of her energy to beg Miki for mercy.

Please don’t kill my baby , she tried to say.

Adam rocked back and forth in his seat. He could barely separate himself from the chair’s backrest. An entire roll of duct tape strapped him to it. It was harder to move back than forward, too. He couldn’t afford to fall, either, so he had to be careful. If the chair tipped over, he would have been as useful as a turtle on its back.

Get her out, you bitch, he tried to say.

Ignoring Adam, Miki said, “Your husband killed my baby, so I’m going to kill yours. But revenge isn’t about… making things ‘even’ or ‘fair.’ I didn’t plan this for years just to ‘get even.’ I’m here to do much worse. If you live, you’re going to want to get revenge against me. And that’s what it’s all about: Continuing the endless cycle. So, I’m taking Riley… and I’m taking your uterus so you can never replace her.”