T.M.E. Walsh - For All Our Sins

She’d helped Amelia do it herself .

Now she felt the twinge of regret deep in her gut as she read the gold writing down the spine of the book .

It read Holy Bible.

***

It was almost 8:30pm when Amelia heard the lock turn in the door .

Mel was early .

More importantly, she’d pulled off their plan thus far without any major problems .

Mel’s face was ashen, her eyes dark and puffy as though she’d been crying. She had a small bag clasped tightly to her chest. She closed the door but didn’t speak .

Amelia got up from the bed. She reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Mel’s ear and felt her flinch under her touch. Amelia’s eyes narrowed, forcing Mel to look at her. ‘Is everything in place?’

Mel’s voice sounded hoarse when she spoke. ‘I managed to bribe security to let me in this late and he agreed not to check the bag.’

Amelia smiled .

George, the night security guard, had been easy enough to bribe. Amelia had managed to pay him a midnight visit herself in exchange for him allowing Mel access into the building discreetly by the side trade entrance .

All men are weak, she thought. It’d come easy for her to manipulate but she saw it’d been much harder for Mel .

Amelia kissed her cheek. ‘This’ll be over soon.’

It was like Mel hadn’t heard her, and was locked away inside her own mind. ‘All our life’s savings… Twenty-five years we’ve been married. Frank will be devastated when he realises what I’ve done.’

‘You’re in a loveless marriage, Mel. It’s time you found happiness.’ She kissed her on the lips passionately, tasting the sweetness of her mouth. When she withdrew, Mel was crying. ‘I’m your future now. You don’t have to fear what happens next.’

Mel pushed her away. ‘I don’t know if I can live a life on the run.’ She tried to wipe away her tears as quickly as they fell. ‘I love you, Amelia, but I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do this. I thought I was but I was wrong. How can this be right?’

Amelia shushed her as she drew her into her body, comforting her as a mother does a child. Mel let herself fall into the embrace and they lay back on the bed .

‘It’s right because God says it is,’ Amelia said. ‘He’ll forgive an act of true love, of true justice.’ She closed Mel’s eyes with her fingertips .

Mel sniffed back tears. ‘God doesn’t agree with us, what we are. What we do to each other.’ She reached out for Amelia’s body .

Amelia smiled as her lips brushed against Mel’s ear. ‘I wasn’t talking about us.’

Mel felt the change in Amelia’s body. When her eyes opened, Amelia had already retrieved the fragment of broken glass she’d concealed inside the mattress earlier .

Mel’s eyes narrowed in confusion then fear as Amelia brought it up to her left eye .

It was what remained of the Virgin Mary statue .

‘What’re you doing?’

Amelia pushed her weight against Mel’s chest and sat astride her, knees pinning Mel’s arms down hard against the bed .

‘I’m sorry I’ve had to smash this, Mel, after you took all the trouble to sneak it in, but how else was I going to do this?’

Mel felt bile rise in her throat as the realisation hit her. The last two years had been nothing but a lie .

‘God had a plan for me from the moment I was born. I’ve used my time to plan His dream and now it’s time for me to put all His words into practice.’

Mel’s eyes locked onto the Bible on the shelf but was too stunned to speak .

‘You must understand none of this is personal.’ Amelia leaned closer to look into Mel’s eyes. ‘ He wants revenge and only I can do this.’

Mel felt her voice catching in her throat as she spoke. ‘Who wants revenge? Revenge for what?’

‘God…talks to me. But He’s stopped. There’s no more guidance He can give me unless I get out of here. Don’t deny the will of God, Mel. You were sent to help me. This was God’s plan for you. He sent you to me. Sacrifice yourself for me and there will be a place for you in Heaven despite the sins you’ve committed by lying with women and committing adultery.’

Amelia clamped her hand down over Mel’s mouth as she went to scream, drowning out the sound before she could call for help .

She brought the glass back to Mel’s eye, so close that her eyelashes flicked the glass tip each time she blinked .

‘I’ll give you something to really scream about if you don’t shut the fuck up, you stupid bitch,’ Amelia hissed, her mask slipping .

At that moment Mel saw just what really lurked underneath the beautiful face that she’d grown to love and her eyes circled the room, desperate for a way out .

She saw the panic button near the door and tried to throw Amelia from her but Amelia’s knees dug harder into her arms .

‘I want you to know that every touch, every kiss and every word was a lie. Every time I touched your body, every time I made you forget the sadness in your life meant nothing to me but a means to an end. Every time I made you cry out for me…all lies. Nothing was real .

‘Know this… I scrubbed myself until I bled after each and every time you touched my skin. I faked every cry of pleasure but now it’s my turn. I want to make you scream…for your life.’

Each and every moment Mel had shared with Amelia came into the forefront of her memory and it made her feel sick. The reality of Amelia’s words had taken hold of her body, but now the heartache was giving way to the adrenaline that now ran through her body .

The survival instinct began to kick in and Mel pushed all her emotional pain deep inside her body .

She blinked hard, tried to think clearly .

She was heavier than Amelia. She could use this to her advantage. With one surge forward she bucked her body forward, throwing Amelia from the bed .

The sound of Amelia’s head hitting the floor was sickening .

Mel scrambled from the bed .

She stood, her heart pounding, staring at Amelia’s limp body blocking the door. Her only hope of escape .

The glass was still in Amelia’s hand and she edged closer, bent down and snatched it away before jumping back .

She stared at Amelia’s body again until she was satisfied she was unconscious and edged towards the door. As she reached for the handle a leg rose up and kicked her hard in the ribs, knocking the wind from her .

She fell to the floor, doubled up in pain. Through her tears she saw Amelia pulling herself up from the floor and cradling her head .

Then Amelia stared down at her .

Mel swung the glass wildly, trying to fend her off, but Amelia was soon down on her like a lioness against its prey. She wrenched the glass from Mel’s hand and brought it down hard into her throat .

Mel’s eyes were wide as she spluttered, shots of blood gurgling from the wound .

Amelia stood above her, her eyes cold, looking down at Mel’s now outstretched arm .

She picked up the leather bag Mel had brought with her. Inside there were bundles of notes, £10,000 in cash, a brown wig, a purse and Mel’s security card that opened the hospital doors in the secure areas .

Amelia frowned. She cast her eyes back to Mel. ‘You didn’t pack my change of clothes?’

Mel’s eyes were beginning to look glassy, but still they twitched .