LITMIR.BIZ

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Then she’d think about her long-term plans, once she was out of here. She’d been right then and was right now. Hers and God’s revenge would be sweet.

      She’d used her time wisely.

      And now she wanted out.

      She looked at the woman opposite her. Volunteer Melanie Steward, who had been talking away while Amelia had pretended to listen, was now smiling at her.

      Stokebrook had a patient befriending scheme that had worked to Amelia’s advantage. Volunteers under the scheme were allowed to visit patients who otherwise had no contact with the outside world. Trained and given a thorough Criminal Record Bureau check, they were then closely matched with a patient.

      Rules were strict and volunteers were warned about the potential to be taken in by the manipulative nature of some patients.

      Melanie Steward had already fallen at that first hurdle two years ago, although she didn’t know it yet.

      ‘Am I boring you?’ Mel said.

       Amelia looked away. ‘Did you bring it?’

       Mel’s hands twitched nervously. ‘Is that all you wanted? I thought you liked my company?’

       Amelia tried to sound convincing. ‘I do but I hoped you’d help me.’

       ‘And I said I would, whatever you want, no matter if it’s against the rules.’ Mel’s hand swept across the bed and clasped Amelia’s. ‘I never thought that meeting you would make me feel this way… I’m breaking all the rules, Amelia. You helped me realise what I’ve always wanted.’

      Amelia looked away. Mel blushed, believing Amelia’s gesture was out of modesty at knowing the love Mel held towards her.

      The reality was much darker.

      Amelia was repulsed by her.

      After the first few visits from Mel, Amelia knew the woman was a homosexual. A fact that had at first seemed to be a setback had presented itself as another opportunity.

      No stranger to being intimate with women, Amelia had played Mel like a pro.

      A few well-planned questions and the chance to move physically closer to Mel had told Amelia all she needed. Melanie Steward was trapped in a loveless marriage with a man she couldn’t bear to be touched by and the look in Mel’s eyes had told Amelia that she was more than a little attracted to her.

      ‘Amelia, I…’ Mel trailed off and got up from her chair. Amelia’s eyes widened as Mel began to raise her long skirt.

      Not again, Amelia thought. She pushed herself further into the bed when she saw Mel’s hands disappear inside her knickers.

      Amelia closed her eyes tight. She heard the sound of tape ripping across bare skin.

       ‘Here,’ Mel’s voice quivered. ‘I brought it for you.’

      Amelia inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as she eyed the intricate cut-glass statue of the Virgin Mary that’d previously been taped against Mel’s inner thigh. Anything made from prohibited materials or sharp objects was strictly forbidden but Mel had broken yet another rule to please her.

       Mel handed the statuette over and Amelia turned it over in her hands. The figure was just four inches long but was exactly what she’d asked for. ‘It’s perfect.’

       ‘Really?’ Mel beamed. ‘I’m so pleased. It fitted the exact description you gave me.’

       ‘Nobody suspects anything?’

       ‘No, I was careful, just how you showed me.’

       Amelia leaned forward and kissed Mel softly on the lips. ‘You won’t regret this… You’ll come back later?’

      Before Mel could reply, her breath caught in her throat as Amelia grabbed the pendant around her neck. ‘What’s this?’ Mel saw the change in Amelia’s eyes. She looked at the small fabric rose at the end of a fake gold chain.

       ‘Don’t you like it?’

      Amelia’s mind took her back to the Rose Garden at Shrovesbury Manor.

       Rebecca…

      She held back tears as the face from her past appeared before her, like it always did. Firstly, as a beautiful mirage of messy brown hair with wide dark eyes. Her face bore a few freckles which made her look younger than her sixteen years.

      Then came the vision Amelia always dreaded, as the pretty face was replaced by a twisted mess of blood and smashed bone. Rebecca’s once full light-pink lips now reduced to a menacing grimace of dried blood and events of unspoken evil.

       Amelia ripped the chain from Mel’s neck, making her gasp, her hand reaching for her neck. Amelia threw the chain into her face. ‘Get rid of it.’

      Mel was stunned. She avoided Amelia’s eyes and looked around the room. She caught sight of the small shelf filled with a few books from the hospital library. Her eyes landed on a particular title. She knew many pages inside had been drawn over in red pen, many passages underlined or crossed out.

      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

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