I gripped the steering wheel tighter to stop my hands from twitching. I was on my way to Kim's house. If there was a way to forget about what happened a few nights ago, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I had to face reality and deal with the nightmares that were sure to haunt me in the future.

   I knocked on the door, studying my surroundings. I saw the same old man from across the street cutting his grass. Did he hear or see anything from the other night? My chest suddenly tightened. It felt as if all the air was rushing out of my lungs. I attempted to knock on the door again, but I had no energy. Just as I was falling forward, Kim swung the door open. Once she saw the condition I was in, she pulled me inside. She helped me lay down on her plush sofa and ran into the kitchen. I felt better, but I still didn't feel like myself. She returned with an ice pack that she placed on my forehead.

"You're burning up! What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know, the closer I got to your house the worse I felt."

She pouted and sat beside me.

"It's OK Chris, everything will be fine."

"How do you know that?"

"I got rid of everything, come look at the room."

She pulled me up from the couch and led me to her bedroom. The smell of lemon Pine-Sol flowed throughout the house. The blood that once soaked the carpet was now gone. She had new sheets on the bed, making the room look as if it were out of a catalog.

"How did you...?" I stuttered.

"Shhh. You won't have to worry about this anymore."

"What about the cops? What if someone comes looking for him?"

"They won't."

"How are you so sure?"

"My brother is handling that."

Her brother. I didn't trust him at all. Something about him seemed shady but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"This will probably be my last time seeing you," I blurted out.

She let out a deep sigh, "I knew it would happen eventually."

"You're not mad, are you?"

"No, it's about time I get my life back on track. Maybe go back to school."

"That's what's up."

"Yeah, having sex with a married man wasn't my best decision."

We laughed. I turned to look at her.

"You know, if we met under different circumstances we would've been good friends."

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

"I wish you the best with everything."

"Same to you."

We began walking to the front door. I looked around the house. So many memories were here, but I had to forget them. I believe Kim is a good person, but she wasn't good for me. She was a temptation, a sexy one at that. I tried to shake the sad feeling I felt.

She opened the door for me, "you know, despite how we met I really had true feelings for you."

I didn't know what to say to comfort her. Of course, I cared about her, I killed a man for her! But I didn't love her the way I love Vanessa. I never would.

"I care about you too Kim. Take care of yourself."

She gave me one last hug. Her thin frame collapsed in my arms. This was the most vulnerable I ever saw her. She was always tough and sassy. I guess she had gotten use to being that way after all these years. She deserved to be loved. Too bad I couldn't be the one to give that to her.

When we finally let go of each other, I saw the sadness in her eyes.

"Are you alright?"  I asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just going to miss this. I'm going to miss us."

I didn't admit it to her, but I was going to miss her too.

"I understand, but I have to work on my marriage."

"I know."

"Are you sure you'll be fine?"

"Yes. But if you keep asking me I'm going to start crying."

She laughed. She looked innocent, scared, and sad all at once. I hugged her again. Telling her it would be OK. I cursed Fred in my mind. Not only did he set me up to cheat, but he also set Kim up to get her heart broken.

She pulled away.

"Go ahead and go home. I promise I'll be fine."

My heart was heavy. I walked towards my car. Before I got in I looked back at the front door. She waved and managed to smile. I waved back and watched as she slowly closed the door. It was official. Whatever I had with Kim was now over.

I drove to the grocery store to pick up some things that Vanessa needed. I didn't know that cutting Kim out of my life completely would make me feel this bad. I parked and quickly made my way inside. As I walked down the vitamin aisle, I heard a familiar voice.

"Henry! Henry!" he said.

I was thinking whoever Henry was needed to hurry up and turn around. Just when I was about look back to see who it was I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Will. I forgot all about the fake name Kim gave him.

"So, I guess your real name isn't Henry huh?" he said with a smile. I could tell he didn't find it funny at all.

I didn't answer.

"So Henry, who are you buying prenatal vitamins for? My sister isn't pregnant."

"Uh..."

"Its OK, you don't have to answer. It's not my place to ask. But I do need a favor."

"I'm not too big on favors."

He came closer to me. I could smell the cigarette smoke on his breath.

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you." 

I swallowed hard.

"I need you to handle someone for me."

"Handle someone?"

"Yeah, like you handled my friend."

"Look, he was about to kill your sister I didn't know what else..."

"You got to relax man," he said as he signaled me to lower my voice.

I took a deep breath, "I didn't ask for your help, it was Kim who wanted to come to you. Not me."

He chuckled, "she came to me because if she didn't, I would've found you and killed you!"

His face was stern.

"He was going to kill your sister!" I insisted.

"Is that what you thought?"

He smirked. I saw just how crazy he could be.

"They play rough like that all the time man! Kim likes that shit. The fact is, you killed one of my brothers and now you gotta pay off your debt."

"What is it?"

"I want you to kill someone who owes me some money."

I laughed until I realized I was doing so alone.

"You can't be serious."

"I got what you need in my care. After you finish shopping I'm going to give it to you."

I whispered, "I'm not a killer man!"

He said with a grin, "If you're able to kill once, you can kill again."

He walked away before I could say anything else. I looked inside my basket and realized I needed to get a few more things. I got caught up in something that I knew I couldn't get out of.

After getting everything on the list, I checked out and walked out into the parking lot. I didn't see Will, so I picked up speed and threw the groceries in the truck. As I closed the passenger door, Will appeared out of no where. I jumped.

"You scared the shit out of me!" I shouted.

"You weren't trying to run away were you?"

"No."

Damn right I was.

"Good, because I know where you stay," he threatened.

I raised my eyebrows at him. He smirked. 

"I'm just kidding, but I did follow you here."

"You followed me?"

"How else would I know where you were?

"I didn't think about that."

"You have to get your street smarts up man. I followed you from Kim's place."

"How did you know that I was going to be there?"

"My sister."

I balled up my fist.

"What you gonna hit me now?" he asked, unfazed by my actions.

"Look, if you want money or something I got you, but I'm not a killer."

He pulled a brown paper bag from the back of his jeans and handed it to me. From the weight of it, their was no question that it was gun.

"I'm not asking you to do this. Just know if you don't, I will kill you and who ever you bought those vitamins for!"

There was no getting through to this maniac.

"You have a week," he said, lighting up a new cigarette.

"A week?"

"Yeah, I know you're a punk and need to talk yourself into doing this."

I didn't say anything. He was right about me. I can't fathom taking another life.

He turned to walk away, but stopped after taking a few steps, "oh yea, Kim will never know about this."

After blowing a cloud of smoke into the air, he turned his back to me. The tight T-shirt he wore could barely contain his muscles. His arms were as big as my legs. If I tried to start a fist fight with him, he would definitely kick my ass.  I didn't take any of his words lightly.

Opening the bag as I got into the car, a folded piece of printer paper caught my attention. I unfolded it to see the name and address of a person that I didn't know. I shoved the bag into my glove compartment, and that's when a picture fell out. 

It was a bald Caucasian middle-aged man, with a smile on his face that showed every tooth in his mouth. My stomach went into knots when I saw who else was in the picture. A woman, about the same age as him with a grin that matched his, and a small child in the center. This guy was a husband and a father. I don't know how what he did to make it on Will's kill list, but now his life was in danger.