Love Me To The End

Chapter 5: Yes to the Dress

There is a spattering of applause. For the second time the stagehands set about opening the iron maiden to release the willing victim, caught like a fly in a venus flytrap.

They open the door and lift her out. She died beautifully, everyone agrees.

——

I was having such a great time with Maise I forgot that we shared a house with a bunch of petty pricks, until I came home one evening to find a note pushed under my door. Written in block capitals, with no signature, were these words:

"WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS EVIL."

"That's worrying," said Maise when I showed it to her. "OK, we could have been more discreet when we were talking down in the kitchen, but how would they know what we're doing behind closed doors?"

"Does this affect us going to the Masquerade?" I asked nervously.

"It might, if there's someone snooping around that might follow us."

That was devastating to hear. Just as it was all going so well, meeting the love of my life and finding out about the club of my dreams only to have it fucked up by some zealot.

"Don't panic, though," said Maise. "We don't know enough yet to do anything, we'll wait and see if it carries on."

The next note duly arrived the next day:

"POWER TOOLS ARE NOT PLEASURE TOYS FOR GIRLS."

"I guess we made too much noise with the jigsaw," said Maise. "Or you did."

"No regrets there, it was incredible," I answered. "Also, whoever's writing these is a sexist prick."

"That narrows it down," said Maise sarcastically.

The third note pissed me off big time. Fucking Robert.

"HOPE YOU WASHED THOSE CARROTS, DYKE."

I gathered up the three notes and stormed down the stairs to his room. I banged on the door until he came and opened it in his boxers.

"Hi Lexie. What can I do for you?" he said like someone who wasn't answering the door almost naked.

"I just came to give you your shitty bigotted notes back," I snapped, throwing them in his face. "If you've got a problem with me, keep it to yourself, you dick."

"I didn't write these," he protested.

"Seriously? Carrots? You think I don't remember?"

Robert smirked.

"Look, that was funny, but I honestly don't care what you did with those carrots. Everyone knows you and Maise are fucking and that dildo you had running the other night made a bloody racket."

I realised later that he was talking about the jigsaw. I actually laughed at that.

"But hey, you do you," he went on. "You looked pretty hot in that uniform. You should dress as a girl more often."

"Fuck you, Robert."

"Tell Maise I said 'hi!'"

When I told Maise she burst out laughing.

"You never told me about running into Robert on the stairs. It actually is pretty funny. Two carrots and a schoolgirl outfit, he must have thought it was a wind-up. He says he didn't write the notes?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe him?"

"I don't know. He's still our only suspect right now."