Vera was shocked and looked like she had just seen a ghost. How could she be as heartless as that? How could she just kill someone she liked, and feel no remorse about it? She knew she was mentally troubled, but still it felt like she had taken it a step too far. At that point, she began to feel scared, knowing Layla wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of her. Even if she wasn’t a murderer, and Kent was the first man she had ever killed, it wouldn’t be a problem to kill a second time. Killing a person at first, seemed daunting, but once it was done, doing it the next time was always easier than the first. She could imagine Kent laying somewhere dead, his mysterious brown eyes staring up at the stars, unblinking, not closing, just staring. What could have been his last thoughts? Had he regretted following Layla, or had not regretted anything at all? The thought of it was so unnerving that she didn’t want to give it another thought. Layla was a scary and her mental problems were not at fault. Vera believed mental patients only brought out their true selves. “I mean… isn’t it unfair? I liked him first, but he turned me down, only to see you and claim he fell in love at first sight. How could he do that? Who does that? That is simply despicable. It tore me apart to know that he could fall in love with you at first sight, even though you guys had nothing in common. He could kike you even though he knew his feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated? “That seemed plainly stupid to me, and very hurtful. So I got mad, and decided to play my lovely game of stealing all the beautiful ladies in the house, before stealing you. They say men don’t go back on their words, but Kent did. He promised to play villain with me, but the moment he fell for you, he said he wasn’t interested.” Layla continued to speak, acting like Vera was her best buddy, who she was divulging her secrets to, and not a person she wanted to harm. “Why are you telling me this?” Vera asked, and Layla picked her gun, and folded her knees to her chest. “Can’t you see it’s weird? Honestly, I’ve… wondered about this all my life… it’s just so damn unfair. I mean, why doesn’t he like me back? No, why doesn’t anyone like me? All my life, I’ve been hated by the opposite gender. No one ever seems to return my feelings. What is it they do not see in me? “Can anyone tell me? I’m beautiful, smart, seductive, I know how to joke, and know how to comfort people. I’m also adorable. You know it Vera. You also fell for my charms. According to the doctors, it is what forced me to be in the hospital in the first place. I’d been neglected so many times that it got into my head. He also said something like… is it social disorder? “Whichever way, people like Kent, forced me to be like this. Have you ever been rejected, Vera? Let’s comfort ourselves. Speak up.” Layla was simply impossible. How could she just keep acting like they were friends?“Speak.” She said menacingly when Vera refused to say a word. “Unlike you, I have never felt the intense need to have a man by my side, so I’m afraid I’ll be unable to reason with you.” Vera said honestly, and Layla stared at her for a while, studying her intently. “You must be wondering how I got you, after been arrested by the cops. You must have been so scared to know I was back again.” She said softly. “Willing to tell me?” Vera asked. “Well, a cop apparently saw what no one saw in me. He wanted me, and I didn’t mind playing along. I seduced him with all I’ve got, and it worked. It took only a few hours for me to steal the keys, and everything, while he groaned, and felt satisfied. Then I happened to see you guys driving past. Let me guess. Due to the traffic, you guys decided to pass this route? “Well, lucky for me, I only had to follow you all day, waiting patiently for my chance, and here we are now.” She said, then paused, “As much as I’d have loved to keep up with the lie, I can’t. I’m always truthful. Actually, I didn’t kill Kent, but injured him badly. He’s probably in the hospital, groaning, and regretting that he tried to stop me from escaping. No matter what, I’m never going back to that damned hospital. I’m going to live freely, and no one will stop me.” She said, then, began to wrap up her injured hand with a dirty bandage. “You’ll get infected.” Vera warned, purely out of instinct. “Why do you care?” Layla asked in a bored voice. “It’s not like you’ll be the one feeling the pain, or you give a damn about my pathetic life.” She snapped, looking irritated.’’ Then Layla got to her feet, and looked at the dark water. “ Want to know why I didn’t kill Kent?” She asked, still looking at the water. “He’s not the one I want to kill, so killing him would be meaningless. The one I want to kill is right here with me. She said, and gave Vera a smirk. “You’re the one I want, Vera.” She said, and bent, grabbing Vera roughly by the shirt. Vera tried to scream, but Layla’s gun came down on her throat instantly. “I’ll rip out that scream for you if you can’t keep it yourself.” She threatened, and with tears in her eyes, Vera was dragged onto the rocky shores. The stones scratched at the soft skin at the back of her fingers, faster, and more painful that the scratches it left on her lower back and legs. She couldn’t even call for help, and her fear doubled, as she felt the cold water soak her skin. She was going to be drowned… lost and forgotten in the gentle tides of the sea.