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The Deed

Deceit.

By Tammi BrownleePublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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Larry sat in his car puffing on a cigarette. Loretta hated it when he smoked in the car, but he continued to do it anyways. Glancing out the window he watched as the young kids played basketball in the school playground. And the young girls were sitting on the bench chatting among themselves. He wondered if they had any clue about real life yet. Did they even know what could happen to them. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Loretta. She was on the other side of the street at the dirty run down motel. He had followed her there and waited for her to come out again. He knew what he needed to do, and it had to be done today.

She still looked as beautiful as the day they met. He had fallen in love with her the minute he saw her in the bowling alley. Her hair had been longer back then, long black wavy curls that framed her face perfectly. Her skin was silky soft, and when she smiled the room lit up. They were married just a year later. Two years later and he found himself still in love with her. He thought he had finally found the one who would never let him down. Someone who would never leave him like his mother did that day that she met someone better. Leaving him behind. He shook his head in a weak attempt to forget the memory that had just slipped into his mind.

Adjusting his body in the driver's seat allowed him to sit up straighter, he grabbed the binoculars from the passenger seat, and held them to his eyes. He noticed her blouse first, the white puffy one that she always like to wear. It was wrinkled slightly, he watched as she tugged on the bottom to smooth it out against her chest. Patting her hand on her skirt, he saw her mouth move as though she was talking to someone. He knew why she was here, he knew all along that she had been cheating on him, but he had no idea with who. The thought made his stomach turn over, and his heart ache as though someone was holding it in their hands and squeezing just enough to feel the pressure. That knot in his throat made it difficult to swallow, even the saliva that had been accumulating in his mouth.

Briefly he recalled the conversation from the morning. Her smiled faded quickly as he told her that he couldn't live without her. That they were going to die together.

"Oh Larry, stop that," was all she had said.

He watched her walk toward the door, looking over her shoulder she smiled at him, "Don't be silly!"

"I am not being silly, I am serious. I can not live without you," He said a little louder.

Then he, the person she was with, a tall man with dark hair and tan skin came. Larry recognized him immediately. Sean had moved into the house next door to them about a year ago. He had even come over for dinner with his beautiful wife, Tabitha many times. There he stood in the doorway with a smile on his face, gently touching Loretta's face. She seemed to melt into his eyes—she had been the same way when they met many years ago. He felt his stomach turn and the urge to vomit was almost uncontrollable. The pain he had experienced when his own mother abandoned him came back, he couldn't think right. He wasn't going to live without her, and she wasn't going to live without him. If he couldn't have her then no one could. He thought about Tabitha, how would she feel if she knew what her husband was doing? What about their two small children? Reaching over to the passenger seat he found what he had brought. He had hoped to not have to use it, but seeing them together was just too much. He grabbed the gun and exited the car. Shielding the gun in his jacket, he slowly walked across the street, looking both ways as he couldn't die until his deed was done. Reaching the parking lot, he started having second thoughts, but then he watched as Loretta fell into this strange man's arm as he kissed her on the lips. Her hair flowing down her back. Larry forgot his apprehension and started walking faster, almost trotting, toward them. Pulling the gun out of his jacket he pointed in their direction.

Loretta looked back just before he reached them and screamed for him to stop, but her words fell on deaf ears. He was determined to end this. Three shots rang out in succession. There was no hesitation. No turning back. The children stopped playing in the playground as they tried to figure out where the noise came from. Their innocence lost as they witnessed the carnage that Larry had committed. In the motel parking lot people rushed over to the three already lifeless bodies laying on the ground. There was nothing that could be done, the deed was done and three lives were lost. What has life come too when small acts of deceit lead to irreversible damage.

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About the Creator

Tammi Brownlee

Tammi is an aspiring novelist who recently graduated from Bridgewater State, and currently works at home writing various articles. As well as several longer pieces she is working on which she intends to publish soon.

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