Chapter 40 Planning Destruction

Isabel watched the sun going down that night and suddenly hated everything. She hated when things didn’t go her way. She screamed and threw the phone. It cracked and for a moment it was almost satisfying enough and then she remembered how expensive the screen was to fix. This just ticked her off even more. “Da*& it!”
Isabel pulled a picture of John from her desk drawer and traced his face. She unfolds the bent side of the picture which contains Anna. She glared at her cousin, wishing there was a way to get rid of her permanently. She’d tried to get her to leave but Anna wasn’t budging.
Isabel growled and ripped the picture in half leaving only John behind. She tossed the picture of Anna in the trash. She hated to think of all the time she’d spent living with the idea of Anna and John together. She’d never understood it. “She wasn’t half as pretty as me,” Isabel thought “yet he always seemed like he was under a spell when she was around.”
Isabel had been in love with John since middle school but he hadn’t given her the time of day. They’d all grown up together but something about Anna clicked for him. Isabel could never understand it. No matter what she tried, he always followed Anna everywhere.
“She always had him and she didn’t even know it.” Isabel thought as she remembered every moment, “ It used to make me so sick. I used to have to watch them and wish it was me. I’m so tired of wishing it was me.”
The door opened and Isabel looked up and smiled at the person in the doorway. He waggled a packet of pictures at her and nodded. This was a slim chance but she was taking it. Isabel held out her hand and the man put them into it willingly trading it for a pile of money. Isabel smiled as she looked at the pictures thinking that today might be a great day after all.
***
Anna and John walked in the door in silence. For once they were the only ones home and Anna felt wiped out. She sank onto the lovely grey couch and kicked her shoes off. John sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She sank back into his arms and sighed as he put his arms around her. She felt safe for the first time in a long time. She sighed and relaxed as his hands massaged her neck. She hoped for just one night of peace. John’s hands rolled over her shoulders and she moaned.
“Wow, I didn’t even hear that sound this morning,” John said with a laugh as he kissed her ear.
“Less talk, more massaging.” She said as she leaned into his hands.
John laughed again and pushed her hair aside kissing down her neck. “What do I get in return?”
Anna smiled and arched into his kiss. “What do you want?”
“Let me show you…” John said with a smile against her skin as he pulled her up to straddle him.
Anna went to reply when her phone rang.
“Ignore it, “John said softly as he grabbed her phone and tucked it under himself.
“It might be Bess.” Anna groaned as she kissed him gently and reached for the phone.
“Okay but hurry.”
Anna sat up and tapped the button. Seeing a text from Bess.
“I found this on the security system, I hope it’s what you’re looking for, Bess.”
“John look,” Anna said as she hit the play button and a series of clips began to play.
John sat up and looked at the screen almost not believing what he was seeing. On the screen going back, six months were video after video showing Isabel and Erin meeting at various places around the office building. One video was dated the day of their anniversary party and clearly showed Isabel giving Erin a map of the house. The last one showed Isabel slamming Erin against her car in the parking lot. Erin looked terrified and Isabel looked pure evil. Isabel’s smile jumped off the screen and chilled Anna to the bone.
“Turn up the sound and start them again,” John said watching the phone intently.
The sound of voices was small and far away on the screen. Isabel directed Erin over and over on how to get John alone and encouraged her to keep trying and how to do it.
“All you really have to do is take your clothes off and get him alone,” Isabel said on the phone. Erin nodded on the screen and smiled, obviously on board with the idea. The clip ended and Anna stared openmouthed at the screen.
“John, what are we going to do?”
“We are going to get rid of Isabel.”