Bloody Hearts

When Malia Freeman left her boyfriend's run down one bedroom apartment for the monthly block party, she had no idea she was leaving her life behind.

Two hours prior she'd stood in front of the dingy bathroom mirror in sweats, painstakingly unwrapping her twists to reveal perfect curls. Doing her hair was time consuming but she loved her bouncy waist length tresses to death. That was the good thing about having a socialite mother, you learned to take the best care of yourself.

She sighed and dropped her arms to take a break, picking up her phone and scrolling through her texts. Mother, work, bank, bank, credit card bill, editor, Lily! She beamed as she read the text from her best friend.

"See u at the party 2nyt!"

She did a little happy dance and texted back celebration emojis. Lily Nguyen was a techie that never had time for social events unless they involved pretentious tech socialites, delectable ball gowns and unpronounceable menus. Malia loved a good gala dinner as much as the next person but sometimes simple was best. She had been bugging Lily to come with her for months and she finally gave in. They were finally going to have much needed fun time. She put on music and went back to doing her hair.

A few minutes later the front door burst open and a deep voice called out to her.

"Lia! You forgot to bring in my package... Again!"

She frowned and shuffled to the bathroom door. Her boyfriend Dave was home early. She'd been hoping they'd meet at the party.

"Welcome home babe, how was work?" She called in a peppy voice.

"I told you, if you leave my packages out they'll get stolen. If any of my stuff goes missing you're paying for it." came the curt reply.

Malia sighed, opened the door and leaned out.

"I didn't hear the delivery guy, honest. I'll get it next time, promise!"

"You said that last time. Go get it now," Dave retorted.

She sighed again. He was so difficult.

"Baby, I'm doing my hair right now. You could have just grabbed it on your way in. Stop making a big deal out of it."

Dave uncoiled himself from the beanbag chair he'd been lounging in like he'd been waiting for that response. He stalked toward her with an ominous smile plastered on his face. Malia stood her ground. They'd done this dance before. He stopped a foot from her and she stared him down, careful to keep her expression perfectly bland. At six foot two, Dave towered over most of the women he encountered, but she stood eye to eye with him. She would not give in this time. This time, she'd stand her ground.

"Get. My. Package." His soft tone did nothing to hide the venom in his voice.

She fought to keep the tension out of her shoulders.

"I'm busy. If it's not urgent enough for you to get it now I can get it later, no?" She raised a brow.

His smile widened into a rictus and his head slowly tilted. The seconds swum by like a fly through molasses. Thoughts ran through her mind on loop like a defective tape.

(This was it this was it this was it he was going to hit her he was finally going to he would do it he would-)

"Okay, I'll get it."

She blinked slowly and stared at him. Was it a trap? Her mind raced, searching for the catch.

"You... You will?"

"Yeah, sure. You go do your hair," he waved her off, turning away, crossing the living room and disappearing out the front door in six quick strides. "By the way, your hair looks pretty. What's the occasion?" He called from the tiny porch.

"Um... The block party," she tentatively ventured, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Surely he'd flip out now and stop her from going.

His frame reappeared in the doorway and froze there for a few seconds, her heart punching her sternum as she squinted against the sunset and struggled to make out his face.

"Really? That's cool! You should have told me you were coming earlier, I'd have saved you a spot in my truck," he set the small package on an ottoman and sank into his favourite beanbag chair again. "You're gonna have to drive yourself if that's okay, I told the guys I'd drive them and you can't ride in the back, it'd ruin your hair. Or do you want me to come back and pick you up?"

Malia swallowed and assured him that she would find her way, then scurried back into the bathroom and locked the door. She slowly shook her head to clear it and picked up her edge brush, dabbing gel along her hairline and laying her baby hairs into place. Dave was acting weird for sure. He was usually aggressive and short with her sometimes, and sweet and attentive other times, but he never switched up so fast. It was almost like... Like it was two different people. She shuddered and went back to her hair. How did it go so sour so fast, she wondered. Dave had been good to her for most of the two years they'd been together. He'd given her a place to stay when she left her parents', and supported her while she got on her own two feet. He'd been the one to suggest that she contact an agent about officially publishing the stories she'd been uploading to free websites. When she signed her first book deal and her short story anthology went to print, she'd bought him an expensive watch. He returned the present and took her on a weekend getaway with the money. It was such a contrast to the sullen Dave of the past few months, always spoiling for a fight and completely uninterested in her personal life unless it affected him.

Her phone chimed and jolted her. Incoming call from Lily. She dropped the brush and put the phone on speaker so she could get started on her makeup.

"Heyyy babes!" She winced at how shrill her voice sounded. There was a weighted pause on the other end of the line. "Hel-"

"What's good, darling?" Lily's rich alto flowed, soothing some of the raw edges in her heart. God she loved this woman.

"What're you wearing tonight? Let's coordinate!" The conversation flowed easily and they settled into the familiar rhythm. Lily would pick her up and bring dinner, what did she want, what would they wear, heels or sneakers or boots, where would they park, who would they hang out with, and so on. Malia found herself getting excited and the feathers ruffled by her earlier scene with her boyfriend settled.

All of a sudden an ice cold phantom crawled down her nape. She couldn't hear Dave. Usually she subconsciously tracked him throughout the apartment, noting the paths his heavy tread traced and his other routine sounds. She frantically tried to remember where she lost track of him. She'd definitely heard him grab a beer from the fridge and return to the living room, but the TV hadn't come on. Her eyes darted to the bathroom door. Was he listening in on her? But she wasn't doing anything wrong. You couldn't really tell with him these days though. She furtively glanced at the crack between the door and frame. Shouldn't there be a sliver of light shining through? Unless... He was standing in front of the door blocking it. But why would he stand there silently eavesdropping on she and Lily? Her mind ran in circles, snatching up possible answers and discarding them.

"-lia? Malia?? Oh bloody hell, what's she up to? MALIA-"

"HERE!" she squeaked into the phone.

Lily's concerned voice came down the line.

"Are you okay? What happened? I must've been calling you for at least two minutes. I was contemplating ringing the police!"

She placated her friend while adding finishing touches to her face; she was fine, she'd just zoned out, no police needed, ha ha ha. The conversation moved on to Lily's work and the latest events in the exclusive circles she moved in. This was a well worn ritual, her friend chattering about her glamorous life while Malia did some mundane activity.

She lined her lips in brown and was swiping on clear lip gloss when a knock on the door made her jump and drag the gloss wand across her cheek.

"Y-y-yes, baby?"

Dave's voice sounded startlingly close, like he was pressed up against the door.

"I'm leaving, okay? Gonna go pick up the guys. See you around!"

She mumbled a "see you" and blotted her cheek with a wipe. Taking her leave from Lily, she left the bathroom as the front door closed and got dressed. In no time, she saw the glare of headlights through the cracks in the living room blinds and scrambled into her combat boots, picking up her jacket and purse. She squared her shoulders, strutted out, locked the apartment and eyed herself in the reflection of Lily's Subaru. Spectacular. Malia folded herself into the front seat, beamed at her friend and smirked.

"Let's do this."