A Dark Man

He sat watching the door. In the queit. In the dark. The only sound he could hear was the ticking of a clock on the wall, reminding him of the slow and steady passage of time. He must have been sitting there for hours, but it didn't matter. He was in no rush. He would wait. Patience is something he needed to survive in his work, among other things. You needed skill, of course - you had to know what you were doing. You needed tact. And it's always best to work at night. It's the best time to be invisible, to be quiet. Yes, in this business, the darkness was your friend. Your only friend. Not many people can warm up to the idea of having a killer for a buddy. He knew that. But sometimes, it got so lonely, and he wished for human contact. He wished for someone he could share his life and his secrets with. Someone he could trust. That's why he was so happy when he met Sylvia. She had seen his ugly truth, the side of him that he hid from the rest of the world and she hadn't turned away. She accepted him. She loved him. Or that's what he had thought before she started sneeking around the house. Before he saw her talking to the cop. Before she betrayed him. Lights from her car headlights sifted in through the windows. She's home. He sighed. He didn't want this. But he'd do what had to be done. He remained still when she came in. She walked passed the chair where he sat and dropped her car keys and her purse beside a porcelain vase on the table. "Hey", he said. She squealed and jumped back. She ran to turn the light on and faced him. "Robert! God, you scared the crap out of me! What are you doing here?" "Waiting for my girlfriend, who normally gets off work at 7. Imagine my suprise when I got here and you weren't here". "Oh", she replied "So...where were you?" he asked calmly. "At Phil's bar", she said, looking aimlessly through her purse, obviously avoiding eye contact. He looked at the ticking clock. It was 3 A.M. "Phil's closes at midnight." he said watching her closely. She paused. "Where did you go after that?" "Umm, I went to Ally's place. Wow, I didn't know it was that late. Well, you know what happens when we girls get together", she made a weak attempt at a laugh. "See, I knew you would say that", he chuckled, "But you couldn't have been with Ally." "Of course, I was", she scoffed, "where else would I be? You could call her and ask". "I could." He stared at her. She stared back. He smiled. She was trying so hard to act normal, not to reveal how scared she was. She started to walk towards the kitchen. "But I don't need to. You couldn't have been with Ally because she was with me", he said. She stopped and turned slowly. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with quick heavy breaths. He could see her pondering in her head. She was scared to ask, scared of what the answer would be. She swallowed. "And where is she now?" she whispered, unable to stop herself from asking the question. From hoping. "She's dead", he replied simply. Sylvia gasped and fell to the ground, a tear sliding down her cheek, "Oh my God, Robert!" she sobbed, "you killed her?" "No", he shook his head at her, "no no no no, you killed her. Not me. You shouldn't go blabbing to innocent people about things that aren't their business. You got her involved, you made her a liability, you killed her." "She didn't do anything!" she screamed through her tears. "You shouldn't be meeting with cops in the middle of the night. You shouldn't have told her what I do. Then, she'd still be alive", Robert replied, still calm. "You're a monster!" she yelled. He said nothing at first. He just continued to smile at her. It's true, he was a monster. And monsters couldn't have friends or family or girlfriends. He knew that now. Trust was something he couldn't afford to give. Love was something he couldn't afford to feel. He wouldn't make that mistake again. "Where you really going to help the police put me away?" She said nothing. He stood up. "You know I can't let that happen" He began to approach her. She reacted immediately. She tried to run to the door but he was in her way now. She picked up the porcelain vase and flung it at him. He ducked and it wheezed passed his ear. He sighed. "Sylvia sweetie, don't make this harder than it has to be. Just come here so I can kill you."