Baby's First Kill
Part 1 of ?
Trigger Warning(s): Sexual Harassment
Nashea had been at her job for only 4 months and she was feeling uncomfortable. Helplessness, frustration, and paranoia were only a few emotions that chaotically flowed through her. She was in a situation where she wanted to leave, but did not want to back down. Why? Well, the money of course. Her pay was great, they offered her exactly what she was worth. All those years of studying and schooling paid off very sweetly into her bank account. Her supervisors were nice and professional and her team was almost perfect.
There was one person throwing everything off balance for her. And his name was Cassio Adesso.
A well-dressed, seemingly professional, nice man about 2 years older than her. He’d been there for two years before she joined. He was a handsome, tall man with a pretty smile. But, Nashea was learning that his nice appearance was a trick. A handsome facade. Beneath those sparkling brown eyes was a demented and pompous pervert.
Things were fine, at first. Nashea tried to play standoffish. This was work, not play. She didn’t want to make friends. However, her bright personality made it difficult to not ‘keke’ and chat with some colleagues. A few of them were fun. That’s how it started with Cassio, just light conversation and jokes.
Now, as Nashea started to space out while on the confocal microscope, it seemed that was a mistake. A look of romantic interest moved into his eyes when he looked upon her. He was attracted to her. Cassio was good looking, but she held no interest. Him being attracted to her wasn’t paying her bills nor making her life any easier. She only had eyes to the very unstable, delicious serial killer she had at home. So, she ignored his gazes and flirty attitude.It was relatively easy until,
“Hey Nashea, let me ask you a question. Are you single?”
The ‘No’ left her mouth as fast as the air that shifted afterwards. The genuine smile that littered his face turned fake. His sparkling eyes turned dull. Nashea returned to setting up her work bench, ready to leave this awkward atmosphere. After his question, his attitude changed. But, not in the way that she wanted. He started to challenge her. Challenging her skills, her knowledge, and her womanhood.
Under the stereotypical guise of him expressing his opinion, he microdosed his jealous venom into every word he spoke. Nashea was, and still is, a very talented scientist. The years of lab bench work exceeded most of her peers, making her a natural at experimental techniques. Her results were consistent, clean, and told a clear story of interpretation. An impressive accomplishment of many that she held and others admired her for. Except Cassio.
“A clean western blot. It’s not like anyone else has done that in the lab before, right? Good job though.”
Nashea rolled her eyes before moving onto her next tasks.
“Were these blood samples stabilized correctly before all of these experiments?” Cassio challenged.
“Of course, as it's the standard.” Nashea gritted out through tight teeth.
And each comment he made, became more personal than the last.
“Staying late again, what’s wrong, don’t like to go home?,” Cassio started one evening. Nashea had no choice but to treat her cells late. It was 9 pm and she was administering a12 hour treatment. She wouldn’t have to come in until 8:30 am to prepare for collection. Something that she didn’t have to give an explanation for.
“What gave you that idea?,” Nashea retorted as she continued treating her cells.
“Women like to be with their man, if they like them like they should. You should be home with him, you know? His attention might start to wander.,” He spat.
Cassio pissed her off to no end. Nashea could only deal with so much. She started to snap back at his backhanded comments. Two could play that game.
“I should be finishing the work I’m being paid for, like you should too.,” Nashea snapped. A low, condescending whistle left Cassio’s slick lips before he turned to leave. A quick, “must be that time huh,” shot into the air. Nashea turned to unleash hell, but saw she was alone.
That bastard. She wished that she ignored him from the start.
-
Even though his attitude shifted, his attraction stood still. She felt him ogle while she worked, eyes touching areas that his hands could not. He would stand too close, pushing her physical boundaries. Bombarding his existence in her space. Nashea would feel his breath on her cheek. He often clasped his hand on her shoulder, with several hard pats that left it stinging. Things were getting more uncomfortable by the day. Nashea didn’t truly acknowledge how serious it was until her co-worker, Jesse, approached her with some chilling information.
“I heard you had a cute garden in front of your house. I’d love to see pictures, girl.” Jesse said excitedly.
“Wha-..where’d you hear that from?” Nashea asked, confused as to how she knew that. Nashea hasn’t invited anyone over nor told them any details about her house. She’s never shared pictures, mentioned it in conversation, and no one knows her social media. She doesn’t even post any pictures of her home online.
“I heard it from Aliyah. Hold on- ALIYAH!” Jesse shouts towards the cell treatment room. Aliyah shouts back and comes in. As Jesse asks her where she got her information, the answer made Nashea’s blood run cold.
“Oh, Cassio said he saw it. He was driving around and recognized your car in the driveway. Said he was visiting family.” Aliyah stated. The rest of the conversation blew past Nashea’s ears. She felt incredibly disturbed. She removed herself from their conversation, missing the quick “I thought he wasn’t from here” statement as she left.
The following day, Jesse and Aliyah noticed a change in Nashea. They checked in with her, making sure she was okay.
“Jesse, Aliyah; I’m okay. Just feeling a little under the weather. I appreciate it though.”
Truthfully, Nashea was NOT okay. She wasn’t sure if she could handle this situation. It wasn’t like it was unheard of. There are, unfortunately, many women who have dealt with this before. All with varying details and endings, if there were any. She scoured the internet for answers and found too many but not enough. The stories she read seemed like it would take forever to get a sense of justice, if it ever came. Many left their position, with the perverts not facing consequences at all.’I don’t even think the police would help,’ she thought sardonically. They were famous for not helping in these cases in the slightest. Not that she had much hope in them anyway.
Knowing that Cassio crossed into stalker territory started to kill Nashea’s peace and spirit. It made her become increasingly paranoid and skittish. In public, she kept her head on a swivel. Crazy that she felt this way, knowing she had the ultimate form of protection at home. She started to become standoffish again, which unfortunately leaked to the other colleagues. She felt her bright personality begin to dim, but she did not want it to blow out.
Stubborn as she was, she wanted to deal with this alone. She could tell her lover what was going on. But, what would follow...would be his death. Probably within the same day, he would be killed. Never to show up to work again, solving all her problems. But…she wouldn’t feel like she won. Like she didn’t push to rise above. The sensible thing would be to ask for help. And she did try to report his misogynistic statements to HR. But. HR only protected the company, not the individual. They hardly did a thing.
Nashea wanted Cassio to face consequences. As soon as possible, so that she could finally relax and be happy with her new start in life. She just needed a way on how to do that.
Two weeks later, it was announced that there was a new position open. A position that would shoot Nashea up to the administrative side. An opportunity for a promotion and personal retribution. Although she loved doing experiments, this was a way to get away from Cassio and get more money. She quickly applied for it and mentioned it to her supervisor and director. They were pleased to hear that she was interested. Her director said she would be a ‘perfect fit’. By their reactions, she knew she had the position in the bag.
It was two days after that where she was alone with Cassio, yet again. Another late day for Nashea, hoping this was a small boost towards getting that position. Thankfully, he was focused on his tasks and not bothering her.
“Heard you were going for that new position.” A line that flew out into the air, interrupting Nashea’s peace. She was hoping to not have an interruption while she labeled her tubes for tomorrow. Apparently, she hoped for too much.
“Mhm.” said simply, hoping for Cassio to get the hint that she wasn’t interested in speaking.
“There’s a lot of applicants going for it. Pretty strong ones too.” Cassio teased. Obviously, he was trying to rile her up. Or make her question him. Because how the fuck did he know that? Too bad for him, that wasn’t going to work.
“Not worried about that.” She speedily declared.
“You sure? Heard through the grapevine that they were looking at one really strong one from out west.” He gleefully stated.
Nashea said nothing. She didn’t want to betray her emotions. But that bit of information was making her nervous. If it was true. He could be lying to get under her skin.
“I know a way for you to get that position. You just gotta do me a favor.” Cassio offered. The sleaziness of that statement was not lost on Nashea. She wasn’t doing shit for this boxed shaped cretin.
“I don’t want to owe you anything. It’s okay, I’ll just hope for the best.” Nashea stated, trying her best to end the unwanted conversation there.
“Why hope when I’m offering a guaranteed spot for the position? It’s not like you have to do much, you just have to spend some time with me.” Cassio chuckled out in a condescending manner.
That made Nashea pause. She turned to look at the audacity that stood magically behind her. She dropped her sharpie and promptly took a step back, which only made Cassio step forward. His eyes held a nasty look of lust. His lips were quirked into an evil smirk.
“I’m not-” Nashea started. Her eyebrows scrunch in confusion of what the hell was going on.
“Just spend a little time, you know.” Cassio gestures, waving his hand towards her pelvic area.
“No I don’t know.” Nashea spits.
“Just spread your legs a little and I’ll take you to the top.”
Her eyebrows skyrocketed as her heart plummeted. The air that filled her nostrils disappeared without a trace. The molecules in her cells activated her nausea, to the point where saliva coated the entirety of her mouth. Nashea couldn’t verbalize her reaction. Her body did the work for her, shoving Cassio violently out of the way. He stumbled back into a random trash can, sending its content to spill onto the ground. She grabbed her belongings and ran to leave.
“You’ll regret that Nashea! All I was trying to do was help!,” Cassio yelled, his voice haunting the hallway that Nashea was escaping from.
-
Nashea reported the incident to HR. In return, they told her that they would look into it and speak with the director and Cassio. What a standard response that made her feel helpless. Paranoia, depression, and fear caused Nashea to take two days off, so that she would avoid seeing him. Just the thought of being in the same space, breathing the same air, made her sick. The fact that he was able to breathe was an affront to life itself.
Those two days led into the weekend where she was left to gather her thoughts. The only things gathered were the empty food cartons and bottles as she rotted in her bed. No shower, not even shuffle to brush her teeth. She didn’t move until her bladder hurt from holding in her pee. She was hopeless. Drained. The flame slowly dwindled to smoke and embers by Sunday night.
It was early Monday morning when she got a phone call from her supervisor, asking her to come in a bit early. Her heart jumped, the position! After what happened with Cassio, she forgot all about it. She lets her supervisor know that she’d be there in 20 minutes. The flame inside her sparked in excitement. She could not get her clothes on fast enough! She was flying through her bathroom, closet, and house just to get to work as early as possible.
It was 20 minutes later when she hurriedly stepped through the double doors of her workplace. She confidently strides towards the lab, smiling brightly when she sees that none of her colleagues were there. Especially Cassio.
Her supervisor, a serious but pleasant older woman, stepped into the lab. Her usual polite smile was unusually absent this morning. She could hardly look Nashea in her eyes. “Good morning, Nashea. Glad to see you here so early. Follow me.”
She was led to the directors’ office, Dr. Carrie Shaw. She was also pleasant, but much bubblier than Nashea’s supervisor. As Nashea settled into her office, that bubbly personality popped to dust. She was met with a stern expression and cold air. This reaction was unlike her. Was she testing her? Trying to put on a show that they weren’t being biased? Whatever it was, it was making Nashea’s confidence falter.
Dr. Shaw began speaking immediately as the door sealed shut. Her tone was robotic, but rushed. Like she wanted this interaction to be over in a split second.
“Thank you for applying, but we found another candidate more suitable for the position.”
Nashea sat up in shock, her body becoming as rigid as a plant’s cell wall. Her mouth slightly opens in astonishment. “I-...I’m,” Nashea started, trying to figure out what exactly to ask.
“I understand your disappointment and surprise.” Dr. Shaw deadpanned. Did she really?
“Was there anything missing? Was it too soon for me to apply?” Nashea attempted to ask politely to reel in her emotions.
“No, we just thought you would not be a good fit. There was someone better.” An obvious excuse. This attitude was a complete 180 from last week.
“I thought you said that I was the perfect fit, just a few-”
“Do you recall an incident between you and Cassio on Wednesday, Dr. Washington?” Dr. Shaw rapidly questioned.
The audaciousness, NO, the absolute gall of that question halted the scene. No one moved. No one breathed. What was left was Nashea’s consciousness scrambling for a balanced reaction.
Nature decided that the reaction would remain unbalanced.
“Is that why I didn’t get the promotion? Because of his harassment?,” Nashea accused, voice rising, scooting to the edge of her seat.
“Cassio stated that he has not harassed you. And that you have made baseless claims to ruin his reputation.” This statement, along with the apparent disappointment in the director's voice, struck Nashea at the base of her weakened heart.
“What- Dr. Shaw, I would never lie to bring someone else down. Everything I’ve said was the truth-!,” Nashea desperately declared.
“Nevertheless, we can’t have someone in this position that has a serious conflict with a long standing team member. It’s unprofessional. I’m sorry, Nashea. The position
Has
Been
Filled
Abruptly, Nashea stood up and walked out of the office. Out of the building. Into her car, driving aggressively towards the house. She exited her car, entered her home, and stood in the middle of her living room.
She dropped to the floor yelling, “Enough!” Her body shook out the tears that littered the wooden floor. Her breathing was labored in between gasps of air, followed by mournful whines and cries she could not control.
Nashea could not believe it. This shit couldn’t be real. Because she didn’t put out for that degenerate, she was passed up for the position. The devastation gravitated to bitter anger. Into a fury that was out of this world. Her hands clenched. She lifts one and begins to pound the floor, pain be damned. She started to shriek,
“I’m gonna kill him!
I’m gonna kill HIM!
I’m GONNA kill HIM!
I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!”
The mahogany coffee table and its content shook with each hit. The commotion caused the serial killer to walk in, only to see the only light of their life lose it.
Michael Myers
Daniel Lamb
Asa Emory
Brahms Heelshire
(Story for each slasher will be added soon!)
