Kill her.
It was a suggestion, provided by a close friend - Or, rather, an offer to do so. He declined. This was his mother they spoke off. Although she irritated the living daylights out of him and did nothing but degrade every ounce of his being, he simply could not condone the notion.
Murder was not exactly something he agreed with. Beyond the moral implications there was a severe risk of being caught. He simply couldn’t have that.
And yet, with every visit, the conversation always came rushing back, and with every visit, Andy would think it over more and more. The damned woman seemed determined to keep chugging along despite her husband’s early death, and with every breath she took Andy could almost swear he could feel a small part of himself being drained out of him.
It was the photo that did it.
A storm had rolled in, and after constant persistence from his mother and a short message to his brother, Andy drove the lady back to his little home. The judgemental comments began before he could even pull in to park.
“You’re still living in this dump?” she asked, disgust coating her every word. “Oh, Andrew. If only you’d get yourself a real job. Or maybe you could move back in with me?”
She got out of the car without waiting for a reply. Good thing, too; Andy’s firm grip on the steering wheel was about all he could do to refrain himself from losing it there and then. He took a moment’s pause to calm down before taking her up to the apartment.
To his relief, Matt had actually done a pretty good job at cleaning up before he’d left. No where near Andy’s standards, but at least it was somewhat neat. Without waiting for the command, he stepped over to the makeshift kitchen and began to make tea.
“Look at this place. This a junkie’s home, not somewhere a Bennett should inhabit. If only your father saw you here; he’d drag you out by your ear and make you right. No more of this coffee making business.”
He hadn’t even noticed he was gritting his teeth until his jaw had become sore. God, how this woman drove her mad.
He was just about ready with the drinks when his mother had stumbled upon the small photo of Verin on the floor. It must have slipped off his bed while Matt had been rushing around and he’d not noticed.
“Don’t tell me this ugly skank is your girlfriend.”
Andy froze. He was absolutely livid. His mother kept talking, on and on, though he faded it out. Anything else she’d say would only cause him to lash out, and he couldn’t have that.
He opened the small drawer of cutlery and felt around for his brother’s hidden stash. Though he hated how carelessly he kept his drugs hidden, today he couldn’t have been pleased that he did.
And so the day continued to roll along, Andy being strangely nice to his mother. She was never without food or drink for a single moment.
Then night struck, and it was still pouring down outside. It’s gotten even worse throughout the day; it was almost as if the weather knew what was coming, and had decided to help.
His mother began complaining about how she couldn’t walk in the rain, nor be seen dead in public transport.
“Why don’t you take my car?” Andy suggested. “I’ll take a taxi to work. Just be sure to let me know you’ve reached the hotel safely.”
The call never came. Instead, he received one from the hospital, telling him his mother had been driving to her hotel when she ran a red light, nearly crashing into another driver, and rolled. She was currently in ICU in a coma.
Damn it. That wasn’t the plan. That stupid woman just simply wouldn’t leave him alone, would she? No.
So he got into another taxi, stopping to pick up a burner phone on the way, and went to the hospital. Andy stood over her body, cursing every ounce of it for clinging to this mortal coil. She didn’t deserve to be here. Not after all she’d put him through.
After sending Verin a message, asking her to do him a favour, he got to work. It wasn’t exactly a difficult task; it just required some intelligence. The finger clamp was removed and quickly placed on to his own finger before he took off her oxygen mask. So still and so quiet - possibly the most she’d ever been in his presence. It was almost peaceful.
He was ready.
A pillow was stripped from below her head and pressed into her face. With every moment he pushed down, he felt lighter, as if with her fading away, so did a heavy burden upon his back.
The pillow was carefully replaced and so was the finger clamp. And thus begun the cacophony.
Machines beeping, Andy panicking, staff shouting. Nothing could be done to save her. She was long gone.
And so life went on, a soul less in the world. Only a week later, as he was closing up shop, did he see a news report on the crash. Apparently she had been under the influence of some heavy drugs, and further investigation found she’d had a serious addiction problem. Luckily no one else had died, and only a few were injured. He wept. Not of sadness, but of joy. It worked. She was gone. He was free.
His shift now over, he headed over to Verin’s in his brand new car. It was time for celebration.
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