The night appeared cold as Tom and I headed for home. I was dejected, but Tom understood my disappointment.

Our plan to surprise Nancy for the Halloween house party failed miserably, because John, her freakish ex, had to ruin everything.

“Never thought he would show up,” Tom uttered. “How did he know?”

I shrugged. “Somebody added him to the Whatsapp group, he must have seen the messages.”

Tom rolled his eyes. “God. He disappeared right after you headed for the bathroom; such a sketchy guy!”

“Yeah, leaving behind his mark,” I mumbled, looking at my wrists; red imprints from his grasp.

Upon reaching home, a voice from behind startled me as I opened the door. I looked back to see Nancy standing, a little out of breath.

“Everything okay?” I asked her as she kissed me. She replied with a reassuring smile, “Yeah, I heard what happened. I’m sorry for everything; he found out I was seeing you.”

I looked down but didn’t reply. Nancy followed me as I walked in.

John had always been an abuser, but today, he had crossed his limits. I was glad the knife had gone unnoticed in my pocket; he could’ve hurt people. As I took it out to clean, I saw Nancy staring at me, eyebrows raised. My face turned pale.

“You carry that out of habit?” she asked playfully.

“I promise I’m no monster,” I gulped.

“And I am no saint,” a warm smile settled on her face as she proceeded to kiss my neck. “You are my sweet girl.”

While I was taken aback by this gesture, I noticed her muddy shoes. “What happened?”

Nancy chuckled. “We.. have some unfinished business,” she paused, then continued. “Let’s take him, to the grave.”

Maybe she doesn’t mind getting dirty with me.