The White Mask: Part Five

Dylan is in shock to find out that he killed Dan. He can’t believe it. His heart is pumping like a speeding train, and he can’t seem to control his breathing. He looks down and sees the white mask in his hands. He quickly throws it across the room, then he looks at Cupid. Cupid tilts his head to the right and smiles ever so slightly at Dylan. Dylan finally gets control of his breathing and says, “Please, tell me that I didn’t kill Dan.”

Cupid’s smile widens. He tilts his head to the left, laughs and whispers, “Oh, you killed Dan. I saw the whole thing, and it was honestly a work of art. The passion and the drive you showed was breath-taking. It was kind of romantic.”

Dylan shakes his head and says, “No, I just put that mask on a couple of seconds. There’s no way that I killed Dan. There’s no way that I could ever do such a thing. I don’t remember doing anything like that.”

Cupid chuckles and responds, “Well, that’s good because you weren’t supposed to remember anything. However, if you don’t believe your blood-stained hands, change of clothes and that bloody knife in the bathroom, I would be more than happy to go in detail of all the torturous, sick, twisted things you did to Dan.”

Cupid slowly tilts his head to the right. He continues to smile at Dylan, but it’s freaking Dylan out. Then, Dylan gets up to see if there was a bloody knife in the bathroom. He gets up and walks to the bathroom. Dylan’s hesitant to peak in the bathroom, but Cupid yells for him to take a look. Dylan exhales, and he’s disappointed to see a bloody knife in the sink. He drops to the ground, and he starts crying. Cupid starts laughing and says, “You know, it’s interesting seeing you be so regretful in killing Dan.”

“Why is it interesting?” Dylan asks.

“Because you enjoyed every minute of torturing and killing him. It was fun for you, Dylan. In fact, watching you murder Dan was like listening to a song. You were killing him softly, and I loved every minute of it,” Cupid says.

Cupid smiles as he reminisces about the brutal, horrific murder he witnessed minutes ago. Dylan looks at Cupid, and he’s frightened by his look. Cupid quickly snaps out of his daze and says, “Let’s not forget why you did what you did to Dan. Remember, he was a monster that mistreated your beloved Melanie. You saved her, Dylan, and now you two can be together.”

Dylan realizes that Cupid is right, and he can finally be with Melanie. Her husband can no longer get in the way of their love for each other. Dylan thought to himself that he was going to have his Juliet. There’s a sense of relief from Dylan, then Cupid gets up and heads for the door. Dylan asks Cupid why he’s leaving, and Cupid responds, “Oh, you don’t need me right now. You’ll be fine, but don’t worry, I’ll be back in a couple of months.”

Cupid opens the door, but Dylan stops him and asks why he’ll be back in a couple months. Cupid smiles, looks at Dylan and says, “Just to check on you and keep you motivated. Also, I want to visit you on my favorite day of the year.”

Dylan frowns and explains that Valentine’s Day is next year. Cupid chuckles and says, “Valentine’s Day? I can’t stand that day. No, I’m talking about Halloween. Something tells me that it’ll be an interesting Halloween for you and Melanie.”

Dylan asks Cupid what he means, but Cupid only smiles and doesn’t answer his question. He quickly leaves and disappears into the night. Dylan locks the door, looks to his left and sees the white mask lying on the floor.  He goes to it, picks it up and stares into it. Then, he shakes his head, takes it to his room and puts it in a box. Dylan hopes he never has to see the white mask again, and he can just put it behind him. He smiles because him and Melanie can be together finally with no interferences. He would have his Juliet.

A few months passed, and Dylan was still having a hard time getting closer to Melanie. Dylan understood that Melanie needed time to figure things out, but he was still hurt that she didn’t try to make an effort with him after some months passed. He would text her daily, but he would barely get a response from her. Most of the time she would reply a day or two late, and it really bothered Dylan. Also, he was buying her flowers, chocolates, perfume and food, at least two or three times a week. Sadly, it still didn’t make a difference. He didn’t understand. Why couldn’t she see how much he loved her? Why couldn’t she see how much he needed her? Dylan starts to think to himself that she’s not taking their relationship seriously, and it’s a problem from him. Dylan killed Melanie’s abusive husband. He saved her from a monster, but it feels like she doesn’t appreciate everything he’s done for her.

Today, it’s Halloween. Dylan is not working his typical 2-11 shift, but he’s working a 9am-6pm shift at Sam’s Club. He comes in 30 minutes early, and he’s excited to be spending time with Melanie. They have a date today. When he arrives at work, he walks into Sam’s Club with a dozen roses and a wrapped present for Melanie. He’s feeling bold and excited today because he’s finally gonna have lunch with Melanie again. It’s been four months since their last “date,” and Dylan’s ready for his special Halloween date with Melanie.

He puts all of his things for Melanie in his locker. He thinks about his sweet Melanie and texts, “Hey beautiful, I can’t wait to see you for lunch. I’m so excited! Also, I have a surprise for you that I know you’ll love.”

After he texts that, he closes his locker. All of a sudden, he’s confronted by Elijah. He tells Dylan that he needs to talk to him. Elijah and Dylan go to the break room, and they find a table to sit at. Thankfully, it’s empty. Dylan urges Elijah to tell him what’s going on. Elijah sighs and says, “Okay, you’re doing too much with Melanie, man.”

Dylan doesn’t understand. He asks Elijah how he knows he’s doing too much, and Elijah adds, “Because she told me, Dylan. You’re making her very uncomfortable with the gifts. She told me that she’s been trying to be nice to you, but she’s close to telling a supervisor about you.”

Dylan thinks that Elijah is lying to him, and he doesn’t want to hear anything else from him. Dylan says, “Then, why is she having lunch with me, Matthew? If she didn’t want to be with me, then she wouldn’t agree to go on a date with me.”

“Bro, it’s not a date. She’s just trying to tell you what I’m telling you. She’s honestly hoping that you listen to me, instead of her telling you when you have lunch with her,” Elijah explains.

Dylan shakes his head because he can’t believe what he’s hearing. Why is Elijah trying to sabotage his relationship with Melanie? Elijah says, “Listen, I understand that you…like her, but she doesn’t feel the same way about you. No amount of gifts or text messages is going to change that. She’s not interested in you, man. You need to let her go and move on.”

Dylan is angered by Elijah’s words and replies,”I’m not giving up on her, Elijah. I’m a hopeless romantic. That’s just who I am. I’m giving her my all because I love Melanie so much. I’m sorry that I can’t be all nonchalant and hide my emotions like you do Elijah. I want Melanie to know how I feel about her. I’m not afraid of embarrassing or exposing myself to girls like you are. I feel bad for you Elijah because no girl is ever going to love you because you’re a coward that doesn’t know how to take a chance on love. It’s pathetic and sad.”

Elijah is a little hurt by Dylan’s insulting words, but he gives a chuckle and responds, “You know what, have fun on your date? It does take a lot of dedication and wasted time to be obsessed with a girl that doesn’t want you. In fact, you give everyone here at Sam’s Club something to laugh about. It’s funny, for four months, you’ve been harassing a newly single mother that recently lost her husband. You’ve been making things uncomfortable for her at work with your stupid gifts that she just throws away in the trash. So, I can’t wait to hear what precious gift you got her for your little date. It should be interesting to hear from her because she does like to talk to me. She’s a real fast responder too, but you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Dylan is silent and angry. He wants to punch Elijah in the face, but he controls himself. Elijah laughs and walks away. Then, he turns around and yells, “Oh, and happy Halloween, Dylan. Have fun on your little date, you piece of trash.”

Dylan couldn’t believe the words that Elijah spoke to him. A few minutes later, he gets a text from Melanie. He’s excited to see the text message, but he’s disappointed to see that it reads that she won’t be able to have lunch with him because something came up. He doesn’t understand. Dylan asks why she has to cancel, but there is no response. Ten minutes later, he clocks in. As he’s walking to the backroom, he stumbles upon Melanie. She arrives an hour early to work, and Dylan sees this as the opportunity to get close to her. Dylan says hi to Melanie, and she replies hi back. Then, she asks Dylan if Elijah talked to him, and he responds, “Kind of, but look. I actually got you a present that I think you’ll love.”

Before Melanie could object, Dylan begs her to see the present he has for her. She says fine, and he rushes to his locker to get the roses and the special present for her. Dylan makes it back to Melanie as she groans at the roses and present. Dylan tells her that she’ll really like this present if she just gave it a chance. Melanie sighs, takes the presents and opens it up. When she opens it, her mouth drops. She can’t believe the present that Dylan gave her. She simply responds, “Oh my God.”

This is the end of “The White Mask: Part Five.”