Betrayal

The fresh powder blue painted house outshined the rest of the homes on Smith Street. It was the only house not painted white; it stood proudly with its mahogany door. Kendra was the proud owner of this newly fixed fixer-upper. She sacrificed a lot to own the beauty that is 222 Smith Street.

She stood on the sidewalk admiring her dream house. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Hey!” The voice said

She turned to see no other than her best friend, Miles. Her body filled with excitement.

“You came!”

She gave him a tight bear hug.

“Yea, is this the house? She’s gorgeous!”

“Thank you!”

She told Miles about the process, the ups and downs, and how she had to beg her family for money to help. She explained to him how she’s working three jobs to keep the house afloat.

“I’m proud of you, K. You did it”

Kendra smiled from ear to ear. Miles was important to her; his judgment meant a lot.

“If you’re not working, maybe you should come by my house later.”

“Are we celebrating?”

“Yes, of course, my friend just created her dream house. Drinks on me!”

Kendra smiled at Miles.

Miles smiled then he walked down the block. Kendra decided to check on her garden; the thyme was growing nicely. She waved to her neighbor, who was also checking her garden.

“Afternoon Kendra”

“Afternoon, Mrs. Barron”

Mrs. Barron was a nice older woman who brought over sunflowers the first day Kendra moved in.

The sky turned an orange and purplish color; Kendra started to get ready to head over to Miles's house. He didn’t live far, only about three blocks. She grabbed her keys and purse; she locked the door behind her. Before she stepped off the porch, she tugged and pulled at her dress; the fabric was a mixture of satin and cotton. It didn’t lay flat on her curves. She aligned the thin straps to lay on her shoulders perfectly.

Miles and Kendra flirted off and on for years, but he never once invited her to his house. She didn’t know if it was a flirty invite or a friendly one, so she was nervous.

“You look lovely,” said a familiar voice

Kendra looked up from finicking with her dress and saw Mrs. Barron.

“Thank you; I just don’t dress up much.”

“Who is the lucky guy?”

Kendra blushed as she walked over to Mrs. Barron.

“He’s just a friend”

“Must be some friend”

Mrs. Barron smiled and continued to walk down the street. Kendra started to walk in the opposite direction to Miles' house.

Miles' house was a beautiful three-story home with a balcony. Unfortunately, it was also painted white. Kendra pressed the doorbell and patiently waited. She played with her dress because it made her uncomfortable. Thoughts rushed through her head like maybe she shouldn’t have worn the dress, or it would give the wrong impression. Her stomach formed knots, and it started to bubble. She decided to rush home instead, but as she turned around to step down off the porch, Miles opened the door.

“Hey…. Are you leaving already?”

“Oh, I-I just-“

“Come on in”

Kendra tried to ignore her stomach.

She looked around Miles' house and was in shock.

“Wow!”

Miles laughed.

“Thanks, K, glad you like it”

“I love it.”

“Good, come, let’s sit in the living room.”

Kendra followed Miles into the living room. She was nervous to touch anything; everything looked expensive and white.

“Well, lady in red, you look great.”

“Oh, thanks I think I’m overdressed.”

“You look amazing, sit.”

Kendra sat on the couch next to Miles. Miles moved on closer and handed her a glass of champagne.

“Drink up; we are celebrating my best friend, who I love dearly, biggest accomplishment.”

Kendra smiled.

“Okay silly, but not too much”

Miles placed his hand on Kendra’s thigh and stared into her eyes. Kendra blushed and nervously drank the entire glass of champagne in one gulp.

Hours after laughing, reminiscing, drinking and flirting Kendra decided to call it a night.

“Okay I have to go”

“It’s only 10:45”

“I’m sorry”

“Okay fine, let me walk you back; I don’t want nobody to hurt my lady in red.”

Kendra tried not to blush; she quickly grabbed her purse and headed to the door.

Miles opened the door for her, and they headed toward Kendra’s house.

The sun rose, and birds loudly chirped. The sun rays brightly pierced through the sheer blue curtains. Kendra was sleeping peacefully on the couch when she heard a loud knock at the door. She jumped out of her sleep and quickly fixed her annoyingly tricky dress. She looked through the peephole and saw a woman she had never seen before; she assumed it was one of the neighbors. She opened the door to greet her.

“Hello, can I help you?”

“Are you Kendra?”

“Yes, who’s asking?”

“I’m Lena.”

“Okay…”

“I’m Miles's girlfriend.”

Kendra’s heart felt like it broke into a million pieces. Miles never mentioned having a girlfriend ever. The last girlfriend she remembered he had was junior year in high school. Kendra tried to be as calm as possible.

“Girlfriend?”

“Yes”

“Oh, I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”

“I figured I already talked to him about you two being friends, and I need you to understand that he’s not interested.”

“Wait, what?”

“He’s not interested. He said you came on to him, that you aren’t his type.”

“I’m not his … excuse me?”

“That you don’t make any money, you work two jobs that don't make anything, and you beg people for money.”

Kendra was speechless; she felt betrayed and heartbroken. She didn’t understand why he would say those things about her; what was the reason?

“Oh okay… mmmm wow! Thanks for telling me.”

“No problem”

Lena stepped off the porch slowly as if she had won a battle. Kendra slammed the door in anger and frustration. She paced back & forth and talked to herself.

“I’m not his type; he put his hand on my thigh, gave them inappropriate compliments, and I’m pining after him? I told him about my hardships because he was my best friend… to have thrown back in my face… why? What did I do to deserve this!”

Kendra snapped; she called both her jobs and told them she wasn’t coming in. She tried to take a relaxing bath, but unfortunately, the thoughts rattled in her head, keeping her occupied on revenge.

She was waiting on her kettle to whistle for tea when she heard another knock at the door. She went to the door and looked in the peephole, only to see Miles.

She aggressively opened the door. Miles looked at Kendra with a sad look on his face.

“Kendra, listen-“

“Don’t say another word!”

“Please I-“

“You told her I begged my family for money? You told her I was into you!”

“We were flirting.”

“Yessss, Weeeee… not just me, you too!”

“Okay, look, don’t worry about her; we are best friends. Let’s talk this through, please. Can I come in?”

A vein on Kendra’s forehead pulsated, but she took in a deep breath and invited him in.

He rushed in and began to stumble over his words to explain himself. Kendra heard the kettle whistling and headed over to take it off the stove. He followed her into the kitchen, still explaining himself, Kendra still focusing on her next move.

Miles sat down in the wooden chair and began pleading with Kendra, asking for her forgiveness. She was more focused on finding her favorite mug. She searched the cabinets, trying to find the mug he gave her for Christmas last year.

“Kendra, please say something!”

“Found it”

She pulled the mug from the cabinet and sat it on the table in front of him. Miles looked confused.

“Kendra-“

“Shhhhhh it’s okay have some tea.”

“But-“

“Remember when you got me this mug for Christmas? That Christmas you bought me a bunch of presents because my family didn’t. That was so sweet of you.”

Miles sat silently, unsure of what to say. He couldn’t tell if Kendra was mad or understanding.

“Does Lena know you're here?”

“No, nobody does. Why?”

“Where is your car?”

“Home… are you upset?”

Kendra smiled menacingly; it made Miles uneasy.

“Okay, maybe I should go then.”

“No, stay, just for like a minute.”

Miles watched Kendra grab the kettle and walk over to him.

“Sorry, Miles”

“Sorry for what?”

Kendra hauled the metal kettle back and hit him over the head. He fell out of the chair, and it knocked him out cold. She tied up his arms and legs with rope and heavy chains and locked them onto a pipe under the sink. She put socks in his mouth for when he woke up.

Once he did, he screamed for hours, but nobody could hear him. Kendra went on about her day, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and unpacking.

It got dark outside around 8:15; she waited until 9. Her neighbors were usually sleeping by then. She checked her backyard and saw the neighbor's lights out and nobody around.

She proceeded to dig a hole near her roses. Around 10:30, she dragged his body outside, he kicked and screamed, but nobody came to his rescue. She worked up a sweat, so she briefly stopped.

“Wow, you’re heavy; need to lay off the pizza.”

Miles had tears forming in his eyes.

“Don’t cry now… you did this. I’m just doing what should happen to people that betray others, especially close friends and family. You were like family to me and in a weird way but it’s whatever you’re new friends will be, worms and maggots.”

Kendra managed to throw him in the hole. The sweat and tears built up on his face almost made Kendra feel bad. She stared down at Miles in remorse.

“You made me do this, sorry. I’ll tell Lena you chased a woman to Europe or something.”

Miles tried to scream. His eyes widened, and he tried to break free. Unfortunately for him, Kendra made up her mind and started to cover him in dirt. Every shovel of dirt that hit him made her feel unapologetically at peace. She started to hum ‘do I wanna know’ by Arctic Monkeys, Miles' favorite song. Once he was all covered, she dropped the shovel and stopped humming. She took a deep breath in and felt so calm. She felt eyes on her; she looked in the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Barron's house and saw Mrs. Barron standing there watching. Kendra didn’t know what to say or do; she and Mrs. Barron didn’t break eye contact for about 5 minutes, but Mrs. Barron said something unexpected.

“Relax, dear; I did the same thing to my first husband.”

She winked at Kendra and walked away.

Kendra smiled and went back into her house.

“RIP Miles”