I couldn’t have heard that right.
“Come again?” I said.
“I killed his girlfriend last Thursday. There is no doubt in my mind now,” she replied.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Accidently? She attacked you? Aria, I don’t understand,” I said.
The creepy smile began to fade off her face. Now she was starting to look annoyed. As if I was asking her something ridiculous.
“No, dad. I researched her, I stalked her, and then I killed her. Don’t you remember me asking you those questions about how to be stealthy? What did you think I was asking for…whoops hold on.”
With that she snapped the neck of the man who had attacked her. She’d done it as casually if she were cracking a knuckle. It was scary how easy this looked for her. Even worse, the second that man’s life ended the edges of her lips began to curl back upward.
Had I really misinterpreted things to this degree? When she said she wanted to find herself she actually meant it? And this was what she was alluding to? I had killed too, professionally. But I could remember each and every one of them. Name. Address. Family. All of it. Those faces have kept me up at night for close to thirty years. The bags under my eyes can attest to that. With Aria, you couldn’t tell. The look on my face must have shown at least some of my bewilderment because she immediately took notice.
“You really didn’t know?” she asked.
“I…I d-did not,” I stuttered back.
“Are you disappointed in me, daddy?” Her expression had completely changed. This was certainly a first-she was giving me puppy dog eyes.
“I…I don’t know what to say Aria. How long has this been going on? How many people have you killed?” I asked.
“Do you really want me to answer that?” she replied firmly.
I’m not so sure I did. The dots in my head were connecting. I had been far more detached than I possibly could have realized. My career had taught me all the skills necessary to kill and get away with it. Under the guise of needing protection, my daughter had requested I pass these skills along to her. And I did.
“Why?” I said. That was the only question I could muster. I don’t know if there are words to describe what I was feeling. To learn that your sweet, innocent daughter was a serial killer was bad enough. But to see the ease of which she did it? Knowing you taught her how without realizing? There are no words. Her response didn’t help.
“Why not?” she said, wincing. I had completely forgotten that only moments ago she’d been attacked, and she was losing a lot of blood.
I needed time to process this anyway.
“Aria, you should go clean yourself up. You’re covered in blood, and those wounds are deep. Please go to the hospital. We can talk about this later. Your recovery comes first,” I said.
She nodded. With that I hung up and promptly ran to the next room, where I emptied my stomach of its contents.
***
A few days have passed. Aria and I have sent a few texts but that’s it. I’ve been racking my brain the entire time to see if there was anything else I missed. Had she been like this all along? Did she only need my training? Selfishly, I didn’t want to believe that. I didn’t want to take full responsibility for this. It’s probably why I’m not a great father.
We had a weird neighbor once. An insurance agent. The strictest guy you could ever meet. Absolutely dedicated to his routine. However, I knew he had a dark side. Had he done something?
What about that one high school teacher she had? There were multiple cases of students having episodes in his class. A student would start talking about someone that didn’t exist and acted like everyone else was crazy for not noticing. These kids had ended up needing treatment. Had he done something to my daughter?
It is all so much to think about. Erica, I’m so sorry I failed our daughter. If I’d passed in your place, I know Aria would be the sweet innocent girl I’ve always perceived her to be. You were always there for her. I know I’ve made many promises I can’t keep but I promise you, my love, I’m going to bring our daughter back. The monster in her must go.
Contemplating all of this wasn’t great for my sleep schedule. My daughter knew I hadn’t approved of her killings. How was she going to react? Would she…? It’s nights like these that keep you hyper-alert. Hearing a gentle creak down the hall, the wind rustling a little too long or even rain falling a little suspiciously.
I was lying in bed when I heard a loud knock on the door. It’s midnight. That is not normal. I grabbed my gun from under my pillow and headed towards the hall. I maneuvered through the dark hallway slowly, the floorboards creaking beneath my feet. About halfway down, I heard another knock, and jumped. Whoever this is…fuck them. Closer and closer I got until I reached the door. I peered through the peephole and saw nothing. Not good.
It probably isn’t a good thing that the first thought that crossed my mind was how out of practice I was. My skills had gotten rusty after years of retirement. I had to calm down and focus. I quietly unlocked the door, steadied my shooting hand, and flung the door open. Nothing.
Well, that’s not true. There was a package. A large one. I looked to my left. I looked to my right. There was no one. Right on cue, my phone started vibrating, and I flinched. I scanned my surroundings one more time before reaching into my pocket.
It was her.
I pushed the green button, and she appeared on FaceTime. The background was dark.
“Hey baby girl, how are you? And where are you?” I asked.
“I’m fine dad. I think we need to talk about this. Is now a good time?” she replied.
“Agreed. Yes, Aria, I’m all ears,” I said. I bent over to pick up the package. It was heavy. I brought it inside, remaining alert to my surroundings. I closed the door and let out a sigh of relief after I’d locked it.
I set the package down on the kitchen table and went to find a pair of scissors. I took some out of the drawer and returned to the table. It didn’t have a return address. “Where would you like to start?” I asked as I began to cut into the package.
“I think it’s best if we start at the beginning. Let’s talk about mom.”
I opened the package to see Erica’s head.