Eileen Slovak

Chapter Sixty-four: Taking Aim

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and locales are products of the author’s imagination. They are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is coincidental. Copyright © 2024 by Eileen Slovak.

Trish

Sitting on the edge of the claw-foot tub, I pluck the dart up off the bathroom floor. The walls in this apartment are closing in on me. I need a change of pace from Boston. I’m spending almost every weekend in Providence with the professor now anyway. Things are getting serious. He wants me to sublet here and move in with him. I’ve almost stopped obsessing about Sean. Of course, I still blame Scarlet. Who else could be to blame? Just knowing my life is far superior to Scarlet’s is like a form of sweet revenge. Sean and I had a special bond. Can she say that?

      I stand as far back as possible without falling into the bathtub, flinging the dart at the copy of the letter hanging above the toilet. This time it hits dead center on her name. I’ve devised a point system to keep score every time I hit the witch’s name. It’s my own little game, so I get to make up the rules as I go. I haven’t decided yet what my prize will be. 

      If I miss with the dart, hitting another word, I have three more tries to hit her name again. If by accident, I hit Sean’s name, I punish myself by doing crunches or planks until I feel like vomiting. So far, the score is almost even. My abs ache from the effort, but I’ll keep going.

      The professor calls, spoiling my fun. He’s expecting me for the weekend. I should already be on my way to Providence. Maybe I should pay her a visit. The thought of it makes me giddy. If I hit her name this time, I may just do that. I lift the dart pressing the pointy end into my thumb until it draws a tiny droplet of blood. Wide awake now, I focus, aim and throw. Fate is a wonderful thing.