text: I hadn't written anything in a long time. This story came out of a conversation I had with someone in my life that hates their job. I had recently watched American Psycho, and this was the combination of thoughts between the two moments. “Pizza for none” It was as dark as the city could be that night. The lights of the buildings shone down on the street, the cars lighting up what they pointed at, and the street lamps hovered their halos above the sidewalk; it was still dark . Nobody pays much attention to a pizza delivery person, and tonight was no exception. People continually bumped into him as if he wasn’t there. He wasn’t a small person either. At around 6 feet, he stood above many of the people on the sidewalk that night. His hat was pulled down, covering his face and revealing the familiar company logo. There was not much of a chill this night, but the delivery man still wore a long sleeved shirt under his polo, as well as gloves to match. Not everyone was warm blooded in this town. He continued his way down the sidewalk with his head down, as if he was accepting that he was just a “nobody.” This was his hope at least. He found the building he was looking for and stood outside. He saw the buzzer box to call up to the apartment, but didn’t use it. He just waited. Ten minutes went by before someone made their way out of the building. He made his way to the door as they came out, holding it courteously as they exited, then made his way inside. Nobody questions the pizza guy. Two flights of steps later, he was in the correct hallway. He had never been in this building, but had a vague familiarity of where he was. He had studied this complex. There was a calmness creeping over him as he walked down the hall, but there was an anxious excitement accompanying the feeling. This was the moment he had waited for. He approached the door, held the warm bag up high, and knocked. Karen heard the knock from her couch, where she was enjoying watching the local NFL team maintain a minor lead for once. It was rare she had anyone come by at this hour. She stood up and made her way to the door. Looking out the peep hole, she could see the pizza bag, which covered the face of the person who knocked, and the hat which displayed the well known chain’s logo. She hadn’t ordered a pizza. “Who is it?” she asked through the still closed door. “I have a pizza for Karen,” she heard in response. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t order a pizza” she announced, confused already by the interaction. “The note says ‘To Karen, enjoy a slice of my love,’” the delivery driver chuckled. Though slightly repulsed by the cuteness, she appreciated the fact that her boyfriend was sending her dinner from out of town, and as a surprise! “One second,” she said, as she reached for the lock. She opened the door and saw mostly the bag, which was held up at eye level. She noticed, shortly after, the pistol pointed at her from below the bag. “Don’t make a sound,” he said, pointing he gun discreetly into her lower torso. “Keep your hands at your side and quietly back inside the apartment.” He followed her inside and the crept backwards, arms stiffly at her side. A look of terror washed over her face as she did. He knew she would not recognize him, yet, but that she would likely follow every command he gave. “Lie on the ground, face down, with your hands on your head,” he commanded. He watched carefully as she did what she was told, then turned and latched the front door behind him. “I’m going to tie your hands,” he warned her, before removing two pieces of silk fabric and two thick, leather, straps from the bag with the pizza. Soon, her arms were locked behind her back, and another piece was tied around her head, obscuring her vision. A fourth piece of cloth was removed from the bag, along with a sock. The sock was wadded into a ball and placed in her mouth; it was secured in place with the cloth wrapped around her head and mouth. She was now completely helpless. The delivery man made his way to the windows, closing all of the curtains to the outside world; he did not want to be spied upon while he worked. After securing the windows, he made his way to her mostly-bound self, and picked her and dragged her to the couch. She was sat down carefully. He produced two more leather straps and two more pieces of cloth from the bag. As he had done with her hands, he wrapped the cloth around her ankles before securing them with the straps. She would not be going anywhere without his help. “I’m going to remove your gag,” he told her, “and if you make a sound when not prompted, you will feel a sense of immediate regret.” She nodded with understanding. “I want you to tell me where you keep your valuables,” he stated, as he removed her gag. “I’m not here to hurt you, but I am going to be leaving here with some of your things.” “The bedroom,” she responded, with a shake to her voice. “I have jewelry in the box on my dresser. Please take it all, just don’t hurt me.” Her voice pleaded with a tone unfamiliar to her day to day life. She was a manager; she was a person of power. People feared her and respected her. She was not used to having anything less than the upper hand. A combination of fear and anger had swept over her from the moment she saw the pistol. “How dare he do this to me,” she thought. “Don’t move,” she heard him say, before replacing what she thought felt like a sock in her mouth. She thought of the ways she could possibly escape on her own, and realized quickly that she had little hope. She could hear him in her bedroom now, violating her possessions. She loved her jewelry, and was hoping he wouldn’t notice the compartment on the side of the box which held her grandmothers ring. The sentimental and literal values were likely similar, though she hadn’t had it appraised. Her heart beat with ferocity as she felt his footsteps vibrate the floor closer and closer again. “Cash,” he said, with a cold emptiness. “Where is it?” She thought about not responding. She thought about lying. She thought about the nice bonus check she had recently cashed out and kept with her emergency cash in the shoebox in her closet. “I don’t have anything else than what is in my purse,” she responded, after he removed the gag once again. “Please take it, it isn’t much, and leave.” She felt him lean in, closer and closer, to the point that she could feel the warmth of his face next to hers. “I wouldn’t play games,” the driver whispered to her. He asked her again, and she told him about the shoebox. She felt the dampness sock around her mouth as he forced it back inside and once again tied the gag. In the bedroom, the driver had already taken a few pieces of jewelry from the box, but it was cash he was really hoping for. He didn’t want to raise suspicions. People would notice if all of her jewelry was missing, but would likely not know about any cash she had stashed away. He pulled down the box and opened it up. “Jackpot,” he thought to himself, as he looked at the stack of bills. He knew she had cash here, as she had once mentioned that she kept an emergency fund. “I’m sure she never expected her ‘emergency’ to be so close to home” he chuckled. He took the box with him out of the room, placing the small pile of jewelry he had left on the bed into the box first. The box went into the pizza bag, where there was no pizza on this night. He took a look at her, tied up on the couch, and saw that she was behaving quite well. This was going very well. He turned his head in the opposite direction of the bedroom and saw the kitchen. Part two of his plan was here. Karen heard him rustle in the bag he brought before wandering off to the kitchen. “At least there isn’t anything of value for him in there” she thought, hoping he would just leave now that he had her money. She could faintly make out the sound of a glass being removed from a cabinet, followed by a bottle placed on the counter. “Sure, make yourself at home,” she thought with irritation. She was keeping to the anger as much as she could, as she was well aware that he may come for her body next. The idea was upsetting, so she pushed it aside. She felt him approaching from across the room once again. “Drink this,” he calmly demanded. She felt a straw placed into her mouth, replacing the sock he had just removed. Tequila?? She slowly drank. It was mixed with the grapefruit juice from her fridge, but it was mixed very heavily in favor of the Tequila. The straw was not removed her mouth until she was done with the glass. She was no stranger to drinks, but did not typically drink them this quickly. She felt a momentary nausea, but felt it was best to fight it. She was starting to worry this was the first step into her being assaulted. “I want my mom,” was her following thought. He pulled the drink away from her after she finished it. He could see the fear and confusion, even through her blindfold. “I’m going to have you drink more,” he told her, “and if you do as I say you will continue to be kept safe.” A few moments later he returned from the kitchen with another similar drink. She did as she was told once again. “The drinks are to make your memory of my robbery hazy,” he told her. She believed it. Karen was starting to feel the drinks already. He had fed her three strong drinks already, and was getting another. She wasn’t a lightweight, but she was going to be on her way to being drunk very soon. “Whatever gets him out the door,” she thought. “Even if he gets me blackout drunk, I will remember the little bit I have,” she mused. “He will not be getting away with this as easy as he hopes.” He knew how much she needed to drink before she started to lose her control. This wasn’t the first time she had drank in his presence, but she wasn’t aware of this. “One more should do it,” he thought, heading back to the kitchen. He had a plan, and every step thus far had gone to perfection. He was going to get away with this, he knew it. He approached her with her final drink. This was it. This was when he got to have real fun. The revenge already tasted sweet. He smiled as she sipped down the last drink. She winced forcing it all down. It was time. He placed the gag back in her mouth, tied it tight, and reached for her blindfold. She moved back, slightly startled, but relaxed as she seemed to realize she was going to see again. She would not stay relaxed long, though the alcohol would help his cause. As she felt the delivery man remove the blindfold, she acknowledged the idea that this was bad. If he was going to be casual with his identity, she might not be walking away. He did explain the drinks were to mess with her memory, and she wouldn’t be having these thoughts in the state she was reaching if she hadn’t been thinking them for the past hour, if it had been that long. Her eyes adjusted to the light as the blindfold dropped. When the blindfold dropped, so did her stomach. “Hello Karen,” Jason spoke calmly. He saw by her eyes that she recognized him immediately, once he had removed the hat with the fake, shaggy hair. He didn’t know how quickly she would be processing through the inebriation, but knew it didn’t matter, as he was planning to explain it all. “How perfectly cliche” he muttered, before addressing her. Karen knew Jason right away. She had fired him months ago, but he had left without problem. She knew, as well as he did, that she had been less than kind to him. “A disgruntled employee,” she thought to herself, “how is this really happening?” “You made my life hell,” he stated to her, with a fire now burning in his eyes. “I trusted you. We trusted you, and you continually shit on us behind our backs.” This moment was perfect. “I’m not going to draw this out more than it will be naturally, but I am going to humiliate you tonight,” he said to her. “Its time for a shower.” She watched in horror as he removed a knife from his back pocket. “Was this it? Will my cutthroat corporate ways be my undoing? What is he going to do to me?” Thoughts raced, as quickly as they could as the alcohol continued to process. He leaned forward, and started to cut away at her blouse. This was what she dreaded. Nobody should have to experience a sexual assault, and she never thought it would be her. Her hands were still bound, as were her legs, and soon these binds were the only articles overing her body besides the blindfold. She noticed a pile of clothing next to her now shredded outfit. “Why did he bring me a change of clothes?” Her head was starting to spin. The drinks were hitting her harder now. “Follow me,” Jason said, as he lifted her off the couch and led her to her bathroom. Jason had always been attracted to Karen, and seeing her bound, gagged, and being led naked across her apartment gave him a strong level of arousal. He was sure she was speculating, but rape was not something he was capable of. He wanted her to be afraid though, so he had no intention of clearing this up. He sat her down on the toilet and started the shower. As the water heated up, he wandered back into the previous room to gather the pile of non-torn clothes. He tossed them on the floor near the shower, and turned back towards Karen. He helped her stand back up, and motioned towards the shower. “Time to wash away your sins,” he said to her. Karen was having a hard time standing between the restraints and the drinks. “Jason will be regretting this,” she thought to herself, as he stood her up in the shower. The warm water danced off of her as she stood underneath the spray; this was the only thing she could do with her arms bound. “I’m going to remove your arm restraints so you can shower proper,” he told her, “if you try anything, I will hurt you.” She didn’t doubt this. She knew from working with Jason that he was smart. She also knew that he was a little bit nuts. He removed the restraints and the cloth beneath each one. Her hands were free again. It was good to have them back, though she was not in any pain from them. With the cloth wrapped around her wrists first, she didn’t even have marks from the binds on her skin. She watched him toss the straps to the floor. “Grab the body wash,” he said, looking at her intently. She reached down to grab the bottle from the corner. “Lather your hands and start cleaning.” She opened the bottle and emptied some of its contents into her hand. She leaned forward to place the bottle back down when she felt his hands grab her her head. She was falling backwards now. She hit her head on the edge of the tub with an audible “crack.” Darkness. Jason watched as she started to bleed from the laceration in her skull. She was no longer moving, nor would she move again. He removed her gag and leg restraints. He left the bathroom with everything besides her set of clean clothes, and placed everything he had brought with him into the pizza bag. He walked back to the bathroom and took one more look at her, lying in the tub with streaks of red washing down the drain as the shower continued to run. “Well done,” he thought. He made his way to the door, putting his hat with the fake hair back on and turned low. He grabbed the pizza bag, peered through the peep hole into the hall, then opened the door. A quick glance out the door showed the hall to be empty. He turned the lock on the inside before shutting the door behind him. Nobody noticed the pizza man as he left the building. Nobody noticed the pizza man as he disappeared down the street. The newspaper said she had been in the shower for two days before they found her. Her boyfriend became worried after not hearing back from her. She hadn’t been showing up to work. Karen was found in the tub, with the water still running. The tequila on the counter told the story. The autopsy confirmed the story. The story would go that she had a few too many drinks, slipped in the shower, and had a massive head injury as a result. She would be missed by many (though not really). “There is no suspicion of foul play.