Do Not Disturb

by Freida McFadden

And my husband is still lying dead on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood.

I am TEN PAGES IN OMG

“Oh, it won’t be. Believe me. My wife, Rosalie, she was the cook.” I freeze for a moment. Did he just refer to his wife in the past tense? That’s odd. And the name Rosalie sounds strangely familiar.

The shut down diner

I flip around the “DO NOT DISTURB” sign on my door, then I close the door and lock it.

“You must go now, Quinn.

How did she know her real name

I’m not dead. Did you think I was? That I’m some corpse my husband propped up in front of the second-floor window to frighten his guests? I’m not. I’m very much alive. And I’m afraid my husband is a murderer.

Hey, it’s not my fault that my husband has proven himself not to be trustworthy.

Im not judgng

I take out my phone. I type into the search engine: easiest way to commit suicide.

Yes, it’s true. I’ve been sleeping with my sister’s husband for the last six months.

HOLD UP TF

Well, long story short, I hate my sister. Surprise, surprise.

I cant with tbese plot twists im losing my mind

Can you blame me for hating her? Wouldn’t anyone?

I mean fair enough but to slee with her husband is too much

He wasn’t abusive to her.

Well ok but he wa

Nick

But did he kill the girl he had the affair with

Greta’s blue eyes are wide. “She deserved it. Look at what she did. Fooling around with a married man. I’m disappointed in Nick too, but I understand what he was going through. She had no excuse. Terrible person.” My stomach turns. “Greta, you didn’t…” “She barely felt a thing.” Greta strokes her long white hair. “I got the key from where Nick keeps them downstairs, and I let myself into her room during the night. I did it while she was sleeping. She only woke up for a minute, and it was too late by then. Nothing anyone could do.” All these years, I had been scared Nick was the one who killed Christina Marsh. I should have known he would never do something like that. But I never dreamed Greta could have done it either.

What. The random old lady killed ok. Ok. Just chuck another plot twist in why not

“I’ve done it before.” She says it casually, like she’s talking about going roller skating instead of committing a murder. “There was a woman at the carnival who wanted my Bernie. And then she just… disappeared. That’s what the police decided anyway.”

GRETA LADY GURL WHAT

“I was trying to get rid of the other one for you too,” she says. “Quinn. When she was downstairs, I looked through her bag, found out her real name. Then I said all the scary stuff about how she was in horrible danger. Left a few threatening messages for her in the Bible in the drawer. Got her on the run.

WHAT WHY SHE JUST OUT HERE ADMITTING TS

Greta will be out of the country. She planned it this way. She knew that if she told me, I would feel compelled to report her. She didn’t tell me until the last second for that reason. But she wanted me to know. She wanted me to know that everything I have is because of her. She’s right—Nick very well might have left me for Christina. If she hadn’t done what she did, I wouldn’t have him anymore. I wouldn’t be on my way to the hospital, about to have my first child.

And at that moment, I decide. If we have a girl, we will name her Greta. THE END

Im speechless