BRIANA MALDONADO - THE ROOM

Briana Maldonado is a student at Full Sail University and currently taking a course in Creative Writing for Entertainment.
She was raised in Lakeland, Florida and is currently working on her short story, ‘Daisies’ which is due later this year.

THE ROOM

​Lisa was having another drink, her husband in the seat across from her.
“Darling, I said no hard feelings,” she said. She lowered her sunglasses to peer over the edge and flashed him a smile.
“It’s only a divorce. No need to cry over spilled milk.”
He was utterly speechless and trying to hold back any emotions he had at the moment.
“You can’t do this to me, to us. I love you, what can I do to prove it?” he said. He got out of his chair, kneeling in front of her and pleading. He spouted off more than she cared to listen to by the way she yawned in his face.
“You’re boring and I’d rather spend my days living in Rome, dear. They’d appreciate my tastes. You expect me to be at home cooking and cleaning and I’m not that kind of girl. I need to be free, to express myself. And you,” she laughed and held his face in her hands.
“You’re the worst person I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t stay married to you if my life depended on it.”
He was visibly upset, standing up and grabbing her by the arm.
“You’ll do as I say, wether you like it or not,” He said. She kept a smile on her face as she pointed the barrel of her gun that she pulled from her purse toward his abdomen.
“You truly think you’re in charge. That’s cute,” she said, mocking him and pushing the barrel farther onto his skin.
“Lets take a little walk. A few of my friends want to meet you and I do believe they’re even residing here today.”
She led him through the maze of corridors at the hotel she had rented a room at, the retro decor blurring together the longer they walked. By the time they reached the large conference room Lisa’s soon-to-be ex husband was trying to get out of her grip any way he could. He trashed against her grip as she tossed him in the room without caution.
“Ladies, this is Adam, our guest of honor,” she said.
The room of women in hooded velvet robes all laughed in unison, nearing Adam’s body in the center. He scrambled to his feet, running toward the door from which he came, which slammed closed in his face.
“Please, if she’s making you do this I can help you escape, we can all turn her in!” he exclaimed.
They all shook their heads, the crowd parting in half as Lisa walked toward him.
“You see, we all have the same ideals. Get rid of our freeloading husbands and we can live our lives as they were meant to be. Carefree,” she got as close as she could get to him, pointing the barrel at his head. She listened to him beg a few more times before she pulled the trigger, blood splattering on her face.
As the group of women cleaned the mess Lisa found her way back up to the room, washing her face off in the bathroom.
“To think, this is where he proposed,” she laughed to herself and shook her head.
With the mess cleaned up and no reason to stay any longer, she checked out, throwing her things in the back of her husbands car and driving off to start her life anew.