Them

After agreeing to pay Evan and his mother a sum of money which she was awarded, and never mentioning them to anyone, they helped her obtain a new appearance, a new identity, and a plane ticket to Montenegro. The lawyers handling her case and ensuring she got her money pressed her, along with others, to release the names of those who helped her, but she stuck to the agreement religiously. “I swear I don’t know who they are, and when I asked, they refused to tell me,” Janelle said, her anger increasing with each question. “I just want to get on with my life and leave it at that.” Janelle managed to dodge the media and leave the country. Once in Montenegro, she booked a room at a cheap motel and then purchased a small cottage for herself that was slightly secluded in a wooded area. The climate wasn’t ideal, but it allowed her to live both comfortably and cheaply. All the stores and doctors she needed were within walking distance. After a while, Janelle wanted to return to the U.S. long enough to seek revenge on those she hated most: Boris and Lauren. Being freed from their lies and rewarded with money was great, but seeing them get off scot-free was another matter entirely. That just wasn’t right. Janelle couldn’t undo what they had done or make them lose their jobs, go to jail, or be fined, but she could certainly take other measures. The question was how to go about it. Even though she knew she would always be an American obsession in some ways and part of crime’s history for centuries to come, Janelle knew that, as much as she itched for revenge, it was important to lay low until it was safer. She was in the news again because of Stephanie’s death. In the meantime, she watched the so-called interviews. Boris and even Lauren were part of some of them, which only fueled her anger and desire for revenge further. Instead of avoiding the news so she wouldn’t get angrier, she made herself watch every deceitful word they uttered as added motivation to follow through with her plans eventually. What really disgusted her was that while Lauren had pretended to like her, she had actually recently started dating a woman. Still, in a time when fat-shaming was widely acceptable, Lauren admitted she wouldn’t touch someone who looked so “horrible and unhealthy” with a ten-foot pole even if she was perfect. Further fueling her rage was the fact that the contents of her journals had been shared. The interviews with hospital staff were mixed. Some were even asked who they thought helped her escape, but no one would name names, whether they suspected who the people were or not. Some staff felt the law was being too hard on her and interfering with her physical and emotional recovery, while most described her as an arrogant and horrible person who wanted control at all costs and deserved to pay for her crimes despite any hardships she’d gone through. Even her ex, Steven, couldn’t resist the urge to publicly bash her. This kind of surprised her, since he had always been a shy guy who wasn’t very chatty. It wasn't all bad, thought Janelle, with a grin on her face as she remembered getting Lauren all excited for nothing. Lauren had kept insisting that she could talk to her about anything and had made bullshit claims of having hit a black man by accident with her car and abandoning him. Being as gullible as she could be, and wanting to believe in the people who were supposed to be true and honest, she had almost started to fall for it. Almost, but not quite. Finally, Janelle told her there was something she wanted to confide in her about. Janelle started off admitting she had bullied this poor girl in grade school and had come to feel guilty about it and wished she could find her so she could apologize. Noticing a slight look of disappointment on the officer's face that seemed a bit extreme for a story about typical grade school bullying, Janelle realized she had been hoping she would confess to attacking Stephanie, her mother, or some other attack. She giggled to herself when she remembered realizing this. Poor, poor Officer Gilbert. She must have felt so let down. Janelle should have figured that everything they discussed was recorded as well because snippets of it were also shared by the media, making Janelle cringe with embarrassment and anger. She wasn’t preoccupied with the snottier staff members from the hospital so much as she was with Boris and Lauren. It was them. They were at the forefront of the lies and the head games. No one else was going to do the right thing concerning them, so it was strictly up to her. She didn’t want to kill them, however. She wanted them to live to suffer with what she wanted to do to them. When she figured out how she would capture and torture them, she would make damn sure they remembered her every time they looked in the mirror and every time they closed their eyes. Janelle wasn’t any healthier than she had been years ago. She was still heavy and had a slew of medical conditions, but as long as she took her medication as prescribed, she would be okay. So, after a dozen years had slipped by, it was finally time to make a move. All she had to do was figure out where, how, and when.