5:06 a.m. - Bangor – Maine - USA

'Would you mind if I hurt you?'
Keith sat up in the darkness, breathing heavily. For a moment he was back in the airless Thai hotel room, the  hot  air  pleasantly  suffocating  them  as  they  lay  in  bed,  her  hand  tracing  soft, wide circles on his chest. The smell of sweet almonds intoxicated him, the darkness whispered around him, her voice filled his head and drove out everything else.

'Would you mind if I killed you?'
He fumbled for the beside table lamp and switched it on. The sudden brightness stung his eyes and he had to force them shut. As he rubbed his hands against his face, the smell of almonds was replaced by the musty, old air freshener smell of cheap motels and the whispers by the low humming of the mini fridge.

The bed creaked as he fell back on it heavily, one arm over his eyes. He should have finished his report, instead he had fallen asleep reading the file again. Not that he needed to. He had written most of it himself, he could recite it by heart. But he went back to it, night after night, because maybe he missed something. Because maybe he would finally understand what happened.

Sighing, he sat back up once again, reached for the old cardboard file wallet, pushed the scattered papers back inside and stared at the cover. How had this become his life? Two years carrying it around. Two years obsessing over every single word. Two years chasing a ghost. He was no closer to finding the answer now than he was back then. He had to let it go. He had to let her go.

Gripping the folder tight in his hand, he stood up quickly, his breath speeding up again. This was it. He was doing it, right now. He walked over to the waste bin and lingered there, eyes closed. He saw her face, a memory blurred by time. It brought with it a familiar stab of pain. Then, with a deep breath, he dropped the file into it.

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Author Guidance for This Story

Keith Evans has spent the last two years of his life searching for the woman that betrayed him. He wants answers, and will do anything to get them. But she doesn't want to be found...

'What Have You Done?' is based on the lyrics of song by Within Temptation of the same name.

"Would you mind if I hurt you

Understand that I need to

Wish that I had other choices

Than to hurt the one I love



What have you done now?



I know I'd better stop trying

You know that there's no denying

I won't show mercy on you now

I know I should stop believing

I know that there's no retrieving

It's over now


What have you done?

What have you done now?



I've been waiting for someone like you

But now you are slipping away.

Why does Fate make us suffer?

There's a curse between us
,
Between me and you



Would you mind if I killed you?

Would you mind if I tried to?

Cause you have turned into my worst enemy

You carry hate that I don't feel

It's over now




I will not fall

Won't let it go

We will be free

When it ends"

updated Dec 17, 2008 by Lanna_Scott