Small Steps

Kaira takes a shower, crying as she worries that no one will “ever like her” (237) for who she is, only for her fame. Jerome knocks on Kaira’s door and when she doesn’t answer, he lets himself in. He is holding the baseball bat, his hands shaking and sweating inside latex gloves. Nervously Jerome waits outside the bathroom door.

Armpit gets back to his hotel suite and listens to a message from Kaira on his answering machine. She tells him that she doesn’t hate him and that he should “go ahead and sell the letter” (239), that she doesn’t care anymore. She finishes with “Just go away. I never want to see you again! You’re right. I don’t have a clue. But neither do you” (239).

Kaira steps out of the bathroom, and Jerome swings the bat, hitting Kaira’s shoulder and throat. Kaira falls and Jerome hits her again across her chest. As she tries to crawl under the bed, he smashes the bat just below the base of her skull. Before Kaira blacks out, she hears Fred come in and sees Jerome hit him with the bat. Fred and Jerome wrestle, and when Jerome gets up, Kaira sees Fred lying on the floor with the cheese knife sticking into his stomach.