Текст книги "Twisted Ties"

Автор книги: K. A. Robinson

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

“Walk!” she barked.

I had started to slow down since I still wasn’t sure what to do. I picked up my pace and walked to the door next to the stairs. I glanced down the stairs to see that the front door was right in front of them. I just had to make it there.

“Don’t just stand there. Open the door.” She poked the knife into my back a bit.

I opened the door and stepped inside. The bathroom was tiny. Dread filled me when I saw the small window. It was just a little bit too small for me to escape through if she left me alone.

“I’ll wait right outside. Hurry up.”

I waited until she closed the door. I glanced down at the doorknob, praying that there was a way to lock it. If I couldn’t escape, maybe I could at least hide in here for a while. My prayers weren’t answered. There was no lock. I glanced around the bathroom, searching for anything that I might be able to use as a weapon.

There was nothing in here, not even a damn plunger. I pushed the shower curtain back to see if maybe she’d left a razor in there, and I found nothing. I tried the cabinet above the sink next, but it was completely empty. I found the same thing under the sink. Does she even actually live here? There wasn’t even a bar of soap on the sink. I looked into the mirror to see the cuts on my face. They looked horrible, but they were nothing compared to how bad the blood looked. It had dried in streams down my face.

I flushed the toilet and turned on the water, so she wouldn’t become suspicious. Nothing in here would help me unless I planned to wrap her in toilet paper, and there wasn’t even much of that. I opened the bathroom door to see her leaning against the wall across from it.

“It took you long enough. Did you find my cabinetry interesting?” she asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I stared at her.

She was so close to the top of the stairs. If I caught her off guard and shoved her, I might be able to knock her down them.

“Sure you don’t. Go back to your room.”

She pushed her weight from the wall as I turned back toward the room. I took a deep breath as I prepared myself. It was now or never. I spun around suddenly and shoved her as hard as I could. She screamed as she fell backward. Everything happened in slow motion, and I watched her eyes widen. Her back hit the top step, and then she went rolling down the stairs. I couldn’t move as I watched her roll over and over again. When she hit the first floor, she didn’t move.

I forced my legs to move as I ran down the steps. I hoped that she wasn’t dead, but I couldn’t afford to stop and check. I would find help and call the police. They could check on her. As for me, my ass was going out that door one way or another. I reached the bottom of the steps and ran for the door. My hand was on the knob when her hand wrapped around my ankle. She jerked, and I went down. I scrambled to get up, but she was on me.

She dropped her knees onto my stomach, knocking the breath from me. I was pinned under her weight as I tried to break free. Instead of slapping me first like last time, she wasted no time in landing a punch right in my temple. I raised my hands to shield my face, but it was no use. She punched any part of me that she could reach. Most of her hits landed on my face. I tasted blood in my mouth as I struggled under her.

“You little bitch! You’re going to pay for that.” She slammed her fist into the side of my head.

For the second time in a matter of hours, I was knocked unconscious.

Chapter Twenty-One: Jesse

I hummed to a song on the radio as I drove home. I was in an unusually good mood today, and I couldn’t wait to get home to Emma. I’d stopped by the local flower shop on the way home to pick up a dozen roses. I wanted to surprise her, and I knew she’d never expect flowers from me.

I pulled into the driveway and grabbed the roses from the passenger seat. I stepped out and walked up to the house. Afraid that she would see them before I had the chance to surprise her, I hid the flowers behind my back as I opened the door and strolled inside.

“Emma? Where are you?” I called from the doorway.

When she didn’t answer, I headed back to our bedroom. I expected her to be asleep in there, but she wasn’t. I tried the bathroom next, but she wasn’t there either. I looked in Ally’s old room last. Emma had never so much as stepped foot in there, so I knew she wouldn’t be in there before I even looked.

“Where the hell did she run off to?” I asked out loud as I walked back to the kitchen.

I found a glass big enough to hold the roses, and I filled it with water. I put it in the center of the table and stuck the roses inside, so she would see them as soon as she came home.

She’d said that she was going to come straight home to study. Emma always let me know where she was, so I was a little bit concerned. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed her number. I looked around in confusion as I heard it ringing nearby. It stopped ringing before I could find it, so I dialed again.

I finally spotted it on the opposite side of the kitchen on the floor. What the hell is it doing there? I reached down and picked it up.

Something felt off. It wasn’t just because her phone had been on the floor. It was just a feeling I had. My good mood from earlier all but vanished.

I turned and walked back to the front door. My stomach dropped when I saw her car keys hanging by the door.

Maybe she decided to go for a walk? I stepped outside and made my way down to the sidewalk. I circled the block, looking for Emma as I went, but there was no sign of her.

I called Andy to see if maybe he’d stopped by and picked her up.

“Hello?”

“Andy, it’s Jesse.”

“I figured that out when your name came up on my screen. What’s up?”

“Is Emma with you?” I asked.

“No. I haven’t talked to her today.”

“Shit.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“I just got home, and she’s not here.”

“Just call her.” He made it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I already did, genius. Her phone was on the kitchen floor.”

“Maybe it fell out of her pocket?” he asked, sounding unsure.

“I have a bad feeling, Andy. I can’t explain it. Something is wrong.”

“I’ll be over in a few, and we can go look for her.”

* * *

I kept watching out the window as I waited for Andy to show up. As soon as he pulled in, I walked out to his car.

“No sign of her?” he asked.

“No. I already walked around the block. Let’s go to a few of the closer restaurants and see if she’s there.”

She wasn’t, so we went to look for her on campus. We checked her dorm room, the library, and a few other places where she liked to hang out at. We found nothing. When we left campus, I felt sick. Andy seemed as worried as I was. A tightness was around his mouth that wasn’t normally there. He could feel it, too. Something was wrong.

We made a quick stop back at my house to make sure that she hadn’t come back while we were out. After I checked the house again, we headed back out to keep searching for her. I knew she had a few friends, but she didn’t hang out with them much. I had no idea how to contact them.

“Andy, I’m about to freak the fuck out.”

“I know. Me, too. This isn’t like Emma at all.”

“I think we should go to the police.”

He nodded as he drove us to the station.

After waiting almost an hour to talk to someone, the cops were absolutely no help. No matter how many times we told them that Emma wouldn’t just disappear, they refused to listen. They said something about waiting twenty-four hours before we could file an official missing person report. That meant we had to wait an entire day before the police would help us.

I left the police station feeling more pissed off and worried than I had when I walked in. Andy and I continued our search until almost three in the morning with no trace of Emma anywhere.

“Dude, we’ve torn this town apart, and there’s no sign of her anywhere. I don’t know what the fuck to do,” Andy said grimly as we pulled up to my house.

We walked into the house, feeling defeated. If something had happened to her, I would never forgive myself. I was supposed to protect her. I couldn’t help but worry that Ally had something to do with this. There had been no sign of her for weeks, but she could have come back.

“What are you thinking?” Andy asked.

“Ally. I’m afraid she’s done something to Emma.”

“I doubt that. She has been gone for a while.”

“Something happened, something bad. I can feel it. Emma wouldn’t just disappear.”

Andy collapsed down onto my couch at the same time I did. “I don’t know what the fuck to think. You two didn’t get in a fight or anything, did you?”

I shook my head. “No, everything has been great between us. Emma has been so happy lately.”

My phone started ringing, and I nearly ripped a hole in my pants as I tried to get to it. I looked at the screen to see who it was. My stomach dropped when I saw Blocked Caller flashing across the screen.

“Hello?” I answered cautiously.

“Hey, Jesse. How are you?”

I held my hand over the phone as I cursed. Once I was sure that I wouldn’t start screaming at her, I moved my hand away. “Ally?”

Andy’s eyes widened when he heard his sister’s name.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

There was no way that it was a coincidence that she was calling while Emma was missing.

“What do you want?” I asked, forcing myself to keep calm. Maybe if I pretend like nothing is wrong…

“I just wanted to see how you are doing. It’s been a while since we talked.”

“I’m doing fine.”

“Really?” She seemed surprised.

“Of course. You sound shocked.”

“I just thought…”

“You thought, what?”

“I thought…never mind. I thought you might miss…me.”

“Ally, I asked you to leave. You messed up—big time.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I just thought you might miss me.”

“Where are you right now? If you’re close, maybe we can hang out,” I said, hoping she would lead me to Emma.

“I’m around. I can’t meet up right now though. I’m tied up with a project at the moment.” She giggled.

A shiver ran through my body at the way she’d said that, but I pushed it away. I needed to stay calm.

“What has you all tied up?” I asked, pretending to joke around with her.

“Oh, just something I need to take care of.”

“I see.” I was about to lose my cool. This bitch is up to something.

“What’s wrong, Jesse? You sound upset.”

“It’s nothing. I just…”

“You can tell me. I’ll listen.”

“Emma left me yesterday.”

Andy’s jaw dropped, but I shook my head. I didn’t want him to say something and screw this up.

“Oh, Jesse, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

“Unless you can get her to come back to me, no. I miss her so much. I feel so broken. I mean, I knew it was coming, but it still hurts like a bitch.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve been fighting a lot lately.”

“She never said anything about you guys fighting.”

I closed my eyes as I tried not to scream into the phone. Ally had Emma. Ally had just admitted it without realizing it. Things with Ally were worse than I could have imagined. She was seriously sick in the head.

“When did you two talk?” I asked.

“Oh, uh…it was a few days ago. I called her to apologize.”

“That’s so nice of you, Ally. It means a lot that you’d do that. I think…I think once I get over Emma, I’d like to give us a chance again.”

I heard her tiny intake of breath.

“I lied before. I’ve missed you so much since you left. I used Emma to pass the time, but it just isn’t the same. I love you, Ally.”

“I love you, too, Jesse. We can be together again. I’ll come back to you.”

“Let me come to you. Where are you?”

She hesitated. “No, it’s okay. I need to make a stop, but I’ll be at your house in a few hours.”

“Why do you need to stop somewhere? Don’t you want to see me?”

“I want to see you more than anything. I just need to do something first.”

“What? What could be more important than me?”

The line was silent, and for a second, I thought she’d hung up on me.

Finally, she spoke. “I have a problem that I need to take care of.”

“How are you going to take care of it?” I asked.

“I’m going to let my problem wash away. I’m going to throw it away and let it disappear with the current,” she said simply. “I love you, Jesse. I’ll see you soon.”

I shouted her name, but the call ended.

“Son of a bitch!” I stood and kicked the living room table in front of me. “Motherfucking son of a bitch!”

I kicked the table over and over again until it busted into pieces in front of me. This can’t be happening. Ally is going to get rid of Emma. Ally was going to kill Emma, and I still had no idea where Emma was.

“Jesse, calm down. Tell me what she said,” Andy said as he grabbed my shoulders. I hadn’t even realized that he was standing next to me.

“She said she has a problem that she needs to take care of. She’s going to hurt Emma or kill her, Andy.” I dropped down to my knees.

I would die if something happened to Emma because of me. Dear God. Ally is crazy, absolutely fucking crazy.

“What else did she say?” he asked urgently.

“She’s going to let her problem wash away. She’s going to throw it away and let it disappear.”

“Fuck! Did she say anything else? Did she tell you where she is?”

I shook my head. “She wouldn’t say. What is she going to do to Emma, Andy?”

He hesitated. “I think Ally is going to drown Emma.”

I stood and kicked at what was left of the table. “I’m going to kill Ally. I want to wrap my hands around her neck and watch the life leave her eyes.”

“Breathe, Jesse, breathe. We’ll figure this out. Were there any sounds in the background when she was talking?”

“Not that I could hear. It sounded quiet.”

“Okay, so she’s probably still wherever she took Emma then.”

“Ally said she’d be here in a few hours. She could have taken Emma hundreds of miles away last night.”

“I don’t think so. Ally needs time to do whatever it is she plans to do. I think she’s still close, Jesse. She has to be.”

“We searched everywhere, Andy. I don’t know where else to look. The fucking cops don’t give a flying fuck about what’s happening. By the time they get off their asses to help us, it’ll be too late.”

Andy started pacing. I kept talking, but he obviously wasn’t paying attention. I needed to find Emma. I couldn’t just sit here and wait for Ally to show up. By then, Emma would be dead.

Andy stopped pacing and looked over at me. “She said she was going to wash it away. Then, she changed and said she was going to throw it away, right?”

“She said she was going to let her problem wash away. Then, she changed and said that she was going to throw it away and let it disappear—” I froze.

“Jesse, talk to me here. What is it?”

“Let it disappear with the current. Throw it away. I know where she’s at—or at least where she’ll go.”

“And?” Andy asked impatiently.

“You can’t really throw a person into water. I mean, you can, but it’s not very dramatic, and Ally is all about the dramatics in life. She always has been. The bridge!”

“What bridge?” he asked.

He hadn’t lived here very long, so he didn’t know the area.

“There is only one body of water around here big enough for her to use—Cheat Lake. They opened up a new bridge last year, but the old one is still up. She wouldn’t use the new one because people would be everywhere. She’s going to the old one.”

“She’s going to throw Emma off the bridge?” he asked.

I watched as pure hatred clouded his eyes.

“And let the current wash her away,” I said.

“Are you sure?”

“No, but it’s the best option we have right now. Let’s go.” I grabbed my keys and ran from the house.

Andy followed right behind me, and we were tearing down the road in seconds.

“Call the police and tell them what’s happening,” I instructed as I cut off a car. I ignored the honking horn as I continued to floor it.

I would save Emma. I had to.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Emma

At least I knew where I was when I woke up this time. I held completely still and kept my eyes shut as I listened. If she were in the room with me, I would wait until she left. Maybe that would give me some time to break free. I listened closely for a few minutes. When I was sure she wasn’t around, I opened my eyes slowly. I kept my body completely still as I scanned what I could see of the room. I could see that my arms and legs were once again tied tightly to the chair. After my little escape attempt, she had tied me tighter than the last time.

“I see you’re finally awake.”

I jumped as her voice came from behind me.

Damn it. She’d been behind me all along.

“I am,” I said.

She walked around me and crouched down directly in front of me. “Thanks to you, I have one hell of a headache. You’re going to pay for that one. I can promise you that.”

“Just let me go, Ally.”

“Nope.”

She held up the knife from before, so I could see it.

“I’m going to play with you for a while before I kill you. I planned to make it a little less painful, but I think you deserve some pain after you threw me down a flight of stairs.”

She stood up and grabbed my shirtsleeve. After cutting it off, she ran the knife along the skin of my upper arm. The blade broke the skin but just barely. I almost sighed in relief. I had expected her to hurt me like before. My relief was short-lived as she pressed the blade against my arm again. I couldn’t keep myself from crying out as she sliced deep into my skin.

“Was it worth it?” she asked.

When I didn’t answer, she grabbed my hair and yanked my head back.

“Was it?”

“Yes. I wish you had died,” I whispered as tears ran down my cheeks. My arm felt like it was on fire.

“You’re not very nice.” She yanked my hair harder.

I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

She walked around and rolled up my other sleeve. She didn’t toy with me this time. She dug the blade into my skin and sliced my arm open.

“Please! Stop!” I cried.

She ignored me as she walked back in front of me. I started struggling harder as she pried my knees apart. I was terrified of what she might do.

“Stop moving so much!” she shouted once she had my legs wedged apart. “You’ll make me cut something major. I don’t want you to bleed out before I’m finished with you.”

She dug the knife into my inner thigh. I didn’t even try to hold back as I screamed. The pain was unbearable in such a sensitive spot. She finished her cut and then started another one, crisscrossing the first. I screamed again, begging her to stop. I screamed for someone to help me. I screamed Jesse’s name as loud as I could. I just wanted the pain to stop.

My throat was raw by the time she finished. I couldn’t stand this pain anymore. My leg felt as if she were holding a blowtorch up to it.

“There—now, for your other leg.”

“Please, Ally. Please stop. I’ll do anything.”

“You should have stayed away, Emma. You had your chance before, and you came back around. It’s your own fault that you’re in this situation.”

“Ally, I’ll stay away from Jesse. I swear to God, I will. Just let me go. I won’t tell him that you did this to me. I’ll fly back to California, and you’ll never see me again.”

“I can’t take that chance. If you’re still alive, then he’ll always hope that you’ll come back to him. He’ll have to accept that you’ll never be his once you’re dead. He’ll have to move on.”

“Ally, I’ll tell him whatever you want.”

“Nope. You should have just kept fucking my brother. We all could have been happy then.”

She sliced into my other leg, and I cried out again. I couldn’t scream anymore, only whimper in pain. I wanted to die at this point. Almost every part of my body was screaming out from the cuts or the beatings she’d given me.

“X marks the spot,” she said as she finished the cut. “Now, where should we cut next?”

She looked over my body like she was debating on what outfit to put on me, not where she would slice and dice me next.

“Let’s do your stomach.”

She pulled up my shirt and tucked it into my bra, so it wouldn’t fall down. I closed my eyes as I waited for the knife to touch my skin again. She didn’t disappoint. A few seconds later, I felt the knife slice across my stomach. She didn’t go as deep with this cut as she had with my arms and legs. Or maybe I was hurting so much that my brain just couldn’t process the pain. Either way, I was glad. I couldn’t handle any more.

“Do you think we should cut anywhere else?” She waved the knife in front of me.

My stomach turned when I saw my blood covering the blade.

“Just kill me, and get it over with,” I whispered.

I closed my eyes as I willed my body to shut down. I wanted to pass out again, so I didn’t have to feel the pain any longer. She slapped me hard across the face, and my head fell back. I couldn’t bring myself to open my eyes or even make a sound at this point. She slapped me again, and I still refused to look at her.

“You’re starting to bore me, Emma. I thought you’d be more fun than this.”

I stayed quiet as I listened to her footsteps. She walked behind me, and I heard her drop the knife. The room was completely silent for a few seconds. All of a sudden, a cloth was over my mouth.

She’s going to smother me.

I struggled against it. It took me a minute to realize what she was actually doing. She’d chloroformed me. I started to feel drowsy, and I stopped fighting her. She’d given me what I’d hoped for. I passed out.

* * *

I awoke to the sound of someone calling my name. I refused to open my eyes. All I wanted to do was stay here and sleep.

“Emma! Emma, wake up!”

I knew that voice. My eyes opened to see Jesse running through the door with Andy right behind him. Several police officers followed them into the room. Jesse ran to my side and started cutting away at the ropes holding me hostage.

“Jesse! It’s Ally. She’s here. She took me.”

“We figured that out. Don’t worry. She won’t hurt you anymore.”

“Why? Where is she?”

He pointed to the police officers. “They shot her. She tried to stab me, so they took her down. She’s dead.”

Tears fell from my eyes as I realized that I was finally safe. Jesse had saved me. He finished freeing my hands and started cutting at the ropes around my feet.

“I was so scared, Jesse.”

“God, Emma, you look like shit,” Andy said as he crouched down beside me and took my hand.

“I feel like shit.”

Jesse freed my legs and held a hand up to my cheek. “I’m so sorry she did this to you. It’s all my fault.”

“No, it’s not. She was crazy.”

“She never would have come after you if it wasn’t for me.”

I threw my arms around his neck as he carefully picked me up and carried me to the door.

“You can’t blame yourself, Jesse. None of us knew just how sick she really was.”

“I love you, Emma.”

“I love you, too.”

He carried me through the hall and down the stairs. My stomach clenched as I saw Ally lying at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes were wide open, but they were lifeless. I turned away from her and buried my face into Jesse’s neck. I never wanted to see her again.

I looked up when Jesse cried out. The look of horror on his face chilled me to the bone.

“Jesse? Jesse! What’s wrong?”

He lost his grip on me, and I fell to the floor. He dropped to his knees beside me. I screamed in terror when I saw a knife embedded in his back.

“Oh my god! Jesse! Someone help us!”

“No one is here to help you now, Emma. Look what you made me do. Jesse is going to die and it’s all because of you.”

I looked up to see Ally standing behind Jesse. She was smiling as she watched Jesse struggle to stay upright.

He reached for me. “Emma!” he cried as blood trickled from his lips. “Emma!”

“Wake the fuck up!”

My eyes opened to see Ally standing in front of me.

“Emma! Jesus, you’re hard to wake up. You’d think I’d chloroformed you or something.” She chuckled at her own joke.

It was all a dream. I started crying as I realized that Jesse was still safe. He was still alive. But he wasn’t here to save me. I was still alone with Ally.

“Change in plans. It looks like I’m not going to be able to play with you as much as I wanted,” she said sadly.

“Why?”

“Because I have a date with Jesse in just a few hours.”

I was still groggy from what she’d done to me, and her words weren’t making sense.

“What are you talking about?”

“I just talked to him on the phone a few minutes ago. He couldn’t be happier that you’re gone, and he wants me back. Oh, Emma, I’m so excited. We need to hurry because the sun will be up soon, and I don’t want anyone to see where I’m taking you.”

“You talked to Jesse?” I asked, unable to believe what she was saying.

“You’re a bit slow, aren’t you? Yes, I talked to Jesse.”

I felt a small ray of hope fill me. If she’d talked to Jesse, maybe she had slipped and told him where she was. Maybe he was on his way over here right now. I knew that he had lied when he said he wanted her back. He had to know that she’d taken me, and he’d simply been playing along, so he could find me.

“You can have him—really. Just let me go, and then you can skip off into the sunset with him.”

“I already told you that I’m not going to let you go. Now, let’s get you untied, so I can get rid of you.”

I sat still as she slowly untied my arms. Once they were free from the arms of the chair, she jerked them behind me and retied them. My legs were next. She untied them from the chair and made me stand. Between the pain coursing through my body and the fact that I couldn’t use my arms, she had to help me up. Once I was standing, she tied my legs together so that I could walk slowly but not run. Every time I moved, I wanted to cry out in pain.

“Walk,” she said as she pushed me forward.

With my legs tied, I could barely walk. It seemed like forever before we reached the stairs. She had to help me as I practically crawled down them. When we reached the front door, she grabbed a roll of duct tape from the table beside it. She ripped a piece off and covered my mouth.

“I can’t have you screaming bloody murder and waking up my neighbors.” Satisfied with her work, she turned and opened the door to look out. “There’s no one around. Hurry up.”

I couldn’t have hurried if I tried. She practically dragged me to a car sitting a few feet away from the front door. She stopped at the back of the car and opened the trunk.

“Get in.”

My eyes widened, and I shook my head. There was no way I was getting in there.

“Fine. I’ll shove you in.”

She grabbed my upper arm right where she’d cut me, and I screamed against the duct tape. Her fingers dug in until I gave in and climbed into the trunk. She smiled sweetly, and then she slammed the trunk down.

I tried to stay calm as darkness surrounded me. The car started a few seconds later, and I could feel us moving. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain. I couldn’t believe that I was spending my last few minutes alive stuffed in the trunk of a car.

What did I ever do to deserve this? I loved Jesse.

Despite my situation, I wouldn’t trade a moment of our time together for anything. It saddened me to realize everything I was going to lose. I let my tears flow freely as I gave up. There was no way that I would come out of this alive. She’d won. I only prayed that Jesse would never find comfort in her.