Shallow River

Throwing the gear in park, I don’t even bother turning the engine off before I’m nearly stumbling out of the car and into Ryan’s house. Amelia is in the living room, pacing a hole in the carpet with steady streams of hot tears trailing down her face. Amelia chirps with relief and then throws herself at me and hugs my midsection, crying into my chest.

Shock renders me helpless, my arms splayed out with awkwardness for a moment before my brain catches up. I relax my arms and wrap them loosely around her back, listening to her garbled words while anxiously looking around the house, searching for any sign on what happened to River.

“I need you to tell me anything you know. Did Riv

er mention anything the last time you spoke? Did she seem scared or express any concerns that Billy was coming for her? Anything at all?”

Amelia steps back and rests her hands on her swollen stomach. Her mascara is smudged on my white t-shirt, but I couldn’t give a shit less.

“She didn’t say the words, but yes, she was terrified. We had a brief conversation about it. I asked her to come live with me and she nearly bit my head off for suggesting it, knowing that it would put me and my baby in danger. I asked if the cameras were back on and she said yes. That was about the extent of it.”

Sobs crawl up her throat and wrack her body once more. She drops her head in her hands, covering her face. My own hands rip through my hair, tugging until the sharp pain rivals in the pain in my chest. I can’t fucking breathe.

River knew Billy was going to come for her.

And I was too fucking selfish and stewing in my own anger to realize this. I should’ve fucking known. I should’ve known Billy wouldn’t let Barbie and River’s revelation go unpunished. The man is hooked on meth and paranoid that all his men are betraying him on a good day.

Fuck!

That’s the whole reason the Ghost Killer even came about. His paranoia. His complete conviction that no one can be trusted.

I swear to God, if I find River murdered with that fucking word carved in her chest…

“What are we going to do?” Amelia cries, pulling me away from my violent and very unhelpful thoughts.

I’ve already started carefully picking around the house. Looking at the only evidence I have. Blood spatter is on the carpet, not enough to be fatal, but enough to stall my heart in my chest. A fleece blanket is tossed on the floor, strands of curly black hair lying on top of it. Could’ve been from natural shedding, but I have a feeling it’s from Billy yanking her around by her hair.

The more I see, the more the red haze in my vision deepens. More blood on the dining room floor, this time in streaks as if a body was dragged across the blood. He made her bleed somehow, hopefully from a nose bleed rather than anything more brutal like being stabbed or cut. Then he dragged her into the dining room, more than likely by her hair based off a few more strands stuck in the blood. Half a footprint is stamped on the ground, likely from her kicking her feet.

The blood is consistent all the way through the kitchen and out the back door. The final nail in the coffin is the small bloody handprint on the window, the size of River’s hands. Amelia’s cries harder when she sees the handprint, both of us imagining very vividly River’s desperate attempt to get away from Billy.

Based off the streaking of the blood, a couple more cropped footprints and fingerprints, River left all evidence that she was taken forcefully.

My girl didn’t leave without a fucking fight, that’s for sure.

“What do you know about Billy?”

“N-nothing really. River was tight-lipped when it came to him. She said the less I knew about him, the safer I am.”

I growl in frustration, storming my way into Ryan’s office where his monitor is. It’s already been combed through by the police for any evidence, but all that was found was work-related information.

I sit down in the office chair and pull up the security feed. Amelia huddles behind me, peering over my shoulder as I wind the cameras back. A heavy feeling of unease settles inside my chest. I need to see this, but I already know I’m liable to punch a hole through the monitor once I see Billy lay a single finger on her. Based off the nervous energy emanating from Amelia behind me, I’m sure she’s not feeling much different than I am.

With Amelia’s direction from when she left the house, the feed is wound back to about ten o’clock last night, only a couple hours after Amelia left. River is curled in a tight ball, sleeping on the couch, her black hair splayed across the couch. In her sleep, she looks so innocent. Her face softened, almost making her look like a teenager.

And then her eyes are snapping open abruptly, as if she heard a noise. She slowly sits up, propped up on one arm as she looks around the room, the only source of light being the T.V. It takes a few minutes, but from the corner of the camera—right where the dining room entrance is—Billy steps out of the shadows.

My hands grow clammy watching River scramble up, tripping over the fleece blanket between her legs. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but River’s terror is so potent, I can feel it through the camera. Adrenaline rushes into my veins, flooding my ears as I watch Billy come closer to her. River presses her legs into the couch, her eyes rounded and wild as they exchange words. My fingers twitch with the need to reach out and touch her. Save her.

Billy raises a hand and slaps her in the face, their exchange becoming more heated. I nearly propel myself through the screen, desperate to pull Billy out of it and crush him in my fist.

There’s a moment of pause, where they both look at each other, sizing the other up. And then River bolts, darting to the left towards the front door. Billy expects the move, catching hold of her by the waist before slinging her back on the couch. River doesn’t stop to absorb the impact on the couch, immediately scrambling off towards the dining room. But Billy is right there, catching her again.

She struggles and fights while I sit on the edge of the chair in suspense. I know how it ends, but yet I’m waiting for her to escape him anyways. Amelia’s face closes in on the screen, her cheek nearly pressed against mine. She trembles just as I do, hating every second of watching her best friend being abducted but not being able to unglue her eyes from the scene.

River’s mouth opens wide, and though I can’t hear it, I feel the scream she lets loose. So loud, her body shakes from it. Billy curls a fist and punches her in the face, once, twice, three times before River’s body begins to go limp. Blood pours from her nose.

Billy drags her fighting body out of the living room, past the dining room and into the kitchen. I switch camera feeds as he drags her through the house, my heart pounding as Billy gets closer to the door leading outside. Once they go through that door, I won’t be able to see her anymore.