Her Shadows, His Secrets

I’m terrified, my blood chilled. “Dax, you need to leave, and if you do so quietly, I won’t say anything to the police.”

It’s a lie, but it’s the only thing I can think to do. I start backing up slowly as he starts moving toward me. That’s when I see the gun in his hand. I look around for anything I can use as a weapon, and I look to the door, seeing if I have a chance to escape. It’s maybe fifteen feet away. If I run fast, I can make it out. I don’t care if I’m in nothing but a towel. I need out.

He eyes me, then the door, catching on, and when he sets into motion, gaining speed, I run. Right as my hand twists the knob and the door opens slightly, he grabs my wet hair and pulls it, yanking me back into the house. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he throws me to the floor, and I hit my elbow so hard I scream.

“You stupid little bitch. I could have had you, and you had to mess it all up. Now I have to end you both!”

My eyes widen, and I look at him rub the gun against his temple, his eyes manic. “What? Why are you doing this?”

“You turned me down. Over and over and over. Thinking you were too good for me. Ha! Look at you. You’re lucky a man like me would even consider a girl like you.”

If it were Theo saying this, that would hurt, but given that it’s this psychotic man, it doesn’t sting, not even in the slightest.

“Dax, I didn’t want to be friends with anyone or have anybody in my life. I didn’t want to get hurt,” I try to reason with him, giving him the sad truth of the real reason I wasn’t interested.

“Bullshit! You come here, and within a week you’re fucking that piece of shit like some slut!” he yells, waving the gun at me. I scuttle back, my body reaching the bottom of the stairs. “So when you turned me down, I saw her, Angelic. She looked just like you. I needed to feel what it would be like to have you. So I took the next best thing,” he admits, the sick theory making my stomach turn.

“Is she alive?” I question, knowing the answer will most likely be one I don’t want to hear.

“Yes. For now. But because you had to come to this fucking town and leave nothing for me to follow, I had to do some dirty work. So I planted her shit in your place. Used our access as writers for the papers to hack into the system, and I tried to find out where you were, but the cops didn’t know.” He steps closer, and I try to scurry away, but I have nowhere else to go. If I move to run up the stairs, he just might shoot me.

“So I had to find your parents.” He pauses and laughs. “Man, do they hate you, and holy hell did that work in my favor. I told them I was a friend and that you left in the middle of the night, and we were worried. They were hesitant. Didn’t see why they should say anything or even care for that matter. But then they said they believed you were here, taking the money they clearly felt they deserved. The disdain they had for you—God, no wonder you were such a sad, miserable bitch.” He takes the gun and runs it over my naked calf, my blood going colder, and I didn’t think that was possible.

“So when they said that, I saw an in. If they told me where you were, I would take you and make you sign over all the inheritance. They bought it, and boom—I found you. But then that fucker found you first.”

The way he talks about Theo makes my blood boil. I don’t care what he says about me, but what he says about the man I love makes me want to hurt him. Yes, actually cause him pain. A swift kick to the fucking nuts.

Am I shocked my parents would do this? No. When I finished all the letters from my grandfather, especially the ones between them, I knew they would do anything for my inheritance. But they didn’t get a dime. Selling my soul for money isn’t something I would put past them.

“But now, the cops are on to me, and I don’t have time to do this with you anymore, so I think there is only one option.” He leans in, tucking my wet hair behind my head, the touch repulsing me.

“What’s that?” I dare to ask him this, knowing the answer will be sinister.

He laughs. “Oh, sweet Hanna. That would be to kill you both and then myself.”