Richard

“I’m worried,” I said again, lying back against my pillow.

“I know you are,” she whispered soothingly over the phone. “And you’re tired. You should get some sleep.”

“I guess,” I muttered, though I didn’t know how I’d ever be able to close my eyes with the thought of Jessica in Michael’s clutches running through my head.

“I love you, Richard.”

“I love you too, Jess,” I whispered back before I heard the soft beep that signaled the end of the call.

I sat awake in bed for what felt like hours before I eventually managed to close my eyes and drift into a fitful sleep. All the while I hoped that somehow my stepsister would be okay, and that after all of this was done, I’d be able to hold her in my arms again.

_ NINETEEN_

Jessica

AEO was throwing their annual party to welcome their pledges as full brothers, which was a perfect time for me to get close to Michael. Just the thought of it had my skin crawling as I stood in front of the full length mirror that Becky and I both shared.

I was dressed in a short mini-skirt with a tight black top that clung to me in way I wasn’t used to from my clothes. I shivered as my stomach peeked out from the bottom of the top, exposing the bottom half of my bellybutton. Normally I was covered from neck to knee, my tops barely ever showing even an inch of my cleavage. While most girls had spent their time in school trying to get people to notice their bodies, I had always done my best to make sure everyone ignored mine.

Seeing how I looked now, I knew that I was going to be very hard to ignore.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked looking over at Becky. “I feel so weird wearing this.”

“I know, sweetie,” she said, giving me a distressed smile. “It’s not my usual fare either, but we need something that will help you blend in with the kind of girls who go to parties at AEO.”

I sighed, trying to tuck the bottom of the top down over my exposed midriff, which only served in exposing more of my substantial cleavage, enhanced all the more by the push-up bra I was wearing underneath. This felt so strange, so… not me.

“You’re going to do great,” Greg said. “I’m going to be listening in to everything that happens, and you’ll be able to hear me.”

He walked over, holding out what looked like a flesh-colored lump of plastic.

“What’s that?” I asked, frowning at it.

“An earpiece,” he said. “Can’t really have you on your phone the entire time, can we?”

I looked at him, my eyebrows raised.

“Where did you get all of this, Greg?” Becky asked, picking up what looked like a black rectangle from the bed. “It looks really expensive.

“A friend of mine needed to get some of it out of his dorm before an inspection,” he said, smiling nervously as I took the ear-piece from him and tentatively fitted it into my ear. “Look, don’t try to think about what he was doing with it… Just be glad it was there. Stuff like this isn’t exactly permitted on campus… or anywhere.”

“Are we going to get in trouble for having this stuff?” I asked, frowning at the thought of campus PD opening my bad to find a slew of contraband electronics.

“Oh, definitely,” he said, trying to play it off with a laugh. “But only if we’re caught.”

I sighed, turning back to my reflection. I barely even recognized the woman staring back, and that scared me almost as much as the crazy stunt we were about to pull.

“Run me through it again,” I said, taking a deep breath to try and calm myself, albeit unsuccessfully.

“You’re going to have the device in your purse while you’re at the party. All you have to do is find Michael. Stand within at least five feet of him for about ten minutes or so. I’ll send him a text message that sets everything off. We’re using a zero-day exploit, and it works fast. Same tricks those hackers used to get all the naked celebrity pics. Anyway, that’s about how long I need to clone his phone. Becky and I will be close by with city PD on speed dial if anything goes wrong. I’ll be able to hear you with the microphone in your choker, it picks up the sounds in your throat instead of the noise around you.”

“What if he sees me?” I asked, swallowing hard as I imagine Michael’s cold eyes turning their gaze on me, that hungry glint burning behind his stare. “What do I do?”

“Keep calm and just wait for my signal to leave. He won’t know what we’re doing so long as everything goes according to plan.”

Less than an hour later, I was walking through the doors of AEO, clutching my purse close to me as I scanned the crowd for any sign of Michael. I swallowed nervously as I pushed and wove my way through the crowd of bodies as the base thrummed through my body and down to my bones. The sound reminded me of Richard, the way he’d turned my whole life upside down and shaken me to my core that night at my going away party.

“Everything okay in there?” Greg’s asked over the ear-piece, his voice faint compared to the sound of the stereo system.

“I can barely hear you,” I said, my voice low.

“How about now?” he asked, the sound in my ear a bit loud, but enough that I could hear him over the people and the music in the background.

“Better. I haven’t spotted Michael yet.”

“Just keep looking,” he said. “Knowing him, he’s probably watching over everyone, pretending to be the big man in charge.”

I glanced over toward the main staircase, keeping my head low so as not to attract attention from anyone who might recognize me. As much as I hated them, I could at least owe it to this crowd for keeping me somewhat hidden.

It only took a few more minutes of searching to finally spot Michael, sure enough standing at the top of the stairs, looking down his nose at the crowd below. He sneered, looking down his nose at the people who had initiated him into their ranks like they were all slugs that he longed to squash.

“I see him,” I said, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “I’m going to try and get closer.”

“Just remember,” Greg said as I wove my way toward the stairs, “you need to get close, Jessica.”

Easier said than done, I thought. Five feet was plenty close enough for him to grab me, to pull me somewhere that he could do to me what he’d done to Becky. After everything that had happened between us in the past, I didn’t expect much in the way of mercy if the worst should happen.

I situated myself against the staircase just underneath Michael as he surveyed the crowd. With my back against the wall I could feel the rumble of the bass with every note, vibrating my skull. I glanced up nervously, hoping that I was close enough to him for the device to do its work.

“I’ve sent the text to his number and I’m starting the process. Just stay close Jessica and don’t let him get away.”

“Yeah, right. 007, out,” I muttered mockingly, forgetting that the microphone could even pick up my slightest whisper.

“I heard that.”

I sighed, shaking my head as I felt the seconds tick by and wishing that Richard were here with me. I only hoped that he hadn’t ignored my warning. We were so close to being free of Michael, and if he even saw a hint that Richard was there, he might ruin everything. I felt awful leaving him out, but I knew it had been the only way.

A loud crash from up above tore my attention from my thoughts and up toward the top of the stairs where the noise had come from.

As I turned my gaze upward, my gaze immediately fell on Michael, watching in horror as his eyes met my own for a lingering moment. I watched his face twitch slightly, though I couldn’t tell if he recognized me. He turned, walking up onto the second floor and out of sight.