22. Ellie
22
ELLIE
God, my head hurt so bad. My eyes opened slowly, but I wanted to close them right back because the light made my head hurt worse. I realized, though, in the brief moment my eyes were open, that I didn’t recognize the space. I tried to open them again, succeeding enough to take in the fact that I definitely did not know where I was.
Even though it hurt using my brain, things started to come back to me. At the pub, looking for Wade . Beth walking out the back door with me, only to be hit by something. And then nothing. This looked like a house, but I didn’t think I’d ever been here before.
I realized I was on a bed, but when I went to move my arms to sit up, I couldn’t. I looked up and realized my arms were tied to the top of the bed. Okay this wasn’t good. I started to pull my arms hard to try to release them, but there was no give. I could feel the panic rising in me, because, let’s face it, no one hit you over the head, took you to a strange house, and tied you up for a good reason.
My legs weren’t tied, so I tried to scoot myself into more of a sitting position closer to the headboard. There was a window to my right and a big tree outside, so I couldn’t see whether I was in a neighborhood, on a farm, or anything. Just then, I heard the door open and a familiar voice that brought chills to my spine.
“Glad to see you finally woke up, Elliana ,” Randall said from the doorway with a big smile on his face and a glass of what looked like water in his hand. “ You’ve been very bad, Elliana , and now we have to talk.”
Fear filled my body, because I knew that look on his face. It was the one he would get when he was mad and about to get violent with me.
“I’m very displeased you tried to run away from me, Elliana ,” he said appearing calm on the outside, but I knew he wasn’t. “ But what really distresses me is that you have been unfaithful.”
Oh God . Wade . Is that why I couldn’t find Wade outside? Did he hurt him too? And what happened to Beth ?
“Wh... Where’s Beth ?” I asked as my voice cracked a little. “ Did you hurt her?”
“Hurt Beth ?” He chuckled a little. “ Of course not. She’s been helping me all along on this little recovery mission.”
That answer shocked me, and he must have seen it on my face because his smile grew bigger as he walked further into the room. I tried to curl my body up more, but my hands being tied above me made that much harder.
“That first time you answered the phone at the pub, I was already here in Georgia ,” he started to explain with a smirk on his face that exuded hostility. “ I tracked your car here, but what I didn’t know was whether you were parked here for the pub or something nearby. When you answered the phone, I knew I’d hit the jackpot. Right after you hung up, Beth walked out of the pub. I simply explained to her that I was your boyfriend and that we’d had a small spat but I was planning to get you back. She was more than happy to give me your schedule so that I could surprise you.”
The way he said surprise told me he didn’t mean it in a good way, but Beth likely took it that way.
“I have to admit that I thought he was a bit creepy at first and wasn’t sure I was going to help him,” Beth said, stepping into the door frame behind Randall with a small grin on her face, which quickly morphed into something downright evil. “ But then you had to go and steal something that wasn’t yours. Wade is mine! He and I were getting close and were going to be lovers if you hadn’t stepped in,” she said as she started walking towards me.
It all started coming back to me. How she kept asking about whether Wade and I were a thing.
“Oh God ,” I gasped. “ You wrote the note with the tip money,” I surmised out loud.
“Not just that,” she said, pride written across her face. “ All the things to your car? That was me.” She giggled a little maniacally. “ I could tell they drove you crazy.”
This was not the same Beth I knew. The woman in front of me was unhinged.
I shook my head, saying, “ I didn’t do anything to you. Why? —”
“You lied to me!” she screamed, her voice rising. “ You told me and Tammy you weren’t interested in men, that you were giving up dating—but you lied! You were with him the whole time. He held your hand, he kissed you. I saw it with my own two eyes, and I knew you had put your whore hands all over him and slept with him!”
Her voice had risen to a full-blown yell. “ The only way he would betray me like that is if you tricked him—if you seduced him away from me!”
“Calm down, Beth ,” Randall interrupted for the first time since she started going off the rails, his voice edged with irritation, as if even he found her sudden outburst exhausting. “ I can assure you she will be punished for cheating on me.”
Then he turned back to me, his eyes filled with venom—and a twisted excitement, no doubt from the things he planned to do to me.
Oddly, Randall’s words seem to have an effect on her. She calmed down instantly.
“Yes, I need to leave anyway, because when Wade finds out that you left him to go back to Randall , he will be very upset, and I plan to help soothe him and return us to the wonderful relationship we had before you arrived,” she said, nodding to herself as though her crazy thoughts would actually turn into reality.
“Go ahead, Beth . I have everything I need here. Your services are no longer needed. I’ll will walk you out,” he said and followed her out the door.
I realized I didn’t have much time, but I had to figure out a way out of here, because when he came back, he would likely beat me to within inches of my life, if he even let me live at all. I turned my body to see how my arms were tied to the bed to see if I could position myself to loosen them or get out. I struggled and was able to get my mouth close to try to use my teeth to undo the knots, but they were on tight.
Bang! Bang !
I flinched at the sound of the gunshots. Two , and not far. I froze. Who was that? Why were there no screams? I tried to work even more frantically at my ties because I had no idea what was happening in the other part of the house, but I knew I couldn’t stay there.
“Ah, Elliana , nice try, but you will not be leaving.” Randall came back into the room with a gun in his hand as he wiped it on his shirt. “ Sorry about the delay, but as helpful as Beth has been up to this point, I don’t like loose ends, and sadly, she became someone who knew a little too much.”
I realized now that the gunshots came from Randall , and he must have shot her.
“Y- You … you killed her?” I stuttered, asking what I already knew was likely true but still needing the confirmation.
“It pains me a little because she was so helpful—especially when that boss of yours started to encroach on what belonged to me,” he said, his voice laced with even more malice. “ But I also couldn't have her running back to that man and telling him what she knows. However , I understand she helped us, and I know this upsets you, so we can take her with us, and I will bury her with the others.”
“Others?” I squeaked, and his face oddly softened.
“Sweetheart, we aren’t the only ones who know this relationship was meant to be. But there have been a few bumps along the way, so I’ve had to remove a few obstacles.”
I had been scared before, but now I was terrified—not just at the fact that he had obviously killed other people, but at how easily he spoke about it, as if burying them was just another chore.
I thought of Katie . I knew she would never willingly help Randall , knowing the monster he had become, but she had been radio silent for the last few days. I was worried about her.
“Katie?” I asked with a bit of a cry.
“That bitch?” he snarled, and his demeanor changed once again. “ No , but I should have killed her with your grandma for trying to interfere in our connection.”
My heart stopped. Gran . My beautiful, sweet Gran .
“Gran,” I whispered with a huge lump in my throat. “ She fell down the stairs… I found her when I got home from work.”
“Of course she did, sweetheart.” He nodded and moved his hand to my leg as he sat on the bed next to me. I scooted my leg away as best I could, but he grabbed ahold of my ankle tight and squeezed.
“She didn’t want you moving in with me, and she wanted you to go away to college.” He started shaking his head in disbelief. “ She was preventing us from taking the next step, and I couldn’t let that happen. You didn’t need to go to college. I could have given us everything we needed. She just wouldn’t let that happen.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“I went to your house to have a chat with her and explain you would be moving in with me and that was final, and she had the nerve to tell me no.” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe someone would tell him anything other than what he wanted to hear.
“She was old. Old people fall down the stairs all the time. I just simply assisted her,” he said with a shrug.
I was overwhelmed with emotions—anger that he killed her, sadness for my poor grandma who had done nothing wrong, and fear because I now realized he had no problem killing. If he was so flippant about their deaths, what would stop him from killing me too?
I thought of my brother and how I would never get to see him again. Wade … Sweet , handsome Wade . He finally opened himself up to being with someone, and he picked me. If I didn’t make it out of this, he would go right back to his hidey hole, and I couldn’t let him do that. I needed to survive so I could heal with him. The two of us together.
Randall must have misinterpreted the look on my face, because his softened a bit as he looked at me.
“It’s okay now, darling. There is no one else in our way,” he said, staring at me and obviously very happy with himself. “ You will, of course, need to be punished because this long scavenger hunt you’ve sent me on has gotten me in trouble with work, and we cannot have that. But we’re destined to be together, so we’ll get through this and come out better on the other side,” he said, putting his hand on my cheek.
I flinched and he smiled.
I knew in that moment I had to get out of there. I had to find some way of distracting him and finding a way out.
“O- Okay , Randall ,” I said, trying to placate him to buy myself some time. “ I understand. I have to use the restroom. Can you help me, honey?” I hoped the endearment and submission would allow me to get out of these restraints.
“Nice try, Elliana .” He moved the hand from my cheek to my neck and squeezed. “ You aren’t leaving this bed until you’ve been punished, and you will be punished thoroughly.” His smug smile came back onto his face. “ And you can scream as loud as you want, and no one will hear you. I rented this house for the week because it’s remote with no neighbors anywhere nearby. Exactly what we needed for your punishment. Then we’ll head home to Tennessee where we belong.”
He stood up from the bed and started to take the belt off his pants. I began to shake, knowing what was about to happen. He walked over to me, and I started to scramble up on the bed. I couldn’t use my arms, but I could use my legs, so when he got close, I kicked my right leg out and got him right in the crotch. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees. He was heaving with one hand on the floor and the other over his family jewels.
“You will pay for that, Elliana ,” he growled at me with a tinge of pain in his voice.
I was frantically trying to think of how to get out of this situation. Think , Ellie . Think !
Still cupping his junk with one hand and breathing heavily, he sat up a little and used his other hand to grab my leg and pull himself up. Once upright, he sat on me so I couldn’t move. His weight on my legs prevented me from kicking out. I started to scream, even though I knew it was unlikely anyone could hear me. I only got a brief scream out, and then his free hand was on my neck.
“You’ll be sorry you did that, Elliana ,” he wheezed, but with the full force of anger.
He squeezed my throat harder, and it began getting hard to breathe. I tried moving but I couldn’t do much with my arms still tethered to the headboard and his body pinning my legs. I was frantic, trying anything as I felt my chest tighten, struggling to get breath. I closed my eyes, trying to focus, when all of a sudden, the restricting feeling on my throat was gone and I heard Randall yell. I opened my eyes as I gasped in a huge breath. I saw Randall being thrown to the ground by a man in black, and the next thing I knew, I saw Wade’s beautiful face in front of me. I wondered if I’d blacked out. Yes , I must have blacked out, and Wade was now the angel of death taking me away.