Dream a Little Dream (To Love a Psycho #1)

Chapter Twenty-Two Psycho

chapter twenty-two

Psycho

Aaron sat on Kenny’s doorstep, head in his hands.

If the bastards hadn’t taken his phone, maybe he’d be doing something, anything, more than sitting here like an idiot, waiting and hoping. His mind was a chaotic blur, fragments of memories, flashes of fear, and half-formed thoughts crashing together, leaving him numb and reeling. He couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe . Everything inside him was a tangled mess of panic and rage.

He needed Kenny .

But he’d pushed him away when he should’ve let him in. Allowed him to pick his brain apart and make sense of this madness days ago instead of sulking and resisting. Because now Aaron was stuck here , holding pieces he couldn’t put together, wondering if Kenny held the key to it all and hating himself for not letting him use it.

The surrounding darkness thickened, a shroud wrapping around him tighter, pressing in. He pulled out the pamphlet Drew had given him, the address printed in bold, stark letters. He knew this place. Could see it in his mind, etched into memories that had barely settled into focus. If he had his phone, he could look it up, confirm the details, but he didn’t. All he had were fragmented memories and instinct. And a sense that this was where everything had started.

Something in him clicked. Clenching his fists, he stood and grabbed his bag as he turned away from Kenny’s house. He followed the path down Kenny’s drive, steps brisk, outside lights switching on in his wake as if bidding him farewell. When he hit the end of the street, a bus pulled up, headlights cutting through the night.

He raised a hand, barely conscious of the gesture, and the doors hissed open. “You go anywhere near Wilton?”

“Yeah, I go through it,” the driver replied.

Aaron stepped on, buzzing his student card, making his way to the back of the bus. He sank into a seat, staring at his own reflection in the window, watching the lights fade and die as the bus lurched forward, taking him away from the familiar and into the depths of his past.

Wilton was a tiny, forgotten village nestled among twisting lanes, barely more than a handful of houses and the sprawling Wilton Farm, with the Ryston River running through its quiet heart. When the bus finally slowed at the lone stop, Aaron got off, feet hitting the ground with a strange finality.

“Last bus in an hour,” the driver called to him. “After that, you’re stuck till morning.”

Aaron nodded absently. Guess he wasn’t in London anymore. No. He was back here, back where it all started, or close enough. A feeling settled over him, equal parts dread and familiarity.

Home .

Dark branches stretched out like skeletal hands, twisting around him as he made his way down the empty lane to an overgrown path, where a sickly orange glow from a nearby streetlamp cast everything in an eerie, feverish light. Was it fate tonight was Halloween? Or was it just apt?

Then there, tucked just off the road, he saw the house. Almost swallowed by nature itself, with ivy creeping up its walls, trees growing too close, branches scratching the cracked windows, and the walls smeared with years of grime. It didn’t look like anyone could live there. But Aaron knew someone did. Someone who cared very little about appearances.

He remembered this place.

And it stabbed him in the jugular.

There should have been another house along the winding lane. A grand old manor, with a sweeping garden stretching endlessly into the horizon. Acres of wild, untamed land surrounding it, a perfect haven for a child’s imagination. A home and grounds that had been his kingdom. His sanctuary . He could see it in his mind now, vivid and bright, the place where he’d spun tales of princes and knights, pirates and heroes. Back then, he’d believed in heroes. He’d wanted to be one.

He hadn’t known then that heroes were flawed too.

But his childhood dreams had grown in the shadow of a monster’s lair. That house—his playground, his refuge—had been steeped in something far darker than his young mind could comprehend. He hadn’t known. Couldn’t have known. That beneath its worn beams and creaking floors lay the makings of horror. And now it was gone. Demolished. Wiped from the earth like a stain scrubbed clean. All that remained was a wasteland. Mounds of churned-up mud and rubble where memories still lingered, clinging to the air like ghosts. The sight of it struck Aaron with a force he hadn’t braced for, a hollow ache opening wide in his chest. It wasn’t just the house that was gone. It was the last shred of innocence he had ever known.

His throat tightened, breath catching. He clenched his fists, fingernails digging into his palms as the weight of it all bore down on him. He wanted to scream, to rage against the void where his childhood had once stood. But what good would it do? The house was gone, and so was the boy who had dreamed of heroes. In his place stood someone who knew not all stories had one.

And some villains didn’t even hide.

This house, though, the one he’d been called to, had been his neighbour’s. The man inside always hovering at the edges, like a shadow never quite vanishing, blending into the periphery of Aaron’s childhood. Why hadn’t he remembered sooner? Why hadn’t the pieces clicked? Standing here now, with the house looming in front of him like a dark monolith, it all came rushing back, crashing into him in suffocating, chaotic waves and his knees buckled, legs refusing to carry him forward as if they knew what waited for him inside.

Memories clawed their way to the surface. Fragmented and distorted, but sharp enough to cut. He had been a child . Drugged into a haze and locked in a cupboard for most of the time. He couldn’t have expected to remember everything. It was too monstrous to comprehend. Yet now, as the house loomed over him, and the fragments pieced themselves together, each one a shard of glass reflecting a twisted truth, he remembered it all. The man inside that house had been there, drifting in and out of his parents’ lives with a quiet omnipresence. Watching. Whispering words burrowing deep into their minds. Words that didn’t seem to belong to anyone but had poisoned everything.

Aaron took a faltering step forward, body rebelling even as something pulled him toward the house and the name came rushing back with sickening clarity.

Drew.

The puzzle wasn’t complete yet, but the edges were there, sharp and jagged, and he could feel the picture forming. A picture he was terrified to see.

“Fuck, shit, shit .”

It all made sense now. Drew had told him about the roses. Aaron had told Drew about Rahul. But why Rahul? What did he mean? What was all that about?

The answer felt close, just out of reach, tangled in Drew’s sick logic.

It’s all about the why.

Aaron’s pulse thundered, mind a whirlwind of questions spinning faster and faster until they sharpened into a singular, dangerous truth: He needed to know the why. It was why he was here. Why he’d come back to Ryston. Why he’d stalked Kenny for three years. Because he had to know.

Even if it killed him.

It might.

Adrenaline surged, dulling the instinct to run. He couldn’t. Not now. Not when he’d come so far, and his legs carried him up the overgrown path, through the choking shadows of the skeletal trees, and to the door of the decaying house. He didn’t hesitate, slamming his fist against the lacquered wood, the force rattling his arm as the sound echoed through the silent night.

The door creaked open, and Drew stood there, smile like a predator savouring its prey. “Aaron, I’m so glad you could join us.”

That smile . Ingratiating. Unnerving. Now so fucking familiar . Aaron’s skin crawled with the memory of it. Of the way Drew had sat across from him, feigning understanding, playing the role of a confidant, and his blood ran cold as Drew gestured him inside as if welcoming a guest to a dinner party.

“Come in. You’ve come all this way.”

The stench hit him before the door fully opened. Heavy. Cloying. Wrapping around him like a suffocating shroud. The air was stale, heavy with the nauseating rot of mildew and decay, mingling with something worse. He wretched.

“Why?” Aaron asked, voice tight, strained.

Drew’s smile widened, his teeth yellow in the dim light. “To meet your destiny.”

“Why Rahul ?” he spat, shaking with anger. “Why him? He was no one to you!”

“But he was someone to you .” Drew’s tone was light, conversational, as though they were discussing the weather. “And that matters.” He stepped aside, beckoning Aaron again with a calm, almost fatherly gesture. “Come inside. Let me explain.”

Guilt crashed down on Aaron like a tidal wave. I told him about Rahul. The realisation made him sick. He had handed Drew the perfect target, unknowingly played into his hands, and now—

“Come on.” Drew’s tone turned darker, more insistent. “You came here for answers, didn’t you? You’ve been out there on your own for so long, haven’t you? No one to guide you. Trying to fend for yourself. And you’ve done a fantastic job, but you can never truly understand where you came from and who you are until you step inside and let me show you.”

Aaron couldn’t move, his feet rooted to the ground as his body warred with his mind. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but something stronger kept him there—the need to know, to understand.

The search for that illicit why .

“I’m not going in there,” Aaron said, voice steadier than he felt.

Drew chuckled, low and soft. “Of course you will. You’re curious. And curiosity, Aaron …” He leaned closer, his smile twisting. “Curiosity is what brought you here. It’s what ties us together. You and me, we’re not so different. I see it in you. The need to understand. To know . And you know what’s funny? The truth you’re chasing? It’s already part of you. It always has been.”

Aaron wanted to hit him, to knock that smug smile off his face, but his body refused to move. And what made it all the worse? Drew was right .

“I promise, you’re safe. No one would dare harm you. Imagine Roisin’s wrath if I did.” He chuckled, as if finding all this amusing . “I mean, look at what happened to your father.”

Aaron froze, the words slicing through him like a blade. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Drew’s eyes glittered with secrets he wasn’t ready to share. “I think you already know.” He stepped back into the house, darkness swallowing him whole as he spoke over his shoulder. “Come inside. I’m letting all the heat out.”

Aaron knew he should flee. He knew it. Nothing good could come of stepping inside this house. But his defiance burned brighter than his fear. He hadn’t come back to Ryston, to Wilton, only to turn and run away. He was here to confront whatever darkness lurked within these walls. In himself . To face the man who had twisted his life into this nightmare. So, steeling himself, he stepped over the threshold. The door closed behind him with a resounding thud, sealing him inside with the monster who had dragged him back to the edge of his past, daring him to survive it.

Maybe it was because, deep down, he’d always known he was untouchable. That nothing, no matter how monstrous, could break him. He’d carried that belief for as long as he could remember. A fortress he’d built around himself, its walls bolstered by his mother’s shadow. He’d thought it was her love shielding him, keeping the world’s horrors at bay.

But it wasn’t love. It never had been.

As he’d always suspected, he had the devil watching over him.

So as he followed Drew down the dim corridor, the truth tightening around him like chains, realisation stung. Devotion hadn’t forged his mother’s shield. The devil’s hand had. And the devil didn’t love . He possessed .

The air grew heavier, colder, as they descended deeper into the heart of the broken house. Religious symbols littered the walls. Faded, grimy crosses and fractured frames, their presence more oppressive than comforting, as if mocking any notion of salvation. Each step carried him closer to the suffocating darkness, to the stench of rot clinging to everything like a second skin.

Then, from somewhere ahead, came a sound. A faint rustling. A soft, muffled whimper.

Aaron stopped cold. “What the fuck was that?” He widened his eyes. He might be invincible, but he was still shit fucking scared.

“That’s your gift.”

“My what?”

Drew opened a door, holding out his arm in a big reveal, as if he were a game show host showing what the contestants could have won. He looked practically giddy with it, too. And Aaron’s heart pounded as he stepped into a blank room, breath robbed. Because there, in the centre, on a single chair, sat a young girl. Wrists tied, mouth gagged, eyes wide and terrified . Dressed as Wednesday Addams, plaited hair trailing down to her shaking arms. She looked at him. Desperate. Pleading.

“You’ll thank me for this.” Drew slithered into the room like a poisonous serpent, positioned himself behind the girl and dumped his hands on her trembling shoulders as if staking a claim.

Dread curled at the edge of Aaron’s mind. This girl wasn’t just a victim. She was another piece of Drew’s twisted puzzle, and Aaron had walked right into his labyrinth of horror. Willingly .

Every muscle in his body screamed to move, to do something, but he was rooted to the spot, mind a cacophony of panic and fury. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the girl and her small, fragile frame sinking into the chair as though she wished she could disappear into the floorboard, soft cries breaking the heavy silence and searing through him like a blade into flesh.

“Meet Alice.” Drew stroked his knuckles along her tear-streaked cheek in a grotesque parody of comfort. The girl flinched at his touch, wide, terrified eyes darting to Aaron, pleading with him to intervene. Her panic mirrored his own, her desperation clawing at his resolve.

Drew leaned down, his breath brushing the girl’s ear as her uncontrollable trembles rattled the chair legs. “She already knows you, of course. Don’t you, Alice?”

Alice couldn’t respond. She could only stare at Aaron, eyes shimmering with tears spilling over in silent, anguished agreement. The raw, helpless fear in her eyes sent a fresh wave of nausea through him, hands trembling at his sides as he fought to maintain control.

“She’s been talking to you for weeks now.” Drew straightened with a smile chilling Aaron to his core. “She told me how excited she was to meet you. You even invited her here, didn’t you? For a party. And would you believe she’s here with her mother’s blessing?”

Aaron blinked, his mind scrambling to process the words.

Drew tapped the girl’s shoulder, mockingly playful. “Tell Aaron who your mother is.”

The girl choked, body convulsing with fear. She couldn’t speak. The gag tied forcefully around her mouth muffled her attempts, but her eyes screamed the answer loud enough.

Drew shook his head, feigning exasperation. “Her mother is Heather .”

The room spun. Aaron’s vision tunnelled as Drew’s words slammed into him, one after another. Heather ? Kenny’s Heather?

“And guess where Heather is right now?” Drew’s tone was light, conversational , as if sharing a harmless secret. “Guess who she’d rather be with than ensure her daughter’s safety?” He tutted, shaking his head in mock disapproval. “Dr Kenneth Lyons.”

Aaron couldn’t breathe and the ground underneath him was unsteady, the weight of Drew’s words pressing down like a vice. Kenny . His mind raced, the thought of him—his touch, his voice—colliding with the horrifying reality in front of him. This little girl was here because of him. Because of Aaron .

Drew glanced at his watch. “They’re probably skipping dinner right about now. Straight to the fucking, don’t you think?” His voice turned mocking, each word laced with venom. “Well, you would know, wouldn’t you, Aaron? Is Dr Lyons someone who forgoes a meal to satisfy his other hungers first? Someone who lets primal urges consume him? Oh, he’d tell you all about why that is, wouldn’t he? How sexual drive is one of the most powerful motivators. It’s instinct, isn’t it? People like him, who crave control, are slaves to their own desires.”

Aaron balled his hands into fists so tight his nails bit into his palms. Every word Drew spoke fanned the fire of his anger and self-loathing, the guilt roaring in his chest like an inferno. The venomous insinuations about Kenny tore at him, but it was Alice’s terror shattering him completely. Her small, trembling frame was a reminder of everything he hadn’t been able to stop.

“Why are you doing this?”

Drew tilted his head, eyes gleaming with a sadistic light. “Because, Aaron,” he said softly, almost lovingly, like a doting parent, “this is what you were born for.”

Aaron’s stomach twisted. He wanted to flee. But how could he when this little girl was there, pleading with him? How could he leave her? Oh, God, this was so much worse than he could ever have imagined and he was stuck, body and mind.

“So we have a couple of things to prepare…” Drew said as if this was some dinner party and he still needed to fold the napkins. He clapped his hands, loud and unnerving. Aaron and the girl flinched, with Alice sobbing into her gag. “Ah, yes, here we go.” Drew reached over to the cast iron fireplace, retrieving a knife. A huge, unyielding knife that he speared so close to the girl’s throat, she hyperventilated. “Now, Aaron.” He shook his head with a laugh. “That name…ahh, it’s just not right. Your mother won’t approve.” He fished out his mobile phone from his pocket and scrolled through. “You need to tell Dr Lyons to meet you at the place where they found his sister.”

Aaron tensed. “What?”

“We need to get him here. Because he needs to see you for who you are. How beautiful you are! Well, he already knows how beautiful you are, doesn’t he?” He put the phone to his ear and winked. “It’s ringing.”

“I’m not doing anything—”

“Then I’ll slice her throat right here, right now.” Drew’s voice was a threatening growl, vastly different to his insufferable composure of before. “And considering all evidence leads to you, I’m not sure how you’ll get out of it. Then you’ll have to answer to not only the authorities but also, much, much worse, your mother .”

The girl sobbed.

Drew waggled the mobile, the call ringing.

Aaron stepped forward, snatching the phone, eyes on the petrified little girl. He put the phone to his ear as Kenny answered with his usual professional, “ Dr Lyons?”

“Kenny?” His voice came out shaky, dripping with regret, remorse, pain and every other emotion he thought he didn’t have. Mostly fear. Dread. Terror .

“ Aaron ?”

Aaron closed his eyes and a single tear slipped free, tracing a hot, bitter line down his face. He opened them quickly, forcing his gaze to the little girl in front of him. Her wide, terrified eyes locked onto his, pleading for something—anything—that could save her. His breath shuddered as the weight of it all crashed over him. This was his fault. Every second of her fear, every tear staining her cheeks, it all led back to him. She was here because of who he was, because of the darkness he carried and the past he’d been too stubborn to bury. The choices he’d made, the risks he’d taken. They’d brought them to this moment. And how his reckless, selfish pursuit of Kenny, wanting something he didn’t even know how to name, had set this horror in motion, blind to the consequences. For this little girl. For Kenny.

For himself.

His heart twisted in pain as he realised what came next. There was no coming back from this. Not for him. Because when this was over—when Drew’s sick game reached its inevitable, bloody end—Kenny wouldn’t think of him the same way ever again. And that cut deeper than anything Drew could ever do to him with the knife he currently had at a little girl’s neck.

“You need to come here.”

“ Aaron? What the fuck? Where are you? You okay?”

“No, Kenny. No, I’m not.”

“Sorry, Aaron, I can’t deal with this right—”

“You need to come to the place where they found your sister.” God, he hated saying those words. Giving Kenny that pain.

There was a pause. “ What the fuck is going on ?”

“Please, Kenny. Please .” Aaron hadn’t ever begged in his life, but he did then. Begged for this all to end. However it was destined to.

Drew marched over, took the phone from Aaron, and closed the call. “Well done.” He grinned. “I knew you had this in you. Imagine it, Aaron. Imagine Dr Lyons finding his girlfriend’s daughter in the exact same way they found his twin sister? Imagine how that will destroy him. You feel that , right?”

Through sheer will and bloody-mindedness, Aaron glared at him.

“Don’t worry, I know this is your first time. First times are always messy. It’s why I’m here. To ensure it goes to satisfactory standards. If there’s one thing Roisin doesn’t stand for, it’s sloppiness. It is a real shame she isn’t here to see this herself, but we’ll add the roses so she’ll know it’s you. She’ll like that.”

“But you already have this all pointing to me. How is that not sloppy? How am I meant to get away with this? Isn’t that what she would want?” Aaron had no idea what she would want, but he hoped not this .

But he didn’t know her. Not really. He’d known a version of her. One who’d cherished him. Given him a childhood so wonderful that his existence since his departure from her life held nothing but misery and pain. And how he was so damn mixed up about that.

“I have it all worked out. As I always do. When the police are hellbent on pinning this on someone else, it’s easy to fly under the radar and hone your craft. It’s when people go rogue that things stop working.” Drew pointed the tip of the knife at the girl. “Bring her, will you?”

Aaron glanced back at the girl. “I’m not doing this.”

Drew took a step over to where a rifle leaned up against the wall, and he picked it up to point the barrel at Aaron’s face. “If you don’t, Dr Lyons will find two bodies. And that just doesn’t work. We want him to suffer! To understand.”

“Understand what?”

“What it is to love a psychopath !” Drew threw his head back with a sadistic laugh. “She is quite the genius.”

“Who is?”

“Your mother.” Drew unlocked the safety on the rifle. “I’ve been watching out for you for her. Making sure you chose the right path. That you ended up right where you belong. We’ve been waiting for you to find your way back home.” He gestured the rifle to the girl. “Now chop, chop.” He clucked his tongue. “You’re the man of the house now. You bring home the meat .” He waved the tip of his knife at the girl.

Aaron was waiting for him to falter. To misstep. But this bloke must have had extensive experience in handling and using multiple weapons. Just like all those other victims—of his, of Aaron’s parents—Aaron didn’t stand a chance.

“If you don’t,” Drew continued. “What use does your mother have for you? You are the hunter. She is the gatherer.”

Out of options, Aaron went to the girl, looking right at her, hoping to convey with his eyes he was on her side. She just stared back, trembling, desperately asking him to save her. He wasn’t sure he could. He wasn’t any of those heroes he’d once dreamed of. But he found a part of himself he didn’t know he had because he knew, right then, he’d rather die than be a part of this. So he untied the knot binding her legs to the chair and slid his arm through hers, hoisting her up. She flopped against him as if she couldn’t stand. Merely a rag doll in his arms.

“She’s also had a bit too much to drink.” Drew rolled his eyes. “Parents these days. You’ll have to do most of the moving.” He angled his head impatiently, pointing the rifle at them both, knife tucked into his belt. “We’re on a schedule now.”

He then marched them through the house, to a back door leading out onto a derelict lawn and chillingly to another part of the winding river protected by woodland and dense forestry. Drew stayed behind them both, rifle pointing at the back of their heads. He looked more like a park ranger than someone leading two people to their deaths. Because Aaron knew that if she went, he did too. He wasn’t selfish. Wasn’t saving his own skin to ruin hers. She had more going for herself than he did. And there was a small part of him that knew if he sacrificed her for his own life, Kenny wouldn’t forgive him. Wouldn’t kiss him again. That alone fuelled his need to get through this unscathed, and he kept his arm clutched in hers, holding her close as she stumbled through the sodden mud and wondered where these hidden depths in his psyche had come from.

If he got the chance, he’d ask Kenny.

“It’s okay,” Aaron said, unsure why because nothing about this was okay and she likely couldn’t even hear him anymore. He doubted it was only drink in her system. “I’m getting us out of this.”

They reached an enclosed part of the river, and Drew stopped, glancing around, then regarded him and Alice as if they were pawns on a chessboard. “Now, how was she found, exactly ?” He looked up at the stars as if recalling a memory. “Ah yes.” He then perched the rifle against the tree and pulled the knife from his belt, eyes rabid, a sick satisfaction radiating off him. “She was such a trusting little thing. All I had to do was tell her my puppy was caught in the brambles and with me she came.” He chuckled, recalling the grim memory churning in Aaron’s gut.

That was Kenny’s sister he was laughing about. He was going to regret that. He’d just fuelled Aaron’s desire to put an end to this man. Drew thought he was untouchable.

Aaron was going to enjoy proving he wasn’t.

“Face down, drifting along this very spot.” Drew raised the knife, running the blade through his fingers as he looked between Alice and Aaron, savouring each terrified glance. “So simple. And so effective. Tonight, you’ll give Kenny the same gift. One last cruel twist.”

Aaron tightened his grip on Alice’s arm, holding her upright when she looked ready to lie down and let this all happen. He locked eyes with her, hoping she could see he had no intention of letting anything happen to her, but she wasn’t there. She was gone. Hidden in the drugs. Petrified. So he played along. For now, at least. Not for his safety, or for his life, but for hers . One wrong move, and Drew would jump in and slaughter her, anyway.

He had to plan.

Be creative.

Callous .

It was more than a Marmite jar this time. It was a principle .

“Fine.” Aaron masked his voice with a weary resignation. “What do you want me to do?”

“Take her by the river, hold her down. After that, we’ll have the real fun with all the decorations. I know it might seem harsh, but trust me, it’s the only way. The ultimate liberation. She’ll slip away peacefully, and you’ll finally be free of the chains holding you down. You’ll know what it feels like to be totally in control. To hold a life in your hands and extinguish it like that .” Drew clicked his fingers in the air. “There really is no other feeling like it. Not even sex! Your mother gave you life, now you take it away. It’s Godlike. After a few, you won’t need the drugs. You’ll look forward to the screams.”

Aaron’s stomach twisted, rage surging through him as he watched Drew relish the scene he’d orchestrated. But a thought struck. “Can I take her gag off?” He looked Drew dead in the eye. “So I can hear her scream?” Or so she could scream for help when he got her out of this.

Drew smiled, grotesque and awestricken. “Go ahead. Be my guest.”

Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he had only one shot to make this right, and he darted his gaze between Drew and the shadows along the riverbank, mind racing. He had to keep Drew distracted, just long enough to find an opening. He undid Alice’s gag and, forcing himself to remain calm, dragged her down to the river’s edge, Drew’s eyes on him like a lead weight, assessing him in that same way Kenny did. Was Aaron behaving the way Drew expected? Was he making the right choice? The prickling weight of his stare as they neared the water made him tighten his grip on Alice’s arm, bracing himself.

Drew took a step back, leaning against a tree, and held the knife loosely at his side. He thought Aaron was capable. He believed in him. Wholeheartedly. Why was he so confident? Because Aaron had played the game well? Had he really made people believe him a threat? He’d closed himself off from everyone, not because he didn’t care , but because it hurt too much . He’d fooled Drew. And maybe Kenny.

Aaron leaned down, mouth close to Alice’s ear. “Can you hear me?”

She gave the faintest nod, but she’d never be able to run free if he pushed her away so he could stand in front of Drew as a human shield. He had to reassess. How long would it take for Kenny to get here? Could he wait this out? Then throw the girl at him and take the knife for himself? He straightened, glancing back at Drew. His face lit up with sick excitement as he stepped forward, gripping the knife, eagerly waiting like a proud parent would for their child’s first steps.

“This is your moment, Aaron,” Drew called to him. “Make your mother proud.”

It was now or never.

In one swift motion, Aaron twisted his body, swinging Alice behind him, and lunged at Drew with everything he had. Drew’s eyes widened, shock flashing across his face, but he raised the knife just in time to meet Aaron’s strike. The blade skimmed across Aaron’s forearm, slicing through skin, but he barely felt the pain through the adrenaline. He wrestled Drew for control of the knife, heart hammering as he shoved his weight against the older man, determined to end this nightmare. Drew might be a madman, a psychopathic killer, but he was still a twig. Aaron had youth, mobility, force, and a sheer fucking will to prove him and everyone else wrong.

“Run!” he shouted to Alice.

Alice stumbled, legs like a newborn foal, but she had something in her to make it towards the distant lights, disappearing through the trees as Drew let out a furious snarl, twisting against Aaron with a renewed frenzy. He shoved Aaron backwards; the knife glinting dangerously as he lunged, and the tip sliced through Aaron’s hoodie, grazing his shoulder.

“You’ve just made your biggest mistake!” Drew’s voice was a rasp of venom and fury. “You can’t run from it, Aaron. Whether you like it or not, you are exactly like your parents!”

Aaron tightened his grip around the knife’s hilt, knuckles paling as he wrestled Drew to the ground, every muscle braced, strength fuelled by a desperation he’d never felt before. Drew thrashed beneath him, shock flashing in his eyes as Aaron tore the blade from his grip, holding it with a deadly resolve silencing the older man’s sneer.

“You’re right. I am like them,” Aaron growled. “I just choose my own damn targets.”

Without hesitation, he plunged the knife into Drew’s thigh, the blade biting deep enough to send a shockwave of agony through him. His scream was guttural, hanging in the dense, cold air as blood seeped between his fingers, staining them a dark, sickening red.

Drew’s face twisted, eyes narrowing with fury even as pain contorted his features. “You’ll regret this,” he spat, every word a hiss. “Your mother will despise you. You’ll be nothing to her.”

Aaron cut him off, voice hard as steel, unflinching. “Then she can dream fucking nightmares of me .”

He staggered to his feet, leaving Drew writhing in the mud, his wound bleeding freely. Drew’s hand slipped, clutching the ground in a desperate crawl as he shifted, trying to drag himself forward. Aaron’s heart froze as he realised Drew was inching toward the rifle, lying just out of reach.

Aaron dashed around him, kicking it into the murky depths of the river with one swift, powerful strike. The splash echoed in the darkness, and before Drew could react, Aaron’s boot connected with his face, sending him sprawling back into the mud, a dark streak of blood trickling from his mouth.

In the distance, a terrified scream pierced the night, the sound of footsteps pounding the earth, then a scatter of flashing lights cutting through the trees. Alice. Had she made it to safety? Relief rushed through him, weakening his legs, and he sank against a nearby tree, drained, every breath a ragged pull of frosty night air. Chest heaving, he slumped to the ground, cradling his knees and burying his face into them.

Only then did he let himself slip into the darkness.

“ Aaron !”

A hand shook his shoulder, warm and firm, dragging him back to consciousness. He blinked, vision clearing, and his heart leapt as familiar eyes looked at him with concern, with worry, with fear. Not for who he was. What he’d done. But for where he was. Trapped in the wreckage, teetering on the brink of an end he almost hadn’t escaped.

Aaron’s chest ached, lips twitching into a faint, wry smile as Kenny’s care hit him harder than any words could. It was overwhelming. Disarming. And for a moment, it was everything.

Then, through the tremor of a hollow laugh, Aaron rasped, “Honey, I’m home.”