Chapter 2 #3
I laugh, but only for a minute before I'm dizzy and light-headed. "Okay, I need you to put me down now," I tell him. "I can't be upside-down much longer. You'll probably drop me, anyway."
For whatever reason, this offends him. "Why the fuck do you think I'd drop you?" he asks. "Do I look that fucking weak to you? Like I can't carry some one-hundred-pound girl?"
I'm taken aback by his harsh tone. "Well, I weigh more than that."
"That's not the fucking point!"
"I'm going to vomit, okay? I'm going to puke on you. Please, just put me down."
Miles doesn't set me down—he drops me. I stumble, falling onto my hands and knees before pushing myself up and regaining my footing, and he laughs.
"I'm glad you think that's funny."
"It is funny. You know, men should laugh at women more. They laugh at us all the time, and they just get away with it."
I don't know what switch just flipped, but I know I'm out.
"You know what, Miles? I think—" But before I can finish the sentence and tell him I just want to go back to my room, I spot Elias's Porsche Cayman sitting in the driveway of a red brick townhome across the street.
So, this is where he lives…just two blocks away from my residence hall. Perfect.
"What?" Miles asks. His eyes follow my own, landing on the vehicle and then, likely, the custom plate on the back: THORPE7. "Is that your brother's car? I thought he couldn't have a license."
So, he knows Elias well enough to know that. Interesting. "He got it back."
"Is that where he lives?"
"Apparently."
"Doesn't look like anyone is home."
"No, probably not." I shrug, not grasping why it matters. Surely, he doesn't want to see Elias. "I'm going—"
But once again, I don't get the chance to finish my sentence. Miles struts across the street toward the front door. "Hey, wait!" I call after him. "What are you doing?"
I have to run to catch up with him, and once I do, he's turning the knob and ramming the door with his shoulder.
"Stop!"
He ignores me, trying a few more times, and when it doesn't give, he moves around the back of the house and jumps the chain-link fence surrounding the small backyard.
"Don't!" I shout, nervously scanning the perimeter before climbing over after him. "We have to get out of here. This is stupid."
But when he tries the sliding glass door, it opens. He turns to me and smirks before stepping inside.
I should run, but I saw the doorbell camera, and I know whatever he is about to do is going to be my fault. I have to get him out of here.
A loud crash rings out from inside the house before I make it to the back door…and then another. I step inside just in time to watch him pull the mounted television from the wall, letting it shatter on the floor.
"Stop! They have cameras outside. They're going to know it was you!"
"I don't give a fuck," he says. "He took everything from me."
"What are you talking about?!" I shout.
Miles doesn't answer, grabbing a fire poker and bounding up the stairs. He swings it as he goes, putting holes in the drywall and tearing through framed canvas paintings.
After watching him disappear into the first bedroom, I drop my purse on the living room floor and follow, stepping into the room just as he destroys another television and laptop computer.
"Come on, Saige." He swings the fire poker in my direction, laughing when I scream and shield myself with my hands, and stops just centimeters from my head. "Take it," he says. "You know you want to. You know he fucking deserves it."
I can't argue with that—I don't know what he did to Miles, but I bet he does fucking deserve it. Still, I want no part in this; I just want to get the fuck out of here before Elias catches me.
"But this isn't even his room."
"How do you know?"
I shrug, taking in the surrounding space while tightly clutching the fire poker.
"It doesn't look like him. Elias's room at home is a shrine to himself.
" This room is plain; the walls are bare, and a large saltwater fish tank sits against the wall opposite the desk.
Aside from that, there are no personal items at all.
"He wouldn't take care of a fish tank like that, either. This is Nolan's room."
Miles shrugs. "Oh, well."
I jump back when he takes off, getting a running start before slamming his body into the fish tank. It wobbles, and he continues pushing until the whole thing topples over the stand, shattering on the floor.
Water soaks my shoes and legs. My jaw drops, and I stand there, frozen with shock, tears stinging my eyes as I watch the fish flop around on the wet carpet, suffocating.
They're dying. And there's nothing I can do.
Smiling, Miles struts toward the door, crushing one under his boot.
I think I'm going to be sick.
"Let's go find your brother's room."
When I step into the hallway, I don't see him. I'm just about to run down the stairs and out the door when he stops me, casually swinging the fire poker. "Hey, where do you think you're going? What about this one?"
I hold my breath and turn into the next room.
"No," I tell him, noting the extensive record collection and easel in the back corner of the room.
I do my best to keep my voice steady, hoping that if he doesn't notice how terrified I am, he won't capitalize on it.
"This is Dax's room. He likes to think he's this artsy free-thinker, but he's just another rich, pretentious douchebag. "
"Well, fuck him, too."
He gives Dax's bedroom the same treatment, starting with the canvas, and I silently slip out the door.
I make it halfway down the staircase before he comes out of the room. "Hey! Get back here!"
"You're fucking insane!" I shout, comfortable with the space between us now. "I'm getting the fuck out of here."
I hear footsteps behind me on the stairs, but I'm already unlocking the front door. I'm fucking done with this.
But then I hear barking. Arcadia must have recognized my voice, because she starts going crazy inside that last bedroom. I forgot she would be here.
No.
"Does he have a dog?"
I freeze; my face falls, a sinister smile crossing his own before he turns toward the bedroom.
"No!" I take the stairs two at a time. "Miles, stop!"
When I get to the bedroom, Arcadia is backed into a corner, baring her teeth.
"Please!" I cry, quickly putting myself between them as Miles brings the fire poker over his head.
"Move!" he shouts.
"No! Leave her alone, please! She's my dog. Please don't hurt my dog."
"You know what I think?" he asks before turning and smashing Elias's television. "I think you love your brother."
He swings at the shelves above me, and I cover Arcadia with my body as Elias's prized hockey memorabilia and broken glass pummels my back.
"I don't love Elias. I despise him. He's not even my real fucking brother!"
Miles scoffs. "Well, I hope not. I saw the way he looked at you. He definitely doesn't look at you the way someone should look at a sister."
"Miles, I just want to leave with my dog! Please."
"What will you do for me?"
"What? I—"
He puts the weapon in my face, tapping the side of my head as he punctuates each word. "I said…What. Will you do. For me? If I promise not to bash this little bitch's brains in right now, what will you do for me?"
I swallow hard, tears pooling in my eyes. "Whatever you want."
"Elias fucked my fiancé," he says. "I want to fuck his little sister on his bed."
"And…and then you won't hurt my dog?"
"And then I won't hurt your dog."
"Okay…" I nod, standing slowly with one hand on Arcadia's collar. "But…I don't want her to be in the room."
He steps aside, leaving a clear path between me and the door. "You can let her out, but don't try to run."
Without taking my eyes off him, I slowly make my way toward the door, ushering Arcadia into the hallway before closing it behind me.
I breathe a sigh of relief, but I still need to come up with a plan to get us both the fuck out of here.
There's a hockey stick mounted on the wall to my left. I could grab it, but he's bigger than me and has the fire poker.
His gaze follows mine. "Don't even think about it. Take off your clothes and get on the bed. Make it fast, or I'll use the fire poker instead."
In my head, I'm swinging, but I know it won't go in my favor. Looking at the bed, I notice something shiny atop the comforter—a shard of glass, likely from one of Elias's shattered frames.
It's a decent size. Still, I don't think I could stab someone—I don't think I'm capable of it.
I guess we'll find out.
But just as I reach for the hemline of my top, the front door opens and slams shut.
"What…the hell happened in here…?" Dax asks.
"What the fuck?!" Elias yells as Arcadia starts going crazy. "Nolan—check the cameras. I'm going to go look upstairs."
"I'll check the back," Dax says.
I literally watch the blood drain from Miles's face. I can see his hands shaking as he clutches the fire poker.
He's terrified. He's fucking terrified of Elias, and it makes me so goddamn angry, I could scream.
"We have to hide!" he whispers, panicked. He opens the sliding door behind him and steps out onto a small balcony overlooking the backyard.
"You fucking pussy!" I shout. "You were pretty fucking tough a few minutes ago when no one was home and it was just you, a dog, and a woman, weren't you?"
And now, Elias is going to kill me, too, because of this idiot.
"Shhh!" he says. "Please, just get out here and keep your voice down."
"They have CAMERAS, Miles! I told you that! It doesn't fucking matter."
The door swings open, slamming into the wall. "Yeah, Miles. We have cameras. It doesn't fucking matter," Elias roars.
I look at him before backing into the wall. I've never seen him this angry before, and I've seen Elias really fucking angry.
"You really are stupid, aren't you, Saige?"
I shake my head. "I didn't do any of this," I tell him. "It was all him. I tried to stop him. He was going to hurt Arcadia—"
"She's lying!" Miles yells. "It was her idea, and I tried to stop her."
"Oh, fuck you, you fucking pussy! At least I didn't piss my goddamn pants at the sound of his fucking voice!"
Elias snorts. "Did you really piss your pants, Miles? That's pretty fucking pathetic, man." He laughs hard, and Miles's expression shifts from fear to pure rage.
"We got them on camera," Dax says before stepping inside the room. "It was—"
"Yeah, I know who it was," Elias tells him.
Dax scoffs and then turns to me. "Saige fucking Ripley—caught in the act." He shakes his head as he approaches me, his eyes dropping to my cleavage. "Hmm…all grown up now, aren't you?"
I roll my eyes and look away.
"Anyway, Miles," Elias says, his tone unamused, "go ahead and get in here so I can beat your ass. You can go home, Saige; we'll deal with you later. And when I do, you'll find out just how much I can still hurt you."
I'm still fuming, but I grit my teeth, preparing to leave anyway. Just as I turn away, Miles charges inside, swinging that fire poker—not at Elias, but at me.
Suddenly, I'm back in the high school cafeteria, and all I see is red.
Elias steps between us, catching it with his bare hands. If it hurts, he doesn't react. The two of them struggle with it: Miles with a death grip, but flopping back and forth like Nolan's fish on the carpet, and Elias laughing, barely moving.
He swung at me? At my fucking head?
The longer I watch them, the angrier I get, until I just can't fucking take it anymore. I storm toward Miles and push him hard with both hands. "You fucking piece of shit asshole!"
He loses his grip, falling through the open door and back onto the balcony.
And then plummets over the ledge.