35. Madison
MADISON
I t’s so cold that my skin is burning and I can’t stop coughing. My eyes flutter open, and it takes a second for my senses to come back to me. My head pounds like I’ve been hit with a bat, my arms feel like lead, and when I try to move, I realize I can’t.
There’s an arm around me pinning me in place. There’s something sharp pressed against my neck, and I sputter a cough in my panic. I can’t see who’s holding me, and I can’t get any words out. I want to scream, but I can’t make a sound.
“It was always going to end this way, you know,” an angry voice growls in my ear. “The more you struggle, the more I’m going to enjoy this.”
Panic claws at my insides, but I force it down, biting hard on the inside of my cheek. My pulse thunders in my ears as my eyes dart around, trying to make sense of anything. We’re in the woods, but there’s cliffs nearby. It’s dark and raining. The wind is starting to pick up, and I don’t know how far away from campus I’ve been taken, but it feels like we’re in another world.
I try to twist my head slightly, just enough to glance up at the face above me. Coach Jacobs.
He breathes in roughly like he’s getting off on the fear and disgust that must be visible in my expression. Bile rises in my throat and I start coughing again. I’m more in control than he thinks, because I glare at him and spit in his face.
“You stupid bitch.” His grip is still so tight that his nails are biting into my skin, but he holds me away from him.
“What do you want?” I manage to get out, but I already know. Deep down, I know he’s connected to my father.
The demented man smirks, the corners of his mouth twisting up like he’s never been so happy in his life. Just feeling his hands on me makes my skin crawl. “You sure are dumb for such a bright girl, aren’t you? I know you’re smart. Capable. That’s why I chose you. It was tough, convincing your father, but a few lost bets dug him deeper and deeper and suddenly you were on the table and up for grabs.”
“He’s dead, the deal died with him. Why did you bring me here?” I blurt out, because none of this makes sense. He could have taken me before my father died. Why would he have been targeting my friends? They had nothing to do with the deal he made.
Coach Jacobs lets out a cruel laugh, and he sounds bitter. “I didn’t kill him myself, if that’s what you’re thinking. It was a nice little arrangement I made. There was no one to keep you from me anymore. Except when I came to collect my prize, Lockwood was playing guard dog. Every fucking night I came by the truck stop, or your damn house even, he was there preventing anyone from getting close to you.”
My eyes prick with emotion when he mentions Hayden. He has been protecting me since the moment he met me, and I hope he knows that I realize that and appreciate it in a way I didn’t early on. The fact that this asshole has known who I am the entire time and I had no idea he was watching me makes my stomach twist. I don’t want to dignify him with the satisfaction that he’s scaring the fuck out of me, but I need to know one thing.
“Where is Hayden? What did you do to him?” I don’t remember anything except the smoke and then waking up here.
“Your little friends are probably waking up right about now. Groggy and disoriented, with no idea where to come look for you.” He laughs and I’m shivering, but I’m leaning as far away from him as I possibly can. “I would have killed them, but I’m kind of on a time crunch and I don’t have time to make it look like an accident.”
I breathe in, relieved, but then the angry hits me like a fucking baseball bat. I scream at him, “Why are we here? What is your fucking plan?” I kick my foot at him, but his arms are long, and I can’t reach him.
“I knew you’d be a spitfire. You won’t lay there limp staring over my shoulder, will you? You’ll make me work for it.” I fucking hate him.
“I didn’t take into account that Lockwood would latch onto you like a dog with a bone. If it weren’t for him, none of this would have ever happened. You’d already be tied to my bed.” He spits, and he shakes me hard, and even in my panicked state, I realize he doesn’t want to hurt me right now. I suspect it’s because he wants me in good condition for whatever he has planned for me. This gives me hope that I can somehow get away from him. My eyes dart around looking for anything I can do, but he’s still prattling on. “You two never would’ve met if she just waited a few hours for him to finish fucking the whore and killed her another night.”
She?
Possibilities of his accomplice flash in my mind, but then I see something move over by the base of one of the bigger trees. Winter. She’s slumped over, and despite the small movement I just saw, her body is now unnervingly still. The lump in my throat grows so big I think I might choke on it.
“No,” I breathe, my voice cracking. “Winter! Are you okay? Move your hand if you can hear me.”
Nothing.
Coach Jacobs laughs, and his eyes have taken on a look that can only be described as feral.
“She needs help. It’s raining and she can’t move. What did you do to her?” I try to jerk away from him, and my skin is slick so my forearm rips out of his grip. I topple over, falling to the ground. I manage to run even though I’m disoriented, but just as I reach Winter, he grabs me by the hair, yanking me back into his chest. The knife is back at my throat, and I’m not so sure he won’t use it this time.
Coach jerks his head toward Winter, then drags my attention back to him. “She’s insurance that you do exactly what I want,” he says, his tone calculated. “If you’re a good girl, I’ll leave her here. She’ll wake up from the shot I gave her, wander back home, and live to see another day.” He leers at me when he says, “I opted not to give you anything. I want you awake and feeling everything I’m going to do to you when I finally get you back to my house.”
“And if I’m not a good girl?” I manage to ask, cutting my eyes at him. My whole body is shaking from the cold and my cheerleading uniform is soaked through.
His arm tightens around me, and I can’t imagine a world where a woman would willingly let this demonic man touch her. “If you’re not the sweet little girl I know you can be, you’ll spend the rest of your life knowing that I threw your only friend over that cliff because of you.”
I bite down hard on my lip, tasting blood as I force myself to stay silent. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to fight, to run, to do something. But I can’t risk it until I know I can escape and help Winter. She doesn’t deserve this.
I don’t know how, but Hayden will come for me. He always does. I just have to keep Coach Jacobs occupied until Hayden gets here.
“Nothing to say?” Coach sneers, his tone mocking me. When the knife nicks my skin, the sting is sharp. I flinch, a small gasp escaping my lips before I can stop it. He lifts his finger to catch the few drops of blood that form on my skin and lifts it to his mouth in a grotesque gesture. “Oh, you’re going to be a good fuck, aren’t you Madi? Did you let Lockwood taste that sweet pussy?” He makes a grunting noise and I don’t know if he’s disturbed or intrigued at the thought of Hayden and me together.
I ignore him, and decide that my only chance of survival is to talk. I need to talk until I can’t anymore. “I don’t understand why you’d taunt us like this. Why didn’t you just…” My voice wavers, but I pull it together. He thrives on vulnerability so I need to calm down.
“Why didn’t I just come to you and say I had your father killed and now I want to fuck you?” His words are so brash, spitting from his mouth like they disgust him even as he says them. He shoves me back, every step pulling me closer to the edge of the cliff. He gets off on fear, I remind myself. He’s not going to throw me over, he has too much he wants to do to me to kill me.
He’s ranting again, and that helps pull me out of my panic. He’s like my father in that way, the louder and angrier he gets, the better I’m able to stay calm.
“Why didn’t I ask you pretty please to stop spreading your legs for your new brother?” he sneers. “I couldn’t get you alone once you were here. It was either him or that fucking rodeo clown walking with you like the secret fucking service.” I have to survive this night if for nothing else than to tell Callum, the guy who could have been an all-star bull rider in Castlebrook Falls, that he’s been demoted to rodeo clown. He will probably make t-shirts.
“Why did you put Dawson up to attacking us that night if–?” I’m just going to get as much information out of him until he lets his guard down.
“They fucked it up. They were supposed to bring you to me.” His voice rises, cutting me off before I can finish. “They were sloppy that night, showing off and they paid the price for it.” He tilts his head to the side slowly, and I don’t know if he’s trying to be creepy or if he’s just naturally this way.
The words spill out of me before I can stop them. “Whoever killed my father did me a huge favor, and I owe them everything. He was a horrible man, and I’m glad he’s dead.”
His grip tightens, his face contorting into something between fury and disbelief. He’s angry that he already told me he didn’t kill my father, and I’m enjoying getting into his head a little bit. I don’t even feel the cold rain hitting my skin anymore. I feel numb, but my lips are trembling and my jaw is starting to twitch.
He’s smiling at me now, and I’m not sure what shifted his mood. “I still want you. Lockwood couldn’t have ruined you too much. I bet he’s boring in bed, isn’t he? Does he even know how to make you come?” His voice almost sounds gentle, like he wants me to think he feels sorry for me. “I’m giving you a choice. Leave with me now, and we’ll start over. Your little friends get to keep their miserable little lives, and you belong to me. Just like you should have been from the beginning.” He brings his hand holding the knife up to stroke my cheek.
I don’t know what comes over me, but without the knife against my neck, I slap him hard, trying to wriggle free. He’s too strong and I’m too worn out. I scream Hayden’s name because I don’t know if I’m going to get out of this mess on my own. He can’t hear me, and I know that, but I want his name to be the last thing I say.
The sound of slow clapping echoes through the trees
I turn my head, my chest tightening as I see her. Kirsten steps out from behind the tree line. She looks absolutely gleeful, and I know instantly that she’s not here to help me. She’s in on this, I just don’t know how much of it.
“Bravo,” she says, her voice dripping with mockery. She takes her time sauntering closer, her smirk widening as her gaze flicks between me and the coach. “He won’t help you this time, sweetie. Such a shame, you don’t have the edge you used to now that my brother has made you dependent on him. If you’re wondering if this is how I felt when he chose you over me, it isn’t. That was planned. A test that I knew he would fail.” Her eyes gleam with cruel amusement.
She’s like a chameleon. She can change her mood and personality on a whim, and she’s been rude to me before, but never like this.
“You killed your own mother?” I ask, because if I’m going to die I want to know the whole truth. There’s so many moving parts and psychotic people involved that it’s hard to wrap my mind around.
Her perky, sweet voice is back, but there’s a mocking tone when she says, “I’m so glad you asked!” She walks closer and I feel Coach Jacobs tense up. He’s afraid of her, or at the very least unsure of what she’s capable of. “I spent a whole year trying to get Coach Jacobs to notice me. Did he? No. Once again, I was shoved aside for someone prettier. Someone virginal—” She laughs, jagged and bitter, her eyes snapping to mine. “I guess not anymore thanks to my stupid brother.”
Her words are designed to cut, and they do, but I swallow the sting, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. I realize she’s not finished ranting when she continues, “I convinced him we should kill your father and that I wished my mother was dead, too. I needed to have something on him, to hold over his head and make him do what I wanted.”
“Why did you want your mother dead?” I ask, my stomach clenching trying to process everything she’s saying.
“Because she’s another person who ignored me, threw me away like an afterthought. She deserved every fucking stab I gave her.” Kirsten sneers at me before continuing, “I knew she was fucking your father for years, but don’t worry, he wasn’t special. She was fucking a lot of men right under my father’s nose. Not that he would care.” Kirsten shrugs, trying to act nonchalant but I can tell it would only take a word or two to send her into a screaming rage.
Coach Jacobs’ face twists, confusion dulling the fury that’s been radiating off him. “You lied to me?” His voice cracks slightly, his grip on the situation slipping for the first time. The old fool wasn’t as cunning as he thought, and I can already feel his grip on me loosening.
“You lied to meee?” Kirsten mimics him in a high-pitched, sing-song voice, rolling her eyes so hard it’s a miracle they don’t fall out of her head. “Of course I did, and you played right into it.” She tilts her head, her smirk growing as she takes another step closer. “You thought I was your little pawn, giving you the information about where their little fucking friend group would be because I was a part of it.” She cackles, throwing her head back for the full effect. She’s performing right now, and we’re literally her captive audience.
“Did you kill Bethany or is she going to come frolicking through the forest too?” I ask, the words tumbling out before I can stop them.
She scoffs, the sound dismissive, like my question isn’t even worth acknowledging. “You’re so naive,” she says, her tone laced with condescension. “Of course I killed her. She knew too much, and I needed a distraction. I knew none of you would care enough to really look for her, but it was enough to get your heads spinning.”
My stepsister takes in a deep ragged breath and then says, “Did you know that I’ve never been chosen for anything? I’ve never been anyone’s first choice unless it was for my father’s money. When everyone pushes you away your entire life because you’re too much, you have to entertain yourself.” Kirsten leans forward to look me directly in the eyes when she says, “Everything I do, everything I say, is a game and it’s not fun anymore, so unfortunately you have to die.”
“She’s coming with me,” Coach Jacobs growls. Clearly he didn’t get the memo about this little meeting we’re having, and I’m just grateful she’s thrown him off kilter. The more they go at each other, the better chance I’ll have at escaping.
“No. You both have to die,” Kirsten says, and her voice is so monotone, like she’s giving directions. Her eyes narrow on me. “Don’t worry though, I’ll get lots of praise when I tell everyone that my brother’s sick and demented coach leaked my private video that I made with my loving partner and then raped and killed two of my best friends.” Kirsten’s eyes shift from me to Winter’s body that looks more like a wet pile of clothes at this point.
“I had nothing to do with that video. It really was leaked! You were so distraught over everyone seeing you that way. I fucked you that night because sex was the only thing that would get you to stop sobbing in my office.” Coach Jacobs’ face is turning red, and all I can think is how ironic it is that he feels taken advantage of over all of this.
“Yeah it was, by me, you dumb fuck,” Kirsten snaps. “I leaked it myself. Do you know how easy it is to play the victim when you’re the one pulling the strings?”
“You stupid little bitch!” Coach Jacob roars, and for a second I think he might let go of me to lunge at her, but it never happens.
“Shut up you old pervert,” Kirsten snaps, and I see her reach into the back pocket of her jeans. She’s got a knife, and her hand is trembling. She has on a rain jacket, so I know it’s from anger rather than the rain. She paces a few steps before turning back to smile at me. “Thanks for the flowers, by the way and for defending me to mommy dearest on her own wedding day. Did you like the note I left in your dress box? I thought that was a cute touch.” Kirsten rolls her eyes before adding, “I have to give it to you, though. You didn’t even act like you were spooked. You’ve got a hell of a poker face, sweetie.”
“Even back then I knew not to confide anything in you,” I tell her, knowing it won’t hurt her feelings, but it still makes me feel better to say the words out loud.
Kirsten might think she’s won, but she doesn’t know what kind of bond Hayden and I share or what we’re capable of.