Chapter 6 #2
Duncan’s shouting got louder, though I couldn’t make out any actual words. A new plan formulated in my mind as I he fell back onto his couch, a look of defeat marring his beautiful face. He wiped his hand over his eyes and I couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
He stayed there, on the couch for a long while, not moving. I didn’t think he was watching the TV by the way he stared off into space. At one point, I thought he looked straight at me, but he moved his head before I had time to panic about being caught watching him.
Eventually, he turned the lights off and left the room, walking somewhere I couldn’t see him anymore.
A few minutes later, a light turned on upstairs in what looked like the bathroom.
He moved around, getting ready for bed, I assumed.
After a few minutes, he passed by the window, but then paused and moved back.
He stared out for a moment before moving on and turning off the light behind him.
No other lights were visible after, but I assumed he went to bed.
I sat there, still as a statue, staring at the house. My gaze skittered toward the neighbors’ houses every once in a while, looking for any movement that would indicate they were aware someone was watching, but everything was still and silent.
An hour later, I opened the car door and slid into the night, ready to meet my prey. At his back door, it was easy to pick the lock from muscle memory. I’d done it enough times and knew I didn’t have an alarm system to worry about.
That was bad for Duncan but good for me.
A low creak announced my arrival as I opened the door, but there was no sound from within the house to indicate it had disturbed the owner. I slipped inside, slowly closing the door behind me with a soft click, making sure to lock it.
The stairs were ahead on my right and Duncan’s bedroom was on the second floor, down the hall, third floor on the left. I wasn’t sure why a single man needed such a big house. But then again, I wasn’t one to talk as his whole house would fit in my downstairs.
I crept up the stairs and into his room, syringe ready as I stood over him. My heart raced with the sweetness of anticipation as his eyes flung open as the needle pierced his skin.
Duncan’s hand swung up to grab my wrist, but by that point, it was too late. I’d already injected the fast-acting drug into his system. He barely got to squeeze my hand and expel a stuttered breath before his body went limp.
With a smile, I reached up and swept the hair out of his face, caressing my thumb across his cheekbone. There was fear in his eyes as he stared back at me, locked in his body, unable to move or fight back.
In a way, I knew how he felt. There was a monster inside me that kept me trapped and unable to move, forced to do its bidding.
But I knew he wouldn’t see it the same. They never did.
I’d tried to talk to one of my previous victims, thinking maybe I could finally forge some sort of connection with someone.
It didn’t work out very well. Left me with more questions than answers.
That had been the second time I’d lost control and gone on a spree where I didn’t remember what had happened after. Then, later, I found myself in my bathroom, washing the blood off my skin and clothes.
I shuddered at the memory, my eyes meeting Duncan’s. That wasn’t something I wanted to repeat ever again. Not when I had my little bird to think about. I had to keep him safe.
He was my priority now. Whether he knew it or not.
With a sigh, I scooped Duncan into my arms and carried him into the bathroom. He tried to squirm, but the paralytic was too strong.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could have prepared things before I brought you in here, but I didn’t want to risk waking you up.” I set him gently on the cold tile floor, leaning propped up against the sink.
He made a sound deep within his chest and despite the fact he couldn’t speak, I knew what he was asking.
“You should be thanking Aiden. If things hadn’t worked out the way they did yesterday, this would have been you last night.” I grimaced. “And it would have been much less pleasant for you then.”
Not that it would be a piece of cake for him, but with the way things had turned out, I thought he would definitely appreciate the less painful end he had to look forward to than I had initially planned.
A single tear snuck down his cheek, but I was unmoved as I stared down at the scared man before me. I turned my back to him, knowing he wasn’t going anywhere, and went to the bathtub and started to fill it up with hot water.
My only regret was I couldn’t force him to write a confession to the murder of the man I’d killed the night before.
If I could have killed two birds with one stone, that would have taken a lot of pressure off my shoulders.
But I hoped maybe there would be enough suspicion of the timing of his apparent suicide with the disappearance, and then murder, of the man the police would start putting two and two together.
It was a long shot. But if I could ingrain myself in Aiden’s life like I hoped, then he would get to know me and I could make him fall in love with me. That would leave him with no reason to suspect me to be the killer I really was.
With a sigh, I turned off the water when it was high enough. I hated leaving things to chance, but I didn’t have a choice in this instance. Too many things had already gone wrong and I needed to clean up my mess and hope for the best.
My fingers didn’t linger as I quickly undressed Duncan before placing him in the tub. I admired his effort to struggle against me and live. The fight always made the kills more exciting and got my blood pumping, even if they were fruitless in the end.
The small blade was in my back pocket and I wrapped his fingers around it, then my hand around his fist. I caught his gaze and held it, watching tears stream down his face in earnest now as I guided his hands to slit his wrists.
After placing one arm in the water and one arm on the lip of the tub, I took a step back to watch the blood drain from him.
He stared up at me, unmoving. His eyes were pleading with me to help him. But there would be no help for him.
A satisfied smile spread across my face as a contentment settled deep in my body, wrapping itself around me like a familiar blanket. It cocooned me in its warmth. This was what I had needed.
“Thank you,” I whispered to Duncan as I watched his eyes drift closed as he succumbed to the blood loss.
Unable to stay any longer, I slipped from the room and quietly left through the back door.
I had a little bird I needed to find and claim.