Chapter 23
“AIDAN?” THE NAME COMES OUT IN A RAGGED brEATH full of disbelief.
My eyes widen, doing a double-take to process the scene before me.
Aidan has an arm snaked around Carmen’s upper body, pressing the forearm against her chest to keep her steady, while with the other hand he holds a knife to her delicate neck.
His tall body is curved to loom over her small height.
As he stares at me, his lips curl into a mischievous grin that sends chills down my body.
I blink. I must be imagining things, confusing Aidan’s complexion with someone else’s.
Perhaps I got a concussion when I fell down the stairs after Shane’s death and now I’m hallucinating.
But the dull ache from when I hit my head is barely there.
Not strong enough to be the cause of what I’m witnessing.
This isn’t real. It’s not happening, I tell myself, but as I continue to stare at the man threatening my sister, the more reality descends over me.
My gut instinct wasn’t wrong when I was convinced Cupid was someone close enough to hurt me, I just never expected it would be one of my closest friends.
I’ve been an idiot, too focused on surviving and trying to protect the people I love to see the full picture. I begin to unravel the puzzle of this mystery.
Not only does Aidan fit Cupid’s description, with the right height and build as the one who molested me. But who else would have the capacity to orchestrate the perfect slasher scenario other than him? He’s the son of a prolific horror mastermind, a film student obsessed with slashers.
Getting flashbacks of tonight’s events, it’s so fucking obvious.
I don’t know why I didn’t see it sooner, perhaps because he was smart enough to keep himself out of the equation until the moment it was right for the big reveal.
He’s one of the few people who have my address in LA and of my workplace, because I went to him when I asked if I could have his father’s letter of recommendation.
He infiltrated himself in the Greek Row life by becoming a part of Delta.
He even killed Leighton by sneaking up on her from around a corner, paying homage to the short film we did together.
Who else would understand the reference? Why didn’t I see it sooner? It was too symbolic to be a coincidence.
Aidan set the perfect foundation for this to work. He executed a solid pre-production for his biggest project, except this isn’t a movie project.
This is real life. Between him and his accomplice, they’ve killed six people. And for what?
What is the motive behind this?
Fame? He can easily gain that. Getting his daddy’s blessing by proving he deserves his horror praises as well? It’s highly doubtful that his father will appreciate it. Unless Aidan actually believes he can get away with this.
I squint at him. If there’s a glimpse of the fun and supportive friend I knew, maybe I can somehow crack through his madness. Except, I get nothing back when I meet his gaze. The blue irises are shinier than ever, but the darkness in his pupils is as dense as a black hole.
There’s not a trace left of the guy I used to know.
“Why don’t you put the knife down, Mabel?
” he suggests, tilting his head to point at Carmen with his chin, subtly letting me know what he plans to do if I’m not as docile as a gothic damsel in distress.
“You don’t want her to get hurt, do you?
Though she’s always been such a pain in the ass to you, it’d be fair if she got a little punishment for all the sacrifices you’ve made for her. ”
“No, don’t hurt her,” I mutter rapidly, without thinking twice. Then I add, “Please.”
I lift one hand as if I were swinging a white flag as I lower my body to deposit the knife on the floor. I carefully rise back to my full height without taking my eyes off them, ensuring he hasn’t moved an inch.
“Kick the knife down the hatch,” he orders.
Puneta. I glance at the entrance to the attic. We’re losing our chances for defending ourselves. But with Carmen in his hold and the threat he presents, I have no other option. I’ve already lost too much tonight. I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it if she got hurt because I chose to act stupid.
With my foot, I push the knife down, and it clangs once it meets the floor.
“Good girl,” Aidan praises.
The encouragement almost makes me gag, but I manage to hold it back. Approaching a devious killer by pissing him off isn’t the brightest idea. Especially when my sister’s life depends on appeasing him. This time, instead of choosing between fight or flight, I pick fawn.
If I keep him happy enough, we might have time to figure out if there’s a way to escape from him, maybe trick him long enough to trap him.
Or kill him, my subconscious supplies.
There’s no coming out of here without getting our hands dirty. Survival is directly linked to doing whatever it takes to stay alive, and if Aidan gets between that and my sister’s life, then I’ll kill him.
If that’s what it takes, I’ll take his life as if it means nothing. Compared to my sister, he means nothing to me. I can live without a friend, especially one who has taken it upon himself to hunt and traumatize me for whatever motive, but I can’t imagine even living in a world without Carmen.
“See?” he says in a soft voice, like it wasn’t a complicated task to complete. “It’s not so bad when I’m in charge.”
Biting my tongue to prevent my lips from curling into a snarl, I recall our encounter earlier tonight when he alluded to having a project he wanted my help with. If this is the project he meant, I want no part in it.
“Let her go, please.”
Aidan hums like he’s considering it, only to snort like the request amuses him.
“You don’t call the shots, sweetie. I do,” he reminds me, pressing the blade harder against Carmen’s neck.
Carmen’s chest inflates with air as she arches her back toward him and rises on her toes to avoid the sharp edge of the blade.
My breath hitches in horror, and Aidan lets out a loud cackle, throwing his head back.
He has completely lost the plot. How did I never see he was fucking crazy when we were friends?
Even tonight, he seemed like the guy I used to know, the one who was my friend, who I shared so many good moments with on set.
Where did that guy go? Did he ever even exist?
Because he’s certainly not this psycho in front of me holding my sister hostage.
“You’re too tense,” he growls at Carmen, clicking his tongue with a firm shake of his head, rolling his eyes as he lessens the pressure of the blade on her neck.
“Why are you doing this?” I question through gritted teeth.
His forehead furrows, and he tilts his head.
“Isn’t it obvious? I did it for you.”
Aidan’s words fall over me like a splash of cold water, leaving me breathless and gaping like a fish.
“W-What?” is all I manage to utter in a broken syllable.
“I thought you would love this, getting to live your own slasher movie, becoming the perfect final girl. This is my gift to you.”
Becoming the perfect final girl.
Oh, I had it so wrong, right from the start.
The letters were the clue all along. I couldn’t connect the dots at the beginning because I thought they were related to Cerys, but they were meant for me.
My sister’s letter had my photograph. While Danny’s photograph had Cerys’ image, I was the in the picture too.
Even my own letter had nothing to do with Cerys.
He used Carmen, the only person I’d come back to Westbrook for.
They were meant for me.
When I woke up to Cupid touching me, getting turned on, it wasn’t because he was having a physical reaction to my unconscious state. Or at least not completely. He was turned on because it was me.
All along, I’ve been the key to everything.
But I don’t understand what compelled him to ever think this is what I desire. In what world would I want people to die for me in such a brutal and grotesque way?
“Why would I love this?”
Rolling his eyes, Aidan shoves Carmen to the floor, and though her body drops harshly against the wooden floorboards, I can’t fight the small seed of relief planted in my system. At least she’s out of his grip. That gives me the vaguest sense of hope.
Maybe I can talk to him long enough for someone, anyone to come to our aid.
Who am I kidding? No one is coming to the rescue. The only person who has saved me tonight has been Danny, and I doubt he’s even still alive. Not after I left him on his own to defend himself from the second Cupid.
“Come on, you’re not stupid,” he says calmly. “This is what we always talked about when we worked together. How would we create our perfect slasher?”
“In fiction!” I exclaim, the words escaping me before I can hold them back. “Have you lost your goddamn mind?”
His expression darkens. Pupils dilating to the point where the void in them seems to swallow the clarity of his blue irises.
“Don’t be fucking ungrateful, Mabel. All of this has been a present for you.”
I bury my hands in my hair, tugging on the scalp to see if I can grasp some sense of what he’s saying. What is he even talking about?
I exchange glances with Carmen, who appears just as lost as I am with Aidan’s crazy statements. My sister shrugs her shoulders slightly, almost imperceptibly, and shoots me a glare that screams at me to continue talking to Aidan for a little while longer.
I need to keep my cool.
Although it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life when he’s spewing such vile nonsense, I fill my lungs with air and hold it for a couple of seconds before letting go. I repeat the process two more times, easing the tension in my muscles so I can tolerate his words.
“I’m getting rid of all your enemies one by one.” As he finishes talking, he deliberately steps on Bethan’s wound, ripping a deafening scream from her lips.