Chapter 2
Sunny
Three weeks later
I march through the hallways of Spine Ridge University, ignoring basically anyone who talks to me.
Not because I wanna be a bitch, but because I have to keep my mind straight, and I can’t be bothered hearing any more gossip.
It doesn’t tickle my brain like it used to.
Mostly because the gossip used to be about other couples here at Spine Ridge U, a secret meeting between two teachers, a lonely nerd finding a girl, or one guy going ham on another guy for cheating.
This time, the gossip seems to revolve around me.
Every time I make a turn, at least three people gawk at me, then turn around to whisper.
It doesn’t matter where I go, whether it’s the halls, classes, or even the fountain outside.
People are talking, rumors spreading about my disappearance, how a cop found me in the woods, and that I was covered in blood.
I’ve let it roll off me for two weeks now, but I’m going to crash out sooner or later, and it won’t be pretty.
“Sunny?” one of my friends, Delilah, comes up to me. “How are you doing today?”
“Fine,” I lie.
“Wanna grab some lunch later?” she asks.
“Sure, I’ll text you a time and place,” I reply, not really thinking about it as we wave goodbye, and I head to class.
I keep waking up so goddamn late because I have trouble actually falling asleep, and I turn off my alarm clock every morning without consciously being aware, and it’s been messing with my classes.
The moment I step into the room I’m supposed to be in, the other students all look at me like I’m some kind of freak, and it pisses me off.
“What?” I growl.
Most of them turn their heads toward their books.
Good.
Don’t fucking look at me unless I tell you to.
I march to my seat, slam down my bag, and take out my books, tearing them open on the correct page.
“Thank you for joining us, Miss Reed.” Alec Caruso, the teacher, clears his throat. “Now, let’s continue where we left off.”
It’s only been five minutes, but every second feels like an eternity while I wait for time to pass so I can finally get the fuck out of here and do what I really want to do, the one thing that will curb my rage.
Murder.
The pencil between my fingers cracks in two.
I. Can’t. Wait.
I don’t care if the teacher is still talking and I’m supposed to be paying attention to his class.
I pull out my phone and start making a hit list while grinning like a vicious bitch.
None of them will see me coming until it’s too late.
Xavier
I pick up my baloney sandwich, but the moment I spot Sunny waltzing down the path, I can’t imagine swallowing even a bite of it.
Her black-and-green hair waves from side to side with every step she takes, heels click-clacking on the pavement as staunchly as her ass sways back and forth, and my eyes can barely focus on anything else but her presence.
The baloney slowly flops out of my sandwich as she passes by. She’s seemingly unaware of my existence, while I’ve become wholly integrated in hers.
And fuck me, the intoxicating perfume that wafts into my nose as she walks by is mouthwatering.
“Hello, earth to Xavier? Hello?” My sister snaps her fingers in front of my face while I’m trying to obsess, and it’s pissing me off.
“What?” I bark, putting my empty sandwich back into the container. “Can you not? I’m trying to eat.”
“Yeah, I can tell,” she says, wriggling her brows, while throwing devious glances at Sunny.
I am so not in the mood for her games.
“What’s going on?” River, a friend of Aspen’s, asks as he joins us for lunch.
“Xavier’s got the hots for Sunny,” Aspen muses.
“For real? Damn,” River says, covering his mouth so I don’t see him laugh.
“He wants to pounce on that girl,” Océane says, making a catlike gesture with her manicured nails. “Rawr. Go get her, tiger.”
I roll my eyes. “You guys are ridiculous.”
Sometimes I like the friends group we’ve got going on, and other times…
“No, you are, because you keep drooling all over our food,” Aspen says, stabbing her salad again.
So I steal her fork, stab all the cucumbers, and shove them into my mouth. “There, now I drooled all over your food.”
“Hey! That’s my lunch, asshat!”
I stick out my tongue. “Want them back?”
She shoves her hand in front of my mouth. “Ew, no. Disgusting.”
“You guys crack me up,” Ivy says, laughing as she eats her lunch.
“Glad I could be of service,” I mutter as I get up.
“Where are you going?” Océane asks, plucking at her curly black hair. “Chasing a girl?”
Talon suddenly approaches. “Océane … can we talk?”
She smiles at him. “Oh hey, Talon. Sure.”
He looks around, particularly at us, before running his fingers through his black hair. “Somewhere private.”
She nods. “Yeah, of course.”
I clear my throat. “Anyway, I have … things to do.”
“Things.” Aspen smirks and wiggles her brows.
She and Océane chuckle while I walk off.
“Ha-ha, have fun with your gossip break,” I jest back.
“Bye, Xav! Love you!” Aspen yells.
I stick my middle fingers up at her instead.
We argue a lot, but I know she means it, and I would definitely kill any fucker who dares to touch her in the wrong way. But man, sometimes I really want to throw her off a cliff for pushing my buttons. I guess that’s why she’s my twin.
I walk away from the grass and casually stroll the path until they’re out of view and can no longer see me, making sure I’m still on Sunny’s trail. I’ve seen her walk by so many times now, but the way she’s waltzing on those heels today makes me wonder if something’s going on.
Ever since she came back to school after being in the hospital, she’s been acting differently.
Normally, she’d be the talk of town while strutting all over campus, posing left and right for her Instagram profile with her girl squad and squashing men’s hopes and dreams under her killer smile after rejecting their advances, but now it’s almost as if she’s not really … present.
Another tattoo has been added to the myriad of tats already gracing her skin, a string of words that keep repeating over and over in my mind.
Turn the pain into power.
Sunny marches all the way to her motorcycle and hops on, seemingly in a hurry, as there’s barely any time between her putting on her helmet and churning the engine. I hide behind a tree as she makes a U-turn and races off, then immediately get to my car, hop inside, and hit the gas.
I shouldn’t be following her like this.
I know it’s wrong, and if she catches me, I’m dead.
Literally.
Yet I can’t help continuing the journey along the narrow road all the way down Spine Ridge Mountain, past the thick pine trees of Priory Forest and the abandoned playground at the bottom of the mountain, until we’re neck-deep into Crescent Vale City.
She drives toward a secluded area in the back of the town near the docks, where there are plenty of abandoned warehouses, and parks her motorcycle next to one of the doors before going inside.
I park my car not too far away and get out, pausing for a moment, only to lean back in to grab a dumb horned mask I got at a Tartarus House party a few weeks back to make sure I have something to hide my identity in case someone sees me.
I close the car door and check the area to make sure no one saw me following her before I head toward the warehouse. Coming in through the front entrance is definitely not the smart option here, so I take a gander around the building.
On the right side is a shoddy-looking metal staircase that leads to a small window in the roof.
Perfect.
After checking my surroundings, I head into the alley and jump to grab the bars, then pull myself up until my feet can balance on the first ledge. I climb to the top and take a breather before I crawl onto the roof and lift myself over the window so I can peek through.
Maybe this isn’t the smartest idea I’ve ever had.
After all, Sunny Reed isn’t exactly known for her forgiving nature, and our entire family has already seen what she can do to people if they ever get in her way.
She will kill anyone who tries.
Not that I have any intention of stopping whatever it is she’s doing here. I just want to know … want to find out more about her… want to see what lies behind the silent killer …
Curiosity killed the cat.
But this cat is chasing another feline in a desperate attempt to find out why she disappeared.
And if that means putting myself in harm’s way—her way—then so be it.
Sunny
The moment the door handle is jiggled, I lower my mask, raise my gun, and wait.
The metal screeches as the door opens, and a man looks up at me.
“Don’t shoot.”
He slides the door open farther, carrying a body that has its hands tied together behind its back.
“I brought you what you wanted.”
I still click the safety off.
He shivers. “Don’t kill me. Please. I did what you asked.”
“Is he alive?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
“I drugged him with some of Perry’s stuff,” the man explains. “But he’ll wake up any minute now. You’ll see.”
He pulls him to the middle of the warehouse by his shirt, ripping it in the process as he dumps the guy in front of me. He kicks the guy a couple of times until a groan finally emanates from the body.
Good.
He looks up at me. “I did my part. Now please …”
I stare at him through the two round mesh holes in my black bunny mask, wondering if he can see the depth of my murderous cravings. If he even knows it’s me behind the mask.
If he knows I’ll eventually come for all of them.
“Fine. I’ll spare your boyfriend. Now get the fuck out of here,” I growl.
He nods a few times, then turns around and bolts out the door.
I am too forgiving, but I guess I’ll let him have his peace while it lasts. After all, this little toy will keep me busy.
I tuck my gun back into its holster and approach the guy left behind, his dirty, tattered shirt haphazardly pulled on in a rush, while he’s still in his underwear. This raggedy little shit got dragged out of his house while sleeping.
I smirk and kick him in the groin. “Wake up, bitch.”
He moans in pain and curls up into the fetal position. After a while, he finally mutters some words. “What happened? W-where am I?”
I bend my knees and grab him by the hair to tilt his head back. “In your own private hell. Welcome.”
His eyes are all droopy. “What?”
Still so drugged out. Pathetic.
I drop his head back down and circle his body. “You didn’t think I’d let you fuckers do whatever the hell you wanted, right?”
“What are you talking about? What’s going on?”
I tilt my head as a serene smile spreads on my face. “Paul, don’t play coy with me.”
He crawls away on hands and feet, wobbly as hell from all the drugs. “How do you know my name?”
“I know a lot of things about you,” I say, and I pull out two of my favorite knives and flick them open.
His eyes widen, and he shakes his head. “No, no, please don’t. I didn’t do shit.”
“No? You don’t work for a certain self-appointed… doctor called Carlo?” I muse.
His eyes widen, face turning white as snow.
I would’ve gone for Carlo himself, but he seems a bit tough to reach, so I’ll settle for one of his assistants for now. I’ll get to him eventually.
I tap the edges of the knives. “You only ever handed these to him so he can butcher young girls, but have you ever wielded them yourself?”
“What do you want from me?” he asks, his breathing growing more rapid with every second.
“Nothing, Paul, absolutely nothing,” I say, grinning. “Except your screams.”
I stomp on his leg with my heel, and he shrieks as I ram the knife into his abdomen.
“Fuck!” he squeals, vomiting all over himself.
“No, fuck you,” I say, smiling at the excruciating pain marring his face. “I’m going to have so much fun torturing you.”
Xavier
I hold the small window in the roof for dear life as I peer through it at the horrifying scene down below. Sunny just shot the man in all of his extremities to cripple him, while he bleeds out all over the concrete floor beneath him.
She stabs him in the belly again, and the cries that burst from his mouth reach even my ears.
She aims at all the points that won’t cause immediate death, almost as if she wants her victims to be in intense agony.
Every time her knife leaves his body, she steps away to watch him writhe on the ground, unable to escape her wrath.
She circles him like a lioness entranced by the suffering she’s caused, slicing his arms and legs occasionally to draw out more painful screams. And my God … I am enthralled.
My whole body shivers from watching her slowly mutilate this man with a goddamn smile on her face.
Why is she wearing a mask?
Who is that man?
What has he done to anger her to the point of not only murder but outright torture?
I swallow away the lump in my throat when she thrusts the knife into his hand and cuts it open. His arms and legs are next, as she leaves slices everywhere she goes.
There’s so much hatred in each of her stabs and cuts, and it’s gotten me completely transfixed. I’ve heard stories from Aspen about Sunny’s supposed murder sprees around Spine Ridge, but I’ve never witnessed it myself, nor did I really believe she’d actually bring her victims to campus.
But now that I’m here, witnessing it firsthand … I don’t doubt she’s killed before.
My heart throbs in my throat as she circles the man with her gun in one hand, forcing him to open his mouth so she can look him in the eye and watch him cry as she blows his brains out.
Goose bumps erupt all over my skin.
Such casual cruelness …
God, what a woman.
Whatever that man did that got her so upset, he must’ve deserved it.
Because why else would she go so far as to end his life with zero mercy?
Suddenly, the old window cracks beneath my weight.
Her eyes shoot up toward the roof, connecting with mine in a flash, before I lower my head and hide, heart beating in my throat.
Fuck.
She saw me.