21. Gwen
CHAPTER 21
GWEN
Demi: What’s going on?
I just pulled up at Silas’s. I’m about to walk Dove.
Want to grab a milkshake in a bit? I’ve barely seen you the last couple of weeks.
I’m not guilting you, I promise.
I know she’s not. She would never do that. But I still feel a little guilty that I’ve been spending so much time with Silas. She knows I’m crazy about him, and she’s happy for me. I think I’m in love but I haven’t told him yet. He hasn’t told me yet either, but I know we’re on the same page. And when it’s the right time, we’ll confess our feelings to each other.
I glance at the time at the top of my screen. It’s almost noon now. Dove must’ve heard me pull in, and she’s probably waiting for me.
Yes, let’s meet at one. I’ll head that way as soon as I’m done walking Dove.
Awesome. Can’t wait to see you.
Me too! And FYI, the milkshakes are on me. No arguing.
I climb from my SUV and hip check the door closed. Fuck, it’s hot. The end of July is nearing and my birthday is approaching. Twenty-one. I’ll finally be able to legally drink at bars even though I have no desire to do so.
How many other people my age can say that? I bet I’m in the minority, and I’m perfectly content to be. I’ve never been much for partying and sitting in a dark bar with strangers all around me; sounds like a nightmare. Especially, as I’m still not over my general mistrust of people I don’t know.
Although training with Silas this summer has made me stronger and more confident, I’m still working on not being leery of others.
I unlock the door, but when I push it open, Dove isn’t waiting for me.
That’s weird.
“Dove, I’m here. Come on, pretty girl. Let’s go for a walk,” I call out, but she still doesn’t appear. Now I’m really growing concerned. I pull up a text to Silas and type out a message.
Me: Is Dove okay? She’s not waiting for me at the door like usual.
Silas: She was fine when I left. Maybe she’s sleeping and didn’t hear you.
The fact that he doesn’t seem alarmed makes me feel better.
Silas: Let me know if she’s not okay.
Me: I will xo.
I push my phone down into my pocket.
“Dove,” I shout, louder this time, but the result is the same. And now I’m getting a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something seems off, and Silas has been drilling into my head how I need to pay attention to my instincts.
Should I leave?
But what if Dove is hurt and needs me? Maybe she ate something she wasn’t supposed to? If I don’t find her, she could die. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her because of my actions.
Deciding to err on the side of caution, I keep my footsteps as silent as possible while I cross the entryway. When I reach the kitchen, I notice Dove lying on the floor. She’s on her side and appears to be unconscious.
“Dove!” I race over, falling to my knees on the hardwood floor next to her. Dropping my keys, I press my hand to her side, feeling for the rising and falling motions of her breathing. I’m relieved when her chest expands, but I need to figure out why she’s unconscious.
I pull up my text thread with Silas and begin typing to share what’s going on. Catching motion in my periphery, I throw myself to the side, barely escaping the fist swinging at my face. I roll away and get to my feet, facing my assailant. My eyes bulge and my mouth opens and closes without making a sound. My heart races like a freight train barreling at top speed down the tracks and I can barely draw in my next breath.
He laughs. “Cat got your tongue?”
“You.” I shake my head, as if he’s an apparition I can make disappear. It feels like there’s a disconnect between my eyes and my brain. I can’t believe what I’m seeing is real. “How are you…” I trail off.
“Alive?” He supplies the answer along with an evil grin that frightens me to my core.
I nod. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
He narrows his eyes and points at me. “Because of you, my brother is.”
Jerry has a twin brother?
“No, not me. I didn’t kill him.”
“You may not have pulled the trigger, but you might as well have.”
Focus, Gwen.
I need to find a way out of this situation.
Keep him talking as long as you can.
Silas is expecting to hear from me. When he doesn’t, he’ll wonder why, and if I’m lucky, he’ll come home.
“What’s your name?”
He scoffs. “You want to know my name?”
“Yes, please.” My eyes seek out anything nearby that can be used as a weapon.
“Perry.”
“P-e-r-i?” I ask, stalling.
“No. P-e-r-r-y.”
Jesus. Jerry and Perry. I bet they got teased unmercifully.
No wonder they’re both fucking psychos.
“How did you find me?” I ask.
“It hasn’t been hard. You’re either at home, the gym, or here.”
My eyes flash wider, revealing my surprise.
He smiles. “Yeah. Like my brother, I’m pretty good at stalking.”
“I don’t understand why you’re here. I didn’t do anything to your brother. He came into my apartment.”
“My twin!” he shouts, correcting me.
“I didn’t do anything to your twin.”
“He told me all about you. How you teased and flirted with him but played hard to get.”
I read a story somewhere of how when a woman got kidnapped she called her kidnapper by his first name to make him think she had feelings for him. It’s a stretch to think he’ll fall for it, but I’m so desperate it can’t hurt.
“Perry, I barely knew your brother. We did a project together and he hardly spoke to me. In fact, I had to do most of the project myself.”
“Liar!” His voice sounds shrill.
I hold up my hand. “I promise you, I’m telling the truth. I wasn’t attracted to him. He was too quiet for me. Not like you.” I channel Demi and do my best impression of a flirtatious smile. “You must be the twin with all the personality.”
The anger fades from his eyes slightly as his gaze scrolls up and down my frame. I realize it’s been replaced with interest when his attention lingers on my breasts.
God, please help me.
I barely suppress the shudder of revulsion. Fuck . I don’t know what I’m doing. All I can do is keep him talking, and maybe I can slowly inch away whenever his attention leaves me.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I thank my lucky stars the ringer is shut off. It’s probably Silas wondering why I haven’t updated him about Dove. As soon as the vibrating stops, it almost immediately begins again.
Silas, I need you. Please come. My thoughts are both a wish and a prayer.
“What did you do to the dog?” I ask.
“She’ll be fine as long as you don’t do anything stupid.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I gave her a tranquilizer. She’ll be back to herself in a few hours.”
What if he gave her too much and she never wakes up?
“How did you get inside the house?” I ask.
“I picked the lock on the back door. Your boyfriend is unexpectedly lax about security. No Ring cameras and no alarm. I guess being a former fighter makes him think he doesn’t need the protection. I’ll bet he’ll regret that after today.” He takes a step closer, so I retreat one step. I’m not close enough for him to get his hands on without him advancing toward me. If I can maintain this distance for as long as possible, maybe I can find a weapon to use against him.
My keys are on the floor next to Dove but Perry is too close. He’d have his hands on me before I could get to them.
“What are you going to do with me?” I ask, immediately regretting the question. But it’s the only one I could think of.
He pulls out a knife, and my mouth goes dry. The blade looks just like the one Jerry used to cut my face.
Perry laughs maniacally. It’s eerily similar to my memory of his twin’s evil laugh. “First, I’m gonna carve up your other cheek.” He tests the knife’s point with his thumb. “Then we’ll see what comes to mind.” The lascivious wink he punctuates his threat with makes his nefarious plan clear. And I know… I’m running out of time.
My panicked gaze darts from him to the kitchen island, back to him, then to the kitchen counters as I search for anything to use against him. The toaster is a possibility, but it’s plugged in. What if it doesn’t easily unplug when I grab it?
I dare another quick glance and notice the frying pan Silas uses every morning to cook eggs. After he washed it, he must’ve forgotten to place it in the cabinet.
Perry takes a step toward me and I sprint toward the counter. His hand grabs the back of my shirt as my fingers close around the handle on the frying pan. I turn around swinging, and slam the flat bottom into the side of his head. The smack to the face stuns him but doesn’t stop him. His knees buckle and he drops the knife, but he shakes it off quickly enough to stop me before I can make it back out the front door.
Hurry!
He catches up to me, grabs me by the back of my neck, and rams my head into the front door.
Pain scorches through my skull and my ears pop as he tosses me onto the floor in the hallway.
“You fucking bitch,” he seethes through gritted teeth. His mouth is bleeding from the frying pan.
I try to get right back up to my feet, but he leaps on top of me. I realize he’s trying to pin me to the floor, just like Silas did that day in the gym, and I hear his voice from that day as if he’s shouting in my ear right now.
Plant your heels and push with your hips.
I do exactly as I did in the gym. I plant my heels and push with my hips as I shove both palms of my hands up into his jaw. And it works.
Perry cries out in agony when my hands slam into his jaw. I force him off me and then use both feet to kick him in the chest. The blow knocks him into the nearby wall and he collapses on the floor beside me.
He’s making a whimpering sound as I spring up from the floor and run for the door.
My hands are visibly trembling as I reach it, and I briefly struggle with the handle. Unfortunately, it’s just long enough for Perry to catch me again. This time, he rams my head into the door much harder—twice.
I’m barely holding on to consciousness and my legs are limp beneath me. I desperately try to recover, but I can only manage to stagger a few steps before I collapse on the hardwood floor in the hallway again.
“Ouch!” Perry screams and stamps his feet on the floor next to me repeatedly. “That’s it. I am all done playing around with you.” He straddles my chest and pins my arms to the floor with his knees. “Fuck you,” he screams at me and then spits a mouthful of blood in my face. “Bitch.”
He wraps his hands around my throat and begins to squeeze.
I want to resist. I want to struggle. I want to fight. But all of my strength is gone. I can’t even feel my arms to lift them and my vision is blurring.
The last thing I’m going to see in this life is this maniac’s face… again.
I blink and squint and try to stay conscious just a little longer. And then I see Silas.
He’s standing behind Perry with something in his hand and rage in his eyes.
“Motherfucker.” He swings what turns out to be his motorcycle helmet down into the side of Perry’s head, immediately knocking him unconscious. Silas hits him again two more times and then tosses his limp body down the hall like a sack of dirty laundry.
He turns to me and drops to his knees, crawling to my side. I’ve never seen him look panicked before.