4. Harley
FOUR
Iwant to kill her.
Every ounce of me wanted nothing more than to end it all right then and there. She was inches away from death, yet I knew if I did, we’d all be next.
“Do exactly as I say and nobody but her gets hurt.”
His voice is constantly in the back of my mind, but how could I get rid of a voice…a man that has done everything in his power to make sure we stay living in hell? His fucking hell.
I hate him.
I hate her.
I hate how all of this is over something that had nothing to do with me or my best friends. I guess you could call it being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was time to pay our dues.
I let out a frustrated breath, tossing my phone to the side. The guys walk in, sitting across from me.
“So, now what?” Motley asks, crossing his arms waiting for me to make the next decision.
“She entered our territory and I’m tired of being in the shadows.” Both of them now stiffen up from their seats. Weston cocks an eyebrow intrigued, but slightly concerned.
“What do you mean by that, Harley?”
I circle the rim of my whiskey glass sitting in silence for a moment. My head remains slightly down as my eyes rise up to meet theirs.
“We’ve been lurking in the dark for far too long. I’m tired of doing the same shit and not getting anything out of it.”
“What we’re getting out of it is staying alive. Don’t start pushing buttons now, Harley,” Motley’s voice lingers with a threat.
“Who said he has to know?” I question.
Weston runs a hand through his black, fluffy hair, letting out a breath while Motley stays unreadable. I finish off my whiskey waiting to see if they have anything to say, but they remain silent which tells me they’re thinking about it. I’m getting into their heads. Getting up, I start heading towards the door, grabbing my mask that hangs to the wall next to it.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Motley asks as I keep my back towards them, opening the door.
“Just doing my job.”
Tonight everyone made themselves known and I’m tired of staying in the darkness. I’ve been hiding in the dark for six months. Six months. It’s time to make myself known in her shadow.
Everyone has their own different versions of hell. Things, places…people. But how do you know you”ve escaped? How do you know there”s no going back? Or is that all part of this thing we call life? If someone would”ve asked me those questions before last night, the answers would”ve been easy to answer. Now, I”m starting to wonder if I ever truly escaped.
One hour. One fucking hour of sleep is all I got, scared that one of the masked men would reappear. I really wanted to believe that this was all a nightmare. The universe would never make it that easy on me, though.
Laying in my bed, I continue staring at the text rereading it a million times, trying to figure it all out. I just don”t understand why someone, let alone three guys, would pick me as their target. I mean honestly – I don”t do anything in this town besides work and enjoy being as far away from San Antonio, Texas as I can. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. A knock on my door followed by Ansley walking in has me setting my phone down, looking at her surprised since it’s only seven in the morning.
“I knew you were awake! My intuition never lies,” she says, sitting at the edge of the bed. I give her a half smile as I stretch out my body.
“Well someone is up bright and early on a Saturday. You working today?”
“Luckily, no. I just wanted to let you know that Chloe is having a couple of people over at her house tonight. We’re just gonna hang out for a while before heading over to a haunted house. Possibly the pub afterwards. Wanna come?” She pouts her lips and gives me those puppy dog eyes.
Normally I would be all about it, especially since this is my first Halloween season here in Willow Creek, but it’s best if I just stay low for the day. Besides, I have three more weekends left to go to all the haunted houses.
“I’m sorry, Ans, I just don’t feel like going out tonight. I woke up not feeling the best anyways.” Technically, I’m not lying. From the lack of sleep, anxiety, and being in a constant state of fear all night, I really did wake up feeling like shit.
“Do you need me to run and go get you anything?”
“I’m okay. Thank you, though. I’ll probably just try to sleep it off.”
“Well, let me know if you need anything!” She gets up, blowing me an air kiss. Smiling, I wait until the door has been closed to drop the fake smile. Picking up my phone again, I now have another text.
Unknown
Leaving your blinds open while sleeping isn’t very smart, is it?
I snap my head to my balcony door, noticing my blinds are shut and the door is locked. Nice try, asshole. My thumbs hover over the keyboard thinking of what to say or if I should say anything at all.
Me
Nice try, but they’re closed.
Unknown
You can thank me for that.
I stare at my blinds once again trying to remember if I closed them or not. I always close my blinds at night. It’s practically a routine and I’m certain the door was locked. If anything, last night I definitely made sure the blinds were closed and that the door was locked. Right?
Unknown
Am I getting into your head?
I scoff at his message, rolling my eyes. Mind games is what he wants to play? I can play them all fucking day. I’ve been played before, but this time I refuse to be sucked in as the victim.
Me
I’m clearly in yours.
Just as I assumed, no reply. Pussy. I wait a couple more minutes to see if another text pops up, but get nothing. I’m about to get out of bed, my mind not letting me go back to sleep, until I hear Ansley knocking on my door again. “Come in!” I yell. Instead of her coming in, she continues to knock on the door. I yell at her again. “Come in, Ansley!” But still nothing besides the constant knock that now gets louder. Growing aggravated, I get up to open the door to see Ansley face down looking at her phone. She takes a couple of steps back in surprise.
“Damn it, Win! You scared me,” she says, holding her phone on her chest.
“Oh, I’m sorry! What’s up? I’m surprised you didn’t just walk in after the second knock.”
“Yeah, sorry. I thought I heard a vibration noise and didn’t want to walk in on you doing…that. Anyways, I’m actually about to leave to go have breakfast with Chloe. Looks like we’re all wide awake at the ass crack of dawn. Text me if you want anything and I’ll be back later. Love ya!” She walks away, followed by the front door shutting seconds afterwards. I stay standing where I’m at, looking off into the distance. I think about what would’ve happened if it was one of the masked men. How would I react if one of them did ever find out where I lived or broke in for that matter? Closing my door, I make sure to lock it. Wanting to get out of my pajama shorts, I start walking to my closet when I hear something coming from the bathroom, making me pause.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
I inch my way closer to the bathroom, continuing to hear the steady sound of water dripping. Poking my head in, I see the drops coming from the shower head. I walk over to turn the faucet handle all the way off. You’re too far in your head right now.
I turn around to exit when all of a sudden I see the masked man from the hallway last night standing in the doorway. My whole body grows pale and the sudden onset of fear makes my breathing become quickened. I have no time to scream, my body immediately going into a state of fight. I try to slam the door in his face, but his muscular arm stops it with ease. I put my back on the door, giving it my all to close it, but it won’t budge. With little time to think, I scan around my bathroom trying to find anything that could be used as a weapon. Spotting one of my derma blades on the counter top, I push off the door and lunge for it, gripping it like it”s my only chance of surviving because in this case, it just might be.
He swings the door open, still standing where he’s at. I don’t dare move a muscle. Not even an inch. I watch as his chest rises and falls calmly like this is a completely normal situation for him. I tighten my grip around my derma blade feeling the razor puncture my palm. The blade sinks deeper in my flesh and warm blood starts to coat my hand. I watch as his eyes move from my face to the floor, mesmerized by the droplets of blood hitting the tile.
“You scared, angel?” His voice is deep and his green eyes show nothing but darkness.
“Just mad,” I say, my eyes now glaring up at him with an intense rage.
He hums, nodding his head as he puts his hands in his pockets. “What do I have to do to make you scared, then?”
What the fuck kind of question is that? Before I can gather up the words I’m wanting to say, he takes a step towards me…then another…and another, until he’s mere inches away from me. His dark green eyes dance with evil. I catch a glimpse of his neck and my heart drops.
“You…”
“I make you sc–”
“No, I saw y-you at the…at Scream Box yesterday looking at masks.” His lips smirk to the side and I run my eyes down to his neck, tracing the creepy woman with my eyes. He takes both of his hands out of his pockets and starts clapping slowly. I can now see a skull tattooed on his left hand and a gothic looking mirror on his right. How did I miss that last night? I try to think about his facial features from yesterday, but everything besides his eyes and tattoo is a blur.
“Good girl. I’m glad we’re starting to figure out the fucking obvious.” He mockingly pats my cheek twice, making my breath still.
“What do you want? I’ve done nothi–”
“You’ve done fucking everything, Winver Sage. I’m in this position because of you,” he hisses out. His response makes my whole body go numb. How does he know my full name?
“I don’t und-understand.” The shakiness of my breath displays the fear that shoots up and down my body.
“You think I need you to understand?” He shakes his head twice, chuckling. “The only thing you need to understand is that the things I have planned for you are anything but sweet.”
I lick my dry lips, watching as his eyes trail down to them then to my bloody hand. He grabs my wrist pulling me forward. The sudden force makes my hand flex out, dropping the derma blade in the process. Inspecting my open wound closely, he swipes some of my blood up with his two fingers then turns to face the mirror. With my blood on his fingers, he begins drawing a backwards cross on the forehead of the mask. My mouth parts in awe at what the fuck I’m seeing. What I’m allowing to happen. As both of us look at each other through the mirror, he glides his thumb over my wound again, lifting it right where my mouth is.
“Pucker up, angel.” My eyebrows spring up, shocked at what he just said to me. He slightly moves his head forward, waiting for me to do as I’ve been told. I’ve made it this far with my heart still beating…I’d like to keep it that way. Letting out a pissed off breath, I pucker my lips as he coats them with my own blood. I look at the dark, crimson red that’s now painted on as the metallic scent hits my senses.
“Good girl. Now kiss me…right here.” He bends down a little bit and points to the left side of the mask, instructing me to kiss his cheek. I keep my eyes open as I inch my lips closer to the mask until they finally hit the cold plastic. Standing tall again, he inspects it through the mirror.
“Is that a good enough job for you? I’d hate to have to redo it,” I say sarcastically with the remnants of blood still on my lips. He sucks off the blood that remained on his two fingers, doing the same with his thumb. The feeling I get from the sight of watching him lick off my blood is one I shouldn’t be getting. My clit starts to tingle while the rest of my body swarms with heat. As I clench my thighs together, he lets out a subtle chuckle, avoiding my question.
“Does my angel like that? You like watching me lick up your blood?” I don’t have to say anything, because my now-red cheeks say it all. He pouts his bottom lip and nods his head, already knowing the answer that I forbid to give. Letting go of my wrist, he turns his whole body facing the mirror, bending down right at my ear. “I promise you’ll have more blood spilling out of you soon,” he whispers. He then storms out, slamming my bathroom door shut behind him. Without hesitating, I bolt for the door and twist the door knob to realize it’s locked from the outside. How is that even possible? I twist and shake the door knob, banging on the door with my bloody hand. A few more violent shakes later, the door swings open to find nobody there.
I sweep through the whole apartment checking every little space I could possibly find, only to remain pissed when I don’t find him. Now back in my room noticing my balcony door unlocked, I check the outside and over the railing to see no one. How could he have gotten up here or escaped? I’m on the second story…
It’s not impossible to get up here or I guess jump down, but how the fuck did he even unlock my door?
I think about the text he sent me earlier this morning.
Maybe he did close my blinds last night…