Chapter 31
Elle
I race with Ginny to the studio in the night. Part of it is to help her get over her panic. The other is because no matter what I see, I feel like we’re being followed. Like there are eyes watching us. And then the rain starts to fall.
“It wasn’t supposed to rain,” Ginny yells from five feet in front of me. Girl can run.
“I know!” I yell back, trying like hell to catch up with her.
We race up the stairs and I open the door with my thumb like Joker showed me and we push inside together, giggling our relief at being inside and having lights.
“We made it,” Ginny exhales. She’s barely out of breath.
“Did you run track?” I ask, panting.
“No—” Ginny cuts herself off and I look up to see terror on her face.
I stand to my full, albeit short, height and slowly turn the way she’s facing. There’s a person facing the door inside my studio. Long, black hair. Wearing a long, pale blue sweater over paint covered jeans and black work boots.
“Who—who are you?” I ask.
“You know who I am,” a feminine sounding voice says.
“No. I’m afraid I don’t,” I tell them. “Who are you, and why are you here?”
Ginny has moved close to me, and she’s holding her breath, shaking from head to toe. A bolt of lightning streaks across the sky outside the windows as the stranger turns to face me.
Not a stranger.
“Stefon?”
Ginny’s eyes go round and she mouths, “Shithead?” to me. I nod.
“I knew you’d know it was me, Elenore,” he speaks again, this time in a more masculine voice. “I knew your heart would call out to mine if I just gave you time.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Stefon. I told you it was over. I thought my friends did, too.”
He sneers, “Your friends? You mean the man you’ve been cheating on me with? You’ve been a very naughty little girl, Elenore Workman.”
“Stefon, I can’t cheat on you if we aren’t together.”
“Hush!” he orders, pulling a gun out of his sweater pocket. “You can’t hide the truth anymore, Elenore.”
“Why are you calling me Elenore?”
“That’s your name, so that’s what I’ll call you. That’s what they always called you in class, too.”
“What?” I breathe the word out. “How would you know that?”
“Don’t you remember? I was there. I knew we were meant to be then. My sister tried to talk me out of it. She was worried we’d get in trouble but knew nothing could stop love.”
“Your sister?”
“Stefanie was my sister.”
“Was? And who’s Stefanie?”
“She’s my sister,” he tells me like I’m a toddler. “You were in class with her and she thought you were too talented and wanted me to stay away, but she got over that quickly when I told her that having you by my side would good for both of us.”
“Wait,” I say, my brain finally clicking. “Your sister is Stefanie Devore?”
“Yes,” he says simply.
“I remember her. She lived on the same floor as me in the dorms. Where were you?”
“I was a floor up.”
“Were you the one who stole my things and started messing with my stuff?”
“See!” He claps, excitedly. “You do remember!”
I don’t reply, looking at him closer, trying to remember him from school.
“I don’t understand,” I finally say.
“I know you don’t, but you will. And you’ll see that you’re mine and I’m yours and that’s what the world wants.”
I see Ginny motioning with her hands to keep him talking, so I do.
“Help me see? I want to know everything,” I try playing into what he wants.
He rewards me with a smile. “Anything for you. Why don’t you and your friend go sit and I’ll explain everything?”
He gestures to the futon in the corner of the room with the gun, giving us no choice, really, and we comply.
“You brought drinks?” he asks, noticing the bottle of rum in my hand.
“Would you like one?” I ask.
“That would be nice. You stay, I’ll get the glasses.” He turns to the small kitchen area, looking in the cabinets.
“What. The. Fuck?” Ginny mouths.
“I don’t know. Find a way to get ahold of Ranger. Or Joker. Or the fucking President of the United States for all I care. Do what you can to get a call out! And then come back here and help me find the right time to take his fucking ass down,” I hiss as quietly as I can.
She nods as Stefon turns back to us, finding my stash of plastic cups.
“These will have to do. We’ll have to work on getting you some better glassware, honey,” he says, handing me the cups with one hand, the gun still in the other.
I do what he expects and pour us all a large shot of the rum and pass out the cups. I watch as he shoots his and Ginny follows suit when I nod and put the cup to my lips, letting the liquid slide down my throat.
“Would you like another?” I ask, already pouring another round into Ginny’s and my cups. He hands his over and I pour an extra-large amount into his.
“Rum, huh? I figured you for a tequila girl. This is good.” He shoots back the second large pour and hands the cup back to me. “Another?”
“As much as you’d like, Stefon.” I smile at him.
His returning grin makes my stomach roil with the liquor I just swallowed.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” he tsks me but takes the cup and drinks for a third time.
“Not at all. Promise.” I look at him with my eyes wide, hoping they convey innocence and not fear.
“I owe you a story, don’t I?” he asks, pulling up one of my stools and perching on it.
“I’d love a story.”
“I would like a story, too, but can I go to the little girl’s room? Liquid and all.” She looks so apologetic, I almost believe her.
“Of course. Just don’t try anything funny. We’re all going to be family, and I don’t want to hurt family. I only do that when I have to.”
“Thank you so much,” she replies before scurrying off the futon and into the bathroom, leaving me alone in the room with Stefon.
“What happened to your sister?” I ask, trying to keep him talking.
And drinking. I pour him another. Our bottle is going to be empty if he keeps going.
“That’s all part of the story.” He grins. “I can’t wait for you to hear it.”
Okay. So talking without the entire audience here to listen isn’t going to happen. Hurry up, Gin. Please.
Thankfully, whatever she did was quick and I hear the toilet flush and sink turn on and then she’s back, sitting down next to me.
“Are we ready?” he asks with excitement, looking like a kid at Christmas.
“We’re ready.” I nod my head, feigning my own energy to match his.
“We met the first day of college our freshman year. I was there for business classes and I accidentally bumped into you at the dorm entrance and you dropped a box. It was totally my fault, but I knew the minute you apologized to me that we were meant to be. Remember?”
He looks at me expectantly, and I rack my brain trying to think back.
“I do.” I nod, slowly, the memory coming back. “I was with Barty that day. He was helping me move my stuff in, and you knocked into me because you were talking to…wait! You were talking to Stefanie!”
“That’s right. And she was so mad at me for knocking into you. She let me have it that night, told me I’d never fit in and should just quit and go back to the home.”
“The home?” I ask, confused about his wording.
“Oh, yeah. My parents had some big issues, and we had to go live in a home for a while. I met my best friend there, too. Stephanie and him were really close. I saw them together once. He said it was in exchange for what he had to offer her, but he wouldn’t share with me.”
“She yelled at you because you knocked into me? That wasn’t necessary. I’m sorry,” I say.
“It’s alright. She always yelled at me. She was going to be an artist. And she didn’t like you,” he ends in a whisper, like it’s the greatest secret he’s ever shared.
“Why not?”
“Because I loved you, of course. And because you were so talented. I used to stand at the back of the class and watch you work. The way you lost yourself when you had a brush or a pencil in your hands. It was beautiful, just like you.”
“Thank you, really.”
“And I had to show you how much you meant to me by letting you know I’d been there.”
“You took my clothes?” I mock chastise him, not wanting to anger him now.
“They smelled like you. When we leave tonight, I’ll let you have them back. They are all put away in your half of the closet.”
“I don’t know what to say to that,” I honestly say. I’m freaked the fuck out and have no words.
“Anyway. My sister overstepped and my friend helped put her in her place when she scared you away from the dorms. It took you so far away from me, all the way to that apartment that wouldn’t let me in. It killed me at night to not know if you were home. And then the first guy who tried to steal you away from me kept showing up.”
I didn’t date much in college. Just hung out with the friend group I had. Which included Barty.
“He wasn’t any good for you, you know. I would have treated you like a queen. It was good you had your brother step in and help when you did. But it didn’t save that guy. He was doomed the minute he touched you. It took me a few years to track him down, but when I did, I took care of him. For you. Everything is always for you.”
“You…you killed Barty? It wasn’t a car accident?”
“I let everyone think that’s what it was. A little poke in his thigh and put him behind the wheel. So easy.”
“Why? He was already gone, Stefon.”
“Because he hurt you. And anyone who hurts you has to pay the price.”
He hands me his cup again, and I fill it up. Because why not?
“When you opened your gallery, I was so proud of you, and I knew my time was coming. But my sister had to go and mess it up. She kept submitting stuff to you and you kept rejecting her. As you should have. She never had anything close to your talent. And I should know. I made it my life’s mission to learn everything about art that I could, so you’d know I mean it when I tell you that you’re the best artist I’ve ever seen. Better than any Degas or DaVinci.”
“That’s, um, high praise indeed.”
“When it was finally my time, you turned me down.” He frowns. “More than once, you silly girl. But I knew it was only a matter of time before you came around, and our first date was the best night of my life. I knew we’d hit it off and that you’d love me as much as I love you. I never wanted to be apart from you. And that’s where I messed up, isn’t it? I was too open. After all the years of watching you from afar, I pushed it too fast for you, and you were mad at me.”
“You scared me. I’ve never been around someone with the capacity to love me like you have.”
“I’ll never stop loving you.”
“Can I ask you something? Will you be honest with me?”
“Always. I’ll always tell you anything you want to know.”
“Did you destroy my studio?”
“No!” he answers adamantly. “It was her!”
“Your sister?”
“Stefanie. It was her! She was so upset that you were back.”
“Did she change her name and try to submit something for the show?”
He cackles. Open mouth, head thrown back. I share a wide-eyed look with Ginny, who shrugs her shoulders.
“I knew that would never fool you!” He points at me. “You’re too good to be fooled. I told her I’d go with her and pretend to be her agent. But you’re too good. And so’s your friend. He knew right away it wasn’t good enough, but he promised to send it to you for final approval.”
“Is that why she did it?”
“I think so.” He nods his head. “But I caught her, and she won’t ever do that again. I made sure of it.”
“What did you do, Stefon?” I timidly ask, already dreading the answer.
He averts his eyes, shaking his head. “I don’t want to tell you. You’ll be mad at me.”
“I promise I won’t be mad. Will you tell me now?”
“She’s hidden.”
“Where is she hidden?”
“At your gallery. She’s hidden and you haven’t found her yet.”
I recoil in fear before I can help it, and he stands up, swaying as the alcohol fully hits. “I told you! I knew you’d be mad!” he cries, fisting his hair and pacing.
“No! No, I’m not mad! I promise. I’m just sad that she’s been there and no one’s found her. We should tell someone where she is so they can help her get out. Please?”
“Once you’re home with me, then we can tell them.”
“Okay, Stefon. Okay. You want to go home?”
“With you.”
“Yes, yes, with me.” I’m repeating words. I’m out of my element here. I don’t know what I’m agreeing to, only that I’ll say and do whatever I have to in order to calm him down.
“You have to do something first. So I know that man who thinks he’s with you will leave us alone and call his bullies off. They’ve been outside my home watching me.”
“Is that why you’re wearing the wig?” I ask.
“I had to!” he defends himself loudly. “They were watching. I just told you that! I couldn’t come see you because they were watching. And my friend. He told me about you and that you don’t like the dark,” he points to Ginny. “But my friend, the one who used to give special things to my sister? Well, he shared with me. And in an amazing moment of clarity, I knew what I had to do. Did you know you can get wigs delivered?”
He’s switching gears on me so fast, I don’t know which way to lean. “What do you need me to do, Stefon?”
“You’re going to call that man and tell him you’re no longer his. Call him now, please. So we can go home and go to bed. I’ve had a very long day and would like to go to sleep.”
“You want me to call…?”
“Yes. Call him now. And tell him exactly what I tell you to.”
“Okay.” Ginny hands me her phone, and I dial, putting it up to my ear.
“You tell him you’re putting him on speaker when he answers.” Stefon points at me, and I nod in return.
“Elle! Tink! Are you okay? What’s going on?” Ranger yells when he answers the phone. “We’re on our way. I’m coming for you, baby.”
“Okay. Thank you.” I know I sound like a robot and I hope with everything in me, he knows all of this is bullshit. “I’m going to put you on speaker, Jonny, okay?”
“Got it. We’re almost there, Tink. Do whatever you have to do to stay alive.”
I put the phone on speaker and look at Stefon. “Tell him that you’ve been thinking about your life and have decided that the man you really love isn’t him and you need to be with him.”
“Jonny, I’ve been thinking about my life and I’ve decided that the man I really love isn’t you and I need to be with him,” I tell Ranger, staring at Stefon the whole time.
“Tell him that you’re sorry if he’s forever crushed, but you have to follow your heart to your soul mate and you’ve wasted enough time and you can’t wait anymore.”
“I’m sorry if you’re forever crushed, but I have to follow my heart to my soul mate and I’ve wasted enough time and I can’t wait anymore.”
“Okay, Elle. I understand.”
“Tell him thank you. And that you’re going to go home to your true love’s house now and live forever.”
“Thank you. I’m going to go home to my true love’s house now and live forever.”
“And he needs to call his henchmen off.”
“And you need to call your henchmen off. Please.” I smile at Stefon, letting him know I ad-libbed that part to be polite.
“I understand.”
“Thank you.”
“Now hang up,” Stefon tells me, and I do what he asks. “It’s time to go now that we took care of that.”
“Can I take some of my stuff with me?” I ask, looking around the studio.
“Of course you can. I brought the van just for you. How can I help?”
It takes everything in me to not throw up. This man is truly delusional. And I still don’t know if his goal is to keep me like a doll or kill me and hack me into pieces in his basement. It’s a toss-up at this point.
I throw a look at Ginny, hoping she gets the message and can read my mind. The time is now to take this man down. Any possible way we can. She blinks twice, and I hope that’s her code for message understood.
“Oh, gosh, Stefon. I just don’t think I could go on without my favorite easel. That one.” I stand from the futon and point. “In front of the window. But it’s so big, it’s hard for me to move it.”
The rain is still coming down outside, but we’ve been oblivious to the storm raging. I watch the water for a second before I turn to Stefon, who flexes his arms. Yes. The man flexes his fucking arms!
“I can do that for you.”
He turns to the easel and I pick up the bottle of rum, mouthing, “NOW,” to Ginny, who sits on the edge of the futon and scoots to the edge.
With my next breath, I raise the bottle of rum up over my head and run at him, bringing it down on his head.
He turns, staring at me, his mouth open wide, trying to talk. But there’s no time for words when Ginny hits him like a running back on the game scoring drive in the big game.
She hits his midsection with her shoulder and he flies through the air. We both watch as his back connects with the window and it’s like the entire wall crumbles and falls, with him going with it all.
The shop door flies open, Ranger and Joker rushing into the room and taking in the scene. Sam Carmichael, the local cop we met when shit went down with Lottie, comes in next, his eyes immediately going to the window before looking around.
“Outside?” he asks.
I nod.
“I…I just. Oh, God, is he dead?” Ginny gasps for air, her face a mask of worry and panic.
I look away from Ranger long enough to look out the window. And there’s no doubt in my mind that the man is dead.
“What answer will make you feel better?” I ask Ginny, turning away from the rain pelting my face through the opening in the wall.
“Tell me the bastard is dead, Elle. Please tell me the fucker will never do that again.”
I pull her into a hug, both of us squeezing tight. “He’s dead. The fucker will never do that again.”
“Too soon, bitch,” Ginny replies, trying to hold in a laugh. “Too fucking soon.”
“Tink?” Ranger asks from behind us. “Tell me you’re okay.”
Ginny lets me go, and I fall into his waiting arms, the enormity of what just happened hitting me all at once, and the floodgates open. The tears can’t be stopped. The body wracking sobs. And through it all, Ranger never loosens his hold on me. I know it’s going to be a long night and I have a lot of information to tell the people who need to know, but all I want is to curl up in Ranger’s arms and never leave again.