Chapter 19
DANNY’S CARAMEL EYES GLINT WITH HOPE, ELATION growing between us now that we have a clear mission. It’s not only about having a place to hide, but a way to escape as well.
I glance at Danny, who offers me his warm hand to help me stand up.
Giving his hand a light squeeze, I offer him a tight smile.
It’s the best I can come up with. I wish we had more time to sit and talk.
There’s nothing I would like better than to discuss my theories with him, since he’s the one who has believed every crazy thought that I’ve had today.
Starting from the moment I told him about Brian’s killer being the one who sent the letters too.
Together, we help Cerys to her feet. She groans a little from the effort it takes her but manages to remain standing in spite of the stab wound to her side.
It’s impressive to see how strong she is.
I don’t know if I would have the same courage to do what she’s doing.
Once she’s on her feet, I pick up the dagger from the floor before I forget about it.
Bethan takes over helping Cerys, pulling her arm over her shoulders to support her weight.
“I’ll make sure the coast is clear,” Danny offers, heading to the door.
I follow him. Bethan and Cerys stay behind, waiting for the confirmation that it’s safe to go.
His hand stalls when he reaches the knob, almost like he’s reconsidering his actions. A few seconds go by in which he does nothing but stand there.
I touch his arm softly, barely caressing the skin with the tips of my fingers.
Conflict shadows his expression, wrinkling his forehead as a million thoughts gather behind his eyes.
Danny looks at me like he has something important to say.
His gaze travels over my face, staring at my lips while his hands fidget with the edge of the doorknob.
He seems to be at odds with himself, battling with something I can’t quite figure out.
I’m about to ask if he’s okay when he speaks first.
“Oh, fuck it,” he whispers under his breath.
Taking a step forward, he cradles my face with his hands and presses his mouth against mine.
For the first time, he kisses me in front of others, fully claiming ownership of my lips as he presses me closer against him.
The kiss isn’t passionate, just a light peck, but even so it ignites sparks in my stomach.
Yearning grows in me, spreading through my limbs as I mold myself to fit in the space against his chest.
In a movie, this would be the intimate moment that makes the viewer swoon.
Accompanied by dim lighting, vibrant emotions run high, appearing on the skin in the form of goosebumps.
Melting into each other, sharing one last moment before reality has to set in.
From a director’s point of view, this kiss would require a close-up to encapsulate the passion and longing pouring from our lips.
Bethan clears her throat loudly, snapping us out of our moment.
Heat rises to my cheeks, coloring the skin of my face with a tint of embarrassment.
Part of me wants to tell her to mind her own business, but we don’t have any more time to lose. Her presence is a reality check. We’ve already wasted enough time with this. It would be a major risk to stay here sharing kisses when we should be getting Cerys to a safe location.
The other part of me . . . well, it feels childish to admit, but I guess I’m just shocked to have been shown a public demonstration of affection like that. I never thought there would be a day where that would happen.
“Cute moment and all, but we’re on a tight schedule,” Bethan comments, brows twitching with impatience.
The warmth from my cheeks spreads to my neck.
I stare at my shoes, contemplating the blood crusting on them as I collect myself.
By this point of the night, I can’t tell whose blood is on my shoes.
Might be Leighton’s or Zelda’s. Then there’s some of Carmen’s from when she got stabbed, and I’m sure I have some of Shane and Jaden’s too.
And now Cerys’ as well, probably. I carry a bit of every victim with me as I continue my journey through this madhouse.
I plead to any force above that I won’t have to carry anyone else’s blood with me.
The amount of therapy I’ll need after tonight is insane. I’ve successfully been able to push back a lot of my struggles and traumas, but I draw the line at witnessing mass murder while trying to stay alive. It’ll take me years to unpack this night.
Danny recovers faster than me, opening the door a sliver to check if the coast is clear. When he’s sure there’s no movement outside, he holds a finger up to signal to wait a second and slips into the hall.
Time seems to stall as we wait for Danny to come back.
None of us says a word, only the slight hush of our breathing blows over the silence.
I’ve always been comfortable in quiet places, but this one is unnerving, making each strand of hair stand on end.
The tension increases, swirling around us in a thick rope of anxiety.
I decide to count to thirty in my head in an effort to dispel the anxiety clouding my judgment. I’ve just made it to twenty-one when Danny pops his head through the gap between the door and the frame and offers us a sharp nod.
The signal to get going.
Somehow, leaving the bathroom is easier than sneaking in.
Danny, guiding our steps, motions us to come out one by one.
I go first, keeping the dagger firmly in my hand as I eye the end of the corridor across from Danny while Bethan helps Cerys.
When we’re all in the hall and Danny closes the door, he pivots on his heel to look at me.
“You go first,” Danny orders, pointing at the dagger with his chin. “I’ll stay at the back.”
Silently, I get his message that I should lead the group. If anything were to happen from this end, I would be able to protect them since I’m the one with a weapon.
Bethan and Cerys remain in the middle of our group, closely followed by Danny. The floorboards creak. Louder than I would’ve liked.
Anxiety transforms into a rope tightening around my ribs, and my spine straightens. Worry triggers itself in my system, striking new flames of paranoia in my entrails.
This is a bad idea.
When has a plan in this house ever gone right? Everything we’ve accomplished has been by sheer luck. Perhaps we should’ve considered staying in the bathroom for a little longer since we’d have better odds that way.
I don’t share my anxious thoughts with the group. After all, that’s the last thing they need. They’re motivated by the hope Danny and I gave them.
I swallow the sourness coating my tongue and focus on leading the group. While my sense of direction is off-kilter, it should be easy to locate our route considering Jaden’s body was lying in the hall.
“Wait.” I stop the group, tightening my hold on the dagger.
There’s no body. Just two pools of blood soaking the floorboards to indicate the murders. I wasn’t expecting to see Shane, but Jaden? He was still there when I crossed the hall not too long ago.
In the time that we were in the bathroom, Cupid must have taken Jaden’s body and disposed of it. How did it happen so quickly?
He was right here. Did Cupid follow me when I escaped? Maybe not as far as the bathroom, but he could have started to come after me but then decided to move Jaden’s body.
A chill travels down my spine.
There’s a bad omen shadowing us, creeping up my skin.
“What’s up?” Bethan asks, her tone strained by what seems to be a mix of fear and impatience.
They’re going to hate what I have to say.
Maybe we should’ve found a different route to find the attic, but it’s too late now. Danger is closing in on us as we stand here whispering to each other.
“He already took Jaden’s body,” I tell them.
Bethan’s eyes widen and Cerys’ breath hitches.
“Jaden’s dead?” Bethan asks at the same time as Cerys says, “He takes the bodies?”
I nod, unable to say anything else.
There’s no point in recounting how I discovered that Cupid hid the bodies.
My stomach rebels against me, almost making me gag when I picture all the corpses laid together in a room as if they were prized collections.
By now, considering he’s murdered five or six people, he probably has a favorite kill.
That’s a very high number, considering what it means for the next part. The stakes are getting higher and the killer is top of the leaderboard. Act Three is approaching fast, and I’m terrified, because that’s when the final killing spree will happen.
The knot in my throat blocks me from gulping the acid in my mouth.
“The body was here when I went to the bathroom,” I tell the group, shifting my position slightly to be able to watch them and the end of the hall at the same time. “If he’s gone—”
“It means Cupid was here recently,” Danny finishes, catching on to what has me so shaken.
An ominous silence spreads among us. I hold my breath until the tissue in my lungs starts to scorch. When I let it go, slowly, I spot a shadow moving at the top of the stairs. I hear a floorboard as it creaks under pressure, and I know the noise isn’t coming from where we are.
It comes from over there.
“And now he’s back,” I confirm in a whisper, though my voice carries through the hall.
Another creak, followed by a stomp, slashes the tense atmosphere, confirming my words.
“Cerys,” Danny calls in a barely audible tone.
“Yeah?” Her voice is small and fearful, sounding frail.
“Can you run?”
It’s the most important question. She’s at a disadvantage with the stab wound affecting her speed.
Still, she moves her head in a barely perceptible nod. “I’ll run.”