30. Chapter 30 – Peyton
Chapter 30 – Peyton
A s soon as my feet hit the floor, I knew my stalker had visited overnight. But he snuck in and out without waking me.
Or fucking me.
Rude.
I stretched, shaking off the dreams of my monster, and wrapped my robe around my body before starting my search for coffee. If he had come to me last night while I slept, like I hoped he would, I wouldn’t have dreamed of him.
When he was near, my dreams were empty. Like he could only exist in one reality at a time.
But he didn’t wake me when he snuck in, and I was going to figure out what he did while he was lurking.
As soon as I made it out to the living space, though, I figured it out.
“Oh, my god.” I whispered when I saw the pile of various electronics piled on the kitchen table. And then I saw the rest of the things laid out around the living room.
My things .
My clothes, pictures, keepsakes. All from my apartment that I shared with Tyson. Things I wasn’t sure I’d see again if I ended things with him while I was staying at Hartington Estate. “Oh, Dane.” I ran my fingers over the blanket I always cuddled under when I read on the couch in the middle of the night to avoid going to bed.
“You rang, Puppet.” His baritone voice tingled my ears as it flowed through some invisible speaker somewhere. I left my phone in the bedroom when I got up, so I knew he was watching me on the cameras he hid somewhere.
It should have bothered me, but I didn’t hate it one bit. I loved being the center of his attention.
“What did you do?” I asked gently, trying to curb the fear building inside of me as I saw every last piece of my existence removed from that apartment and hand delivered to me. All the things that mattered to me returned.
“Nothing.” He replied dismissively.
I kept walking around and stopped when I got to the table with the electronics on it. A laptop, tablet, cell phones, two to be exact, external hard drives and thumb drives all littered the top. I picked up the cell phone I recognized as Tyson’s but gasped and dropped it back into the pile when I felt something sticky on the thumb print sensor.
I looked at my finger and saw a crimson stain on it. “Is that—”
“No.”
I backed up from the pile, looking around the belongings with a darker shadow over my joy. “It’s blood.” I scrubbed my hand up and down the side of my robe, trying to get the physical burn of Tyson’s blood from my skin. “Oh Dane, what did you do?”
“Puppet.” He growled, “I already answered that question. ”
“What am I supposed to do with all of this?” I shrieked, waving my arms down to the electronics. “What if someone comes looking for them?”
“No one is going to come looking for them.” He replied. “I’ll take them back if that’s what you’d like and I’ll dispose of them. I just wanted you to know that it was done. Your videos and pictures are gone.”
I froze, staring at all the stuff, and remembered the real reason he went there at all. “Did—” I stammered, and then looked up at the ceiling, “Did you watch them?”
There was a pause before he answered, “You asked me not to.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.” I whispered back, already knowing the truth.
“Go into your bedroom.” He replied, and I shook my head in confusion. “Now, Puppet.”
“Why?” I spun around, not exactly knowing where the cameras were.
“Because you need to take a deep breath and relax.” He stated, “And you’re going to do it in your bedroom.”
“I don’t—”
“Now, Puppet!” He bellowed, and I turned, walking away from the blood coated stuff and went into my room. “Good girl.” Dane’s voice echoed through my phone speaker. “Now lay back down in bed.”
“Dane.” I whined, trying to control the panic that was burning in my stomach. I moved on auto pilot and laid down in bed, even covering myself up with my blankets like I hadn’t just peeled myself out of it all a few minutes ago.
“Close your eyes, baby.” He instructed and my eyelids drooped as I did as I was told. “Take a deep breath. ”
I filled my lungs and slowly exhaled it as the lights in my house all clicked off remotely, cascading darkness over me again like a warm blanket. “Why didn’t you wake me last night?”
“Because I needed to rid my mind and my skin of what I did. I couldn’t touch you with that darkness.”
My heart hurt for my monster. He had done something dark for me. “I need you.”
“I’m right here.” He growled, and I could feel the need in his voice as he said it.
“No,” I shook my head, “Here. I need to feel you.”
His voice cracked, “I can’t. I’m not around.”
“Where are you?”
“Handling something. I’ll come to you tonight.”
I sank into the comfortable bedding around me and forced myself to be a big girl and wait for him to be available for me. And then an idea came to mind.
I tossed the blankets back, and he growled, “I didn’t say you could get up yet.”
“Just wait.” I frantically tore the end table drawer open next to my bed and pulled out the item that had mocked me for days now.
“Puppet.” The ice in his voice raced through my veins. What I wouldn’t have given to see his face as he watched me. Could he see what I was doing?
I picked up my phone and propped it against my lamp as I turned on the single light. Instantly, the camera blinked to life and my reflection lit up the screen. He was watching.
I ran my fingers over the black onyx jewels in the eyes of the skull and then bent the closure, opening it.
The black ribbon necklace that Dane bought me slid through my fingers as I wrapped it around my neck. I leaned forward toward my phone to see it clearly in the camera as I lined the skull back up and then closed it.
“Peyton.” He groaned, and I could hear his deep breathing crackle through the speaker.
“I’m yours.” As I sat up, I couldn’t help but admire the way the entire thing looked on my neck as I fingered the closure. I had been so intimidated by it when I first asked him what it was. But then he slayed my biggest demon. He gave me back all the pieces of me .
And I realized that there was no one out there I wanted more than Dane. So I wrapped his collar around my neck to hold all of those pieces together so they’d never break apart again.
“You can lock it when you come to me.” I picked up the pin key and laid it down on the end table, staring at him through the camera. “Because I’m yours.”
He growled an animalistic noise, and I shivered. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know his last name or what his face looked like.
He was mine, and I was his.
And I was committing myself to him because he was the only one to ever actually be honest with me. He never lied. He never tricked me. He was perfect. My perfect dark stalker.
L incoln and Tamen were gone when I got into the main house for work. A note left on the counter told me they’d be gone all day and to take the day off.
As if.
I couldn’t spend the day in my guest house with all of Tyson’s electronics taunting me from the kitchen table. I didn’t ask Dane if he was alive or dead. That wasn’t information I wanted right at the moment.
I did, however, strip everything off except for the skulls that Dane had bought me and put on a show for him. I leaned back and spread my thighs for him as I played with myself for him, thanking him for what he did for me the only way I knew how.
He wasn’t the type of man who would appreciate a thank you. I had to show him just how fucking much I needed him after what he did.
God, the growls and moans he rewarded me with through my speakers while he watched would play on repeat in my head all damn day long.
I stood in the upstairs den, dusting the window frame, and eyed the pool deck below as I tried to stay busy. Maybe I’d take a dip in the hot tub to entertain myself with my day off . It was too cold to go for a swim in the pool now that fall was officially upon us thanks to the bitter northern east coast weather. But the hot tub would feel—invigorating. I grinned to myself, remembering how fucking good that jet had felt on my clit that very first time I took a swim.
As I stared out the window unseeing, I traced my fingertips over the clasp of my choker while I remembered the way Lincoln had stood over me as I orgasmed for a second time. Even as much as I tried to pretend he didn’t actually see anything; I knew deep down he had watched me come the first time with my tits out and my head tipped back as I rocked back and forth on the jetted seat.
Guilt washed over me as my body warmed from the memory. I didn’t feel guilt for lusting after another man when I was newly committed to Dane. I felt guilty because a part of me felt sad knowing I’d never feel the sensation of Lincoln’s touch on my skin the way I had fantasized about after watching the video of him jacking off to finding me with my panties off in his closet.
It was Dane’s fault actually. All of it, really. But nonetheless that seed had been planted and my body craved the unknown.
I shook off the daydream and walked away from the window, already feeling the tingle in my blood as I solidified my plan to go for a dip. So what if Lincoln or Tamen came back and found me? I was told to take the day off, after all.
When I rounded the corner to leave the den, I stopped in my tracks when the door to Lincoln’s office caught my attention. It was at the end of the hall and I never went down there because of his strict instructions to stay away, but from my position, I could see the faint glow of light coming from around the door.
It was ajar.
Did they return earlier than I expected? Was my plan to orgasm in the hot tub foiled before I even got in?
“Hello?” I called, standing in the main hallway. “Lincoln?”
I waited, but there was no response. Without thinking, I took a few steps closer to the plain black door that always intrigued me. It festered that old saying, don’t touch what isn’t yours . My instructions were explicit from day one; Do not enter the office for any reason.
Yet as I stood outside of it, a mere foot away, my fingers burned to touch the metal handle and open it. “Tamen?” I called, one last time trying to convince myself to stop. Beyond the point of no return, the color of the lights inside captivated me, and with just one finger, I pushed the door open, almost as if I didn’t want to leave behind any trace of my presence.
As I entered the dimly lit room, the mesmerizing rainbow kaleidoscope effect of LED lights glowing immediately captured my attention, making me feel like a moth being drawn to a flame.
Just as my foot touched the threshold, the key lights slowly intensified, revealing the room in a comforting, radiant glow, as if it was unveiling its secrets to me. Along one wall of the enormous room was a massive desk, but instead of facing out into the room, it faced the wall.
At least I was sure there was a wall somewhere under the dozens of computer monitors that created a reflective surface covering every inch. The LED lights wove between each monitor and left a psychedelic effect on the black screens.
“Wow.” I whispered, imagining all the tech stuff that Lincoln controlled from those monitors. It was how he made his fortune, after all. I turned from the captivating electronic wall and took in the rest of the space. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting exactly, but it seemed far more normal than what I would have thought the mysterious space to look like. Two massive couches created a seating area and a wet bar adorned the other wall, lined with liquor bottles and snacks like a high-end movie theater.
Was that snack bar why Lincoln rarely left the room for nourishment?
I shook off the thought, a smirk playing on my lips as I pictured his blood thickening like syrup, a result of the copious amounts of sugar on the shelves. “My, my Mr. Bryce, what a sweet tooth you have.” I needed to leave, since I assured myself there were no dead bodies or anything in the off-limits space .
Fictional images of an office lined with dead bodies and Dane standing amongst them in the center assaulted me and I leaned on the door to a built-in cabinet across from his desk, disturbing the door enough to open.
“Shit.” I pushed the door shut, trying to close it back to how I found it, but something fell when it opened, getting wedged in the way. “C’mon.” I whispered, leaning down to pick up what fell and pulling it free.
When I stood up with it in my hand, my blood ran cold and my stomach dropped into my toes as I stared down at it.
A Ghostface mask.
Just like the one Dane wore.
With shaking hands, I opened the door wider and dropped the mask when I saw what was inside.
Clothes. Not just any clothes, though. A dark, hooded sweater and black jeans I recognized from the first night Dane chased me through the woods. That didn’t make any sense.
“No.” As I pushed the hooded sweater to the side, a wave of panic washed over me when my fingers grazed the leather cuffs that had once imprisoned me on the bench in the corn maze. “No.” I cried out silently, backing away from the cabinet like it would burn me if I touched anything else. The desk behind me, adorned with colorful LED lights, provided the perfect setting for the only photo Dane had ever sent me.
I was in that very office.
Lincoln’s office.
Dane’s office.
I bumped into the desk in my rush to get away from the closet, and suddenly all the screens jolted to life as I jumped and covered my mouth. My eyes flicked from screen to screen in disbelief as they revealed themselves to me.
I was on every screen.
Every. Single. One.
In some sort of way, I covered each screen. The inside of my guest house was on one, live streaming it. A still image from earlier today when I sat on the edge of my bed, fastening the choker around my neck, covered another.
My skin crawled when I looked from each screen to another, seeing myself on them. It was the same thing on all of them, like a shrine to me. I was the focus of everything.
I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle the scream that tried to rip from my lips as I realized what it all meant.
Dane was Lincoln Bryce.
Lincoln was my monster.
My stalker.
He lied. God, he lied about everything. I was so fucking stupid.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the images on the screens, trying to figure out how extensive his reach was into my life when one image I didn’t recognize caught my eye.
It was of me.
But not recently. I leaned forward, trying to see the background better and realized that I wasn’t standing like I thought I was, but laying down on a tan surface and my eyes were half open.
Every vein in my body froze to ice when I finally figured out what I was looking at.
It was of me that night. That horrifying, painful night that I couldn’t remember, no matter how hard I tried. “God, please.” I grabbed the mouse and rolled the cursor over to that screen and died a little inside when a play button popped up in the corner .
It was the video.
The video that Tyson had alluded to enough to hold over my head for three years straight. Before I could think better of it, I clicked play and fell into the chair as the shaky cell phone video started playing. As it played, I dragged it from the edge monitor to the largest center one.
The background noise was so overwhelming that it was difficult to discern the actual number of people in the room, but when I figured it out, I wished I could forget already.
Four men loomed above me as I lay mostly unconscious on a bed in the center.
“Fucking lightweight,” Tyson’s sick voice called out above everyone else as he kneeled on the bed next to me. “She didn’t even finish her drink.”
Tyson’s actions caused the group to become rowdy, as he started unbuttoning my shirt, and amidst the commotion, another voice called out. “It means she wants it! She didn’t even need a full dose to get easy for dick.”
My heart pounded in my chest, escalating with each passing second, and I watched in horror as Tyson slowly undressed me, followed by himself. With his friends cheering obscene things, he pushed my skirt up and climbed on top of me.
“Choke her.”
“Open her legs wider, I can’t see!”
“Bend her over so you can fuck her harder!”
And they just got worse the longer I watched. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t close my eyes to stop the images from burning a permanent scar into my brain as Tyson raped me for his friend’s enjoyment.
Similar to that night, I felt frozen and powerless to stop the torment. That night, as Tyson used me, I was trapped, and I could barely lift my arms to stop the assault .
Watching the video, I felt a surge of adrenaline. Memories of that terrifying night came rushing back, and I watched as I instinctively swung my arms at Tyson, but my attempts were feeble and powerless. Because even in my drugged state, I knew my boyfriend wasn’t safe. I knew it wasn’t okay.
Apparently, I was the only one in the room that did, though. The longer I watched, the more apprehensive I became about what else I might see if I kept on.
Just as my stress reached its peak, the volume of the party suddenly increased, providing a momentary respite. Then, a voice pierced through the commotion, announcing the arrival of the police. We were all of age, but noise disturbances were still illegal, apparently.
I cried out silently as the torment stopped.
In a hurried motion, Ty pulled my clothes back over my body, slung me over his shoulder, and grumbled about the unexpected interruption, all before the video abruptly cut off.
Did the arrival of the cops prevent me from being assaulted by everyone in that room that night?
I guess I’d never know, because there was nothing else after that video. Just a still frame of me looking up from Tyson’s shoulder as everyone complained about missing out on their chance to rape me.
It felt like my brain was short-circuited, and I acted without thinking.
Grabbing a glass paperweight that sat on the desk, I slammed it into the large center screen, shattering it.
Shattering the image of me on it.
The glass broke in my hand and cut my palm, but I hardly felt it.
Blood slowly dripped from my fingers onto the desk, as I reached a state of numbness and my eyes blinked in disbelief at the multitude of images flashing on the screen .
I begged him not to watch it. I begged him to spare me the shame of knowing he saw what happened to me that night. But he just couldn’t let my fragile heart heal from it. He had to know just how broken I really was.
Leaving the mess in my wake, I turned and walked out of the office, with blood roaring in my ears. I couldn’t think as I walked through the house, trailing a crimson track behind me all the way to my guest house.
There was no doubt in my mind that I had to go.
I had to leave.
I had to scoop up the pieces I thought were all picked back up already and leave while I still could.
Before Lincoln returned.
Dane.
Before Dane returned.
I packed my clothes up in the two suitcases I brought for my stay and loaded them in my car. As I gathered the items Dane had fetched from my apartment, the familiar scent wafted up to my nose, reminding me of home, before I tossed them into my trunk. As if I could lock them and my memories away and never think of them again.
When I realized that my entire life could fit into the small confines of my car, an overwhelming sadness washed over me. I couldn’t name the feeling exactly, but I guessed it felt a lot like grief.
Shame.
Disgrace.
Before I left, I let my phone slip from my grasp and crash onto the floor of the guest house foyer, fully aware of Dane’s watchful eyes and ears through my electronics and the cameras in the house .
As I was about to step out, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror behind the door. The vacant expression in my eyes held me captive for a moment.
I didn’t even recognize myself.
I saw only a distorted person in the mirror, a mere shadow of who I thought I was that morning. My eyes fell to my neck, immediately captured by the skull, its haunting black eyes seeming to peer into my soul like he was seeing everything, too.
With my blood covered hand, I forcefully tore the black ribbon from my neck and let it fall onto the floor next to my phone.
The girl who put the collar on that morning, eager to let someone claim her, was dead.
The girl I forced myself to be for years, bending myself into smaller pieces of myself to appease those around me, was dead.
Peyton Everett was dead.
I would never be the same.