Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
EMMA
YOU’RE NEXT.
Those two words were spray-painted on my living room wall. Huge red letters like something from a horror movie. The paint on each letter had dripped downwards before drying, making them look like macabre blood stains.
The knife I’d been holding fell from my hand and clattered to the floor as every part of me froze in fear.
He’d been here, again. It seemed this ghost of a man could enter my home any goddamn time he liked, and I had no fucking control over it.
I’d been violated, again, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Nowhere was safe for me anymore.
“What the fuck?” Alex growled from behind, his voice full of unbridled fury. “What the fucking hell is this?” And then, without waiting for me to speak, he marched past me into my house.
This was his first time seeing first-hand what S.K.A.M. was doing to me, and experiencing the effect it had when you saw it...
to some extent, anyway. He could never feel the same level of fear and utter devastation that I felt.
That any woman felt, living in a world where we always had to be on our guard.
Alex stood in front of the words, and I could see him fisting his hands, like he wanted to punch something. His breaths came in short, sharp pants of disbelief.
He turned to look at me, and with a face like thunder, he said, “He did this, didn’t he? This is the kind of fucked-up shit you’ve had to deal with.”
I just nodded mutely, discreetly reaching my hand out to touch the wall beside me and steady myself.
“This isn’t over a fucking review in the newspaper, I can tell you that much. This is about so much more than fucking words in print. This is something else entirely.” He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth as he regarded the wall one last time, then snapped, “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
Alex charged through the living room, as if he expected S.K.A.M. to be waiting in my kitchen where he was heading.
He was fired up and ready to take him out with his bare hands, but he wouldn’t find him there.
S.K.A.M. possessed much more cunning than that.
He didn’t linger at the scene of the crime.
Not in a way that he’d get caught. He danced in the shadows, revelling in the misery he caused.
Cautiously, I stepped further into the living room, and as I glanced around, I noticed a small, shoe box sized blue box with a pink bow on top, sitting on my windowsill.
Oh fuck, this wasn’t going to be good.
My hands shook as I reached forward and took the lid off. I was scared to see what was inside, but at the same time, I had to look.
Was this another body part?
A piece of Sirius Bell he thought I needed to see?
It wasn’t, and relief flooded through me, but it was short-lived.
Inside was a Barbie doll, completely naked, with cuts slashed into her plastic body.
Around her neck was a piece of string, twisted to look like a noose, and her eyes had been scratched out with something sharp, probably the tip of a knife.
Inside the lid of the box, written in the same red ink as the coloured paint on my walls, were the words ‘Tick Tock, Emma. Your time’s almost up’.
It was another reminder that he was coming for me.
I couldn’t bear to look at it a moment longer, and I really didn’t want Alex to see this, so I put the lid back on the box and picked it up, sliding it into my bag.
I wanted to keep this to myself. I don’t know why, but I did.
I had to collect evidence against this man, but I had to be careful who I shared it with.
At that moment, Alex came striding out of the kitchen with purpose, his face flushed red with anger as he struggled to contain his fury.
“There’s no sign of forced entry that I can see,” he snapped. “The back door is locked, and the windows haven’t been tampered with. Downstairs looks secure, so I need to check upstairs.”
I wanted to say, ‘There won’t be any signs of forced entry because he’s done this before’. But I stood there dumbstruck as Alex headed for the stairs. Then he stopped and turned to face me.
“Are you okay, Emma?” he asked, genuine concern shining in his eyes. His own anger had taken him over, I knew that, but seeing the empathy he also had for me in that moment meant something. Maybe Alex wasn’t like other guys. I really hoped he wasn’t.
“No, I’m not okay,” I stammered, trying to hold in my tears. “But I’ll be all right. I won’t let him get to me.”
“He won’t ever get to you. I’d die before I let that happen.”
He put his arms out and pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly as I stood with my hands limply at my sides, letting him.
Standing in his arms helped to ease the sensation of a million bugs biting and scurrying over me, burrowing under my skin and making my flesh crawl.
The pain was still there, but it felt less visceral knowing he was here too.
I was so fucking glad he was here, because if I’d seen this on my own, I’m not sure how I’d have coped.
I felt him kiss the top of my head and my skin prickled as warmth flowed through me. Then he sighed and said, “I’ll find him, and when I do, I’ll make him pay for this. You have my word. This stops, today.”
I was silent for a moment, stuck between a world of horror, and one that whispered promises of love and protection. Wishing I could release myself from the shackles of one reality, to fall headfirst into the other.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Throughout this whole ordeal, it’s felt like no one is listening to me. No one’s taking it seriously.”
“I am,” he replied. “I’m taking this deadly seriously.”
We stood holding each other for a while, lost in thoughts of revenge and whatever this moment was, and how it could manifest itself in the future.
“Thank God you didn’t listen to me, leave me on the street, and drive away like I wanted you to.” I spoke the words that were swimming in my mind without giving them a second thought.
He kept a tight hold of me as he replied, “I told you, I’ll always be here for you, Emma.”
I closed my eyes, wishing that this could be different. Willing those painted words on my wall to disappear. Wishing I could disappear too or get a rewind button so I could go back to the night of the gallery and change every single thing I’d done. Well, maybe not every single thing.
Alex loosened his hold on me, then took my face in his hands, using his thumb to brush away a stray tear that’d fallen.
“You’re going to be okay,” he stated firmly. “No one’s going to hurt you. Not ever. Not while I’m around.”
I nodded and reluctantly, he let his hands fall to his sides. “Let me check the rooms upstairs, then we’ll call the police.”
“The police won’t care,” I told him.
But he shook his head as he began to head upstairs. “They will when I call them. I’ll make them listen.”
I knew he was right.
They’d listen to him.
A man.
A rich man.
But me?
I could’ve walked into that police station with the bloody heart in the box, and they’d probably still doubt me. Or arrest me for the offence, thinking I’d committed the murder.
Everything had become too much. I was frightened of this guy stalking me.
Terrified, in fact. Grace wasn’t returning any calls.
The police weren’t helping me, and work had thrown me to the wolves, causing the nightmare and then leaving me to deal with the fallout.
I couldn’t handle this on my own anymore.
It was at times like these I missed having a mum and dad to rely on.
I felt so alone, and yet, I was relieved that Alex was involved now.
That I had someone else on my side. He’d told me he’d fight my corner.
I’d spent too long in that corner alone. It’d be nice to have company.
“Upstairs is clear,” Alex stated as he came back down. “Is there anyone with access to your house or anyone who has a spare key?”
“There’s only Ethel next door. She has a key for emergencies. But there’s no one else.”
“Then let’s go and talk to Ethel,” he said, heading for the door.
I followed him, glancing nervously up and down the street as we emerged from my house. I was praying I wouldn’t see a dark figure hiding in the shadows, making hand gestures, like the heart one he’d done on that street the other day, to show me who he was.
Alex knocked on Ethel’s door as we both stood outside, waiting. She muted her television, and then, seconds later, she opened her door. Her eyes bugged when she saw Alex, and she looked him up and down before turning to me with a knowing smile.
“This is a nice surprise. How are you, love? I noticed you haven’t been home for a while,” she said with a sparkle in her eyes, then she glanced at Alex and smirked to herself.
“No, I haven’t. I took a short break away.
I had a bit of time off work, you see,” I replied, and then I tried to find the words to tell her why we were there.
I didn’t want to scare her by saying I’d had a break-in.
She was in her eighties. It’d cause her stress she didn’t need at her age. But it was tough to sugarcoat it.
“That reminds me...” She held her hand up in a gesture that told us to wait where we were, and she turned and walked to the console table in her hallway.
She picked up a card and then came back to the door, saying, “A delivery truck came a few days ago with something for you. The boxes were huge, though, so I took their card and told them you’d call back to arrange another delivery date.
It was too big for me to store in here, and I don’t like using your spare key. ”
She handed me the card, and I glanced at the gold letters on the black background, ‘The Void Gallery’.
“What’s this?” I turned to Alex, showing him the card.
He ran his hand over his face and sighed.
“Talk about crap timing,” he said. “That would’ve been a missed delivery for the Shattered Heart piece I bought for you from the gallery the other night.”
“The piece you bought for me?” I frowned, trying to understand what the hell was going on.