I didn’t have to think for a second. I knew I would never hurt Adrianna, or anyone for that matter, yet my only way of saving her was to make a deal with the Devil. I glanced to the closet, seeing Adrianna’s slouched over form. If it came down to it, I would kill myself before I even raised a finger toward her. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I answered slowly. “I-I’ll do it.” My voice came out tremulous, but David didn’t even mention it. He just smiled, then leaned over and kissed the side of my face. I squirmed away from his touch, trying to rub off the slimy feel of his lips and scratchy stubble with my shoulder.
With a sigh, he settled back, leaning against Adrianna’s headboard to get comfortable. Then he focused his eyes on me. “Where to begin?” he asked himself, making a tsking noise.
I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.
After a moment, David closed his eyes and began speaking. “When I was seven, my father got remarried. His new wife, Gisele, had a daughter named Isabel.” He absentmindedly twisted his gold wedding band around his finger as he spoke. Then he opened his eyes and raised his hand to brush some of my hair off of my face. Smiling at me, he said, “She was just the beginning.”
I gasped in horror. “Y-you killed her?” The word ‘killed’ sounded dirty to my ears; like a curse word parents would reprimand their children for repeating. I don’t know why I was so shocked. After all, David was a killer. The part that surprised me the most was his young age. He was only seven.
Laughing at my words, David shook his head no. “No, Claire. My father did. He was a great man.” He sighed again, an expression of gratitude crossed onto his face. “It wasn’t his fault that Isabel was so beautiful. She tempted him at every chance she got; wearing makeup and form-fitting clothing. Finally, my father took what he wanted—her and her life. One night he was too rough and he killed her. It was an accident. He didn’t mean to strangle her to death. He loved Isabel.” David placed his hand on my thigh, but I shook it off. Thankfully he didn’t put it back.
“Father was a good liar though, so he convinced Gisele that Isabel had run away. They even put up fliers and placed a missing person's report for Isabel’s disappearance.” He chuckled, laughing at the irony as he began gently stroking my hair. I resisted the urge to pull away from his touch, not wanting his story to end. I needed him to keep talking. He probably thought he had until the end of the search before he had to get out of here, but he didn’t know about my mom.
“About a year later my dad and Gisele sold the house and we moved into a neighborhood not far from the old one. To make a long story short, the new owners found Isabel’s remains buried in our backyard. They were getting a pool put in,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “My poor father was sentenced to life in prison for her murder.” He shook his head slowly, his hand strokes becoming rougher on my head. “He gave me this when the police came to take him away.” David held his hand up, indicating the wedding ring on his finger. “I wear it to keep him with me,” he explained.
“My older sister, Natalie, was ten when Gisele and Isabel came to live with us. Isabel fascinated her. Even to this day I remember Natalie spying on her. After father was taken from us, Gisele wanted nothing to do with us, so Natalie and I went to live with our Uncle Randy on his farm. Natalie used to leave the house at night a lot and I always wondered what she was doing.”
I bit my bottom lip, waiting for David to continue. His eyes were closed again, as if he was remembering the night vividly.
“I followed her to the edge of the property, to the shed. I watched through the window as she dissected one of the farm cats. One day she caught me spying on her and invited me to join in on the fun.” His lips curved upwards into a smile. “I was nervous at first, but there was nothing to it. She was right; the blood was enthralling. Having so much control over a life like that was extremely satisfying.”
“That night she told me about how she used to hide in the closet in Isabel’s room and watch as our father would come in and punish her for being so beautiful and tempting. Natalie was watching them the night father murdered Isabel. She saw the whole thing.” David opened his eyes and leaned toward me. When I tried to move back, his hand in my hair gripped a fistful and pulled my face toward his. “It was Natalie’s idea to recreate the events of that night. We picked the girls together, seeking out the most beautiful ones. Then Natalie would get into the closet and watch me as I reenacted the events of that night with whatever lucky girl we’d chosen.”
His word choice disgusted me. He couldn’t seriously think that the girls he preyed on were lucky.
David’s smile twisted into a scowl. “Three years ago Natalie was in a bad car accident. She died on her way to the hospital. I was devastated, but I knew she would want me to continue our game. I just had to find a way to take two girls, one to replace Natalie, without being caught. That’s how my collection began—I abducted Hadley and was patient with her, keeping her until I found Rachel. Everything was perfect, until you came along.” His grip on my hair tightened and I let out a squeak of pain. “You made everything so difficult, Claire. If only you would’ve behaved, then everything would be fine now. You would be watching me and my beautiful Holly, from the closet. But, because of you and Holly’s escape attempt, I had to speed things along. I was rushed this time, which made me sloppy. You should’ve never seen me trying to get rid of her body that night.”
I widened my eyes at him. His statement resonated in me. “I knew what I saw was real.”
David nodded, smirking at me. “I was furious, but it worked out in my favor after all. I hid Holly in your shed and then cleaned up quickly. When the officers came knocking, I pretended to be confused. I let them inside because with Holly gone, I had nothing to hide anymore. At the end of the night, your credibility was tainted and I got off scot-free—a mere victim of your accusations.”
David loosened his grip on my hair. He looked so smug, while I was sure my expression mirrored one of hatred. Holly’s body was in our shed. The thought alone made me queasy. She was in my backyard and I had no idea.
“Now, enough of story time.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the cloth, shoving it into my mouth again and making me gag on the thick material. Then he produced a switchblade from his other pocket. “Hold still, beautiful. You’re number eight and I can tell you from experience that when things go smoothly, there’s less pain. So hold still.”
My eyes widened at the sight of the blade. The moonlight filtering through the curtains caused the blade to glint menacingly. I tried to scream, but due to my gag, only muted sound came out. David leaned into me, holding the blade up, but I began to thrash and move around, making it hard for him to get close to me.
“Stay still or I will hide you somewhere safe while I go and pay your mother a visit,” he threatened, his voice deep and serious.
I swallowed back my fear and stopped moving. I didn’t know whether my mom was home, but it was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.
“Good, so you do know how to follow orders.” David leaned close to me, holding my head back against the headboard as he pressed the blade to my forehead. I squeezed my fists, letting the tips of my nails bite into my flesh. It was my only distraction from the pain as David pushed the blade farther into my skin. Despite how much I didn’t want to scream and give him the satisfaction of hurting me, strangled cries escaped me. Tears dripped down my cheeks as he cut and sliced, carving the number into my flesh. The knife set my skin ablaze as it dug deeper into my flesh. The blade felt like it was scraping against my skull. It was worse than the pain I had experienced from my dream. It was unlike anything I could’ve ever imagined.
When David finally pulled away, blood coated the blade of his knife and warm blood oozed down my forehead, dripping onto my eyelashes and mixing with my tears. I didn’t know whether I was crying from the pain or the vulnerability I felt wash over me. Maybe it was both.
“Want to see my handiwork? I’ve gotten quite good at this.”
I hung my head, not wanting to see his handwork anymore than I wanted to feel it searing on my forehead. I felt a pulsing headache coming on and I was horrified by the thought of having a number forever carved into my skin.
“Well, if you don’t want to see it we can just get down to business.” I looked up, jumping back when I noticed his proximity. My quick reaction to his closeness only caused my aching wrists to tug harder on my handcuffs. “Don’t be afraid, Claire, I’m not going to kill you. Normally the girl in the closet is the one whom I’ve just kidnapped. She’s usually the one who comes with me when I leave, but this time is different. I snatched your friend earlier in the week and I’ve already experienced everything she has to offer.” He tugged on the waistband of my jeans, making my skin crawl. Yet all I could think about was Adrianna and how she must have felt—probably exactly how I felt right now. “It’s your turn now.” David leaned into me, holding my head to the side by my hair as he placed a sloppy kiss on my neck. “I knew you were the one the day you and your mother welcomed me to the neighborhood. I couldn’t keep my eyes off you. You’re just so beautiful.”
My tears came harder. I tried to speak, intending to say, “Please don’t do this,” but all that came out were muffled distortions of my words. I tried to pull away as David brought his face to mine again, but he overpowered me, holding me down. His hand slipped under my shirt, making my breathing catch. My vision turned cloudy from my tears. I wished I could control my senses and turn them off.
David pressed his lips to my forehead. “Don’t cry. Everything will be okay now, Isabel.”
I squeezed my eyes shut tight as he kissed my forehead again. Hearing him call me Isabel only made the situation more daunting because I knew how Isabel ended up. She was the start and now I was going to be the eighth girl. At least, the eighth girl David had taken on his own. He hadn’t begun numbering his victims until after Natalie died. How many girls had died at his hands?
Outside, the sound of a car horn honking caused me to snap my eyes open. David groaned, pushing away from me to go look out the window. He stood, peering through the blinds for a moment before he cursed under his breath. Moments after, the doorbell chimed throughout the house, quickly followed by knocking on the front door. I knew without a doubt that my mom had arrived to get me.
David returned to the bed, placing his hand on my throat and squeezing tightly. He pulled the blade out of his pocket and held it up to me. “Make a sound and I’ll kill everyone I have to just to keep you.” When he let go, I breathed in through my nose quickly, trying to rid myself of the burning in my lungs that the lack of oxygen had caused.
As David left the room, I sprang into action. I had to find a way out of here. There was no way I was going to let him hurt my mom or Adrianna. But first I needed to figure out how to get out of these handcuffs.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Fatal Wounds
I rotated around, bracing my feet on the headboard and ignoring the way the handcuffs dug into my wrists as I pulled backwards. Adrianna’s bed frame was old, and I hoped that, with enough pressure, the wooden rung my handcuffs were secured around would give way. So far, all it had done was creak noisily. I could still hear my mom downstairs knocking and I hoped she would just go away. If she walked away she could call the Rodriguez family and find out where they were.
Leaning forward, I threw my torso backward, causing the wood of the bedpost to splinter, cracking loudly. Praying David didn’t hear that, I tugged on the wood until the chain came free. Then, moving to the pace of my heartbeat, I removed the gag from my mouth and raced over to the landline on Adrianna’s desk. The dial tone was a refreshing change of pace. I had assumed the lines would’ve been cut.
Stabbing the three buttons with my finger, I dialed 9-1-1. I didn’t have to wait long before the dispatcher answered. As soon as the line picked up, I whispered, “Help me, please. It’s an emergency. I have to go and save my mom,” before they even had a chance to speak. I set the phone down on the dresser, not wanting to hang up incase they needed a way to find my location. I didn’t know how any of that worked, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I had one more task before I could go downstairs and stop David before he did anything to my mom.
The closet door creaked as I pulled it open. Adrianna was still slumped over inside. I rushed to her, checking to make sure she still had a pulse. “I’m going to get you out of here,” I whispered to her. Maybe my knowledge of Adrianna’s house would be beneficial. David didn’t know anything about it, but I knew all of Adrianna’s old childhood hiding spaces.
From behind, I lifted her under her armpits. For someone so petite, she was pretty heavy. I didn’t let that or my lack of muscle stop me. I dragged her out into the hallway, moving as slowly and quietly as possible so I wouldn’t alert David. In the hallway, the sound of a cell phone ringing from the lower level caught my attention. I listened for movement, wondering where David was. Finally, I heard movement in the kitchen and went back to work. I moved faster, dragging Adrianna past the staircase and to the last room at the other end of the hallway—her parent’s bedroom.
When we were ten, Adrianna’s parent’s got their house renovated. They added onto the right side of the house, turning the master bedroom into a guest bedroom, and creating a whole new master bedroom. One day, during a game of hide and seek, I spent over an hour looking for Adrianna throughout the house. Eventually she got hungry and came out, showing me where she had been. Her parent’s closet had a section where the clothes covered another door, which led to another closet. They hid the family safe in there, and her mother kept all of her jewelry and other valuables in there as well. Now I would use it to hide Adrianna. At least in there she’d be safe.
I moved quickly, laying an unconscious Adrianna out on the floor and hugging her gingerly before closing the door to the second closet. I pushed all of the clothes back into place, hiding the door once again, before I exited the master bedroom. I snuck down the hallway, trying to hear what was going on downstairs. Staying in the shadows, I crept closer to the staircase. Hopefully Mom had left since the house was dark. The police should be here soon, and David would be put away forever, just like his perverted father.
Suddenly, my cell phone began to ring. My unmistakable ringtone for my mother chirped from the lower level, floating up to me. My gaze zeroed in on the front door as the doorknob twisted and the door flew open. My mom looked all around, looking toward the living room where my ringtone was coming from.
“Claire!” she called.
“Mom! I’m up here,” I responded, stepping to the top of the staircase. My face was wet with tears and seeing my mom made everything better. I began to run down the stairs, screaming for mom to get out.
Then everything happened in slow motion. David grabbed her from behind, plunging a knife deep into her stomach. I screamed before Mom did, my legs going weak and my heart shattering.
David grinned at me as he twisted the blade deeper, causing Mom to cry out louder, her voice choked and hoarse. Then David yanked the knife out, letting her body crumple to the ground. I didn’t care about David standing there, I ran as fast as I could, dropping to my knees next to my mom. I pressed my hands over her wound, applying pressure while David stood over us, looking pleased with himself.
Looking into Mom’s eyes, I could see her fear and worry for me. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Tears dripped over my lashes and down my cheeks, and my bottom lip trembled. This was my worst nightmare come true. My mom was all I had.
“This has been fun and all, but I think it’s time for us to leave,” David spoke, reaching down, and yanking me upwards by my hair. Pain tore through my scalp, mixing with the throbbing that was already seared into my forehead. “This wouldn’t have happened if you would’ve stayed upstairs like I told you to,” he growled at me.
I tried to free myself of his grasp, but struggling only made it worse. The only thing worse than the physical pain he had inflicted on me was the emotional
pain he’d caused when he hurt my mother.
“I called the police,” I told him smugly. “They should be here any minute. You aren’t getting away with this,” I spat.
If it was possible, David’s expression became even scarier than it had been moments before. Despite his obvious anger, I couldn’t stop myself from getting under his skin even more.
“I bet the neighbors heard us scream too. They’re probably on their way to see what’s going on.”
David cursed, hitting himself in the forehead with one hand, while tightening his grip on my hair with the other. After a moment, he raised his gaze to the top of the steps, and then lowered them to my mother before finally landing on me. He dragged me with him as he retrieved my mom’s car keys from the ground. She must’ve dropped them when he attacked her.
“I don’t need anything. I have everything I need right here,” David muttered. He kept his eyes trained on me as he added, “You’re all I need, Claire.” Using my hair, David yanked me to him, wrapping his arm around my torso from behind and lifting me off of the ground.
“No!” I screamed, kicking and thrashing. I tried to fight my way out of his grasp, but he was too strong. I didn’t give up, trying to hit him with the handcuffs, which were still around my wrists, but I couldn’t land a blow because my back was to him. My heart pounded against my ribcage as David carried me through the front door. “Somebody help me!” I screamed into the night.
“Shut up!” David yelled, slamming me against my mom’s car. He fumbled with the keys for a moment before the doors unlocked with a familiar clicking sound. When the trunk of the car popped open, I fought harder, kicking furiously. David pressed all of his weight against my body as his large hands closed around my throat, making it hard to breath. I gave up fighting him, instead reaching up to try and pry his hands away from my throat. My lungs burned in need of oxygen.
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