“What?”
“I told them you quit. You aren’t going back there.”
*
I told my aunt I had really bad stomach pains and couldn’t talk long when she called. It was partially true although the real reason was more because of Keiran. He watched me like a hawk when I talked to her and I didn’t want to risk my aunt detecting something wrong so I kept the call short.
He immediately left when I ended the call, saying he had to go out of town, but took my car keys with a warning to stay and that he would be back. I didn’t understand him. Why go through all that trouble to find me if he wasn’t going to stick around? I thought for sure he would demand sex although I didn’t think my body could handle another night like last night. I could feel the soreness between my thighs even now.
I thought about calling the gym and apologizing for what happened and maybe even begging to keep my job but the humiliation was too fresh so I put it off for tomorrow and decided to do homework instead. I had to stay ahead so I wouldn’t fall behind. I wished my parents could see me now. They were so devastated when I was diagnosed with dyslexia. It was one of my clearest memories. I learned that it wasn’t the end of the world when I realized that the disability to learn normally didn’t mean an inability to learn. One thing it did make me do was appreciate learning and education more. It was why I want to become a teacher. Dyslexia wasn’t something that I could outgrow but it was something that I could conquer.
I was in the living room searching for my favorite writing pen my aunt bought me on one of her trips when I noticed the corner of something black peeking out from underneath the couch near the side table. I bent to pick up the object, realizing it was an envelope addressed to me.
There was a birthday card inside so I flipped open the card and what I saw caused my heart to stop and I felt gut punched. Inside was a picture of a little girl.
A dead girl.
Her hair was blonde and she looked to be no more than six or seven years old. The edges were ragged and worn from time or rough handling so the picture might have been a few years old. The bleeding hole in her head had me fighting back the need to vomit. I inspected the card but didn’t see any sign of a signature or idea of who the card came from. My mind raced to figure out who the card could have come from and how it got here.
The break in!
It was the only thing that made sense. Since then I have argued over the reasons why someone would break into an occupied house. They did it to leave this note. I searched the picture for a clue but came up empty. I was sure I’d never seen the girl before so why would someone leave me a picture of her corpse?
When a realization centered in my mind the envelope fell from my hand and drifted to the floor. This would mean the break in wasn’t random. Oh shit. I picked up the card and flipped it over to inspect the back and read the words that sealed my fate.
This is your only warning.
Chapter Twelve
Regret and nervousness had me looking over my shoulder once again. “I shouldn’t have come. Why did I let you talk me into this?”
“Calm down, Lake. It’s Saturday and it’s just a football game. He probably won’t even be here. But if he tries to bully you we’ll leave, okay?”
How did I tell her that it wasn’t bullying I was worried about? That Keiran was using sex and death threats to torment me now? I agreed to come out here because I owed Willow and I missed her. Besides Keiran said he was going out of town. He didn’t say when he’d be back but I assumed it was for the weekend because I haven’t heard from him since he left me stranded in my house.