Page 203 of Creep

He let out a small grunt and pulled back as a droplet of blood dripped down his chin. I blinked and tried to wipe my lips with my shoulder.

“Don’t fucking touch me.”

He gave me a backhanded slap. I nearly fell to the side, with only my binding holding me in place.

I felt my skin vibrating in pain from the contact and turned away, trying to get my bearings. I was still recovering from the previous slap. Tears stung my eyes as I looked back at him.

“You’re so fucking disrespectful, girl.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out, my eyes moving away, trying to focus on anything but the menacing look on his face. They came to a stop on the monarch butterfly tattoo on his forearm. I blinked as memories of a night long forgotten teased my brain.

I licked my lips as everything fell into place. The late-night arguments between my parents that I had long ago blocked from my memory, the tension in our home when my mom was still alive, to…

“You were there,” I said. “The night of my mom’s accident. You were there. You were wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and I saw your tattoo.”

I hadn’t seen an actual monarch butterfly that night. I saw him. I saw his tattoo. In my disoriented brain, trying to make sense of everything, I saw him standing over my mom’s body as she struggled to breathe and heard the hateful words he uttered.

You deserve this. You shouldn’t have tried to take her away from me.

He could have called for help. He could have saved her. Instead, he watched her die with the same expression on his face when he watched Victoria die.

“You were the one who caused the accident,” I said.

He didn’t deny it… just watched me.

“How could you?”

His lips pulled back in a sneer. “She fucking deserved it. She was going to take you away from me.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You were promised to me. Me! Your father gave you to me, and you were always meant to be mine. It was because I didn’t want to traumatize you, so I gave you a chance to grow up a little. But you were always so lost, so directionless in your life. It’s because I waited too long. You needed my guidance, and I left you flailing. For that, I’m sorry. But she tried to take you away from me. She deserved to die.”

A sob burst free from my lips.

He was crazy.

“I’m not yours.”

“Yes, you fucking are, and if I have to beat that into you, I will. I just need to get rid of your little stalker problem. Not that I can blame the bastard for being obsessed with you. But he picked the wrong girl to obsess over. Don’t worry… I know how to take care of this little problem.”

He pulled out his phone and took a picture of me. Then he stood up. “Everything is set up. Now all you have to do is sit there and be my pretty little bait, and this will all be over soon, sweetheart. I promise.”

With that, he walked away, taking the stairs down to the lower level and leaving me alone with Victoria’s body, her blood pooling out from under her and seeping into my shoes.

* * *

I didn’t knowwhere he went, and I didn’t know when he would be back.

The sun was still out. But it was cold in here. I shivered, my numbed fingers trying to hold on to the handle of the knife as I worked it on my binds.

It was hard. The rope was thick, and I didn’t feel like I had enough strength.

I could feel frustration building inside me with every minute that ticked by, and I still wasn’t making much progress, but I tried not to let that get to me and to remain levelheaded.

Footsteps coming up the stairs made me stop, and I pulled my hands down, hiding the knife and the marks I had left on the rope just as the man came into view.

I looked up to see Dad standing there. He didn’t appear to be concerned.

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