Page 28 of Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

Regarding me, she scanned her crystal blue eyes over my hair and face before walking around me and disappearing back into the living room. I flipped her off, then stepped outside onto the porch.

The cold air licked at my flesh as I rounded the building to see the bird for myself.

I stopped short.

The bird flapped on the ground amongst a pile of dried orange and brown leaves, gasping for air. I took a careful step closer, glancing up at the blood on the cracked window and back down.

Warm lips pressed against my ear and I sucked in a breath when Nate whispered, “Is your weak little heart suffering?” He walked around me, approaching the dying animal. His eyes found mine over his shoulder, raindrops clinging to the flicks of hair that fell over his eyes. “Come here.”

“Fuck no,” I breathed, backing away out of instinct. Nate cocked his head and smirked slowly before reaching behind him and pulling a gun from the back of his jeans. He aimed it at me, wetting his lips. “Come here, or I’ll blow your brains out.”

The drizzle clung to my hair and lashes as I stared at the gun in his hand. Dressed in a leather jacket, left unzipped to reveal a black tee beneath, Nate held the weapon steady, a sick smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “What’s it gonna be, little killer?”

I swallowed thickly, my heart hammering against my ribcage as I closed the distance between us. The cold metal of the gun met my forehead. Nate made no move to lower it and I held his dark, sinister gaze as he dug it into my skin, determined to leave a mark.

“This is your nightmare, Skyler. What’s it gonna be?” he asked. “Want to put the bird out of its misery, or am I putting you out of yours?”

“You wouldn’t kill me.”

“Try me,” he whispered, spinning the cruel words into a seductive purr. “I am no hero, little killer. I’m the villain who’s here to break your sanity little by little. Kill the bird.”

Tears stung my eyes and the rain felt cold on my cheeks as it soaked through the fabric of my hoodie. “No…”

“Kill. The. Fucking. Bird.” Cocking the gun, Nate slid the barrel to my temple and trailed his other hand around my neck before grabbing me and dragging his warm lips over my left cheekbone. “Do you want it to suffer, little killer? It’s dying anyway.”

“Stop!” I choked out, clinging to his leather jacket. Nate’s warm breath danced over the curve of my neck. He trailed the gun down the side of my face, following the line of my jaw and lower until it rested at my collarbone. “I’ll count to three.”

“You’re sick in the head, Nate.”

“Yes, I am.” The gun dragged lower, pressing against my ribcage. “One.”

“Please, stop. It’s not funny.”

“Two.”

“Fine,” I cried out, barely daring to breathe as Nate chuckled under his breath.

“So quick to save your own skin.” He took two large steps back, tapping a finger against his thigh while jostling the gun. “Kill the bird.”

“With what?”

“It’s dying. You’re running out of time. If it dies before you kill it, I shoot you.”

The tears in my eyes spilled over and trailed a hot path down my cheeks. I couldn’t catch my breath. Not when he nudged his head toward the gasping bird on the ground.

I fell to my knees, searching the ground desperately for something, anything, to kill the animal. I would do it a favor; it was dying anyway, slowly suffocating to death. I could do this.

My fingers brushed up against a rock and I clasped it tightly in my hand. The bird was still alive, but barely. Time slipped through my fingers like sand in an hourglass as I stared down at the suffering animal.

Nate never faltered with the gun in his hand. His aim remained steady, his finger tightening on the trigger. “Two and a half.”

I beat the bird as hard as I fucking could, smashing the rock into its small head over and over and fucking over again until the stinging tears in my eyes blurred the bloodied leaves. I didn’t stop. The rock came down repeatedly as the ache in my chest gave way to numbness. I was an empty shell, void of emotions, void of a soul.

“What’s going on?” Evelyn asked behind me, the horror evident in her voice.

Nate’s gun was nowhere in sight, and with a final scoff in my direction, he walked past her, leaving me sobbing on the ground.

Evelyn ran up to me, crouched down, and cupped my stricken face. Her soft fingers trembled on my cold skin. “Are you okay?”

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