Page 16 of Haunt Me

My lungs feel like they’re on fire and my legs feel like giving in, but I don’t stop until I see the house.

I still hear his heavy footsteps behind me but I don’t dare to look back. I make it to my front door, out of breath and my heart pounding in my ears and withjust my luck, I can’t find my fucking keys. “Shit.” Breathlessly, I whisper to myself.

I turn around, but I don’t see him so I decide to quickly make my way around the house to my bedroom window—of course, it’s also locked.

I’m fucked.

Looking around frantically, I hear his footsteps getting louder so I decide to jump into the nearest bush—disgusting. Who knows what's in here with me?

Just as I’m out of sight, my knees pulled to my chest, I cover my mouth with both my hands and pray he doesn’t hear me.

Trying to catch my breath without being heard, I see his shiny black shoes step right in front of me and I shut my eyes tightly, slowly backing away.

The next thing I hear terrifies me even more, in a low gravelly voice he starts, “Twinkle, twinkle, little star… how I wonder where. you. are.” Suddenly, I feel a hand gripping my arm and ripping me out between the branches and leaves, making me let out a scream.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t find you, baby?” he says with a lopsided grin as he pulls me against him, covering my mouth with his free hand. Our bodies areso close, that I can feel his rapid breathing as his chest rises and falls beneath my hands pressed against him. Tears prickle at my eyes as I stare at him in fear.

“Don’t make a sound, I have a surprise for you.” He removes his hand from my mouth and I don’t dare to make a sound, too scared to say anything. I watched him open my locked window like it was nothing.

I guess there’s no point in locking it.

He stretches his hand out to me and I warily place my shaky hand in his and with one swoop, he picks me up and places me on the window and I climb through into my room.

The thought about closing it before he got inside crossed my mind but he beat me to it as he was already inside, slowly closing the window. My entire body is shaking as he towers over me once again. Then he drops a gym bag right in front of me.

“You wanted to know what I did to that pretty boy—there you go.”

I stare at the bag like something’s going to jump out at me. Taking a deep breath, I kneel down and slowly zip it open. I stumble away gagging, the smell and sight before me making me physically sick.

“What the fuck.” I muttered, staring at him with wide eyes. It’s a bag containing human intestines. Rotting human intestines.

“Thatis what’s left of him,” he utters in a monotone like this is the most normal thing in the world.

“You're sick.” I spit, “What the hell is wrong with you?” Tears streaming down my face as I stare at him in shock.

His eyes darkened, the pupils dilating as he slowly approached me. My heart raced, pounding in my ears as my widened eyes locked onto the glinting knife he pulled out, twirling it around with a chilling precision. The metallic scent of fear lingered in the air, mingling with the tang of anticipation.

He’s going to kill me next, isn’t he?

Panic surged through my veins, causing my breath to hitch in my throat. Backing away, my trembling voice pleaded, “Please, don’t—” The back of my knees hit the softness of the bed, causing me to fall back in a sudden jolt. In a flash, he hovers over me, his presence suffocating, the cold blade of the knife now dangerously close to my cheek. I could feel its icy touch, as I blew out a shallow breath.

“You wanna know how I did it?” he asked, his face mere inches away from mine.

“I started by impaling it right here,” he continued, pressing the blade against my throat. I swallowed hard, my throat constricting with fear.

“Then I dragged it down,” he whispered, tracing the knife’s edge in a slow, deliberate motion between my heaving breasts, down my quivering stomach, stopping right above my hips. The weight of his words hung heavy in the air as my mind grappled with the gruesome image he described.

“He stopped screaming after his stomach fell out,” he stated with a sinister smirk, his pleasure evident in his captivating eyes. Tears streaming down my cheeks, mingling with the salty taste of despair.

Still dressed in my diner uniform, I felt him slowly lift the fabric with the knife, the sound of its blade grazing against the delicate fabric. The coldness of the blade made contact with the sensitive skin on the inside of my left thigh, causing a sudden, sharp pain to shoot through my leg, making me gasp involuntarily.

“I think it would be best to mark what’s mine, don’t you agree?” he whispered, his voice laced with sadisticpleasure. With increasing pressure, he cut into my flesh, the searing pain causing a sob to escape my quivering lips.

“Don’t move, baby,” he growled, his command laced with a menacing threat.

I shut my eyes tight, blocking out the terror that surrounded me. The sensation of the blade dragging along my skin sent waves of agony through my thigh, like it was engulfed in flames. The pain triggered a surge of adrenaline, a strange and twisted euphoria taking hold of me. I focused on taking deep breaths, attempting to push past the pain. Every fiber of my being screamed at me not to move, fearing that the slightest twitch might provoke him to thrust the knife deeper into my leg.

“Perfect,” he murmurs, his voice barely audible. I feel the warmth of his mouth on my thigh, and I force myself to sit up. The sight has my stomach churn with unease. He removes his mouth, revealing his lips now covered in my blood. My widened eyes fixate on him as a soft moan escapes his mouth, sensually licking his lips. I inhale sharply, my breath catching in my throat, ashis tongue darts out, delicately licking the excess blood from my leg. And then, I see it.

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