Page 49 of He Sees You
Baby.
The familiarity, the assumed intimacy, makes my blood burn cold.
He's constructed entire relationships in his head, built on nothing.
She's already disappearing into the trees, limping but moving fast.
She knows these woods from childhood, but not like I do.
And not drunk like Jake's about to try to navigate them.
I follow parallel to her path, keeping her in sight while monitoring Jake's pursuit.
He's crashed back down the stairs, out the back door, following her tracks with the determination of a man who's crossed a line and can't go back.
"Celeste! Don't make this worse!" He's shouting now, all pretense of welfare checks abandoned. "You can't tell anyone about this. I have keys! I'm allowed to check on you!"
The desperation in his voice is telling.
He knows what he's done is wrong, but he's trying to convince himself otherwise.
The keys are his permission; his badge, his authority.
In his mind, these things override her locked door, her clear rejection, her flight into the woods.
She's heading for my cabin.
She has the key I gave her, and she's choosing to use it.
Choosing me over every other option.
The satisfaction of that burns through my chest like whiskey.
But she's hurt.
I can see it in her gait, the way she's favoring her left ankle.
Blood drops dot the snow—she must have cut herself on the window frame or the fall.
Jake will follow that trail straight to her, unless I give him something else to follow.
I cut through the woods on a path that will intersect with Jake's.
He's about a hundred yards behind her now, breathing hard, his duty belt jingling with each step. I let him see me, just a shadow between trees.
"Who's there?" He spins toward me, hand going to his gun. "This is Deputy Bauer!"
I move again, leading him east, away from my cabin.
He follows because men like Jake always follow perceived threats over actual goals.
His pride won't let him ignore another man in these woods.
"I know you're out here!" He's stumbling now, the alcohol and darkness making him clumsy. "Lockwood, is that you, you fucking freak?"
I circle back, letting him chase shadows while I return to Celeste's true path.
By the time Jake realizes he's been following nothing, she'll be safe inside my cabin.
