Page 26 of A Storm of Nightmares

Chapter 15

I’ve spent two miserable, long days trapped in this stupid room as one of Rick’s stolen girls. Today is day three. He comes to check on me three times a day. Every morning he brings me breakfast and takes me to the restroom. He comes back around noon and lets me have another bathroom break if I need it. He finishes the day off by bringing me dinner and allowing me to ask one question as I eat, and then I get my last trip to the bathroom before it’s lights out.

He hasn’t hit me again, and he’s apologized profusely for leaving a bruise on my face. He tells me it was my fault and that he has to punish me when I misbehave, but that it pains him terribly. Total bullshit, if you ask me.

As far as my nightly questions go, I think I’m making some progress. The first night I asked him where the hell we were. I wanted to get a feel for how far away I was from home. Rick didn’t give me an exact answer, but he said he’s made a home for his girls in an old, abandoned warehouse he stumbled upon one day. He’s remodeled the space, so Betty, Jess, and now I feel more comfortable. Like that’s freaking possible. He still hasn’t let me see Betty, but I feel a bit more at ease knowing she’s here somewhere too.

The second night, I asked him where he was keeping the boys. I dared not mention Keith by name, but Rick understood exactly what I wanted to know. He wasn’t happy with me but answered me nonetheless. He said the boys were alive and well but that they were not anywhere near us girls. Rick warned me not to bring up Keith anymore, or I’d find my wrists in chains again. I cried myself to sleep.

Today has been dragging on. Day three in hell. I’m beginning to feel delirious. Rick brought me apple slices and peanut butter for breakfast. I felt like a damn child, but I ate it anyway and slapped a fake smile on to please him. I spent the day sleeping and crying silently, so Rick didn’t see and punish me.

My stomach growls, letting me know it’s almost time for dinner. I grab my right wrist in my left hand and slowly massage it. After a few minutes, I switch. The cuts have started to heal, and the bruises aren’t as painful anymore. I’ve made a habit of rubbing my wrists throughout the day. The pain I feel when I run my thumb across the lacerations reminds me that I’m still alive and that this is unfortunately not a nightmare.

The first day here, I really thought Keith might burst through that door and save me. I hoped and prayed for it. On day two, my hope dwindled slightly, but it was still there. Today, I can’t help but feel like I’ll be here for the rest of my life. Betty’s been here for four fucking years, and nobody ever found her. Today is the day my hope dies.

Rick barges in through the door with a plate in his hand and a smile on his ugly face. “Chow time, my little angel.” God, Ihatethat pet name.

I smile but don’t speak a word as Rick walks over to the bed and plops down beside me. It looks like he’s brought me a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. I take it and start to eat slowly, all too aware that Rick is eyeing me extra close tonight. Finally, I can’t take it any longer, and I put the sandwich down and turn to face him. “What, Rick?”

He frowns and shakes his head. “You’re not in a good mood tonight, Katherine.”

“I’m sorry, I think I’m just tired,” I say quickly, trying to avoid punishment for my attitude.

Rick smiles. “It’s ok, angel. I know the past few days have been difficult. It’s hard to adjust to a new life. But I’m proud of you for trying.” He stops and lifts his hand very cautiously so as not to scare me. Ever since his brutal assault on my face, I flinch when he gets too close. He doesn’t like that reaction, but what does he expect?

He brushes my hair behind my ear and pulls his hand back to his lap. “I have a surprise for you. You’ve been such a good girl, and I think you’re ready.” My eyes widen as I try to process what he’s telling me. “I am going to take you to Betty and Jess tomorrow. Right after breakfast.” Rick is beaming from ear to ear, and I can tell he’s excited to be giving me such a reward.

“Really?” I whisper. I don’t even believe it. I’ve been wanting to see Betty again for so, so long. He nods and pats my head like a freaking dog. I clench my fists and dig my nails into my palm so I don’t smack his filthy hand off of me.Stay calm, Kat.I get to see Betty tomorrow. I take a deep breath and force a giant, thankful smile on my face. He seems pleased with my response, so I hurry up and finish dinner.

“Wait, do I still get a question tonight?”

“Yes, of course.”

I don’t even have to think about what I want to ask. I blurt it out in a hurry before I lose my bravery. “Why did you take Betty all those years ago?”Whew. There, it’s out in the open now.

I half expect Rick to smack me again, but much to my surprise, a boyish, shy grin covers his face. “I thought you’d never ask. Are you ready to hear the story of how Betty and I fell in love?”

My mouth drops wide open in shock, and I quickly pick my jaw up off the floor so I don’t make Rick angry. There’s no way in hell Betty fell in love with him. She was head over heels for Dan. Even if she was single, Rick is so not her type.Like at all.I’m pretty sure he’s nobody’s type. I nod and wait in horror for this surely insane story to start.

Rick settles in next to me on the bed and begins. “Dan and I had always been best friends. We did everything together, but I was not blind to the fact that, as we got older, he became more and more handsome while I only got smarter. As middle school and high school came and went, Dan was on and off with several girls. I never even had a single girlfriend. My dear friend noticed my lacking in the female companion department, and one day he told me he was going to teach me how to get girls.” Rick smiles widely, remembering distant memories of Dan and him.

“Dan started taking me to the mall on the weekends to meet girls. He’d go up to a group of them and flirt like his life depended on it with me listening from a distance, and then he’d have me go next. I picked up a few tricks and got a few phone numbers, but not to anyone I was really interested in. I started to lose hope. I thought I’d grow old and die without ever finding myself a lady. Until one weekend... I tell you, Kat, I was left breathless at the sight of her.” He looks over at me, and his eyes scan down my body and back up to my face. “You’re so much like her, you know.” I bite my cheek to keep the bile from rising up my throat.

He shakes his head and gets back on track. “Anyways, one day, Dan and I were wandering around the mall, looking for our next catch. We saw this group of girls coming out of the food court, all laughing and oblivious to us watching them. These girls were pretty, but the one in the middle of the group was drop-dead gorgeous. She commanded the attention of every guy who walked past her, and she didn’t even have to try. Unfortunately, it seemed like Dan and I both had our sights set on her, and it was clear we’d have to battle it out. We introduced ourselves to the girls and learned the name of the middle one was Betty. Elizabeth. Such a strong, classic name. Now, she sure played hard to get at first. She gave her phone number to Dan and practically ignored my existence. It hurt, but I could tell it wasn’t what Betty truly wanted. She wanted me. I just had to prove that to her.”

My hands are shaking now, listening to this lunatic’s retelling of the story from his perspective. It sounds to me like Betty wanted Dan and ignored Rick, and I bet that pissed him off. It’s become painfully clear in the last few days that Rick just takes what he wants.

“So as the days turned into weeks, Betty found herself stuck with Dan. Poor thing, she didn’t want to hurt him, so she stayed. But I knew the truth. I could feel the desire in her every time she was around me. I had a plan to slowly get under her skin, make it impossible for her to deny her feelings for me. And it was working, but it was taking too long. When Dan told me he and Betty were moving to LA together for school, I had to speed things up. Dan’s always been my very best friend, but I was not going to let him ruin my future. I waited as long as I could for Betty to realize her love for me on her own, but she just wasn’t getting it.” Rick balls his fists up in his lap. He’s getting angry, and I feel myself shrinking beside him in fear.

He takes a deep breath to calm down. “One night, when I knew Dan would be sneaking into Betty’s room and further ruining her perfect body, I decided to act. I came to your house that night, Kat. I knocked on Betty’s window, and she reluctantly let me in. I knew she was embarrassed to be caught with Dan in front of me. I pretended to be there to hang out, and when Dan went to the restroom, I injected Betty with a sedative and rushed her out of the window and into my car. When Dan came back, I made up a story about Betty getting a frantic phone call from an ex. I told him she snuck out to be with this other guy. Dan was enraged, and as he peered outside through the open window, I hit him over the head with an old, wooden baseball bat Betty had shoved to the back of her closet. He was a lot harder to get to my car, but I made it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any band-aids with me. The needle I used to sedate Betty obviously broke the skin. A few droplets of blood fell onto her bed while I was trying to lift her over my shoulder. I didn’t have time to worry about that, though, because I knew I only had so much time before you or your parents came to check on Betty. After I got away clean, I started thinking about the blood drops as my signature, sort of. When I took Jess, I left the band-aids at home, on purpose this time, so that I could leave my mark once more.”

I feel sick hearing Rick’s recollection of that night. The blood was important, after all. The dark liquid that has made an appearance in every one of my nightmares for the past four years. Just a few tiny drops that told the story of Betty’s kidnapping. Shouldn’t the police have figured that out?

Even if the blood droplets didn’t lead the cops in the right direction, Rick would have left fingerprints, right? He may be an evil genius now, but that was years ago. Surely, he would have slipped up somewhere that night and left some kind of evidence. I don’t believe for a second that he was able to “get away clean,” as he puts it. I think I’m more confused now than ever before.

Rick pats my thigh with his hand. “Betty and I have been here, madly in love ever since.” He shrugs as if that’s the whole story, and then he slowly stands from the bed and heads for the door.

“Ok, so you and Betty fell in love. Why did you start dating Jess, and why take her?” I ask in a hurry before he can leave. I feel a headache coming on. So much is running through my mind.

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