Page 30 of Forever with Me

“Oh yeah, this was the Halloween party at the Sigma Chi house; fun, but not really my cup of tea. I think we left right after this picture was taken,” I stare, looking at the picture more intently.

The room starts to change, blur and then I see it. Jack is standing in the shadows next to Carter. Just like Jack was sitting in the corner watching from the shadows while Carter held me down on the floor. Like a shot, everything focuses in on the present and I collapse to the floor.

“Mia!” Alex screams as I’m caught in Cole’s arms. He carries me to the couch and I can barely make out what everyone is fussing over.

“Get her a glass of water,” Cole barks out. “Dammit, I knew better. I shouldn’t have brought her here.”

“Cole, stop! You had no way of knowing how this would affect her. Frankly, I don’t think she would have let you leave her behind,” Alex states with a nodding Foster behind her.

“Mia, baby, drink this,” Cole pleads, extending a water bottle to my lips.

I take a small sip and steel myself for what I’m ready to tell them.

“Listen, because I’m not sure I have it in me to repeat myself. He was there, Cole. Jack was in the room when Carter attacked me. He was participating. I must have blocked it out. Look! It’s him in the picture. He knew Carter and I would bet that Jack is the cousin! I feel sick, I need to…” Motioning to the bathroom, I stand. Cole helps me to my feet and Alex comes and takes my hand walking me to the restroom.

I walk into a room I used to love and all I can do is cry, not out of sadness, but anger. My life has been destroyed by an “almost.” I almost died, I almost had my sex ripped from me. I almost became a victim…well, maybe not almost. I sure as hell feel like I’ve been victimized, and I sure as hell feel like a piece of me died in that room. Looking up at Alex, I can see that same anger on her face. The same uncontrollable rage that bubbles right under the surface.

“Fuck Jack,” I answer to her matter of fact, my nausea subsiding.

“I couldn’t agree more. All I remember is being here and seeing our yearbooks and scrapbooks on the table. I must have looked at them, but it’s all a blank. Thank God I took that picture. Maybe we can give it to the cops and with everything else they can round him up.” I can see the hope in her eyes. She perches on the counter and I sit on the edge of the tub, we sit in silence.

“I’m sorry I asked you to look at the books! I’m so sorry, Alex, I feel responsible for all of this.” My guilt washes over me as I reach my hand out to hold hers.

“I was happy you did it! Mia, if this hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t know how devious and crazy Jack is… HOLY SHIT! Do you think he killed Carter? Maybe he was trying to frame Cole! Hear me out. If he was in on your attack by Carter, that means he has been obsessed with you for years, way before Cole came along! It makes total sense, he weaseled his way into your life and tried to fuck with your head. Jesus Mia, he’s been in the background forever!!”

My nausea is back.

“Alex, I don’t even know how to process this. I can see him clear as day, coaxing and instructing Carter. Like a puppet master! That sick fuck was going to sit and watch me be destroyed mentally and physically, the sickness is beyond me! I need to tell the cops, he won’t get away with this! That poor woman he is dating has no idea what he is capable of!” My body shivers at the thought. I need to warn Sam.

“Do you think he had anything to do with the girl that died in our old building?” Alex wraps her arms tightly around herself. “He mentioned it all creepy-like when I saw him on the street. It really freaked me out.”

“Wait a minute, what girl died in whose building?”

Thinking back, I remember seeing a news report about a girl found a couple of months after going missing.

“Remember the girl like two floors down, redhead, super quiet, book type? She was killed, strangled and wrapped up. Mia, it was awful, they didn’t find her for almost a month after!”

“You mean the girl that Jack fucking started hooking up with? That’s the whole mess that made me go for a run before getting attacked! I saw him leaving her apartment, Alex! Oh my God, he didn’t, I mean… he was in our home, around us. I kissed him, Alex!!”

“Mia! Holy shit, he fucking murdered her. I don’t even doubt it!” She stands, making her way to the bathroom door and I know exactly what we need to do. The time for crying is over, it’s time to put an end to this guy. Jack is a horrible person and needs to be locked up forever.

“Go! We need to tell Cole and Foster!” I bark out as I run out the door.

As I run into the main room, Alex runs into my back and I hear her gasp as she takes in the scene before us.

Jack is standing with a gun to Foster’s temple and Cole has a hunting knife at his throat being held by the one and only Sam Johnson. So much for warning her about Jack. Both men are standing in the expansive space in front of the living room about ten feet apart. Jack’s smug look is all I need to know this was planned. We all unknowingly walked right into their trap. I reach into my pocket for my phone, wanting to alert security, only to realize I left it on the bathroom counter! Damn!

“Now it’s a party!” Jack bellows.

“Mia!” Cole barks. “Run, get the fuck out of here!” His words are cut off by the knife snugging up against his throat. My stomach drops. I keep looking back and forth between him and Foster. It’s the definition of rock and hard place. Cole can take Samantha without a problem, but Foster could be shot. My mind is racing through a million options and is tormented by the sounds of Alex beginning to cry behind me.

“Shut the fuck up, Parker. Not such a tough guy now, are you?” Looking to me Jack sneers, “You aren’t going anywhere, or I’ll shoot Foster and then put a bullet in your husband.”

His eyes are dead and the way he looks at me makes me physically ill. I feel Alex grip my arm and I reach back to show her I’m with her.

“What the fuck do you want Jack, if that’s even your name? Why are you doing this to all of us? I’m the only one you want, let everyone go and just take me. Isn’t that what you want, to hurt me?” I try and keep my voice calm and measured while I go through a thousand alternatives in my head. This is why I felt the calm earlier. I need to feel the dread, because I need motive. Tonight, this ends and I realize that it’s not just Jack’s life I will take to protect those I love.

Jack laughs and shakes his head. “I want you to feel the pain I felt. I want your life to be meaningless. All those years, I waited for you to open your eyes, to see what was in front of you and you treated me like nothing. Like I didn’t matter, you and your whore friend. Carter was my ticket to making you pay attention, everyone always loved my stupid jock cousin. He was perfect; good looks, and he didn’t understand the concept of the word ‘NO.’ But not you, you never gave him the time of day, because you think you’re better than everyone! Now we’ll know what it’s like to be a pariah. Nobody will ever touch or look at you the same way again, Mia. Not after I gut everyone you love and turn you into a monster.”