Page 56 of Toxic Obsession

Igritted my teeth, willing my bladder not to burst when I spotted the lines to the bathrooms on the main floor. I was desperate not to piss myself, so I gave up and made a beeline for Quinn’s bedroom. I was pretty sure it was off-limits, but when I peered up the stairs, I couldn’t see anyone around, and no one had seemed to notice me slip away. I ran up the steps, each one creaking beneath my feet, and looked around before I finally snuck inside his room, then bolted to the bathroom.

After hastily closing Quinn’s bedroom door when I was done, I started down the hall, only to be stopped dead in my tracks by ear-splitting screams echoing through the house. Out of nowhere, a massive screen dropped from the ceiling and blocked the entrance. I stood rooted to my spot at the top of the stairs, my eyes widened in alarm as I observed the multiple television sets placed around the main floor all playing the same video. Chills shot down my spine as I recognized the halls of my high school. A disguised voice bellowed out of the speakers as the TVs projected films of students running in all directions, their faces frozen in terror.

“Welcome to Timber Creek High, home of Kyler and Wynter Baldwin. Most know Kyler as the school shooter who murdered thirteen people before taking his own life.” The narrator paused as the sound of bullets firing in the background held the audience captive.

Acidic bile surged in my throat as I plastered my body into the wall, praying that no one would see me while the video replayed my brother’s heinous acts, naming every innocent victim he had taken. My pulse pounded, and I tried to breathe through the sheer panic as I was forced to witness the tragedy again. Every cell inside me bent with terror as I watched the horror wash over the crowd below me. Salty tears burned my cheeks as I relived the worst day of my life, the massacre that left me broken. My heart twisted, then crumpled in on itself as each name uttered from the speakers sent a fresh wave of anguish crashing into me, leaving me with nothing but a hollow void in my chest.

“Kyler’s heinous acts of evil should have been squashed long before this tragedy happened. Lives were taken and families destroyed. Wynter Baldwin, Kyler’s own sister, was well aware of his plans yet chose to remain silent and disregard the atrocities that were happening around her. She was just as responsible as Kyler and doesn’t deserve a place at Whitmore University. We as a community have the right to deny her attendance and ensure she’s held accountable for her brother’s actions.”

I clamped my hand over my mouth, trying to strangle the revulsion that clawed its way up my throat. People would be searching for me at any moment and leaving a telltale trail of vomit would only make it easier for them to find me. I had to get the fuck away, but I was stuck upstairs with no way out. Desperately, I searched for a place to hide and wait out the storm. This party had just turned into a fucking witch hunt—for me.

Tears prickled my hazy stare. My knees quaked and nausea bubbled in my belly as I stumbled down the hall and into Quinn’s room. I locked the door behind me and plastered my body against the wall as sobs overtook me. Angry voices floated upstairs, and I slammed my eyes closed, trying to force my fear down long enough to think. As I ticked off the names of the victims—names that deserved my acknowledgment every day but that I had been afraid to remember—the truth bitch slapped me hard enough to draw blood.

Bellamy Astor.Shit! I had been so fucked up with the fact that the video was on display in front of hundreds of people, I’d missed the connection. Quinn had lost his sister that day. When he’d learned who I was, he set me up, playing me the entire time.

I hiccupped, my fear slowly turning to anger as I started to put two and two together. Our high school was huge. Three separate middle schools were funneled to our high school, so there was no way to even know everyone’s name. Plus, I was a basketball cheerleader, and I never paid attention to the football players. The year we attended school together, we ran in completely different circles.

Pacing the room, I was grateful his lamp was on so I didn’t have to go looking for light. The last thing I needed right now was to trip over my two feet and land on the floor with a huge thud, giving away where I was.

“Think, goddammit.” My nostrils flared as the Red Dragon’s words raced through my mind about Kyler and declaring me a liar. “Son of a bitch!” I fisted my hands—it had been Quinn all along. Every fuck, every kind and vicious word … it was all a setup to tell the world who I was. I felt myself snap inside, and my blood boiled. I was sick and tired of running. I was sick and tired of people believing lies about what had happened. If I had to leave Whitmore, then I was going down in flames and Quinn Astor was going down with me.

I bit my lip, forcing myself to carefully plan my next move. Scanning his room, my attention landed on a dagger sitting on top of his dresser. My eyes narrowed as I approached. I picked it up, admiring the red dragon etched into the white marble handle. The knife cemented my suspicions that Quinn was also the Red Dragon. The motherfucker had held this to my throat, then whoever the other guy had been had taken over.

It was proof that Quinn was in the secret society. With enough backing, that tidbit might be enough to ruin his shot at going pro. “Payback is a bitch, isn’t it, Quinn?”

I clenched my fists and forced myself to stay focused, remembering the lessons I’d learned. It had been almost five years since the basketball cheerleaders back home had blamed me for not stopping Kyler and used that as an excuse to attack me. That was when I knew I needed to learn to protect myself. Too ashamed to show my face out in public, I had called a Krav Maga dojo. The martial art was known for its extreme brutality and strength, but I was desperate. I had to ensure my safety at all costs—even to the extent of hurting another person if it meant saving my life or Janine’s. The sensei agreed to train me after hearing my story, and I remained under his private instruction until finally coming to Whitmore.

Noticing that cars were driving away from the house and the voices downstairs had quieted, I unlocked the door and hid behind it, waiting patiently for Quinn to return. After all the shit I’d lived through, I’d grown quite good at being patient.

* * *

My muscles burned from standing in the same spot, but I couldn’t afford to fuck up. Two hours later, the doorknob turned, and I held my breath. Waiting.

Chapter30

Wynter

My heart raced as I waited for confirmation that the person in front of me was Quinn. The sight of his distinctive Nike shoes told me it was him, so I slammed the door shut once he was fully through the threshold, the thunderous sound echoing throughout the room. Quinn spun around in surprise, but I didn’t give him time to react. I lunged at him, kicking him in the groin. He doubled over, and I grabbed his neck to hit a pressure point and control his movements.

I forced his back against the wall, then let him go. Before he could blink, I brought his dagger between his legs and nudged his dick through his jeans. His face turned white with fear as I gave him a cold, threatening stare.

“Hello, Quinn. Miss me?” A maniacal laugh escaped me. “I would think twice about moving if I were you. I hear the dick bleeds like a motherfucker when it’s cut off.”

I actually had no idea if that were true, but I was pissed as hell that he had played me and turned the entire school against me. The sorry son of a bitch was going to listen to what I had to say, or bleed to death in his own bedroom.

He slammed his eyes closed as I moved the blade against his junk. “How does it feel, Quinn? Do you like seeing your entire life flash before you?”

“Wynter, wait. Let me explain.” He attempted to touch my shoulder, and I shrugged out of his reach.

I ran the tip of the knife up his stomach, then placed it against the side of his throat. “One wrong nick and I’ll hit your jugular so watch those hands. I may get … twitchy.”

Quinn swallowed, his body trembling. “I’m sorry, Wynter. Please let me explain.”

My nostrils flared. “I’m tired of listening to the entire world as they continue to judge me. You’re going to fucking listen for a goddamn change.” A quick nick to Quinn’s neck and a drop of blood bloomed from the small cut.

Quinn’s fear was palpable, and I fed off it, a sickening satisfaction coursing through my veins. In that moment, I realized what a monster I’d become. Was I no better than Kyler? A wave of guilt swirled inside me at the thought. All I wanted was to scare the shit out of him, then force him to listen.

“The sad part, Quinn? I liked you. I really liked you. I thought what we had was special and it meant something to you. It certainly meant something to me. After what Kyler did, I missed dating and the prom, school events, friends. Not only did he steal lives from other families, he stole mine too. Drew, my father, left us with an alcoholic mother who curled up in a ball and is drinking herself to death while I work my ass off to take care of my younger sister and pay the mortgage. At seventeen, I was forced to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. Nobody bothered to ask me how I was. All along, people assumed I knew the truth, wanted to believe I could have stopped it. And that was the biggest lie of all. But they bought it hook line and sinker because they needed somebody alive to blame.” My heart thundered in my ears so loudly I couldn’t hear myself think.

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