Page 92 of Toxic Obsession

A hunger for the truth shot through me. No matter how much it hurt, I had to learn what happened. I had to read Ky’s words and watch the videos.

“Are we going to your place?” I asked. “Adam is still home, so my house isn’t safe.”

“Okay. I know the girls will be there, but we can keep the volume down while we watch Ky.”

Fear ripped through me, but I’d waited five years to know the circumstances of why Bell left me. I sure as hell wouldn’t stop now.

“Let’s go.”

Wynter crawled off my lap and as soon as we were buckled up, I pulled out of the university’s parking lot.

* * *

The moment we arrived at her place, we bolted up the stairs to her bedroom and locked the door. I’m sure the girls thought I was about to fuck Wynter’s brains out, but that would have to wait.

It took me less than an hour to catch up on the journal entries in the black notebook. To read Ky’s words had me shifting in my seat, uncomfortable with the horror that was on the pages. I wasn’t sure how Wynter hadn’t gone after Dr. Metcalf when she visited Washington yesterday, but she hadn’t. She was a better person than I was. What had fucked with me was that Dr. Metcalf seemed to have total control over Kyler. It was as if Dr. Metcalf had the entire thing planned. The bastard spotted Kyler’s vulnerabilities and groomed him.

“Are you ready?” When I nodded, Wynter stood next to the desk and pushed play.

My leg bounced, waiting for the video to start. I sat in silence and watched as Dr. Metcalf handed Ky the gun and ammo that had been used in the school shooting according to the police report. I’m not sure where it had been stashed on campus for Ky to pick up, but I had a feeling Dr. Metcalf had figured all that out. I wondered if he felt like God as he witnessed his agenda unfold, taking innocent lives as he manipulated Ky to carry out his evil plan. It made me fucking sick. What still bothered me was that, other than the suicide pact, I still had no idea why Bell had decided to end her life with Ky’s.

Ky’s face came into focus, his voice filling Wynter’s room. I grabbed her hand. If I’d seen Bell on a video again, it would fucking wreck me. I knew Wynter well enough now to realize she was just better at hiding it than I ever would be.

“I don’t know if anyone will ever find this, but there’s evidence in my journal and these videos that will hopefully put Dr. Metcalf in prison for life. I have to take advantage of the moments of clarity where I feel like myself and can think clearly, but those minutes are farther and farther apart. It’s as if I’m two different people, trying to fight against what my brain is telling me to do.” Ky grabbed his head and winced. “I’m running out of time.” He leaned forward.

“I finally confided in Bell about what Dr. Metcalf was doing to me. She said that we could both escape the hell we were living in, and we made a suicide pact for tomorrow, February 14th. If I’m going to die, then at least Bell and I will be together in the afterlife.” Ky swallowed. “A few days ago, Bell told me why she’d been so sad …”

I stopped breathing. My mind had just played a dirty trick on me. There was no way I heard Kyler correctly. “What?” Dumbfounded, I looked at my girlfriend, who was chewing on her thumbnail. I backed up the video, Wynter’s attention never leaving me as I replayed the clip a few more times. Ky’s voice reached my ears again, but instead of turning it off, I let it finish playing.

“Bell had a doctor’s appointment and learned that she was four months pregnant and too far along for the abortion pill. I wish it had been mine because it would have given me something to live for, but Bell and I never slept together. She had only been with one person. When I asked her who the father was, she sobbed uncontrollably, then finally uttered his name. Adam. Her father had been molesting her for years, and the sick son of a bitch got her pregnant. Bell can’t stand to carry the baby to term, nor will Adam leave her alone. This is the only way for us to both break free.”

Ky’s image faded from the screen as the video ended.

My fists clenched and unclenched as I stared at the laptop, unmoving. In a split second, my switch flipped. Hatred ripped through me stronger than I’d ever experienced it before. I shot out of the chair, knocking it over.

“That goddamn son of a bitch!” I roared.

“Quinn.” Wynter stepped away, fear written all over her face.

I stormed out of her room, nearly tearing the door off its hinges before I ran down the stairs.

“Quinn! Stop! Please.”

Somehow, I had enough clarity to slow down and look at her. “I love you but stay away until this is over.” I ran out of the house and to my car, Wynter screaming at me.

A sense of peace wrapped its arms around me as I started the car and peeled out of the driveway. Today, justice would finally be served.

Chapter50

Wynter

Gabby and Everlee flew out of the kitchen, wide-eyed at the commotion.

“What the hell is going on?” Everlee asked.

“Call Kane. Someone call Kane Cooper and tell him to get to Quinn’s house now!” I ran back upstairs, trusting that one of the girls knew how to reach Kane. I had to call the cops and stop Quinn from making the biggest mistake of his life, but I’d left my phone in my room when I raced out, trying to stop him.

My legs shook so hard, I stumbled up the steps and into my bedroom. It took me a minute to find my cell in my handbag. I tapped out 9-1-1, my voice shaking as I provided Quinn’s address. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late. When I hung up, all three of the girls were standing in my doorway, looking scared.

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