Taking a deep breath, I jump again, and by the grace of whatever gods or goddesses, my fingers lock over the back, and I yank, ripping the camera from the wall and letting the exposed wires dangle.
I huff out a breath. I’m fucking exhausted. I haven’t used that much energy in, well…I don’t know how long, but it feels like an eternity. Tossing the pole to the ground, I walk over to the door Callum escaped out of and inspect the hinges and notice it swings in. Assuming he’s coming back in this way, I press my back against the wall, knowing it will conceal me once it’s opened.
I don’t have to wait long. The doorknob turns just moments after I get settled. He opens it just enough to snake through. I’m grateful because that would’ve really hurt had he chosen to throw it open.
Once his broad figure is in sight, I waste no time. Gripping the scalpel firmly in my hand, I throw my other arm over his neckand hold the blade against his carotid. My attack is done in a matter of seconds, and I so badly want to slit his throat. Make him bleed and watch as the life leave his eyes. But I hesitate, and that costs me. Callum rears us back, slamming me into the wall.
My knuckles bleach with the death grip I keep on the handle, and my elbow squeezes tighter around his windpipe as I try to keep my hold. Instinctively, I swipe the blade horizontally under his jaw, and he lets out an annoyed sound.
“Let me out of here, and nobody gets hurt,” I snarl in his ear through clenched teeth just before the air leaves my lungs. The scalpel clatters to the ground, and my hold vanishes. Clawing at my neck while gasping for air, I watch as he steps forward, and I collapse to the floor.
On my hands and knees, I use all my strength to crawl toward the open door, but I watch my dreams slip farther and farther away as the opening shrinks, and it’s closed again.
Callum’s boot steps on my hand, and I try to scream out in pain, but nothing comes out.
What is going on?
My vision goes blurry, and just before I’m about to pass out from lack of oxygen, I’m able to breathe. I take in lungfuls of air, sputtering as I try to regain my breathing.
“That wasn’t very nice.” The air I just got back stays stagnant in my chest as I hold it. That voice is sweet—andfeminine. And it belongs to the one person I’ve thought about every day since I left home. The person I’ve cried to and trusted. It belongs to a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, backstabbing bitch who Ithoughtwas my best friend.
“Kate?” I manage to squeeze out.
She stands over me, her features slightly changed, just like mine had when I first arrived.
“Obviously.” She rolls her eyes and stalks away. Callum follows close behind her, and I watch as she snakes her arms around hisneck, kissing him like they’ve been apart far too long.
“What—what are you doing here? H—how?” I can’t seem to get the words out as I stand. Pain radiates throughout my body, but it barely registers.
Kate rolls her eyes and stares back at me. “Oh, Kallie. Poor, crybaby Kallie. What a mess you’ve gotten yourself into.” She lets go of Callum and takes a few leisurely steps toward me.
I stare at her, trying to make sense of all of this. But the questions swirl around me, forming a whirlpool I can’t escape, dragging me deeper with every passing moment.
“Ah, I can see those wheels turning, my little Kallie-Pie. So let me break it down for you.” I wince a little with each word she speaks, each one like a punch to the gut.
“I was sent to play the abused little girl for you to befriend. It was so easy with how…sympathetic you seem to be. You literally brought the monster to live under your roof!” She giggles at that last part. “Then it was so easy for me to worm my way in, isolate you from everybody else, and make sure I was the only one you needed,” she continues.
Kate was the only thing in my life I believed wasn’t a lie. I’m starting to wonder if I ever existed at all.
“Kate, I— You were my best friend. How could you do this to me?”
“I wasn’t finished!” I’m blasted back by a gust of wind, and I skid on my ass until my back slams into the wall. “It’s so rude to interrupt,” she mutters to Callum.
“As I was saying… Just when I thought you were a complete waste of time, you started having nightmares. Truly, it was amazing seeing you being tortured by your own mind. It was like a breath of fresh air.”
She doesn’t realize it was Callum, I think, and my gaze flickers to him briefly before snapping back to Kate. “You act as if my life was perfect. Fuck, Kate. You were there! You saw how my momtreated me. How can you stand there and—”
“Shut up! Gods, you just go on and on. It isn’t all about you.”
“It sure seems like it is. Care to enlighten me on why all of a sudden everyone and their mother is so obsessed with me?” I fume.
“Honestly, Callum, I don’t know how you survived so long with her. I mean, I know I had to deal with her for years, but at least I was able to escape during school hours.”
“Why are you talking to him like you know him?”
“Oh, honey, did he not tell you? While you’ve been captive, we’ve spent a lot of time together. And well, one thing led to another and…” She drifts off, placing her head on his shoulder.
My shoulders sink with defeat. But a thought crosses my mind. “Where’s my dad?”
