“Fuck.”I snatched a handful of hair but Dennis pulled my hand away.He almost looked shocked, but not upset. And then he smiled.
“They found him. It’s about time. I almost forgot about him.”
“Dennis!”
“Don’t worry, nothing’s gonna happen. I came back after you went to bed.Everything’s clean. You didn’t leavehis gun, right?”
“No, I took it with us. I think it’s in my bag at your place.”
“Good. Never leave weaponsbehind. That’s for amateurs.”
“Then why the fuck did you leave a body?” I hissed.
“I wanted to leave them a treat, you know? Like a present. They seem excited to me.”He shrugged.
“This is creepy,”I muttered. All the missing person posters and now this massive crime scene. It was like we were in a horror movie, onlywewere the killers. “Can we go drink now?” I felt a little better once Dennis agreed and led us away. And then I noticed the way he was watching me.“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No, what?”I pressed.“I wanna know what you’re thinking.I’m an adult. I can take it.”
“Alright, if you say so. I was just thinking you’redifferent from what I expected.”
“What do you mean?” I put on my best pouty face when it seemed like he wouldn’t answer. “Ready? Go. One two three go! On your mark, get set, go—”
“Before I bound you,” he started, “I knew you were innocent in a way but could take care of yourself. But you’renot what I expected.”He paused, like he was choosing the next words wisely, but then stopped altogether.
“What’s that supposed to mean?Wait,”I furrowed my brows as his words sank in,“you already knew parts of my personality before you bound me? That’s why you always say you bound me for a reason. You’ve been watching me. You knew who I was before we met on Halloween.”
It was such an unsettling realization. He must’ve known I’dfigurethis out one day. He was watching me, cherishing my uneasiness. I didn’t dwell on it long, however, because I’d realized something else.
I started counting, one finger for each person he’d killed since we met: the guy in the dumpster, Kiro, and the guy who’d attacked me and Ari near the bar. Stephen, I think? Those were only the ones I knew about. It hadn’t even been three weeks.
Ari was right.
“Do you realize you’re kind of a serial killer?”I asked slowly, unsure of how he’d react.
“I do,”his voice was steady.“Does that bother you?”
“What if you’re a psychopath,”I was thinking out loud now,“like a legit one. Are you?”
“Secondary, no. Now primary psychopathy… that’s different. Technically, I might fit the criteria. But who’s to say?I’m not licensed to diagnose.” His trace of a smile was back.
“So you have no emotions?”
“Of course I do.”
“But no empathy,” I guessed. “No fear. No conscience?”
“Mm,” he cocked an eyebrow, “getting closer. But again, who’s to say? Like I said, I’m not qualified to diagnose.” His shrill laugh made me shudder.
“Where are we going?” I asked the first thing that came to mind, hoping to change the topic. He was creeping me out. But before he could answer, I spotted a familiar face. An adorable one.“Mikaila!”I shouted, throwing both arms up.
She looked around from a swing in the nearby park, then saw me and beamed. She waved as I ran—a human’s run, it was a slow jog for me—across the street to join her.
“Emy!”Her eyes lit up as I dove headfirst onto the vacant swing beside her. She giggled as I landed on my stomach and liftedboth feet to let the momentum do its thing. Dizziness almost made me tip face-forward on the ground, but I grabbed the chains just in time.“What’re you doing here?”
“Swinging.”I twisted around to sit up, figuring I probably shouldn’t flash half the park in my short skirt.“What’re you doing?”
