He nods. “Yes. Actually, I love it. If I were a regular guy living a regular life and had normal parents, I would still have chosen it as a career.” He gets up, pulls out a chair from another room, sets it beside him, and pats the seat. “Come here. I want to show you something.”
I walk over to his desk and perch close to him. I can smell his expensive cologne and feel his body heat.
“I scanned your phone, and there isn’t any digital footprint of a video being sent to you from an unknown number. Usually, I can trace any number, even if it deletes itself.”
My ears ring. My mouth is dry. “But, Jameson, it was there. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw the text messages.”
I can’t believe this shit. I’m not going crazy.
“I’ll let you see for yourself. I can’t find any traces of an unknown number on your phone. Are you sure you didn’t imagine it?”
Tears wet my eyes.
I think I’m losing my mind.
Jameson pats my back and gives me an awkward hug. He hands me my phone back.
“What do I owe you for your time?” I ask.
“Venmo me twenty dollars for a burger.”
I cock my eyebrow.
He shrugs. “I love food.”
Goosebumps prickle my skin.
I don’t want to go home, so I walk the campus trail instead. The sky is clear, and the sun’s beaming.
Tears trickle down my face. Did I imagine it all? Am I going mad? This doesn’t make any sense to me. How did I imagine whole fucking text messages and a video? I know I might hallucinate sometimes, but to conjure some shit—not at this extreme.
Irvin’s number pops up on my phone, and I hit Decline. I’m not in the headspace to talk right now.
Irvin does have a nasty habit of knowing where I am at all times. I’m pretty sure his phone call wasn’t a coincidence—the minute I left the mansion, he called me.
The way he looked in the video. Broad shoulders. Even the guy’s hair was the same. And I’ve never watched Irvin kill anyone, but the side of his face was only shown in the video. I’m completely losing it. I don’t know what is real anymore. I don’t know what I can trust.
Could Jameson be in on it too? Lying for Irvin? No. Jameson doesn’t strike me as a liar.
No one will believe the things I saw. Not Irvin. Not Jameson. I’m truly alone in this. My muscles lock, and my head hurts. I’m trying to keep it together, but I don’t know what to do. I need to figure out what’s really going on. Irvin denied it, but I know what I saw.
I stop and lean against a tree, then take a moment to cry.
Lilac
Later that night, Irvin perches on the bed. He looks tired, with bags under his eyes. Even though he never told me what was going on with the trials, I’m pretty sure they’ve been wearing him out. During his week away, he told me to stay out of trouble and skip classes, doing them online instead. I’m not the type of person to stay in the house or take his orders. He should know that by now.
On most days, the campus is empty, and several students have dropped out due to the dead victims on campus. I don’t blame them. If I wasn’t stuck with Irvin, I probably would have left as well.
My phone buzzes with a text message, so I read it.
Ambrose: I called you several times. Call me back. I’m concerned about you.
I don’t know whether to respond or not.
I reply back.
Me: I’m fine. Really.
