“Of who you are.”
18
After I unlock the front door to Lennon’s house, I make my way to the stairs and start to climb them. I know exactly what I’m searching for.The notes.
I never showed them to Dash the night I told him about them. I’m not sure what all he told Jimmy, but I know he was trying to hold him off from digging into everything until I was ready to get the police involved.
Once I’m in the closet, I pull out the locked box I found them in. As I’m about to take the box with me, something catches my eye from under where the box was. I don’t remember anything being under it.
The hair stands on the back of my neck as I see the new note.
Be careful. I’ll know if you start to remember me. One of you figured it out a moment too late. Was it you or her? This game just gets better and better.
I swallow hard. I’ll be damned if this lunatic is going to stop me from getting my life back. I won’t hide. If it’s my destiny to godown, it won’t be doing it without a fight. I’ll do everything I can to take him down with me.
I’m sure he’ll think I’m going to cower out of fear. But he’s sorely underestimated me. You can’t scare someone who has nothing left to lose. And I’ve already lost everything.
I take the box to the bed and unlock it with the key I found in the drawer. I pull each note out and take a picture of it before adding the latest one to the collection. I almost feel like I’ve taken this action before. I wish I knew where our phones were to prove me right, but I’m sure the mystery murderer has them. My intention was to show all of this to Dash and then take them to Jimmy.
Now, as I close and lock the box, I stand firm in my decision to keep what I remember hidden. This guy can’t be tipped off. Paranoia may be a side effect of my amnesia, but if I’m being watched, telling anyone what I remember may be a death sentence for them.
Somehow, he knew I found the notes. Which means there are likely cameras in here somewhere. Either that, or he took a gamble and knew I’d start searching for answers.
I walk into the bathroom and stare at my reflection. My jaw is set and the bruises on my face are hardly noticeable now. The scar above my brow isn’t blending in quite as well.
I start pulling the drawers out searching for a way to cover the new scar that serves as a reminder of all the things I’ve lost at the hands of a madman.
I stop when I find a pair of scissors. My fingers slide over the cold metal before I pull them out. I study my dark hair for a few moments and then pull some of my hair in front of my face before snipping it off.
I keep cutting until I have some sort of semblance to curtain bangs. I may always bear this scar from now until I die, but I’ll be damned if I have to stare at it unless I want to.
I set the scissors on the counter beside where locks of my hair fell, then glance at my watch.
I’ve gotta go or else Dash will start looking for me. I cast one more glance at my reflection and smile. For the first time since this nightmare began, I feel like I’ve taken something back for myself. Something to set me apart from my memories and my sister.
Once I’m back in the car, I’m just about to start it when my phone buzzes. I pull it out and see a text from the unknown number. I try to brace myself, but it’s no use.
Unknown number: Love the bangs.
I look up and search all around the outside of my car until my gaze lands on a hooded figure in the shadows behind the house. I open the door and get out, but when I reach the back of the house, they’ve disappeared.
“Hey, are you okay?”Dash asks the moment he opens his front door.
“Sure. Why?” I ask.
He points to my new bangs.
“Oh, yeah. I just had the crazy urge to cut my bangs. This scar isn’t the most beautiful thing in the world,” I explain, not divulging any more.
“Everything about you is beautiful, Valkyrie. Don’t doubt it for a second,” he says as he winks at me.
“What all have you told your cop friend?” I blurt out.
His brows furrow, clearly caught off guard by my question.
“I told him we found proof you were being threatened. And he was in your house,” he says.
I nod. “So you didn’t tell him about the notes or the texts?”
