Her Destiny (23 page)

He looks awful, like he just crawled out of bed, wearing a stained white T-shirt and faded blue and white striped pajama pants. His hair is sticking straight up and he scratches at his belly.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you. I’m uh, looking for my friend. She’s about this tall.” I hold up my hand at just below my shoulder. “With blond hair and blue eyes. Really pretty.”

“Aren’t they all really pretty, the girls you hang out with?’ Hal cackles and I push down the frustration that rises within me. I don’t have time for these games.

“Have you seen her?” I ask again. “I think she’s…lost.” I make her sound like a missing pet but damn it, I don’t know what could’ve happened to her. When did she wake up? How long has she been gone?

I have no idea.

“Nope. Haven’t seen any pretty blondes wandering around here lost and alone. Tell her when you find her that’s dangerous in this area. I hope you find her soon.” He slams the door in my face before I get a chance to say anything else and I’m left standing there, unsure of what to do next. I don’t want to call the cops because they’re nothing but trouble but who else can give me the help I need? Hal is hungover so not like I’m going to ask him. He’s useless. I’ve got no one in this godforsaken town except for Reverie and now I’ve fucking lost her too.

Where in the hell
is
she?

“Hey bro, what are you doing here?”

I turn to find David striding toward me, the same shitty smile he wore yesterday still on his face. He is the last person I want to see. “I could ask you the same question,” I mutter.

“I’m just checking in on Hal, like usual. Poor guy needs me, especially on Sunday mornings. He tends to binge drink on Saturdays for some reason. I guess it’s because he’s off work and has nothing to occupy his mind.” The smile on his face never fades. It’s like he has it glued on. “Were you just in there with him? How’s he doing?”

“I spoke to him for a little bit. He’s fine. A little hungover but he’ll survive.” I run a hand over my chin, a shiver stealing over my skin at the pointed way David watches me.

“What happened to you anyway? You’re definitely not dressed for this kind of weather.” David’s gaze is bright as he looks at me, slowly shaking his head. “I’d guess you just ran out of your apartment. You don’t even have shoes on. What’s the rush?”

“I’m um, looking for someone.”

David frowns, his expression one of perfect concern. “Who you looking for?”

“My friend.” I pause. I don’t want to give this guy any details but I’m desperate. He could help me. “Reverie.”

“Ah, the infamous Reverie.” David nods, as if he’s just ran into her and knows exactly where she is. We’re wasting precious time chatting like it’s no big thing when I need to find her. “Haven’t seen her.”

“Are you sure? Do you even know what she looks like?”

“Blond, cute and pure as the driven snow? Nope, I am positive I haven’t seen her around. But I just got here so…” He shrugs.

“Okay, thanks. I need to go.” I start to leave but David calls my name and I turn to face him, jogging backwards. I need to get dressed and make phone calls. I don’t have time to talk to this asshole. “What?”

“Hope you find her soon.” David grins but his eyes are black. Dead. Uneasiness slips down my spine like ice, making me shiver. “Wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her.” The dark chuckle that follows is bone chilling.

And that’s when it hits me. He knows. This motherfucker knows where she is.

Everything inside of me goes cold and I start for him but he’s faster. He dodges into Hal’s apartment, slamming the door shut and turning the lock with such force I hear the bolt slide into place. I bash my fist against the door, the thin wood seeming to give with my every punch as I command David to open it.

“Open up, God damn it!” I yell, kicking at the door now, smashing my toes since I’m not wearing shoes. Not the smartest move to make but fuck it. It’s like I can’t even feel anything, I’m pumped so full of adrenaline and fear. “Tell me where she is!”

David says nothing but I know he’s in there, which only infuriates me more. I’m pulling out my phone, ready to call the cops and then Evan when the door swings open, Hal standing in the doorway. I have a total moment of déjà vu. Didn’t we just go through this not ten minutes ago? “What’s your problem, son?”

“You’re a liar, that’s my problem.” I push my way inside, calling Reverie’s name as I make my way through the small apartment, looking in every room. The place is a disaster, clutter and trash everywhere, empty liquor bottles rolling on the floor. I kick past them, peeking in the bathroom, in Hal’s room, my hand going for the knob that I know will open Krista’s room when Hal screams at me, making me pause.

“Don’t you dare go in my baby’s room,” Hal says, his voice ragged. “Stay out of there. No one’s allowed inside.”

“Where’s David? Do you let him go in there?” My breathing is harsh, my ears roaring with the sound, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest. “Tell me.”

“I told you. I don’t let anyone in Krista’s room.”

“So where is he?” I don’t know if I believe him. I can sense someone is behind that door. I don’t know if it’s David or Reverie or the both of them but I want inside that damn room. I have to see it for myself to prove it’s empty.

“He flew out of the sliding glass door not two minutes ago.” Hal indicates with his hand before he scratches the back of his head. “What are you boys fighting about now?”

“He took my girl.” I go for the slider and pull it open, walking outside. The yard is small and nothing but mud. And I’m the only one standing on the tiny crumbling cement slab substituting as a patio. David is long gone. I turn to find Hal standing in the open doorway, watching me with bleary eyes. “I need your help, Hal. I need to find Reverie.”

“Reverie? What the hell kind of name is that?” Hal keeps his gaze fixed on me as I walk back into his apartment and shut the sliding glass door. My gaze locks on the door to Krista’s room and the urge to go inside is so strong I can hardly stand it.

“When was the last time you went in Krista’s room?” I ask, making my way there.

“Why, I never go in there. Once, right after she died, I sat on her bed and cried like a baby for hours. It’s sacred ground to me. Too hard for me to go in there right now, it’s just too soon. I can’t take it, seeing her stuff, smelling her smell.” Hal sniffs and wipes at his eyes.

Jesus. I’m going to feel like an asshole if I’m wrong but something is telling me my instincts are spot on. “I need to go in there. I won’t disturb anything but let me at least look, okay? I need to check on something.”

“There’s nothing to check. My Krista is gone.” Hal is full blown crying now, collapsing into a rickety dining chair nearby, the wood creaking from his weight. “I don’t want you in there, Nick. You have no right to be in my baby’s room.”

I defy him. There is just no way I’m not looking in that room. I turn the doorknob, frustrated when I find it’s locked and I slam my shoulder against the wood, again and again.

I’m getting in that room. I’ll feel like a dumbass if I’m wrong but…

I don’t think I’m wrong.

“Stop!” Hal cries, rushing toward me. He grabs at my shoulders but I’m stronger than him and I shrug him off, hitting the door again, my shoulder aching, my arm throbbing. The wood starts to splinter, encouraging me to keep going and I barge into the door at full force, triumph surging inside of me when the frame cracks and the door swings open.

Reverie’s sitting on her knees in the center of Krista’s bed, her arms bound behind her back, duct tape covering her mouth. Her eyes are wide above the strip of metallic gray tape, and I can hear her muffled screams. I rush toward her, my heart stalled in my chest, seeing her like this. “Baby,” I whisper, reaching for her.

“Not so fast.” A hand snags around the waistband of my sweatpants, pulling me backward and right into fucking David himself. He must’ve been standing on the other side of the door, just waiting for me to bust it open. “Look at you, running in here like the hero you should’ve been for Krista.”

I turn to glare at him, my heart falling to my gut when I see he has a knife in his hand, the light from above glinting off the steel of the blade, showing off just how sharp it is. “Let her go. This isn’t about her. It’s about you and me,” I tell him after taking a deep breath, trying to keep my voice calm. I don’t want to agitate him more. He could hurt her.

Or me.

“No way am I letting her go. She’s as perfect as a picture, sitting there bound and gagged, driving you crazy. It drives you crazy, right? Seeing her like that?” I say nothing and he scowls, pissed that he didn’t get a reaction I’m sure. “You took something from me so I’m going to take something from you. Only fair, I say.” He smiles and lifts the blade so he can stare at his reflection. “Your silly virgin is dumber than I thought. It was so easy, grabbing her.”

I remain silent, sliding Reverie a quick look. She’s struggling against the ties that bind her wrists, tears streaming down her cheeks. My heart breaks just looking at her. I didn’t protect her. I wasn’t there to save her from this maniac just like I didn’t save Krista either.

“I should take that back, calling her a virgin. She’s nothing but a little slut now that you’ve fucked her a few times.” David makes a tsking noise and shakes his head. “Shame it’s going to have to end so soon.”

My blood is boiling and I swear my head is about to explode. I can’t stand what he’s saying about Reverie but I refuse to react. That’s exactly what he’s looking for.

“Don’t have anything to say? Interesting. Well, if you must know, after everything that happened with Krista, I knew I had to do something to get back at you. That entire night didn’t go as planned and I regret so much what happened. It’s all your fault you know, that she’s gone.”

“Who?” I squint at him, noticing how frantic he appears. He’s looking all around the room, at Krista’s belongings, taking note of all of it. It’s almost like she’s still alive, what with her clothes still strewn everywhere, a bunch of makeup littered on the top of her dresser, along with various perfume bottles and hair stuff. Posters on the wall and photos of her and her friends stuck to the mirror.

Even a picture of the three of us; me, Krista and David, our arms around each other with Krista standing in between us, most likely taken before David and I were first thrown in jail.

A lifetime ago.

“Krista!” Her name explodes from his lips, making me flinch, and he starts to pace the room, running his fingers over everything he can touch. “I haven’t been in here since that night. When I came to see her.”

My entire body goes still. “You saw her that night?”

“I was with her the entire night.” He throws his hands up into the air, a smile curling his lips for the briefest moment. “Almost had her convinced she didn’t need you either. She was so damn stuck on you. Always had been. I’m the one she used. She would actually say that to my face, like some sort of heartless bitch. That made me so mad and she knew it. You’re the one she really wanted and I gotta admit, that drove me fucking crazy, Fairfield. I wanted to be the one she needed and I told her that but she wouldn’t listen.”

“What did you do, David?” I don’t know if I want to know, if I want to hear this. But I have to. For me. For Hal. For Reverie.

“I fucked her, right where your little girlfriend is tied up, right in the middle of her squeaky bed. We went at it for hours since Hal was gone, out drinking like usual. I worked hard to please her that night. So damn hard. I wanted to erase you from her memory once and for all but she just smiled and said she loved me like a friend after it was all over. That killed me.” David hangs his head for a moment, staring at the knife as he turns it this way and that in his hands.

I look at Reverie again, trying to tell her with my eyes, my expression, that everything’s going to be all right. I’ll get her out of this. She stares back at me, her chest heaving, the tears still coming down her face, and my heart is fucking ready to burst wide open from the pain seeing her like this causes me.

“After we were done Krista got dressed and did her hair. Redid her makeup. Said she wanted to look pretty just for you. Only for you. I just had sex with her and she was going to you.” David lifts his head, his eyes as black as night, his skin pale. He looks terrible. Scary. “I lost it. Just fucking…lost it. Like a baby I crawled out of bed and begged her not to go. Told her I loved her, said I would do anything for her but she wouldn’t listen. She just wanted to get to you.”

“I never saw Krista that night, David,” I say as a reminder, though I’m pretty damn certain I know what he’s going to say next.

The horror that threatens to consume me is strong. Overwhelming. I need to get Reverie away from him before he does something to her too.

“I know. I never let her leave this room.” He smiles, as if lost in a fond memory. “I tried to block the door so she couldn’t leave to go see you but she shoved me out of the way and I fell to the floor. Didn’t know little Krista was so strong.”

Nausea threatens and I think I’m going to be sick.

“Before she could open the door I lunged for her and tackled her to the ground. She was so soft beneath me, her skirt riding up her thighs as she kicked at me with those sexy high heels she loves to wear. I pinned her down, wrapped my hands around her wrists and pressed them to the floor. She struggled so much, calling me all sorts of names, demanding that I let her go. But I didn’t. I kissed her instead and that’s when things got ugly.” David pauses, imploring me with a look. “She slapped me. Can you believe it? The bitch actually slapped my face as hard as she could. I got so mad I backhanded her, marking her face too. And she just laughed at me.”