Intimate Stranger (Editing)

Chapter 25: Katie

Tears threatened to pour from my eyes and cascade down my cheeks for the thousandth time that night. I took a deep breath, rejecting them. I had to be strong.

Just as I was about to open my eyes and do my business so I could leave the bathroom, a hand was suddenly clamped over my mouth and I screeched, my eyes opening wide in terror and shock.

--

Julia

Julia sat on the floor, squirming because she had to use the bathroom. What's taking Katie so long? She asked herself. It felt like she was gone for ten minutes when in reality it couldn't have been more than three minutes.

Sam and Mary were talking about something but she wasn't paying attention. Julia couldn't believe her sister got her into this mess. If only she had slept over at Brittany's house like she was supposed to. Right now she could have been gossiping and talking about boys with her friend late into the night. But then... Katie would have been stuck in this all by herself and Julia wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. Not that she could stop it now...

"Where's Katie? Did she fall into the toilet and drown or something?" Sam said, and Julia frowned at the morbidity of her words. Kind of a weird thing to say, Julia thought to herself.

"Maybe she's trying to come up with a way to get us out of this," Julia suggested on a whim.

"Are you kidding?" Mary snapped, "Did you hear what Steve said before she left? He's seriously not going to take anymore shit from us. Look what he did to Sabrina and Trace."

Julia winced. The girl had a point. "I don't know about you," Mary continued, "But I'm not going to risk it."

Steve had left the bedroom door open and suddenly they could hear him approaching and see the shadow of his monstrous figure on the hallway wall. He stepped in and looked mad, "Why do I hear talking in here?" He scolded.

Sam and Mary went quiet immediately, but before Steve left again, Julia mumbled, "When's Katie coming back?"

He scoffed, "Pretty fucking quick." He left the room shouting, "YOU HEAR THAT KATELYN? You better fucking hurry up!" Followed by what sounded like Steve pounding his fist on the bathroom door.

It seemed like Steve was getting impatient with everything. Nothing was going as planned and he was starting to panic. What does that mean for us? Julia wondered, dread forming in the pit of her stomach.

Another question that plagued Julia's mind was why Steve was giving Katie special treatment. Yes, Steve raped Julia, but she didn't have cuts like Katie did. Julia wondered if she would ever find out the answers. Until then, all she could do was let things play out and hope Katie came back soon because she couldn't hold it for much longer.

--

William

 Will glanced at his partner from his peripheral vision and asked,"So, where are we headed?" As they turned off that street.

She pulled something out of her pocket and recited an address for an apartment in Fort Worth, which was about thirty minutes away from Dallas, where they were. "The chief gave me the address while you were with Lilah," Ella explained.

"Could you--" Will started, but Ella cut him off, knowing what he was about so ask. So she punched the address into the GPS.

A silent car ride followed for the next ten minutes, until Ella questioned, "So, what do you think the story is with this guy?"

"Not sure," Will answered, "He doesn't seem to have thought his plan out very thoroughly, which suggests his actions aren't encouraged by logic. Most likely he has some sort of mental disorder."

"Do you think he's been influenced by drugs?" She asked.

He responded, considering this, "It's a definite possibility."

Soon they moved onto a new subject, and Alexandra asked him, curiously, "How's the wife?"

Will grinned, glad to be on a topic that was familiar and comforting to him, "Good, good," he told her, "We're thinking about getting pregnant."

Will was oblivious to Ella's not so subtle reaction of disappointment. He never noticed that she had feelings for him. He was so in love with Elizabeth. She responded, forcing a smile, "Congratulations."

"Thanks Elle," he said, smiling.

"Are you going to take some time off then?"

He shrugged, "We haven't really discussed it yet," he said, "We're still in the early stage, y'know."

"Right."

Suddenly the distorted voice of the GPS spoke up, "You have reached your destination."

Will looked up out the window at the apartment building as he coasted into a parking space, "Looks like we're here," Alexandra said, stating the obvious.

"You ready?" He asked her after he killed the engine.

"Yup," she nodded, opening her door and climbing out.

They trudged up to the building and hit the buzzer for the girl's apartment number. "Yes?" They heard the voice on the other end answer after several minutes.

"Hello, Miss. Belmont?" William spoke.

"Yes?" The woman said again.

"Sorry to disturb you so early in the morning, but my name detective Finley from the Dallas police department and my partner detective Emerson. "May we have some of your time?"

The woman sounded flustered and tired, "Uhm, what is this about?" She asked.

"We'd like to talk to you about Daniel Kennedy."

"Oh, um, come on up then," she answered, unsure. Though she didn't sound surprised. She must have talked to a myriad of police by now.

The two took the elevator to her floor. When they reached their destination, they crept quietly down the hallway so as not to disturb other residents.

They found the right room and William took the liberty of knocking. When the door opened, William saw something he definitely wasn't expecting.

The woman answered the door in a robe with her hair slightly messy from sleep, but it looked like she tried to fix it up a little for them. Despite her dishevelled appearance, there was an unmistakable familiarity to her.

William knew what it was.

She was much older and mature, but Katheryn Belmont bore an uncanny resemblance to none other than Katelyn Morris.

"The weak have one weapon: the errors of those who think they are strong."

-Georges Bidault