The Psycho Is Innocent | ꪜ

Chapter 32: A Mad Man

A R I E L

HOW COULD I have not seen the blatant jealousy? To be honest, it was pretty obvious, yet somehow it slipped from my grasp. Parker doesn't give himself enough credit. The DOD game is brilliant to the point where I don't believe he created it on his own. And if he did all of this for his own entertainment, then he's sicker than I thought. Coming to the conclusion that Parker made the game was slim and probably highly unlikely.

When I confronted him about it, I based my theory on a gamble. Everything I've been doing up until this point is a gamble. They don't make sense, the dots don't connect yet somehow they actually do. I've left this investigation up to chance and fate, letting clues lead me down dead end after dead end. I had to shove my way through cracks just to piece unmatched puzzles together in order to come to a conclusion.

Finding out that Parker was the one behind the game didn't consist of me sitting down and piecing all his encounters with Tobias into one to conclude that he was jealous and in this fit of jealousy he then set Tobias up. No, I just went on a hunch. He invited them over, he stumbled upon the game, he's never participated despite all his friends playing and much like every other person in this suburban town: his family is rich.

All of this could have simply been coincidences and I truly believed they were. But when I saw the look in his eyes when I approached him in the courtyard I could no longer deny that he had something to do with the creation of this game.

I need to see him.

I need to see Tobias.

I'm still not sure if he isn't allowed any visitors but I'm hoping for the sake of my sanity they've unlifted that ban. I have to see him. I need to let him know that I'm one step closer to bringing him home. I slipped off my bed and grabbed my phone from the dresser. I'm still grounded considering the events that occurred over the past few days but my parents know they can't keep me locked up inside even if they tried.

My mom is stuck at the hospital in emergency surgery and my father is blacked out from a long week of work. With the reassurance that they won't be able to bother me, I climbed down the stairs and began to head for the front door before the sight of a dark silhouette in the corner of the living room caught my attention. I tip-toed towards the entrance and caught sight of my sister sitting before the fireplace with her knees tucked to her chest and her chin against her knees.

"Adele?" At the sound of my voice, she flinched. Why would she flinch? "Adele, don't let me call you twice." She shifted her head to the side but remained glued to her spot. Knowing that she wouldn't make the effort to answer, I sauntered across the room and crashed down onto my knees beside her. When I did so, she snapped her head away, trying but failing to escape my burning gaze.

"Who in the hell did that to your face?" I growled deeply. There was a sudden burst of heat in my chest as my eyes penetrated through the black bruise sitting against her cheek. Tears rolled down her face slowly, possibly burning the bruise with every trickle. I was forced to keep my fingers away from my palm in case they penetrated through my flesh if I dared clench my fist. However, my body was trembling with rage to the point where I could hardly raise my hand to touch her face. "W-who did that to you?"

"N-no one! I-I fell on my way here."

"Stop bloody lying to me! Tell me who gave you the bruise and I swear to god I will dig their own grave and bury them in it." Did my blackmailer finally do it? Did they hit me where it hurts? I told myself I had no reason to worry about their petty threats unless they went after my sister. And if it's them—if they were the one who hurt her— they will have hell to pay.