Chapter 23
Cassie's POV
The door to the farmhouse creaked and then banged shut. Only then did I allow my eyes to open; not that it was of any use then, since the room had resumed its darkness.
I called out to the newcomer, "Who is it?"
His cries faded away and he replied, "J-Jake."
Oh, no! Jake was here! Why? He was working for the Devil. Had something happened? Had I said too much?
"Cass, what did you tell her?" he asked.
"I-I didn't say much. I swear I thought she was Kay. I didn't know..."
"What. Did. You. Tell. Her," he repeated bitterly.
I winced when I heard the hatred in his voice. But I replied, "I said t-that you told me you had reasons for doing all this... But you hadn't given me the reasons. And I said that..." I couldn't continue. It was too embarassing.
"What else did you say, Cassie?" he asked.
"She pressed on and I was afraid. I had to say something so I made up whatever came to my mind. I couldn't-" He cut me off.
"What did you tell her?" he shouted.
A shiver ran down my spine at his tone. He was beyond angry. It sounded like he would kill me if I didn't reply immediately.
"I told her that you said you love me," I said.
"God, damnit! Was there no other excuse in the world? None, whatsoever?" he said.
"Why? What did she think?" I asked.
He sighed and said, "She thought I loved her."
"Did you? Was that the reason you did all this for her?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "I did all this because my grandmother was kidnapped by her. She had put her here and called me. She said that if I wanted her back I would have to do as she says. One wrong move and she'd be dead."
"Why were you crying when you entered?"
"Because that exactly what happened. She tortured my grandmother with every kind of weapon I've ever heard of, and then she shot her point blank. In front of me."
"I'm so sorry, Jake... I can't believe she'd do all this. Why..? How..?"
"I don't know much. As far as I know, she found out that Kayley was her sister a few months ago. Then she came here to meet her and all. But she came here and saw that Kayley had everything she didn't; loving parents, friends, money... An education. She never went to school. I don't know much about her family, but I'm pretty sure they're just like her. So when she came here and saw all that, she was filled with jealousy. Actually, anybody would be jealous. Tan could very well have been in Kay's place."
"What happened? I mean, was Kay adopted, or did her parents want only one child, or... What?" I asked.
"I don't know. But either way, Tan could have been in her place."
"Her name is Tan?"
"That's what she asked me to call her."
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Whatever her parents have done to her, she's hated them for. All of that hate has now been projected towards Kay. God knows what she's going to do when she kidnaps her."
"She killed Marc, you know," he said.
"When?" I asked.
"Just now," he replied.
I bit my lips nervously as I thought about what she wanted to do to me. Had she brought me here to torture me? What pleasure did she get from torturing people? What had she gone through that made her so heartless?
"That's what she's going to do to me too, isn't it? And you..," I said.
He replied, "You, probably. But me? No. She's going to make me live with all the pain. The pain of three attempted murders, pain of guilt, the pain of loneliness... That's what she wants. She will torture me, but not to death."
"I'm so sorry, Jake. I'm really very sorry about everything. I wish I could've helped. I wish I could stop all this..."
"Hey, don't be. What has to happen, happens. We couldn't stop it if we wanted to. Now, I'd rather you smile in your last few hours here, than feel sorry."
Silence filled the room for a while. However, Jake soon said, "So the other guy, he's your boyfriend?"
"Yeah," I said, thinking about Jay. I didn't know what he was going through right now, but I hoped it wasn't bad.
"New Yorker huh? You've upped your game." he replied, making me laugh.
I smiled and said, "Hey, for what it's worth, your body was the best last thing I wanted see on the planet." There was no use of being embarrassed to admit it. I was dying in a while. I had no time to be embarrassed.
Jake laughed lightly in response to that. "Not my idea," he said.
Jake and I talked for a while about silly things, like celebrities, sports and everything around the world except the situation we were in. It was easier this way. I got to think about something other than my death and he was really good company.
Before long, I heard footsteps approach the door. I pretended to sleep again, although I knew it wouldn't work this time.
I heard the door creak open and two people walked in. I wanted to make sure Jay was okay, so, when both of then seemed to be far enough inside the room, I opened one eye and peaked at him from behind the pole I was tied to.
They were both towering over Jake. I wondered what she was going to do to him while a little voice in my brain asked me why Jay was right there with her, in seemingly perfect condition.
"Let's get started on him while her drugs wear off," Tan said... To Jay.
"Oh, no need. She's wide awake," he turned towards me and my eyes widened in shock. Jay was with her. Jay, my East Coast Dream, my saviour, my brother's most trusted, was walking me to my grave!
Tears made their way out of my eyes as I simply couldn't move out of shock. I didn't know why I was reacting like this. In ad been through this before, with Jake. But this time... I just felt crushed. I hardly knew Jake, but Jay was important to me. I had always hated Jake, but Jay was too sweet to hate.
For how long had this been going on? Had she just lured him in? Because, he seemed fine when she took him. Had she threatened him, too?
Yeah, that must be it! She had threatened to kill his dad! That had to be it!
While I was lost in my thoughts and sorrow, Tan had turned around, towards me, and seen me wide awake, in a pool of my tears.
"Aha," she said. "Cheeky, aren't you? Come along, let's see how far your trickery gets you." She headed towards me and undid the clasp on my hands. I tried to calm myself down silently, thinking that Kay would alert the police again and maybe they'd get me. But the prospect was bleak. They wouldn't be able to find us here, wherever this place was.
So, ultimately, I wiped my mind clean. And while I exited the room, I heard Jake say, "Maybe in another life, Cass." And I smiled at that.
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