Reyna drove us to Makai's house. I know what she's going through. I've been around death long enough that it becomes nothing to me. Now, that's happening to Reyna. And I hate myself and I hate the killers for taking a pure soul like hers and twisting it into something tainted with apathy. Quite frankly, it's rude and almost irreversible.
The car ride was quiet. I tried to make conversation, but it was hard when our thoughts circled Reyna's dead father. She wasn't particularly upset or mad, nor happy, which was good. She was just...distraught, I think. Reyna's mind is processing death now because her heart has lost its capability to after so many of her close friends have died.
You're the bastard that killed them, I think to myself.
I had no choice, I counter.
We always have a choice.
I glance at Reyna, her eyes focused on the road but her mind elsewhere. She sighs every now and then, or sometimes she'll shake her head, but it's not about anything she wants to talk about.
"We could stay at my old place upstate," I offer.
Reyna shakes her head. "I need to finish school – physically, not online. I need to come out of this strong."
I nod. In the silence, the call from the killer comes333 back to haunt me. They warned Reyna about who she trusts and who she's iced out. Was that a reference to me? She shouldn't trust me with what I've done, but here we are. And if I'm the bad guy in that
situation, then why will Reyna pay for it instead of me? It isn't fair, but then again, matters like this never are.
"What are you thinking about?" Reyna asks me, eyes sliding from the road and to me for a brief moment.
"The end of all of this. You?"
"I'm just trying to wrap my mind around the fact that if I stayed in the house today, I might've been the dead one."
"But you weren't."
"Yeah, my dad was. And now I'm worried. Before, I worried about how I was going to deal with all of this death if everyone I loved kept passing away. Then, I was worried about my paranoia eating me alive. Now, I'm worried that I'm incapable of feeling anything. My dad's dead and I hardly care. I keep processing the facts and viewing it like it didn't happen to me."
I take a moment to gather an appropriate response. "That's how survivors think," I assure. "They process it like a crime scene rather than a tragic incident. This way, they can get to the bottom of things quicker than most. You're not some apathetic monster, Rey."
"I hope not," she sighs, pulling into Makai's driveway. She parks and looks over at me before getting out. "Promise me something," she demands.
"Anything," I respond like the hopelessly lost puppy around her finger that I am.
"No matter how I change by the end of this, stay with me. You don't have to for forever, but long enough until I can stand on my own two feet, okay?"
"Reyna," I render, rolling my eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. Got it?"
Finally, she smiles after what seemed like an eternity. "Thanks," she whispers.
Part of me wants to tell her that it's me who should beg for mercy. That it's me who should ask her to stay with me when all of this is over. Because whether it's on my own schedule or not, Reyna is bound to find out what I've done. I broke her middle finger. I slashed Della. I strangled Hanzo. I slit Adriano's throat. She already knows I tortured her brother, and then I thought she was through with me for sure. When she finds out I actually killed these people, she might just murder me.
But back then, we didn't know how much we needed each other. Back then, I hid my life from Reyna. Maybe if she knows that I did it all for her, that if I killed people so she wouldn't be killed, she could find some way to forgive me. It'll take time, I'm sure, but we can work things out. We're engaged and meant for each other, this stuff can just buff out over time, right?
I sure hope so.
We walk around to the back of the house, where a fire has already started. Maren hops up and immediately embraces Reyna in a forceful hug. "Rey, I'm so sorry."
Reyna pats her back, feeling awkward in the situation. Ozzy joins and gives her an even more awkward side hug. Kellin gives her a nod, which I think Reyna was grateful for. Coming to us is Makai, whose glower at me is even more scalding than the fire he created. "Hey," he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "How are you?"
"I've been a lot worse," she says.
The two of us walk to the fire and Reyna twists her ring so the diamond isn't out to the world. She doesn't want the extra attention I know she's dying to avoid. Maren and Ozzy sit together on a log, Reyna and I on another, and Makai and Kellin on the third.
I grab Reyna and me a beer from the cooler. "Did I say you could drink my alcohol?"
Makai asks, gritting his teeth.
"Did I say that I cared about your permission?" I retort, popping the tops and tossing them in the fire.
Ozzy shakes his head as he puts his golden hair in a bun. As Reyna and I take a sip of our drinks, Ozzy says, "I can't believe he was just viciously stabbed."
Reyna and I stop drinking mid-gulp and flash each other a side-eye. Maren elbows him in the ribs and whispers something to him. Who told Oscar about Mr Copulas getting stabbed? All that was said to him was that the guy was dead.
"Yeah," Reyna unsurely says, thinking she probably told Oz or Maren about the scenario.
But I'm not sold. "And they took his blood like he was an animal," I barrel on.
"Coldblooded," Ozzy agrees, nodding.
"And when they took out his intestines..."
"They didn't take out his intestines."
I raise an eyebrow at the boy, who responds with, "Oh..."
"So how did you know about everything?" I inquire, leaning towards him to use the intimidating psychopath factor.
"Umm..." Ozzy unsurely looks to Maren, and that's when I know the answer lies with her.
"Maren?" Reyna calls, brows furrowed. "How did you know?"
"That stupid website always has everything up, you know that," she nervously says.
Well, to me she's nervous. But I doubt anyone else picked up the signs of her suddenly tapping foot and dry lips.
"Really? Already?" she sighs in disbelief, pulling her smartphone out to log on.
"Oh, come on, Reyna," Makai exasperates. "You don't really want to see what some
cock-sucker has to say about that, do you?"
Makai is nervous, too. There's something they all know that we don't and it's almost unsettling. I say almost because, at this point, we've all been through much worse. If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that things can definitely always be better... but things can also be a hell of a lot worse.
"What if I do?" Reyna challenges, fingers working fast on her screen. Maren and Oz exchange wary glances with each other, but Kellin seems totally confused about their sketchy behaviours.
"You shouldn't care what people say about you or your problems," Maren pitches in, trying to sway a decision that Reyna already made.
Reyna gives her a dirty look before asking, "What's this?"
I peer over her shoulder and look at what she's looking at. There's a video, but it isn't of Reyna's father. It's of Maren and Ozzy. Reyna plays the video.
"Maren, I know this sounds twisted, but...what if those killers were Reyna and Enzo?"Ozzy asks in the video. In real life, he flinches at the sound of his voice.
In the video, Maren responds with, "I mean, it makes sense. Reyna's dad wasn't a dad to her after the hospital incident. She could've taken it out on her old man with the help of a psychopath."
Reyna gawks at Maren with betrayal and I find Maren biting her lip. She doesn't want to lose Reyna again, but what kind of friend accuses their friend of murder?
"But what would she have gotten out of killing the others?"
"I don't know! I don't know anything about anyone anymore. I just sit here and watch these things happen without any idea why. I'm already a mess and my family is alive and well. I'm losing it and I'm not even the target here."
The video ends and Reyna stands up, fists tight. "You had cameras in my house?"
"There were already cameras!" Maren defends. "Makai was able to tap into them is all."
Makai sighs with agitation. "Wow, thanks, Maren."
"You were the one who never took the video down," she bites at Kai.
"That firewall was strong! At least I don't accuse Reyna of murder," he renders.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Reyna flips. Wisely, I stay out of this.
"Because you don't talk to me anymore!" Maren shouts. "You shut me out and the only way I can keep up with you is by watching."
"That's demented," Rain accuses, eyes narrowed. "And you," she points at Makai. "You knew about this! You're my brother. I went through hell trying to find you and this is how you repay me?"
"No," Makai snaps. "You went through your boyfriend psychopath. And I didn't think the family had to repay one another, sister dearest."
"That's demented," Rain accuses, eyes narrowed. "And you," she points at Makai. "You knew about this! You're my brother. I went through hell trying to find you and this is how you repay me?" "No," Makai snaps. "You went through your boyfriend psychopath. And I didn't think the family had to repay one another, sister dearest."
"Just out of curiosity..." I start, laying on the log and swaying the bottle over my head, watching the firelight morph with the glass. "Did you watch us have sex?"
"What?" Makai barks. "First of all, ew. Second of all, I've heard just about enough from you. You antagonize us and hide behind my sister's shoulders."
Reyna speaks up on my withdrawn behalf. "Hah! We're nothing alike, Makai. We could be total strangers for all it cared. I'm just about done with you, too. You know I would've never done what you freaks did."
"Reyna, please calm down," Ozzy soothes.
"Ozzy, you came out of nowhere," Reyna hisses. "Aero and I helped you and you stalked us through your stupid website."
"Yeah," I add because I have a beef with Oz. "You literally re-broke your arm to get to know us."
Maren pauses and scans her new boyfriend. "Really?"
If it were physically possible, steam would have come out of his ears. "It was an impulsive decision! I was scared."
"Well, I wasn't there," Maren excuses. "So I would've been, too." Still, Maren scoots an inch away from her boyfriend. Hell, I was freaked by the kid, so she should be, too.
Rey takes a deep breath and watches the flames. "I don't want us to tear each other apart." I sit up so she can sit down. I put an arm around her and realize she's hot. Like, not just because of the fire, but she's feverish. "This incident wasn't my fault. But I still want us to be close."
"Copulas is right," Kellin nods. "This is what the killer would've wanted and they didn't even cause this. We need to stick together now more than ever."
"On that note," Maren picks up. "We saw in the cameras that there are two killers. Ozzy and I...Reyna, we saw him die."
Now, Reyna doesn't even bother to look at Maren. Her eyes are narrowed in hatred and her hand's glimmer with sweat. She's gone extra pale; clammy.
At Reyna's silence, Maren cautiously barrels on. "And according to every slasher film ever created, the grand finale reveal will be tomorrow at Adriano's party."
"Reyna?" I whisper to her, eyes trailing to her dry and chapped lips. "Are you okay?"
"No," she responds, voice hoarse. "I feel like I'm going to pass out."
I notice black veins of blood trickling down her lip. Her eyes flutter shut and she starts to waver side to side. I recognize the symptoms too easily. She's been poisoned. I used to lace drugs and give them to my enemies a long, long time ago. Now, Rey's been drugged with the same product.
"I think I need to go –" Reyna gets cut off by her conscientiousness cutting off. She faints and I catch her before she falls.
"Guys, Reyna passed out!" I call.
"What, did you pressure point her so you could leave?" Makai bites, standing up and coming this way.
"Screw off," I mumble, picking Reyna up and running to her car. Carefully, I place her in the backseat and Makai follows. "How far away is the hospital from here?"
"About an hour," Ozzy fills in.
"She won't make it," I sigh to myself.
"Her hand is freezing," Maren quickly sputters, thrown into panic.
"And occupied," Kellin pitches in.
I furrow my brow. "What?"
I look to Kellin as I get inside the car. She twirls Reyna's ring around that she received only this morning. "I can't believe she agreed," Makai gasps.
"Everyone get in or out," I demand.
"I'll stay with the fire," Ozzy offers. "You guys go!"
Everyone else hops in and I speed backwards before throwing the gear into drive, racing down the street. "Where are we going?" Makai screeches. "Hospital is that way, dickwad."
"We won't make it to the hospital!" I shout back, built-up tension releasing. "We have to go somewhere else."
"Where could that possibly be? Your meth lab?"
"We're both trying to help the same person," I retort. "We're on the same side."
"Were we on the same side when you tortured me? When you left a serrated needle in my gut?"
I laugh at him. Being psychopathic, I don't display emotions of hysteric fury as normal people do. Then again, I don't know if normal people feel hysterically furious...
"No, but we sure were when I saved your ass."
"I'll never be on the same side as you because the only side you care about is your own," Makai accuses.
"Think what you want." I cast a look at Reyna. "Your opinion does not matter to me."
"Hey, Testosterone Drones?" Kellin bluntly calls. "We can settle this later. Reyna is passed out now, so where are we going?"
"Alessa...my mom...used to be a nurse a while back. She'll know what to do."
"How can you be so sure?" Maren worriedly inquires.
Clenching my jaw, I answer. "Because I've been poisoned like Reyna has, too."
"How could anyone have ever wanted to poison you?" Makai snarls.
For once, I decide to let the comment go. Kellin was right – Reyna is a priority. Not the differences between Makai and me. But that doesn't stop me from giving the kid a dirty look