[ CHAPTER 32 : DARE #EVIL : ❝when i was younger you knew me better. but now i'm old and grey, i often wonder about your lovers and why they went away. so easily distracted, seldomly in love. i don't know if i want to move slower, cause i've learned and because i'm getting older. the devil spoke so i leaned a little closer, finding truth is like fighting heavy shoulders. you beg for chances, long walks, and glances. my darling i can't relate. believe the liars, follow the crowd, and regret while we lay.❞ ]
★★★★★
PARKER'S MOUTH DRIES AS Leo and her walk down the cold concrete streets of Arcadia. Before they had left Nico's house, he had given her his coat to keep her warm, and stolen one of Nico's from off the hook for himself without a second thought. Her mind continues to swirl in thought as she has absolutely no clue on what to say. She doesn't even know what Leo heard; if he heard anything at all. Not to mention she's not really good at gagging Leo's emotions. The boy, for one thing, is an enigma who's pretty good at hiding anything and everything having to do with how he really feels.
"Man, I wish it was earlier," The boy mutters with a frown. Parker lifts her gaze to watch as he shakes a hand through his messy bedhead hair. He sends her a dazzling smile, one she has to look away from because it forces a blur onto her eyes. "We could've gone for frozen yogurt." Parker's lips perk into a small smile, how did he remember that? It was so long ago when they had a conversation about their likes and dislikes.
A sigh echoes out of her mouth as she treks a hand through her hair. Her frustrations from earlier with Nico still sit festering in her brain driving her nuts. He has the right to feel whatever he wants, but she doesn't like that he took it out on her. It makes her feel like she should've believed a little bit about what Cameron had said about him. That he has anger issues, she can believe that considering the way he reacted earlier.
"So, what happened with you and Nico?" The boy asks while sweeping his hood over his head, covering up his face. "Lovers quarrel?" He asks while laughing and knocking his shoulder into hers. Parker's eyebrows furrow, he didn't hear what happened? She could've sworn that he had heard. The way he looked at her like he had even heard the tapes made her feel like she was suffocating. It's bad enough she has to deal with Nico's emotions, and Cameron's distaste―she doesn't want to have to deal with Leo too.
Parker throws her hair over her shoulder and tries to hide her lies by slipping the hood of the jacket over her head. "We fought," The girl awkwardly shrugs, even laughing a little (albeit not amused). Peeking up at Leo, he stares straight ahead and keeps his arms crossed over his chest. Parker drops his gaze from him, and nibbles on her lower lip. "Leo," The girl reaches out, her hand coming to grip onto his wrist, stopping him from walking any further.
He looks down at her, his eyebrow lifted in question, urging her to say something. Different emotions run down her spine like a chill, making her shake uncontrollably as her hand clenches his wrist a little tighter. "I can't really explain everything, I-I don't want to get you involved with anything that could get you hurt; stuff is happening with Nico and I and," The girl swallows down her blaring thoughts, shaking her head out of the words that fly into her mind threatening to spill out of her mouth before she can stop herself. Leo's face transforms into confusion as his hand reaches up to grip at her shoulder, his fingers pushing into her skin, and it stings but she doesn't push him away―just continues before she regrets saying anything in the first place. "I don't know what's going to happen from here on out, but you don't need to get involved―just please, don't try and figure it out. Don't try and help me or Nico. If anything, keep your distance, for your own safety."
"Parker," Leo calmly says as he reaches his other hand up to grip at her shoulder, his thumb pressing into her clavicle bone. "Calm down, you're not making any sense."
The girl shakes her head and tries to hold back her ridiculous tears that wish to fall. "I am making sense, you just don't understand," She cries, her whole body shaking in anxiety. She wants him to understand but how can he when she's lied since the beginning? Never once did she give him a chance to learn. It makes her feel ridiculous for even thinking he'd understand. He won't. She doubts that even when it's over―if that's even possible―that he won't believe her when she explains what's been happening since the beginning of the semester. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to make this clear without spilling everything and putting you in danger."
"Parker, just tell me that you're okay."
The girl sniffles and nods despite her conscious screaming at her to say otherwise; because right now, nothing is okay. She is definitely not okay. "Okay," Leo mutters as he reaches up and pats her head, his fingers threading through her hair. "Then come on." His hand slips down from his shoulder to catch hers, and without a second a thought, drags her down the sidewalk before she can say 'no'.
Leo drags her around the corner of Nico's house to a small children's park. One with a sandbox, and a swing set. The two walk through the grass leading up to the swing's and Parker can spot cigarette buds and candy wrappers strewn across the ground. Teenagers must've been through here: most likely middle schoolers. "What are we doing here?" Parker asks as she watches Leo take a seat on one of the swings.
"You need to have a little fun, so, come on," He pats the swing beside him, and with a huff, Parker takes it. Her hands wrap around the chains on either side of the seat before swinging back and forth slowly with her feet dusting against the dirt below her. "When was the last time you've relaxed?"
Parker shrugs, "Not in a long while."
"Not since your grandmother?" He questions.
The girl swings a little faster, gripping the chains even tighter. Her grandmother is still a touchy subject to which her feelings are still jumbled. Hell, even talking about her parents sets her on edge. "Even longer than that," She comments to which he lets out a breath as his eyes turn to look down at his hands. "It feels like a lifetime; I guess, in retrospect, this must sound seriously stupid to you."
Leo sighs, "No, I've known something was weird with you since the first day we met," Parker slides her gaze toward him finding him just sitting in the seat while she continues swinging back and forth. "I don't know what's going on with you. In the beginning I was just hoping whatever it was, you'd get over it. Only, you haven't and I feel like it's gotten worse." His feet graze against the dirt again, a melancholy aura surrounding him that forces a breeze to collide with Parker's body. Chilling her further.
"I wish I could tell you." She mutters.
Leo nods, "Me too."
★★★★★
CAMERON SCOWLS AT THE sight of Leo beside Parker the next morning at school. At some point, late into the night, Leo had walked Parker home and snuck her into her bedroom without her parents noticing. (And if they did, they said nothing in the morning). Instead of Cameron picking her up like normal, Leo was outside her house with his pastel blue Jeep, waiting for her. She couldn't say no to a ride, it's not like she could trust Cameron to show up. Seeing as the blonde always seems to be mad at her for reasons she can't pinpoint.
"What's he doing here?" The girl demands as her hand slams her locker door shut.
Parker sends her an awkward smile, "He drove me."
"You should've walked."
Leo sends the brunette a look before he's heading off down the hallway and away from the two girls. Parker clears her throat as she looks back at Cameron. The blonde just looks flat out annoyed as she watches Leo disappear into the crowd of people. Parker doesn't even know what to say. Cameron twists back to look at her, her icy blue eyes glaring at her. "Seriously Parker, why are you still hanging around him? Things are getting serious, and you could risk everything if he finds out." The girl shoots her another look and Parker just barely dodges the arrows flying out of her eyes to shoot the brunette in the head. How does this girl handle this much anger? It's honestly crazy.
"Right now, does it really matter?"
Cameron scoffs, "Of course it does," Parker gathers her books and patently watches as Cameron shuffles her own books between her arms. "What you're doing, uncovering stuff about the game, it's dangerous and if they find out―"
"They won't find out," Parker interrupts as she shuts her locker door. "I'm pretty sure it's not even a they, I think it's a he." Cameron and her walk through the halls, bypassing hordes of students struggling to grab their things before dodging into their classrooms. The two girls take things slow, knowing full well that things may get a little more complicated when they reach their classes. Dare number five is on its way and who knows what this one will do to them?
"You think it's your therapist?" Cameron questions.
Parker shrugs, "If it's not him, he's definitely involved―he practically killed Sofía, I'm probably next on the list," The girl pauses as they come to a stop outside Parker's chemistry class. "Besides, don't you think it's a little odd that he somehow managed to become both Sofía therapist and mine? He practically begged my parents, at first they wanted a female therapist but settled on him because of how he advocated for himself." Cameron lets out a breath as her shoulders sort of slump. Parker wonders what's going on in her brain. Most of the time she can pinpoint an idea but right now, Cameron only looks scared. Scared of what? They're uncovering the truth which should lead to it being less scary, right?
Or is it scarier because now the realization sets in that the true monster behind the game is actually human? How evil does one half to be to cause so detriment to teenagers? "You think he wants to kill you?" Cameron questions softly, her blue eyes a little less cold as she looks back at Parker.
The brunette shrugs, "If he does, he'll have to work hard."
"Why?"
Parker spares Cameron a smile as she enters the doorway of her class. "I'm not bowing out without a fight, besides the game has been going on for far too long, and if I don't stop it...who will?" Thinking about how long the game has been going on and how many people have suffered. Her own family. Parker turns away from the blonde, moving to walk into her classroom and prepare herself for what's about to come next―only, Cameron stops her.
The brunette glances back at the blonde, finding her hand latched onto her wrist. Parker looks up at Cameron, the blonde's face is a mix of emotion but she mainly looks conflicted. Fighting her inner demons again, Parker supposes. "Is something wrong?"
Cameron lets out a breath and nods, "You need to meet someone." Parker's face scrunches in confusion as Cameron tugs her out of her class before she can say anything or ask for clarification.
"Who?" Parker asks, her interest peaked.
Cameron grabs for her keys out of her purse and forces Parker to jog with her out of the building. Thankfully, Parker's stamina has grown in the past six weeks and she's no longer huffing or puffing or hating to run alongside the girl. "You know how your family, and Heather's family, and Nico's family are connected to the game? Townsend, Turner, and Pérez?" Parker nods, as they hastily fly past their classmates to find themselves in the parking lot. "And I assume you figured out that Victoria is a distant cousin of Heather making her a descendant of the Turner family?"
"Yeah, so what?" Parker questions as they arrive at her car.
Cameron clicks the unlock button as her blue eyes snap up to look at Parker. "I'm also a distant relative of Heather's―she just doesn't know it." The brunette stares at the blonde in awe. Not once did she think Cameron was involved in the family business. The only reason she could pinpoint as to why she was involved was because of her former relationship with Dante who is the half-brother to Leo which makes her some sort of connection to the Pérez family. Now, now she's a Turner?
Parker climbs into the BMW her eyes swarming Cameron's entire rigid body as she starts the car. "You're shitting me, right? You're related to Heather; but, you hate her!" Cameron scoffs as she focuses on backing out of the parking lot.
"So? You personally know that family members can loathe each other," Parker outwardly cringes, her nose turning up and her hands folding into her sweatshirt. Don't think about it, the girl reminds herself. "I hate Heather for many reasons, a lot of it has to do with her family―stuff I'm sure you've yet to figure out with all your research―but besides that, she's a bitch and hard not to hate. So, while Victoria can withstand to wait on her hand and foot, I can't." Parker tilts her head to the side, more family drama. What family in this game doesn't have some sort of drama?
"I have a question," The brunette blurts as she settles into her seat. Cameron side glances her for a minute before beckoning for her to go on with a nod of her blonde head. "If both you and Tori are connected to the Turner family, and Heather is a Turner; and I'm a Townsend―does that mean Olivia, Sunny, and Hailee are connected to the families as well?" Parker never really looked into every connection of each contestant. Her primary focus was on finding out what the hell her therapist had to do with this. Now all seems like it's connected and the Turner family seems to be the root of the issue.
Cameron shrugs, "I don't know much about Sunny, and Hailee...well you see...but I know Olivia is a descendant of the Turner's too," Parker let's out a laugh, Jesus, the Turner's get around, don't they? Cameron shakes her blonde hair out before continuing. "Her great-grandmother was Douglas Turner's maid in the early thirties, soon after he married Edna, he knocked the maid up. She had twin girls, and one of those girls had Olivia's mother and thus..." The girl trails off, giving Parker a knowing look.
"So, Olivia is also your distant cousin?" Parker questions.
Cameron nods, "If I had to imagine, Sunny and Hailee are part of one of the families too. Looking back, each member of the game is a part of the families somehow. Most of us don't know it, unless you look hard enough or know someone who knows."
"Like the person you're taking me to see?"
Cameron nods again, "Yeah."
★★★★★
CAMERON'S HOUSE IS HUGE, even bigger than Liam's or Nico's. It's practically a mansion. A huge white cape cod styled house placed at the top of the hill overlooking White Pine Forest. When Parker gets out of Cameron's BMW, she stares up at the house in complete awe. It must sit on four acres of land, it's ridiculous. "Wow," Parker comments, looking over at the blonde who's completely ignorant to Parker's shock. "Your house is huge."
Cameron nods, "Yeah, it's whatever."
The brunette follows the blonde up her stone pathway leading to concrete steps to the large white door. Cameron takes her shoes off and plants them in a cubby next to the door. Inside the cubby are one other pair of shoes. Woven loafers. Parker follows suit, and takes off her heels before trampling over her own feet to follow after Cameron. "Wow." If the outside of Cameron's house is huge, the inside is bigger. High ceilings, squeaky clean marble floors, expensive looking leather furniture, and lavish paintings hung across white painted walls. How much does her parents make to have such an affluent household?
"This way," Cameron points down a hallway where the marble floors transitions to hardwood. Parker scurries over to it, her socks gliding against the slick floor, nearly forcing her to smash into Cameron. The blonde sends her a scowl, while Parker just hesitantly smiles at her. Second door on the right, Cameron enters and hesitantly Parker does too. It's a carpeted room with rose pink walls. A bed sits in the middle of it, with nothing else but white side tables and a dresser beside it. "Grandma," Cameron calls out as she approaches a floral fabric chair sat in front of a window―an older woman with long grey hair and similar blue eyes to Cameron sits in it. "I'm home early, with a friend."
The greying woman in the chair, swivels around, her floral chair rolling forward before stopping. The woman's blue eyes dance between Cameron and then Parker. Those eyes are just like Cameron's. "Grandma this is Parker," The blonde gestures to her, and awkwardly the brunette smiles and waves. The old woman stares at her harshly―scowls and glares must run in this family. "Parker this is my grandmother―Angelica Turner."
Parker's head tilts to the side as her hand travels up to grip at her chin. Angelica Turner, as in Douglas and Edna Turner's missing daughter thought to have died in a fire when she was four. She's actually alive. Parker gapes at the woman, "Holy shit." Cameron nods, and exasperatedly takes a seat on the woman's bed. Her blonde hair flows over her shoulder, covering up her face and her emotions. Parker shakes her head as her eyes travel back to look at the girl's grandmother. Angelica Turner, the long lost thought to be dead daughter is alive and well in front of her eyes.
"Stop staring," The woman snaps, "Cammy, who is this?"
The blonde sighs, "My mentee."
"The one that lacks respect?" The woman bites back to which Cameron nods. I lack respect? More like Cameron does. The older woman scoffs as she crosses her feet at the ankle. "You should treat my granddaughter better, she doesn't deserve to be treated badly. She's a good girl."
"Grandma," Cameron interrupts, ignoring the woman's harshly directed words toward Parker. "I need you to tell Parker the truth, she wants," The blonde awkwardly stumbles over her words as a fleeting emotion of panic and fear runs over her face. "She wants to end it all."
The older woman glances back at Parker and frowns. She runs a hand down her long greying hair as she uses her other hand to flatten her floral pink and yellow dress. Such bright colors for such a negative acting woman. "My mother and my father didn't get along. My father was much older than her and felt she was too innocent for most of things he wanted to do―he often cheated on her," Parker nods, hence the maid getting pregnant. "My mother hated my father for the mere fact that she blamed him for taking her childhood away. No matter, they married and had three children. And when I was four, they both died in a house fire,"
"My mother set the fire," Parker gasps, her hand moving to cover her mouth. The woman glares at her, probably not enjoying being interrupted but the brunette couldn't hold herself back. Edna killed Douglas, and herself. "Douglas killed her friend in a similar fashion, so she must've found it fitting. She made sure I was in the hands of a family friend―the White's," Parker's eyes move to look at Cameron, one eyebrow propped up in question. The White's, as in Hailee White? "I was raised by them as Angelica White, and never looked back at my real family. I didn't need to, my mother made it clear that my true family was tainted and I deserved a good life. I hear my brother Pete died an evil man, and Montgomery seems the same. My nephew too, evil's rooted in Turner blood―no part in thanks to my father, the bastard."
Parker's mouth dries a little as she leans to where her back hits the wall behind her. "Holy shit," The girl mutters, tracing fingers through her hair. "Holy shit!" Cameron puts her hand up to stop the brunette from saying anything else; she just gestures toward her grandmother.
"The 'game' as you call it, started with my father," The older woman states with a firm nod. Parker nods in agreement, she figured that out from the files...sort of. "Dad was attracted to young girls, and wanted complete control of their emotions, and bodies so he created a system. Each girl would complete a special task, as he liked to call them, and in return he'd give them alcohol, which as you know, was forbidden in the twenties―prohibition and all," The woman covers up her cynical laughter as her blue eyes moves to look at her granddaughter. A shimmering smile on her face before it transforms into a frown when she looks at Parker. "My father played favorites, he liked my mother, Helen, and a girl named Mary. He'd keep them after class and have his way with them, they never fought. How could they? They were girls in the twenties, they weren't allowed a voice, and my father knew that. When mother got pregnant with Pete, father had to marry her. It's curious how the rumors of her being pregnant before marriage never got out," The woman clicks her tongue, and Parker only shrugs.
"Nevertheless, father wanted to continue his game. So, he taught Pete―but Pete was interested more in money, that's why he went into government. I heard from a little bird that he laundered money that old fool, no wonder he died. Montgomery, now he was father's favorite," The old woman shivers, and Cameron instantly fetches a blanket off the bed for her. Wrapping it around the fragile woman's shoulder before she can say no. "Montgomery was only seven when father died, but he taught him the fundamentals of the 'game', and you can thank the evil son of a bitch for how it's turned out today. Mother never wanted it to continue, she hoped killing the old bastard would stop it from furthering, but I suppose she didn't account for Montgomery's love for father."
Parker sighs, "How do you know all this?"
"Are you daft? Of course, mother left a letter," The older woman states rudely, "She gave it to her friend, Emilia White, who gave it to me when I turned twenty. Mother wanted to make sure that I was far, far away from the Turner's when I had it. Why Emilia and her husband Frank even moved us to sunny California before I even caught notion of the letter." Parker nods, that means Angelica didn't have any contact with her family as she didn't live in Arcadia.
"Why did you come back, to Arcadia I mean?"
Angelica shrugs, "I felt it necessary at the time."
"Does, Abraham know you exist?" Parker asks again.
The woman nods, "Of course, why else do you think my granddaughter is caught up in all of this?" The woman pauses to purse her lips and tap her fingers against the arm of her chair. "I can't be sure, but I suppose my nephew takes pleasure in messing with the family history that surrounds my father. Under Montgomery, the game was strictly dealt with girl's unknown to the Turner family but Abraham must've changed it around when his father gave him the torch."
Parker lets out a breath as she leans against the wall again. Her mind still racing. "So, this whole thing started as a way to gain power over helpless underage girls?" Glancing back at the old withering woman, she nods.
"And now it's a game to repeat history." Cameron mutters.
Parker takes in a large huff of air before letting it out; watching as it turns into a haze in front of her face before dissipating. Cameron told her to wait outside while she talked to her grandmother for a moment, and Parker agreed. Angelica must be exhausted from all that storytelling, Lord knows Parker's exhausted just from hearing about it. It's a lot of information to take in, a lot of evil to take in. Who knew that humans could be so cruel? For her, she's only beginning to believe it. It's hard to digest.
From the inside of her pant pocket, her phone buzzes. "Shit," She mutters. She got too caught up in the moment that she completely forgot about the game itself. Today is Monday. Today she has another dare. Sighing, she lifts her phone out of her pocket and opens the text up. "Oh my god." The words tumble out of her mouth as she stares at the screen wafting in front of her face.
A picture of Nico bruised and battered, the entirety of his right eye bulges with a sizzling red burn. He looks like he's barely even awake as his body is slumped while his wrists are bound with roped tied tightly to a hook nailed into a ceiling.
[ UNKNOWN ]: I think it's time we talked.
★★★★★
[ AN ]:
TWO THINGS I'D LIKE TO SAY:
1. The Dare Games, I guess, is now a featured story on Wattpad. I recently got inboxed about it and I honestly can't believe it. I'm honestly extremely humbled by it, as I never believed this story had a chance at even getting the recognition it has gotten. Not to mention how many views, votes, and comments it has recieved. It makes me a little teary eyed. As my way of saying thanks, I have gifted you this chapter which has taken me almost a week to plan and create. I hope you liked it.
2. I honestly can't believe I'm saying this but The Dare Games is almost over. There are only a handful of chapters (I can't be sure as I may split them) left and a few extra bonus chapters to fill in the gaps I decided to edit out of some chapters. I will also be posting a chapter that includes a sort of fun fact section that shows the differences between the old story and the re-edited one (because it's quite a big difference) which I thought would be kind of fun to put together and for you all to read.
Anyways, I'm extremely thankful to all of you who have decided to stick around with this story or have just now begun reading it. It has been quite a long journey to get to his point where I'm content with my writing, and also the story itself, and to even say it's coming to an end soon is just mind blowing. Again, thank you! I seriously wouldn't be here, in this position with this story, without all of your help.
😘 😭