One Year Ago
There was a knock on my door, waking me from my slumber. I almost didn't get it, but decided I probably should. I sighed, pulling myself out of bed to open my bedroom door. To my surprise, Damien stood there, watching me.
"Uh, hey," I said uncomfortably. "What are you doing here?"
"Can I come in?" he asked.
I didn't really want him to. Actually, that was a lie--I really wanted him to. That was the problem. "Um, sure, I guess. Is something wrong?"
He stepped into the room and walked over to my bed. I sat down next to him, but tried not to get too close. Not after I discovered how I really felt about him.
"My Dad and I..." Damien started. "We got into a fight."
"Again?" I asked. "How bad was it this time?"
"He...he hit me again," Damien said. "I guess I deserved it, but still."
"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "Is there anything I can do?"
Damien shook his head. "Not really. I just don't know what to do. I'm so freaking lost right now." He placed his head in his hands, sighing. "What should I do?"
I had no idea. "You can stay here for now if you want," I said. "But you'll have to sleep on the floor. Either that or you can have the bed."
Damien's eyes met mine, and for a moment, it felt as though we were the only two people on the planet. "Why can't we sleep in the same bed? It's big enough. We always used to when we were kids."
My stomach churned at the thought. "I'll sleep on the floor."
***
Mondays were never my favorite, but I loathed it even more after the events of the weekend. I spent a majority of the day ignoring Matt, who kept trying to text me and get me to talk to him. When lunch rolled around, I hid away in the bathroom, hoping that would keep him off my back.
It wasn't that I didn't want to see Matt. I just had to keep him safe. If I kept him out of the picture, there was a good chance the killers would stay away from him. At least I hoped.
The school had grief counselors to help students get of the loss of Clary. It was sort of funny--in not-humorous way--just how many people appeared to be grieving. When someone dies, everyone suddenly starts to pretend they actually care. No one ever really hated Clary, but we were the only friends she really had.
When school ended, I headed home to find Matt's car in my driveway. I almost kept driving instead of pulling up, but it wasn't like I had anywhere to go. I pulled up beside him, parked the car, and got out to head inside.
"Josh, wait," Matt said, getting out of his car to follow me. "We should talk."
"There's nothing to talk about," I said. I reached for the door handle on my door, swung it open a bit harder than anticipated, and stepped inside. Just as I was about to close it on Matt's face, he stepped inside, too.
"Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked.
Did he really have to ask such a question? Ignoring him, I walked into the kitchen to look for a snack.
"Josh," Matt said, following me. "You can't ignore me forever."
"Of course I can," I said.
"Why won't you answer my question?"
I groaned. "God, you don't get it, do you? Everyone around me keeps getting hurt. Damien, Haven, Clary. Brandon's now in the hospital because of me and--"
"I didn't know about the Brandon thing," Matt interrupted. "You're obviously keeping something from me, and I'm pretty sure I deserve to know. Regardless, I still want to be your friend and you pushing me away isn't going to change that."
"Why are you so determined?" I asked.
Matt smiled a little. "I would have thought it was obvious by now, but maybe now."
My pulse started racing. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Matt stepped a bit closer into the kitchen. I pushed back against the counter without even realizing it. "You think people don't know, but the truth is, I do. I've known since the second I saw you, and I've been crushing on you pretty much the entire time."
I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped. I couldn't do this. I certainly couldn't confirm his suspicion. "Care to fill me in on what you think you know about me?"
"I know that you're gay," Matt said nonchalantly. "I also know you had feelings for Damien. It's pretty obvious when you talk about him." He put his hands in his pockets. "I'm assuming no one around here knows. Eden might, but Brandon sure doesn't, and neither did Clary."
"How...?" I couldn't even finish the question.
Matt shrugged. "I'm not as clueless as everyone thinks."
I never got the clueless vibe from him, but the fact that he could piece this all together after only knowing me for a little while was impressive. In a terrifying sort of way.
"I came by because I've been wanting to ask you out," Matt said, not waiting for a response from me. "If you say no, that's completely okay. We don't have to make anything official. Maybe we could just do something together."
Unsure of what to say, I continued leaning against the counter, watching him. Did I really want to go out with him? It wasn't that he was ugly, because like I said, he was not. He was one of the most attractive guys I'd ever met, and was also very kind to me, even if I didn't deserve it.
But I had to keep him safe. No matter what, he couldn't get involved.
Then again, he was probably involved anyway, like Eden said, whether I wanted him to be or not. Pushing him away could make it worse.
"Uh...sure," I said, trying to force some enthusiasm. "Sure, I'll go on a date with you."
Matt smiled at me. "Is tonight okay?"
"Sure," I said. "I'll be ready. Where should we go?"
"I don't really know," Matt laughed. "You've lived here longer than I have."
"We'll figure something out," I said, smiling. "I'll see you then."
When Matt left, I stood in the kitchen for a few more minutes, thinking about everything that happened just now. I was actually going on a date. With a guy. A guy who wasn't Damien.
I pulled out my phone, dialing Eden's number. She picked up right away.
"Eden, come over. We have some things to talk about."
***
Eden came over about an hour later. After telling her what happened with Matt, she smiled.
"That's adorable!" she said.
I groaned. "Yeah, don't even get me started. Anyway, how's your day been?"
"Well, speaking of romance," Eden said. "I found out that my father started seeing this woman. Her name's Ashley or something like that. She apparently has a kid that goes to our school."
"Oh, really?" I asked.
"And it gets even better," she said. "They're apparently moving in."
"Oh?" That was the only response I could even give to that. "And how long have they been seeing each other?"
"Since before school started," Eden said, crossing her arms. "What I'd love to know is why he feels the need to see a woman for months and not tell me, and then suddenly spring it on me that she and her son are moving in with us. I mean, seriously?"
"Sounds sort of ridiculous, if you ask me," I said.
"Exactly! Ugh." Eden sighed, placing her head in her hands. "At least you're having some good luck with Matt."
While that was true, I still wasn't entirely sure how I felt about it. Matt was cute and sweet, but with everything going on, it felt a little strange.
"Is going on a date with him really a good idea?" I asked. "I keep feeling so conflicted."
Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see that it was a blocked number. I glanced at Eden, who noticed the blocked number as well, and she shrugged. "Hello?" I said when I answered the phone.
"Hey," a voice said, one that sounded awfully familiar. "How's it going?"
"Uh...Rachel?" I asked. "Is that you?"
"Of course it's me," she said nonchalantly, as if I was supposed to know she was going to call me. "I was calling to see if you'd be willing to come by as soon as possible. Sometime this week, if possible."
"And why would you want me to come by?" I asked, giving Eden a look of confusion. Eden shrugged again, and I put Rachel on speakerphone.
"To see you, silly," she said in a chilling way, almost like a child. "Come on, you're the first person to come visit me in a long time. I could really use the company."
"I could...probably come by on Friday," I said. "I'm pretty booked this week. Is that okay with you?"
"Friday would be fantastic," she said cheerfully. "Friday it is then." Rachel hung up before I got the chance to say anything else.
I looked at my best friend in confusion. "Was that weird?"
Eden nodded. "That was definitely weird."
"You're totally coming with me," I said. "No way I'm going back to that freaky place all by myself. Besides, even if you can't go in, you can still be there. Maybe check things out. Something's going on with her."
"Yeah, but what?" Eden said. "She's locked up, but she's also up to something."
"I should probably start getting ready to go out with Matt," I said. "What the heck do I even wear on a first date?"
"Just something casual," Eden said.
"But have you seen how that kid dresses?" I asked. "He looks like he's going to prom practically every day of his life."
Eden laughed. "Don't worry, you're fine. He clearly likes you for you, and that's all that matters. Be you. Don't be dressy. Do you even know where you're going?"
"Not a clue," I said. "I--"
Just then, my phone started buzzing again. It was Matt. I answered the call instantly. "Hey, what's up?"
"Hey," Matt said. "I'm sorry to say this, but I have to cancel our plans tonight."
"Oh?" I wasn't sure what else to say. He was cancelling on me?
"Something came up," he said. "But we'll reschedule, I promise. I just have a lot going on right now and--"
"Don't worry about it," I said, my heart clenching inside of my chest. "We don't need to reschedule. I completely understand."
I hung up on him, not giving him a chance to elaborate on anything. Eden and I sat in silence for a few seconds, and she seemed completely unsure of what to say. Finally, she spoke.
"He could have just been busy..."
I sighed. "I know...I just...yeah." That was really all I had to say.
A knock on my front door got both of our attention. Eden and I exchanged a glance before I got up to answer the door. The sun was already on its way down, with very little light coming in through the glass pane. I pulled open the door, expecting a person.
Instead, there was a box. It was a cardboard box with my name written on it. Eden walked over to me, standing right by my side.
"What's that?" Eden asked.
"What does it look like?" I asked. "It's a box."
"Is it gonna blow up?" she asked, and even though she was trying to be funny, I could sense some fear in her voice. I couldn't blame her.
I kicked the box with my foot, ducking in fright. It didn't do anything. I knelt down to pick up the box, feeling its light weight in my hand. "It feels like nothing's in here."
"Open it," Eden said.
I ripped the tape off the box, lifting the sides gently. I gasped at the sight of what was inside.
"What is it?" Eden asked, taking the box from me. When she saw it, her mouth fell open. "Are these...?"
"I don't know what these are," I said. I closed the front door, taking the box with me into the living room. Eden and I sat down, pulling what appeared to be pictures of out of the box. There was hundreds of pictures, all of us. Me, Eden, Brandon, Clary, Damien, and Haven. I pulled out one picture that appeared to be from my conversation with Matt earlier. Whoever was watching was hiding behind what seemed to be a bush near the sidewalk.
There was another picture of Damien and Haven out walking in the middle of the night. Several of these pictures, all candid shots. I lifted the picture closer to my face to see if I could guess the location. In one of the other shots, Damien and Haven were looking right at the camera.
"Oh my God," Eden said. "What the hell are these?"
"Someone's been watching us," I said, gripping the photos tightly in my hand. "These pictures, someone was taking them of us. All of us. These pictures right here were clearly taken before Damien and Haven went missing. It looks as if they saw the person watching them."
"Maybe that's why they were taken," Eden said. "I mean, it would explain why they both just disappeared."
"And the rest of these," I said, spilling them over the table. "These are all over the last couple weeks. Some of these are even from today."
"I don't like this," Eden said, her voice shaking. "I don't like this at all."
I reached in the box to pull out another stack of pictures that were inside a plastic bag. I opened the bag to get them out, revealing pictures of Damien. At first I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at. Some of them were pretty...interesting. A few he was shirtless in, and a few he was in his underwear. He was posing in most of them, revealing his abs to whoever was taking the photos.
"This is disturbing," Eden said. "I can't even look anymore."
A few of the others were pictures Damien clearly took himself from his camera. He must have been sending these photos to someone, and the person printed them out on picture paper.
"Josh, look at this," Eden said, hanging me a sheet of paper.
It was a note written in blood.
Josh,
The Fear Games are never as they seem. It's only the beginning. I've been watching you. I've been waiting in the shadows. All will be revealed soon enough. Watch your back.
-Noah
"So this killer...the Player or Noah or whatever we want to call them," Eden said, "is the same person who took these pictures."
"Maybe..." I said. "But the ones in the bag...the ones of Damien. Those seem different. Really different. I don't think this person took those."
Eden ran her hands through her hair. "Listen, this is getting to be too much. How do we win this stupid Game and get it over with?"
I remembered what Rachel said about the Game. She wasn't supposed to win it. She won by accident. There was no winning the Game, no matter how hard we tried.
"We don't," I said. "This person wants something. And they're not going to stop until they get it."