Gwen swung the car into her driveway and slammed on the breaks. Defeated and upset, she put the car into park, popped her seat belt off and opened the door.
"What a stupid fight, why did I have to say that?" she whispered shaking her head as she locked the car and quickly ran to the front door. "Maybe I should call her?" she added as she went to the kitchen and flipped the light switch.
She quickly shook her head. They both needed to cool off. She had pushed it a little too far and with Matt making Bailey run, Gwen should've known she'd be in a crankier mood than normal, Bailey hated to run.
Gwen paused and lifted her nose in the air, cringing. The woodsy aroma that filled the kitchen as she continued to walk to the fridge was almost a sickeningly sweet smell. "Damien, your new cologne is not happening!" she called through the darkened house. "In fact, just throw it away now," she added.
Gwen sighed as she shifted the contents around, searching for a Ginger Ale, praying the fizzy sweet drink would stop the rolling in her stomach. She didn't fight with Bailey all the time, but when she did it always seemed to make her physically ill. It was so incredibly stupid too.
They never fought too long luckily, so she couldn't help the smile that slowly crept on her face as she heard the pounding on the front door and the words that followed as she popped the top of her drink open.
"Gwen, I'm sorry, okay. Please open the door," Bailey called to her.
She took a quick swig, knowing that the drink had nothing to do with why her nausea was getting better. "I'll take pity on you just this once," she mumbled, smiling happily as she trotted to the door, soda in hand. "I'll have to hurt you for driving here by yourself though. And you aren't the only one that has to be sorry about something."
Just as she was walking into her living room, she noticed a dark shadow next to the spiral stairs by the pool. Thinking it was Damien she didn't even scream as it rushed towards her. The black clothing he wore blended in with the darkness of the house, and the ski mask only allowed for a glint of blue eyes. She realized too late that he was much larger than Damien and her father. Damien was still out searching for Sam, exactly where had wanted to be.
Gwen thought to herself as the clatter of the Ginger Ale can fell to the floor, splashing the liquid on her pants leg. She saw a silver glint in the tiny bit of light reflecting from the indoor pool and then she felt the coolness of metal digging into her neck.
A knife, he was holding a knife... to her neck. With his hand clamped over her mouth, smashing her lips backwards, into her teeth, she felt him push his body against the rest of her, dragging her towards the door. The window right next to the front door where Bailey was just on the other side, was draped with a dark blue curtain. He shoved her against it, plastering the front of her body to the window with the front of his body to her back.
"What was that noise? Gwen. Please answer the door, we can talk about this. I don't like fighting with you," Bailey called.
Gwen whimpered as it hit her, the reality of the situation. This man wanted her to understand that help was just on the other side, but this happen. It happening, and he knew that the worst of it was that her best friend was right outside, a window apart, but she couldn't scream, or cry out, because if she did they would both be hurt. He wanted Gwen to know this and she knew it. Only the front door and a curtain would stop Bailey from knowing that Gwen needed help and the fear choked her.
her mind whispered with frantic need, hoping the mantra would make Bailey realize that something was wrong, that she needed to call the cops. Bailey had moments of surprisingly good intuition. Gwen felt a tear slip down her cheek when a sliver of hope blossomed in her chest.
But when nothing happened, her hands went against the cool curtains, she could feel the flat window beneath, and her fingers curled against the fabric as she bit her tongue to keep from calling out to her salvation. Just as she was about to push off and attack him with everything she had, she felt the tip of the knife slide with just enough pressure for her to feel the heat as it tore through her flesh.
This was it. He would forgo the rape and kill her now. She'd decided to fight and he decided she wasn't worth getting caught, but when she realized the oozing wetness wasn't anything more than a few drops, sliding down the column of her throat, she sobbed with relief, and her shoulders slumped forward. A warning, it had only been a warning that he wasn't going to kill her.
Where was Damien? Her parents, they should've been home. They said they'd be home in an hour, which had been over two hours ago, but...no, that wasn't right.
The chopped thoughts seemed to remind her, what she already knew, but she couldn't help thinking that if they'd been home, not searching for another girl, that this wouldn't be happening to her.
Now a wall away from an ignorant Bailey, as this bear of a man pushed her against a window and Gwen knew, for certain now, that he wasn't going to kill her right away. The bulge in his pants wouldn't allow it and her family wasn't here to protect her, but could protect Bailey.
"Gwen, make some noise and I'll take her too. Bailey's the one I really want. I could've taken her too, but I knew. I knew you'd be a problem, so I figured I'd start with you first. I'll make you watch everything I do to her. You'll be there for moral support. What are friends for after all? I really enjoy looking at Bailey, I'm sure I'll enjoy everything else with her too," the man spoke so softly she almost didn't catch it.
The thought dawned on her as if lightening had struck her.
It was the first thing that crossed her mind. It was in the way he said their names or maybe it was that he knew Gwen wouldn't say anything, as if he knew she'd made the decision to already keep quiet. It was why he was taunting her. What good was it reminding her that help was so close? She already knew that.
She paused, feeling dread fill her gut as she realized what he'd said. He wanted Bailey too, he wanted her more than he wanted Gwen, but he knew he couldn't take them both. Given the opportunity though and he would try. Gwen would never give him that opportunity.
"Okay, Gwen, I get it. We'll talk tomorrow. I'm sorry, and—" Gwen heard Bailey pause before she continued to whisper. "I love you," Bailey added.
Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes and her body began to shake uncontrollably. Gwen whimpered in her head, trying to restrain herself from calling out. She would never let this happen to Bailey.
She screamed it repeatedly in her mind.
Gwen heard Bailey's car door slam at the same time her knees turned to jelly and she collapsed to the floor shaking. The hand around her mouth fell as he let her stay on the floor. He stood, menacingly over her.
"No," Gwen managed and then gasped for breath as the panic started wracking through her body.
"Good girl. Love your friend enough to sacrifice yourself, but was she worth your life? Wouldn't it have been better to die together?"
Why it hadn't registered until he said it Gwen would never know. This was the killer that buried people, but she was Gwen and this didn't happen to girls like her. it hadn't crossed her mind.
She would fight. There was no way this was going to happen to her. She was a fighter. Though her mouth was dry, as if balls of cotton had been shoved into every crevice, she managed to scream, loud, piercing just enough to shock him as she snapped her leg out, kicking his shin with her foot, wishing the shoes she'd worn had been heels as the crack near her pinky toe vibrated up her ankle. She cried out as the pain took her breath away. The man grunted as he jolted backwards, but due to the sudden pain running through her leg she hadn't been able to escape and it was a matter of seconds before he was on her, yanking at her hair. She saw beautiful clumps of red fall to the floor as he pulled, then reached back to clutch pulling her up so that her butt no longer rested on her calves.
"You whore! I'm gonna love breaking you. I'll enjoy every fucking second of torturing you. It's always the heroes that suffer the most you know? No good deed goes unpunished, Gwendolyn."
It was the last thought she had before he bent down, clutched the side of her head in his huge hands and slammed it against the ground.
--
She was sweating profusely as she tore her running outfit off. Bailey threw up only a little this time and she felt like she'd accomplished something by that. Maybe running wasn't so bad.
She turned the handle to the shower on and stepped in, letting her thoughts turn to Gwen. The niggling fear burrowed its way into her chest again. She'd felt it last night, but she chalked it up as just the after effect of their fight. It was only when she'd finished her shower, gotten dressed, and headed downstairs to get breakfast that the feeling intensified.
Bailey was panicked when Gwen wasn't knocking on the door at 7:15. Gwen always came early, to tease Matt, to say hi to Gale; sometimes she even ate breakfast with them. Not one of their fights had ever stopped her from coming over the next day. Not one of them.
"Something's wrong," she mumbled, not even bothering to go to the refrigerator to grab the orange juice. No way could she stomach anything right now and it had nothing to do with her run. "Where is she?" Bailey questioned, knowing full well her mother wouldn't know anymore than herself.
Gale shrugged, nibbling her lip worriedly as she gazed at the television, which remained off. Gale hadn't changed and was still slightly damp in her sweats. "I don't know. You guys fight?"
Bailey rolled her eyes, shaking her head, and then slapped her hands on the kitchen counter. "It was . She would never let something so small go this far. Maybe she's sick. Can I take the car?"
Gale frowned, picking up the phone out of its cradle. "We should call first."
Bailey suspicions were confirmed when Gale tried to call but no one answered. She tensed, the muscles in her legs bunching up as she prepared to run to the door.
"One more time, Bails, if no one answers again I'll come with you." Gale's voice shook.
"Mom, forget the phone. We need to go."
Gale sighed heavily. "She's probably just sick sweetheart."
"Matthew lets go!" Bailey screamed towards the stairs, ignoring her mothers comment.
"But I'm not ready," the muffled reply came.
"Mom?" Bailey turned swiftly towards her, eyes pleading.
"Just come on, Mattie, I'll let you miss school today," Gale called as she moved forward to smooth her hand down Bailey's back.
"AWESOME!"
----
When Bailey saw the flashing lights of the police cars outside the Atherton house she felt the vomit rise into her throat for a second time that morning.
Her thoughts kept screaming repeatedly. A flashback of the conversation they'd had kept running through her head.
Bailey shook her head and leapt out of the car before it stopped, ignoring the gasp from Gale as she called out to her. Then she saw Damien, his eyes bloodshot as he slouched against the front of the house, watching his parents speaking with Sheriff Lambert.
"Damien!" Bailey called and everyone turned.
No one said anything, what could they say? She'd been taken, Bailey knew it by the looks on their faces, by the pain in Damien's as he walked towards her, and it was in the way Gwen's mother was crying uncontrollably, clutching her husband. Bailey wasn't a fool, she knew.
She stood paralyzed in her place, only a few feet away from everyone. She felt the rush of air pass as Gale ran up to the Atherton's and as much as she wanted to follow she couldn't. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly, trying to get control of the sudden onslaught of shaking throughout her body.
The strong arms that snatched her up into a hug, refusing to let her go, didn't even seem to register with her as her arms remained around herself. "What's happened?" she whispered, but her clenching gut told her she already knew what happened.