30
D E F E A T
The energy out of Mia had just collapsed. It was right there in Beverley's hands; everything that could taint her name and destroy her future. She'd be to blame and fairly so. She cleaned up Beverley's mess and invaded Jeffrey's personal belongings as he slowly began to rot under the Earth. If she had just called the police that night her supposed best friend broke into her home, drenched in a sickly red, she wouldn't have gotten herself into this mess and Jeffrey ...
Jeffrey would have gotten the justice he deserved.
But instead, she dug her own grave. She had thought she'd been brave but she was just really, really stupid to believe she could finesse a demented murderer.
As Beverley's two hands lingered in the air, her smiling face is in the center, white teeth glowing triumphantly into Mia's eyes. There was a satisfied glimmer in her brown, wide eyes, knowing she had won, knowing she had trumped onto Mia until she laid flat to the ground like a deflated balloon. She sucked all the life out of her, poked some holes, and now Mia didn't have any idea how she'd go back to her natural form again.
Mia's stared deep into her eyes, her throat dry; and she cleared it, swallowed down some spit, just so she didn't sound weak. "Why are you doing this to me?" she said, and when it came out, she realized it was a stupid question to ask. Why do rapists rape? Why do killers kill?
There was a pause after the question; even Toby behind her, who froze, tilted his head to glance at Beverley in front of him. He was silent and probably wanted to know the answer himself. Why didn't they just kill her there and then? They killed before and she knew too much. It would be easier for them to get rid of the threat, not set it free.
Beverley's hands lowered, her smile sliding off. That crazed look on her face was replaced by one of her masks, the mask that used to warm Mia's very own heart. A small, tentative smile replaced the deluded one from before, and she said, "I want my best friend back. You see, Toby would kill you. Simple as that. But I just can't hurt you, Mia, you're my best friend, don't you get that? I love you!"
Mia interjected with a harsh chuckle. "Oh yeah? Is that why you made Toby kidnap me and then hit me across the head a few times? Oh, let's not forget that he's still holding me down."
A dark look crossed over Beverley's face, her gaze shifting to Toby behind Mia. "I assure you that hurting you wasn't part of my plan. I'll have a few words with Toby about it later," Beverley promised cynically, and Mia had a strong feeling that a 'few words' was just a codeword for something worse. "But for now, he'll let you go."
Instantly, Toby dropped his grip from Mia's arms and even took a step back from her. It grew suddenly freezing cold, but Mia definitely preferred the chill than sharing body heat with him. Her hands flew to her forearms, massaging the bruised areas, and she sent a hateful look in Beverley's direction. If she had thought Mia would be grateful for this, she was deeply wrong. If anything, it only angered Mia more, hating the fact that she was all alone here but at least the she-devil had a demon that obeyed her every word.
Beverley grew frustrated as Mia glowered at her. "Don't you see that I had to do it? He was blackmailing me! He wasn't exactly a saint! He wasn't innocent in this at all — he, he knew what he was getting into!"
Mia's stomach twisted and knotted, watching the delusional girl in front of her. She was in shock by this stranger but most of all she felt sickened by her. "So he deserved to die because of it? What the fuck is wrong with you?"
The girl in front of her began to bounce on her heels impatiently, an irritated smile climbing her features. "You see — you don't get it!"
But Mia just couldn't shut her mouth, one of her many traits, as she carried on taking everything off her chest. "A sane person would never kill another! You killed Jeffrey, you did something to Kiki, and now you're trying to brand me! We're not your puppets —"
She didn't care that Beverley was growing madder by the second. She didn't care that she was reaching for whatever was in her pocket. She didn't care when she pulled out a glimmering pocket knife.
"I know what you did to Kiki! I know what you did to Jeffrey! And I'm never, ever going to be your best friend again!"
But then, all of a sudden, Beverley had pounced on her with a growl, twisting Mia's body so that she had her in a headlock. Mia had put up somewhat of a fight, but she had not expected that Beverley would overpower her, and put a knife to her throat. It was dumb of Mia to underestimate a killer, even if said killer seemed to have a soft spot for her.
That easily, Mia was stuck in her web, her mouth closing shut. Despite being a short girl, Beverley did not tower over her at all. They'd always been somewhat the same height, and in fact, it was Mia that had the bigger advantage. She was made of muscle and electricity ran through her veins. Beverley read books and Mia's hobby was sports. And yet, with a knife to her throat, she had no choice but to accept defeat. Now she understood why it was so easy for Beverley to take Jeffrey down...
She could feel the metal graze her soft skin, itching to draw blood. Too afraid to even gulp, or breathe, she couldn't calm the beating of her heart. With wide eyes, she could only focus on the satisfied smile that was beginning to grow on Toby's features. He looked proud of Beverley, his smile showing his white teeth and his eyes harboring love as he gazed at her.
Despite the darkness, that look would still imprint in her mind clear as day and haunt her.
Goosebumps scattered across her skin as Beverley used the knife to brush away any of Mia's excess dark locks that tried to shield her skin, the gesture freezing Mia on the spot.
But nothing was worse than inhaling the familiar scent of coconut oils and sickly sweet body mists that floated from Beverley's skin and hair, the smell so close to home it could have been absorbed into her DNA and running through her veins. She had always looked so sweet, smelled so sweet, smiled so sweet, however she was anything but. Before, the scent might have been inviting, but now, as it filled her nostrils, she felt like it was suffocating her with two hands.
"Don't think I won't cut your throat," warned Beverley with a firm tone. "I've been kind enough to spare you, Emilia, don't test me now."
Emilia.
Go to sleep, Emilia.
She remembered that night briefly now, maybe because she wasn't willing to hide the blatant truth from herself anymore. She had always known what Beverley was, but she had shielded herself from that fact a long time ago, too frightened to face it.
Everything was clearer now.
The knife kissing her bare skin dared her to be brave, dared her to be bold, dared her to fight. In the end, the knife won. She was silenced and Beverley allowed a pleased laugh to flow past her lips.
"That's better," said Beverley in response to Mia's alert silence. "Now you understand that I am the one in charge."
Mia definitely understood one thing: Beverley was in charge of Toby. Whatever she said was done or accepted. He was her bellboy. But now, she was also in charge of Mia. Beverley had her right in the palm of her hands. Hook, line, and sinker. This time, Beverley knew that, too.
She was pretty sure Beverley could feel Mia's heartbeat through her back. She was also sure that Beverley loved the feeling of it.
"I'm going to let you go," Beverley declared. "And you're going to shut up and do everything I say."
Her grip began to loosen around Mia, the knife inching away from her neck. "Don't do anything stupid," was her final warning, and, with the way her heartbeat raced, Mia decided that her only choice at that moment was to oblige.
Toby watched Mia unblinkingly, as if he was predicting her next move, but if he expected a fight from her this time, he was surely going to be disappointed; Mia no longer had any fight in her, not even as Beverley dropped her hand to her side, and shoved Mia free from her grasp. She absentmindedly headed in the direction of Toby, but with a taunting laugh, he sidestepped instead of letting her steady her fall onto him. She stumbled on the sprouting roots of the tree, but surprisingly, managed to not fall flat on her face. Even if she did, she'd prefer that than seeking Toby as a savior.
She'd have to give herself a pat on the back for even being able to stand on her own two feet at all.
The two watched her just as she watched them. In the dark, Toby looked as tall as the trees, like his limbs had elongated to fit the shadows. The smirk on his olive-skinned face was smug, behind his muddy eyes, a fire was lit as they watched her cower before them. She pictured him as a villain from a cartoon, the type that humored you as an adult but shook you to the core as a child. At that moment, Mia did feel like a child; like a child left to fight all of the monsters herself.
Beverley looked void of emotion compared to her partner in crime. As the moonlight grazed her pocket knife, it blinked once before she had tucked it into her back pocket. This night, Mia had seen Beverley writhe. She had seen her grow frustrated, scold Toby, try to win Mia over. But now, she was like ...
Something entirely not human.
Not in the sense that she had suddenly grown large canines and bloodied claws. Beverley looked like there wasn't anything human in her. There was not even a pinch between her eyebrows, or a flutter of her eyelashes, or a drumming of her knee. She was as still as water, as still as a predator before pouncing on its prey; but even a predators heart pounds and it's mouth slacks as it pondered its next victim.
The silence became overbearing. What was Beverley thinking?
Mia didn't want to wait anymore to find out how her night was going to end, and if there was a way to alter Beverley's decision, so be it. If she had to plead for her life, so be it, because Beverley had already proved her actions were unpredictable.
"What do you want from me? To be your best friend again? I'll do whatever you want just ... just let me go home."
It was horrifying how Mia pleaded. She disgusted herself but humored Toby even more. She just didn't want to die. She couldn't die. She didn't want to end up like Jeffrey Dormer, who lay, just under the soles of her feet, six feet under, consuming the earth's soil.
A bark of laughter rang in the air. "Now the bitch is scared," Toby praised, shooting the girl beside him a glance of admiration. She didn't pay him any attention, however, and kept her eyes trained on Mia who shook before her like a child. Mia was like a child.
A child cannot fight such monsters all on their own.
Finally, Beverley spoke. "Here is what I want you to do. You see, Mia, you've spun out of control. The disappearance of Jeffrey Dormer had altered your way of thinking. Who would have known that you are quite the vindictive liar? I angered you and you wanted to get back at me, so you spun this crazy web of lies, created this sick story about me, but now you've realized that your lies had just gotten too far. You found out that Jeffrey and I had a thing, and it pissed you off that I never told you. You are quite ... possessive."
"They won't believe any of that," Mia snapped.
Beverley smiled. "You're right. They won't believe anything you say after that. They'll realize that you really are just the cracked up whore everyone likes to laugh at. They'll realize they shouldn't have believed you in the first place.
"And if they persist, well, Toby shares a house with his brother. If needed, he'll hide his body, too."
Her jaw slacked, her heart hammering. Her eyes skittered to witness Toby's reaction, but he didn't even flinch.
"As I was saying," Beverley continued, retrieved Mia's phone from Toby, and held it out to her. Mia snatched it out of her grasp. "You will call Matias right now, and tell him that Toby had pranked you. He had already pranked a few people before this, so it'll be believable. When he asks where you were, well, I wanna hear you do what you do best. Come up with a lie, Mia. Aren't you the little liar?"
For minutes, Beverley waited on her, an expectant look on her face. Then, after his ten or so missed calls, Mia called Matias.
He picked up on the second ring.
"Mia! What is going on? What happened to Toby? Why were you crying—"
With tears cascading down her face, and Beverley's eyes burning into her own, she tried to sound as indifferent as she could, even as he panicked. "Toby pulled a prank on me."
Matias on the other side of the line was quiet for a moment as he put two and two together. "Oh. Yeah, he's become a serial prankster this Halloween. Why weren't you answering my calls?"
Come up with a lie.
The lie came easily. "I was with Toby. We caught up on some stuff."
"Oh?" Matias said. "And?"
"It made me realize a few things," Mia began. "Like how I don't think we should be doing... whatever it is we're doing. Hanging out," kissing. "Whatever."
Silence. Then, "Where is this coming from?"
She thought of Toby sliding the key into their front door, climbing up the stairs, and into Matias's room. She pictured Toby doing whatever he could to shut his mouth.
"Trust me," Mia said. "I don't think you really want to be with me."
a/n: phew. long ass chapter. my back hurts. time for bed. if you see any mistakes, please, ignore them. i can't anymore
goodnight lovers,