Jasmine's POV
It has been a week since I've had a good night's sleep.
A week since I last talked to Chris on call.
A week since I received that gift.
Today was the day Chris was supposed to return home and I was jittery and nervous. I have not talked to him on call, even though we've texted back and forth. I just didn't have the courage to hear his voice. I haven't told him what happened, knowing that he would leave everything and come back. I didn't want that. I didn't want him to think of me as a damsel in distress who can't even stand up to her fears and insecurities. I wanted to deal with this on my own.
Which I did so pretty good by losing a week's sleep by the way.
I know Chris knows something is wrong but he hasn't pushed me, for which I'm grateful. Everytime he would want to call me, I would make up some excuse and dodge the call. I knew I was being a horrible girlfriend but I couldn't help it. If I heard his voice, I would've broken down into tears.
I was sitting in my room and was contemplating what to say to Chris when he arrives. He didn't say at what time he would come back, thus increasing my anxiety as the clock ticks by. A part of me knows he did it on purpose. He wanted to surprise me but what he doesn't know is that surprises aren't fun for me anymore.
I had thrown the chain the moment I got back into my senses. However the fear was still there. Hunter was back. And he has started his sick twisted game of haunting me.
I sighed for the 100th time as I scrolled through my phone. I wasn't doing anything productive. School was out due to some local holiday and Violet was on a date with Jasper. Yes, they finally made up. I was so happy when she called me to give the good news. Apparently Jasper went all Romeo and apologised to her for being an ass by standing below her window. He then asked her out on a date. Of course Violet's mother was pissed off at him for waking up the entire neighbourhood at 12:30 at night, but she accepted him after lots of persuasion.
That's the thing about Violet and her mother. They're bestfriends first, mother-daughter later. She told her mother everything and Mrs.Jones always supported her daughter.
This thought made me miss my mother. It wasn't that we weren't close, but in the last few months I've been lying to her. I couldn't tell her about my relationship with Chris. She always saw him as a big brother for me. If she ever found out we were far from being brother-sister, she might even call the police on Chris for harrassment. She wouldn't understand this.
The doorbell rang and I came out of my daydreams. I looked at the clock on my bedside. It was 15 minutes to 5.
Who could it be?
The thought that it could be Chris sent me flying out of my door and down the stairs. He knows Dad is out of town and Mom has busy schedules at the hospital due to the flu going around. He must have come to spend some quality time with me after being apart for a long time.
God I missed him.
But what I wasn't expecting was a two eyed stranger on my doorsteps.
"Hades?"
Hades grinned at me and gave me an once over. I consciously tugged my shorts a bit to cover my thighs. I didn't change because I thought it was Chris. I wasn't expecting this person at all.
"Hey babydoll."
I cringed. It wasn't just the nickname he used. It was the way he said it. Something was sinister in his voice. Something I couldn't quite point out.
I wanted to tell him off and ask him not to call me that, but instead I asked something more important.
"What are you doing here? And how did you know I live here?"
"Oh I saw you yesterday. I was just strolling through the neighbourhood and saw you walking inside this house. So I assumed you live here."
Okay. If that wasn't creepy at all.
"Okayyy.......You know it could've been someone else's house and I could have been just visiting." That was actually a lame thing to say but I wanted to stall until Mom or Dad came home. Or even Chris.
He laughed. "Well it turned out it's yours, isn't it? So are you going to invite me inside or...?"
I desperately wanted to say no. Something about this guy didn't sit well with me. I wanted him far away from me, but he keeps on appearing in my life.
But being the frustratingly good girl I was, I invited him in.
He came inside like he owned the place. He strolled inside the living room and sprawled out on the couch. He then regarded me with his multi coloured eyes.
"Ummm would you like something to drink? Or eat?" I asked more out of fear of being near him then out of courtesy.
He looked at me for sometime without averting his eyes. It was starting to creep me out when he suddenly smiled.
This guy was bipolar.
"Nope. I would love it if you would just sit here with me and have a talk. There are many things we need to catch up with." He said with a sparkle in his eyes.
Catch up? I barely knew that guy!
I cautiously sat down at the extreme end of the couch. He didn't seem to like it and sat straight. Then even before I could comprehend what was happening, he pulled at my wrist and into his arms.
My heart leaped out of my chest as I let out a scream. He covered my mouth with one hand and with other held me in a death grip.
This accelerated into something bad so fast!
"Sshhh babydoll. We wouldn't want your neighbours to know now, would we?" He whispered in my ear and playfully bit it.
I felt bile rising up to my throat and tears burn the back of my eyes. I tried wriggling out of his arms but his hold was tight. I tried to kick my legs at him but he was fast. He pinned my legs with his own and stopped any movement possible.
By now, I was hyperventilating. My breaths were coming out in gasps behind his hand that was covering my mouth.
"I missed holding you soo much Jasmine." He said as he buried his face in my hair and inhaled. His words were alarming and should've opened my eyes to the truth, but I was far to deep into my state of panic and despair.
I kept wriggling and trying to get out of his hold. I was screaming but what came out were muffled cries.
He suddenly moaned and I stopped.
"God baby, you got me hard."
I felt the bile rising and gagged. His dirty words were making me panic more.
"Okay baby. I'm going to remove my hand and you're not going to scream, okay?"
That's exactly what I'm going to do asshole.
I nodded my head. He chuckled and I felt the coldness of something metallic on my neck and gasped.
"I mean it. You scream, I'll plunge this knife deep into your heart. You get me?"
I nodded my head as tears started flowing down my cheeks.
He slowly removed his hands and waited for me to scream. I would've if he wasn't holding a knife above the skin of my neck.
"That's like my good girl." He kissed my temple and I wiped it in disgust.
Suddenly I was flipped and he was over me. His eyes flashed dangerously.
"You never wipe away my kiss, do you get me?" He growled.
I nodded in fear. That's all I could do. Just nod my head like some voodoo doll.
He ran his finger down my arm and I resisted the urge to gag.
"Why a-are you doing t-this H-hades?" I stuttered out.
He smiled brightly at me. "I missed you babydoll. I would've waited some more time but I found out you were going behind my back and dating that bastard of your neighbour. How could you do this?" He asked as if he was genuinely hurt.
Nothing he said was making sense. I had met the guy a few days ago. I barely knew him. And yet he was talking to me as if I was his ex girlfriend who he couldn't get over. It was creeping me the hell out.
Moreover he knew about me and Chris.
"I don't even know you Hades. Why are doing this? What are you talking about?"
His face suddenly changed and morphed into something dangerous. Something sinister.
"Maybe I should remind you then." His voice changed as he said this and all the hairs on my body stood up.
That voice.
I would recognize that voice anywhere.
It was the voice that has been haunting me since the last 2 years.
Time seemed to slow down as he ran his fingers through his hair and pulled out the brown hair wig he was sporting. He then slowly peeled off the beard covering his face and I gasped.
It was Hunter.
The guy in my house was Hunter.
The guy over me was Hunter.
"Missed me babydoll?" He said in a sickly sweet voice and I cried out in fear.
"No no no no no no nooooooo!" I thrashed my body around as I felt myself getting breathless and panicking. He tried to hold me and was screaming at me to shut up. But I was far too gone to notice anything.
Suddenly my feet kicked him hard at his crotch and he doubled over in pain. I was stunned for a moment but came back to my senses. I kicked him hard on his shin and pushed him away from me. He fell to the ground. I took advantage of the situation and leaped up from the sofa and out of the room.
I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room. I searched for my phone on my unmade, messy bed and found it below the blankets.
I immediately dialled Chris. It was just a matter of time before Hunter got up on his feet and came upstairs in search of me.
Chris's phone was switched off and I cursed. He must be on his flight back home. I then dialled Mom and Dad. Mom didn't pick up the phone and Dad's was switched off as well.
What the hell!?? Did everyone decide not to use their phones today?
"Jasmine!!"
The phone slipped from my hands as I heard Hunter's voice roar from downstairs. His footsteps were fast approaching the stairs and he would be here any minute.
I picked up the phone again and called 911. It was my last resort.
"Hello you've reached-"
"Hey hey! Please help me! There's this crazy guy in my house and he's attacking me." I cried out as I heard the footsteps stop in front of my door. And then the banging and shouting began.
"Ma'am I would need you to calm down. Can you give me an address?" The lady at the other end tried to talk to me calmly.
"Yes yes. 248 Valentine street. Please hurry."
"Jasmine!!! Open this door! I'll kill you bitch!!!!" Hunter's voice rang throughout the house and I was pretty sure the lady on the phone also heard him.
"Ma'am I need you to keep talking to me. Help is arriving. Just keep talking to me." She tried to reach out to me over the screams of the monster standing outside my door.
I was full on sobbing now and kept repeating the same unintelligible words to the lady.
"Please help me."
"Ma'am-"
The lady's voice was cut off as the door banged open and fell to the ground. I screamed.
I looked in the mirror in front of me and saw Hunter's crazed form panting and holding a chair above his head.
His crazy bloodshot eyes met my panicking ones.
And then all hell broke loose.