Locked In

18

AINSLEY

I’m fine. I’m totally the calmest human on earth right now. There’s absolutely nothing wrong.

I repeated that over and over in my head as I made my way back to my place. I had gone out to get pills in the morning, but halfway there, I noticed the police sirens. They were flashing in the distance, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. When I passed a woman standing in front of a shop, I asked her what was going on. She’d told me someone had been murdered.

At first, I felt a pang of pity and carried on, minding my own business, but when I reached the pharmacy, the whispers grew louder. Mr Granger’s grandson was dead. I overheard them say it. My stomach dropped, but I’d forced myself to ask if that was the reason the police were circling the neighbourhood. The answer was yes, and as they continued explaining how he’d died—with needles in his skin—my blood ran cold.

I’d said it in my mind that it couldn’t be him, so I asked when it happened. The same day the guy hit me.

Could it have been Theon? No, it couldn’t have been. But my hands had been shaking nonetheless, and every time I saw a police car on the way back, my heart nearly exploded. They must have been looking for him. For me. I couldn’t stop imagining it. Theon, in handcuffs, dragged away because he…killed someone.

And when I finally asked him about it, he didn’t even flinch. Holy cow . He admitted it like it was nothing. Like it was the most normal thing in the world. I felt the blood drain from my face. No words could describe how terrified of him I was. He didn’t care. He didn’t care that he’d taken a life.

And then the asshole hit me with the ‘yes, I killed your ex boyfriend, and also your boss’. What the fuck? The ease. I thought I would faint.

He was a psychopath. A psychopath with emotions, if something like that existed. A man who couldn’t see the line between right and wrong, and that scared me more than anything else.

But what did I do minutes after confronting him? I let him eat me out. Yes. With fear clinging to my throat, I let the man who I found out was a murderer eat me out, and I had a mind-blowing orgasm from it. It was totally fine. Yeah.

Sighing, I opened the door to my house and took in the interior that caught me off-guard sometimes. I thanked him for it this morning, right before I remembered that he came inside me. And he told me never to sleep at Vin’s again.

Now that I was aware of what he could do, I would be saving Vin’s life by staying not more than three hours at his place, if ever I visited.

A white sheet caught my eyes after I took a step in, and I looked down to see a letter. A letter.

Bending, I picked it up and flipped it, noticing it was the exact type I saw on Vin’s couch. Was Theon playing pranks on me? When did he put it here? And why did he slip it through the space under the door?

Stepping inside, I turned and faced the clock, mouthing ‘what the fuck is this?’ before tearing it open, knowing he was watching.

It read:

We’re finishing what we started, whether you like it or not. I want what you owe me, and I’ll get it. Soon.

After soon was a creepy ghost smile.

My phone buzzed.

Theon: What is that?

I hurriedly typed back, confused.

Me: A letter, you didn’t send this?

Who else could have sent it? It was too early to start playing Halloween pranks on neighbours. Maybe not too early, it was eight days until Halloween. Maybe my Halloween-aesthetic-less house gave them every right to torment me—

I paused as I felt the feeling of being watched. And no, not by Theon. It was...

Glancing at the door and outside my house, my blood froze. Laura, Jade and Katy stood according to their heights, their hands clasped in front of them.

I slid a cup to Jade and sat down, four of us around the kitchen counter because they insisted we sit close and have a proper talk.

Two minutes after sitting, and no one had said anything, each of them waiting for who would lead the discussion. It felt awkward because I knew they were here to apologise even if it wasn’t their fault, and they’d tried to reach me over the last two weeks, but I just wasn’t prepared to hear them apologise for something they had no hands in.

I started. “Look, guys—”

“Blake is a jerk,” Laura voiced suddenly, cutting me off.

Jade backed her up. “Yes. He’s always been a jerk.”

“Very immature.”

I stared at them with my mouth agape as they fell quiet again, as if waiting for something else to click in or someone else to feed the next word into their mouths.

Jade’s pink hair was slicked into a tight bun, and Katy had her tattoos covered. Laura’s hair was in blue braids—and I was still not used to seeing her in anything but afro.

“This is so silly. We rehearsed for days just to come here and fuck it up,” Jade said, staring me sorry in the eyes.

“You guys rehearsed?” I asked, amused, as I scanned their faces.

They nodded in unison.

Katy touched my hand on the counter. “We are so sorry, baby girl. We had—”

“It’s not your fault. You guys shouldn’t apologise. I should be the one apologising because I was so selfish and...egoistic that I didn’t want my friends to know I was going through a hard time. I had a fear of being judged, and even if I decided to hide it from everyone in the world, I should have told you guys. I shouldn't have gone like that without a word and have you think I was dead. It was very wrong and it shows I don’t care about you guys as much as you—”

“Nooo...don’t say that. You care about us, Ainsley. We’re the selfish ones because we didn’t look hard enough for you. Friends should be there when you need them, and we failed.”

The other two nodded.

“Yeah, but it isn’t your fault. You didn’t know where I was. You guys should stop putting the blame on yourselves to make me feel better. That is where you’re failing,” I said.

Laura smiled, grabbing my arm. “Do you forgive us?”

I chuckled. “There’s nothing to forgive. I should ask that question. Do you guys forgive me for abandoning you when I was going through a difficult time because I didn’t want you to see how trash my life is compared to yours?”

“Oh, Ainsley. We would never judge you. And you didn’t do anything wrong so there’s nothing to forgive.” Jade leaned over the counter to give me a hug. “Right, girls?”

“Yes. What she said,” they chorused, and for a second, everywhere was silent until Laura burst into laughter and we had no choice but to follow.

“If it makes you feel better, we crashed Blake’s house after everyone left that night,” Katy said as the laughter died.

“Yeah. We destroyed his study, removed all the books from the shelves. We broke every single bottle of expensive wine in his house, destroyed his T.V and emptied his freezer, soaked all the pillows in the bedrooms, poured drinks on the wall—”

“We wrote things. With markers of different colours. You’ve got to see his living room that night.”

“And I think”—Jade laughed—“Katy peed in his dispenser.”

I covered my mouth in horror. “What the...girls.” I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. What have I done to deserve them? “I can’t imagine the anger on his face after seeing them.”

“Oh, that was if he could walk.” Laura rolled her eyes.

The others agreed with a nod.

“What happened? What do you mean he can’t walk?”

Laura leaned in. “Theon, the guy I said you should totally fuck, happened.”

My heart skipped five beats at the sound of his name, either because I was still freaked out of my mind for what he did, or...well, the other option was obvious.

I glanced briefly at the clock as I shifted in my seat. “What did he do?”

“He beat him to death.”

I shot up.

“Laura!” Jade and Katy pushed her, almost off her stool for what she said.

“Don’t listen to her. Blake isn’t dead,” Katy said reassuringly as I sat down slowly, my soul crawling back to me.

The phone on the counter buzzed. Laura and Jade who were bickering stopped to stare at me as I stared at my phone.

It was a message from him, I just knew. He was watching us.

Sliding the phone to myself, I unlocked it.

The previous message read:

Theon: Not me. I’ll look into it.

The recent one was:

Theon: So what if I killed him? You make me want to do it.

I inhaled shakily, telling myself it wasn’t a big deal. It really wasn’t. Erasing someone from this world was a totally normal thing—wait what? Norma—

“Are you okay? Who was that? You’re red.”

I forced a tight smile. “Nothing. It’s just some psycho. Go on. What happened?”

Katy began to talk, but the buzzing of my phone interrupted her again.

Theon: This psycho has different ways to make you sorry for saying that. Won’t even matter if you’re sore. This time, you won’t be able to get out of bed because of how many times I’ll make you come on my cock.

I flipped my phone face flat on the counter, holding my breath to prevent further heat from eating my face raw. I shifted again, and a twinge of pain from in between my legs raced through my being, but it felt so good I wanted to moan. What is wrong with me?

The three of them exchanged looks. Understanding looks. And I wanted to flush myself.

I cleared my throat. “You were saying something, Katy?”

Katy jumped and faced me. “Oh! Yeah. Totally. I mean, yeah. He didn’t die. Theon did a number on him though. He would have died if those guys didn’t think to go after him because they had a feeling he might beat Blake to death. He was unrecognisable after his head was smashed many times.”

That asshole. I refrained from looking at the clock. “What about the police? Why wasn’t he arrested for violence?”

Jade shrugged. “I don’t know. They probably couldn’t find him.”

Laura wouldn’t say anything. Her eyes were hard on me.

“Yeah. I think if they had investigated further, they would have located and asked you. But that thing happened and his father had to close the investigation.”

“What thing?” I asked. “And please tell Laura to stop looking at me like that.”

We all turned to her, and she cut her scrutiny to roll her eyes. “Don’t mind me. Keep talking. Plus, you don’t know what happened to Blake’s dad? The news?”

I shook my head. “I don’t read the news.”

“And he didn’t tell you what he did to that video?”

Jade hit Laura. “Stop spreading rumours. We’re not sure he did it.”

“Then who posted the video of Blake having sex with his stepmother hours after the party?”

“What?” I exclaimed.

“Anybody,” Jade responded. “If he was the one like you’ve been screaming, how did he get the video?”

“We don’t know. The same way we don’t know anything about him. He’s practically a ghost.”

Ouch. That must have hurt his feelings. If he had one. He must know now that he’d made fans out of my friends.

“Okay. Calm down, y’all. You just said Blake had sex with his stepmother, and it was posted online?” I asked slowly, trying to digest what I was hearing for the first time. Blake was an asshole through and through.

“Yes, and Laura thinks Theon did it.” Katy side-eyed Laura.

“Hey! More than half of the guys in the group agreed,” she screamed defensively, then flashed me a knowing look. “You know he did it, don’t you?”

I shrugged, my thundering heart making my stomach turn. He was very good with computers. If Blake had the video on his phone, then Theon must have hacked it and gotten the video. They had no idea he was a hacker, and I wasn’t about to confirm their suspicions. Although, Laura didn’t need convincing.

We moved onto something else, and Theon would be happy to know he was on my mind as my friends talked, thanks to the soreness ricocheting through me.

Jade, Katy, Laura and I filled the room with our chatter. It felt nice, as if time had rewound and we were huddled in my father’s living room, screaming and laughing about things that seemed like the end of the world back then.

Katy’s eyes sparkled as she gushed about her boyfriend. “I think he’s going to propose soon,” she said, her voice laced with excitement, her cheeks flushed. “I found a ring in his drawer the other day—a huge diamond. I swear I almost died.” We burst into laughter, Katy’s wide grin contagious.

Jade said, “Well, my mum’s got a gig next weekend, performing on some stage at that new jazz bar downtown. She’s still got it, you know? After all these years.” Jade’s pride was palpable, and I couldn’t help but smile, imagining Jade’s mum, forever the young, glamorous singer, commanding the stage like she always had with her unique voice.

Laura, as always, couldn’t resist stirring things up, her voice above everyone else’s as she lectured us on the male body since she’d explored enough men to know what turned them on.

“We should do karaoke someday. Specifically after we get drunk,” Jade suggested, tapping everyone.

It was these moments, the effortless way we slipped back into our roles, that made me feel like I was home again. I hadn’t realised how much I missed this—being with them, carefree, like the two years apart hadn’t even happened. It was as if time had folded in on itself, and the world was just the four of us, laughing at the top of our lungs like we used to.

Between the giggles and talking, I reached out my hand to pick out the small leaf that must have fallen on Katy’s hair on her way here.

Laura grabbed my wrist and everywhere quietened, gazes fixated on the hand between Katy and I. My mind worked too slow, and my hand worked too fast. Impulsively, I snatched it from Laura’s firm grip and placed both hands on my legs, out of their sights. I was still in his shirt, and the sleeve that I folded had pulled a little bit back from my wrist.

But with the unsure stares, it seemed they saw a little bit of the bruise and not how it went around my wrist.

“I fell,” I supplied.

Jade gave me a flat look. “I’ve fallen this month. Twice. And I know what it looks like.”

Katy asked worriedly, “Is there something wrong?”

Laura slapped her hand on the counter so hard it jolted us. “I’m tired of pretending. I know when someone is freshly bedded.” She moved close to my face, sniffing me like a dog. I reared back. “Tell me it’s him,” she whispered.

“Tell you what?”

“That you finally took my advice and fucked him.”

Oh goodness. If Theon sent a message right now, it would be come on, tell them how I ruined your pussy last night.

I clenched my jaw to stop myself from clenching my legs.

Laura pushed back, grinning from ear to ear. “I won, people! Ainsley’s blushing so hard. It’s him. It’s Theon. I knew you were eventually going to listen to me.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Don’t inflate his ego. He’s probably grinning also right now.

“Okay, fine. Will you sit down, Laura?” Katy said, still looking worried. “How does that explain her wrist? Let me see it—”

“No. I’m totally fine. It’s nothing to worry about. I didn’t cut myself or anything.”

Laura walked to Katy and massaged her shoulders, the grin still wide on her face. “Relax, girl.” She threw a wink at me from over her head. “I’m sure it’s something not really concerning. Matter of fact, Ainsley might not feel the pain until after it happened.”

“Are you saying she enjoyed it?”

I sighed, shaking my head as Laura fumbled for words, not sure if to introduce our friend to a type of intercourse where pain only brought pleasure. It was a surprise she had not been influenced by Laura all these while.

“What about you, Laura?” I distracted the room. “How’s Lancaster? I thought you two would pick up after the game.”

She sighed, going back to her seat. “I thought, too. Apparently, he has someone he’s crushing on.”

“That sucks,” I pouted.

“But hey, this place looks so good now. I remember how it was in school.” Jade looked around, nodding to herself.

I did remember. My dad didn’t care about the look then. His routine was to go out, make money, hang out, pay for meals, and sleep. Until one day. He didn’t come back. He was found dead, but I was thankful I’d clocked eighteen so I was left alone and wasn’t moved to an orphanage. I left South Highland to Melbourne shortly after for college.

“And we heard someone was murdered. Is it a Halloween prank or is it real?” Jade drew in. “If it’s real, you should lock your doors. It’s a very scary season and I don’t want a motherfucker murdering my best friend for skit.”

I nodded with a wide smile. Totally. The motherfucker who murdered someone already told me he’d rather be handless than have one and raise it at me. So I was safe. Maybe.

It was long before they decided it was enough and got up, leaving me with a promise to try everything possible to help me find a job. Laura winked and made a phone sign with her fingers, demanding a fill in later.

I shut my door after telling them I would make a visit soon and waved goodbye.