Masked Mayhem (Fright Nights)

Chapter Eighteen

Fright Nights Festival has come to hold a special place in my heart. This is where I finally found the courage to run from Adam, where the guys and I found each other… twice. I’ve come a long way since the first night they found me here, when I ran from Adam right into their arms. That woman doesn’t exist anymore. Now another year has passed and here we are, back at the festival with our masks on. This is my second year volunteering as a scare actor with the guys and I’ve really got the hang of it now.

My lips are painted black to match the heavy eye shadow that’s showing under my half face devil mask. I can take on a whole other persona here, and it’s fun to escape the real world for a while, but I’m not the only one here. All three of my guys are running around with me, pulling screams from people walking by. Liam has been herding people towards us with his chainsaw, they run away from him and then as soon as they think they’re in the clear Nate and I jump out to get their blood pumping again, then as soon as they get around the corner they run into Reynolds and his bat. He loves dragging that thing on the ground ominously just to freak people out.

In his defense, scaring people is way more fun than it should be, and they make it so easy.

This is just the first night of the season, so we have the rest of the month to have our fun, ending with the celebration on Halloween night. Last year the guys and I had our own party in the haunted house, that’s going to be hard to top, but I hope they try.

More screams echo around us as another group heads our way, Nate is already hidden in the shadows, so I join him and we wait for the perfect moment to jump out. Right when they slow down and start looking over their shoulders to make sure Liam isn’t coming after them we strike, silently moving from the shadows to appear before them.

Normally the screams of terror hype me up, but when the couple in front of me turn around I don’t even hear the screams I know are coming from them. Their friends are all ribbing each other as they move away from us, but instead of following Nate back to our waiting spot I’m frozen in place. My feet refuse to move as my thoughts throw me back in time .

I’ve seen Adam around town a few times over the past year but after the fight with the guys last Halloween we’ve avoided each other. This is the first time I’ve seen him out with his new girlfriend, but all I can see when I’m confronted with the woman clutching his arm is me.

The way her smiles don’t quite reach her eyes when she joins in laughing after everyone is done screaming, the tight grip he keeps on her arm as they walk away, the way she holds herself to make sure nothing hits her side as they move. It’s like looking in a mirror reflecting my past.

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

“Zoe.” Nate must have said my names a few times by now if his concerned tone is anything to go by. “You’re freaking me out, Hot Rod, what’s wrong?”

Shaking my head I pull myself back to the present. I’m not that girl anymore. I’m safe and loved and happy.

But she isn’t. Whoever she is, she isn’t any of those things.

“Did you see the girl with Adam?”

Nate is ushering me away from the path to a quiet corner where we can talk. When he pulls his mask up his eyebrows are drawn together with worry, I didn’t mean to freak him out, but seeing her was a shock I wasn’t expecting. I always just thought it was me, no matter what anyone said, deep down I still thought he did what he did because of me. That’s not true though. He’s doing it to someone else. He’s free to do it to someone else because I didn’t press any charges .

What have I done?

“He’s hurting her Nate, and it’s all my fault. Oh my God how could I be so stupid? Of course he wouldn’t just stop. Men like him don’t change; he just found another punching bag.”

Large hands cup my face as Nate’s soothing voice replaces my panicked one. “Nothing that bastard does is your fault baby, do you hear me? That’s all on him.”

Logically I know he’s right, I’m not responsible for Adam’s actions, but I should have done more to make sure he didn’t hurt anyone else and that’s on me. With Nate’s help I slow down my breathing and calm down enough to go find the others.

As expected Liam and Reynolds are both just as comforting as Nate, while also being enraged at what Adam is getting away with… again. No one else seems eager to intervene, all of his friends are still looking the other way, but I won’t sit quietly by while another woman suffers the same fate I did. Thankfully they all agree, though I knew they would.

Reynolds stays behind to cover our area while Liam and Nate go with me through the crowd to find the mystery woman. If I know Adam he’s probably keeping her on a short leash so this might be my only chance to talk to her. We halfheartedly scare people as we search for them, but we’re too distracted to put much into it right now. Just when I’m about to lose hope I catch sight of them at the front of the line for the haunted house.

Their group is about to be let in and if we hurry we can get in the employee entrance to join them. The haunted house is the perfect place to separate a person from their group. Hurrying we all make our way inside and find a good spot to wait. Some of the other volunteers agree to help us, no questions asked, so as their group makes it into the hallway a creepy clown jumps out and splits them up. Adam and the others are chased into a room further down the hall while the girl is left with us.

She’s so afraid she’s shaking so I hold my hands up and move slowly to show her I’m not trying to scare her. “Hi, I’m sorry about this but I needed to get you away from the others so we could talk.”

The girl is looking at me like I’m crazy, but I don’t blame her for that, this is a really weird situation. “I don’t know who you are, but I need to find my boyfriend, he won’t like me being lost in here.”

She phrases it so it sounds like she’s saying he would be concerned, but I know she really means he’ll be pissed off if she’s out of his sight for too long.

“I know exactly how he feels about you being separated from him, that’s why I wanted to talk to you. I’m his ex-wife, Zoe.”

Her eyes get huge when I drop my name, he has clearly talked about me and I’m sure none of it was good. She must know none of it is true though.

“I can’t be here, please, I have to go.” She tries to pass me, but the twist she does hurts whatever injury she’s hiding under her shirt .

“Please stay, just listen for a minute. I know he’s hurting you; I know because he hurt me too. I should have pressed charges when I left him, but I didn’t. I just wanted to get away, so I ran, and I’m sorry for that. If I hadn’t been a coward you probably wouldn’t be in this situation, so please let me help you. It never gets better, we both know he’s not going to change, but I can help you if you’ll let me.”

The panic on her face only deepens when Adam’s voice chimes in. “This is just pathetic, Zoe. Why are you harassing my girlfriend? Don’t you have anything better to do with your life, or are three guys not enough to keep you busy?”

Liam and Nate hung back while I was talking to the girl so she wouldn’t be scared, but they won’t stand by while he talks to me like this, so I’m not surprised in the least when I feel them move in behind me.

“I think you should watch your tone when you’re talking to our girl, Adam. We still have copies of that security footage, I’m sure a lot of people in town would just love to see it.” Liam’s threat gets my ex-husband’s attention off of me, but I don’t miss the way his angry eyes shift to the shaking girl before us.

“Whatever, I don’t even know why we waste time coming here. This place is a joke. Come on Jess, we’re going home.”

Her big round eyes are pleading for help, but she silently follows him anyway. I want to argue and stop them, but I know that will just make things worse for her tonight. She had her chance, and she didn’t take it, she isn’t ready to stand up to him yet, but maybe she just needs a little help.

The next day, Liam drives me to Adam’s house. After a long conversation I agreed to take him with me, but only if he stays in the car. None of them wanted me coming here alone but I don’t want to scare the girl off. She’s not going to open up to me with a big guy she doesn’t know hovering over my shoulder. So when Adam’s car finally leaves Liam pulls up in front of the house I used to call home and lets me out. He’s going to stay outside as a look out while I try to convince this girl to get out of this hell hole while she still can.

Knocking on the door I’m thrown back to the last time I was here, when the guys came with me to collect my stuff. Everything looks exactly the same, down to the last blade of grass. It’s kind of creepy.

When no one answers I knock again, and after a moment the door cracks open just a bit. The girl from last night is hiding behind the door as much as possible and my stomach drops.

“Hey, Jess right? I’m sorry about last night, I didn’t mean to ambush you like that, but I would really like to talk to you if you have a few minutes. ”

She looks around hesitantly, like she’s making sure we’re alone before she talks to me, because she knows what will happen if Adam hears about this. When she’s sure none of the neighbors are snooping she opens the door a little wider and lets me in.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Fear and hesitation drip from her rushed words. I remember being in her position though, her words are a conditioned response.

“I’m not trying to make things worse for you.” Spinning around to face her my mouth falls open in horror. Bruises cover her arms; she doesn’t have much skin exposed but it’s obvious why. She’s holding herself like every breath hurts. That bastard beat her black and blue last night. “Jess, you know this isn’t right. You don’t deserve to be hurt.”

Tears pool in her eyes as she lowers her gaze and focuses on the floor. She’s struggling with whatever she wants to say, I understand that struggle, though most people wouldn’t. It’s hard to remember your own worth when someone else is constantly belittling you. I want to snatch her up and run, but this has to be her choice. If I force her hand I’ll be no better than him, she deserves to make her own decisions.

“I…” She tries to speak but a sob breaks out instead.

My heart breaks for her so I close the space between us and very gently wrap my arms around her, reminding her she’s not alone. Jess clings to me as she cries so hard I’m worried she’ll agitate her injuries. When she doesn’t have anything left in her she pulls back and wipes her cheeks .

“I don’t know how I let this happen.” She’s sniffling as she sinks down onto the couch and I join her. “It was all a whirlwind. When we met I was in between jobs and he was so charming, I knew we were moving fast but when he suggested I move in with him and help him with his paperwork instead of getting a new job, but he made it sound like the perfect solution.”

My fists curl in my lap. Adam is the perfect predator. He’s great at luring you in, the perfect gentleman, until he’s not, but by the time he shows his true colors you’re already in his web. That’s why I stayed as long as I did, because I didn’t feel like I had any other options. I won’t let that be her fate.

“I’ve been exactly where you are right now, and none of this is your fault. Adam always knows exactly what strings to pull and buttons to push to make everything seem like it is, but this is one hundred percent on him. He knew exactly what he was doing, but you don’t have to put up with it.”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Her shoulders sink in defeat, but she’s wrong.

“You can come with us. The guys helped me get away and I’ll help you. You can stay with us while we figure something else out.”

Hope sparks in her eyes before it’s doused again. “He’ll just find me and make me come back. There’s no where I could go to get away from him. ”

I remember that haunting feeling, the dread of never being safe. It weighs on your soul, keeping you trapped, until you cut those strings.

“He won’t get through us, Jess. We can make a plan later, but we probably don’t have much time. You need to make a choice. You can come with us and we’ll help you, or you can stay. If you stay I’ll give you my number in case you change your mind, but I’m hoping you’ll come with us.”

Indecision wars across her features as she struggles with her new options. I sit quietly, giving her the time and space she needs, until she finally stands up.

“You’re right, I don’t deserve this. If you’re sure you don’t mind I would really appreciate your help.”

I know the courage it takes to make the decision she just did and I’m so freaking proud of her. Much like I did last time I was here Jess pulls a few bags from her closet and starts throwing things in. There’s no telling how long we have so I help her get what she needs and we hurry out the front door together.