“Well, I don’t smoke either.”
“It’s alright, we won’t force it on you,” Jason said.
“Where did that shit come from anyway?” Haley asked scratching her head. “Is that why it took so long to feed your cat?”
“We should have stayed at mine,” Jason said. “It’s not like your Mom’s going to be expecting you anyhow.”
“She’s probably tearing her hair out with worry,” Haley said. “Look I’ve been thinking about everything, and I’m even more certain now we did the right thing walking away. The way that place is run is completely unsafe and exploitative. I don’t know how you guys put up taking orders from her.”
“It was your first time,” Riley said. “You might feel that way now, maybe even tomorrow but maybe next month you feel a bit different.”
“I don’t see how.”
She leaned forward. “We’re heroes. We’ve saved lives. The stuff we’ve been through – what it does to your mind – you can’t blame Kendra for making a mistake. Did you know she has a family? A husband and three children who hardly see her? She gives so much to this job, and the reason for that is because no one else can do what we do. You mightn’t see it, but you’re gifted, Haley. You were made for this.”
Haley’s mouth dropped. “Wow. “ She looked over to Jason. “I’ll take one puff.”
He handed it over to her. “Go slow. Really, really slow…”
Haley put the joint to her lips and sucked in.
She waited for the coughing, for the pain in her throat.
But it didn’t come.
“I’ll finish it,” Riley said and pinch what was left from her.
Haley stood up and looked back out to the horizon. It had changed somehow. Each of those lights stood out more. They seemed more defined. More … real.
“Are you okay?” Jason asked.
“I don’t know,” Haley muttered.
“Are you sure you want to go home?”
Haley swallowed.
The night was so vast. There were so many secrets out there. So many things she needed to know but didn’t.
There was something final about it.
As though she was just barely holding on.
“I’m not sure,” Haley said. “But it’s probably the best thing.”
And then they were walking away.
Those last moments, ticking down.
Haley would one day look back.
And wished she could stay there forever.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kendra had closed her eyes. Her hands were on the table. She felt completely alone in this room. With Maurice on his phone, his expression ever vacant, she might as well have been. Bad thoughts were coming to her. An emotional storm was setting in. Everywhere she looked in her life, she felt anguish. Shame. Bitterness. Her heart was divided, in almost every situation. On one hand she saw how her team had walked out on her, and how it had been her fault for not being present – for having control of the situation. She’d let them down. It made her feel horrible. But then her mind warped a little, and there was anger. Anger at them for not putting up with it. For not being strong. For saying the wrong about her, it was too much. When she thought about what had happened earlier at her own house, that was when she really did have to close her eyes. That was when she couldn’t look. When she couldn’t even bear to see.
“Knock, knock,” a cheery voice called.
Kendra sat up.
Over by the door a young woman with flowing dark hair and sunglasses entered the room. She was wearing a bulky leather jacket, with a dress thrown on underneath.
“And you are?”
“Nadine Blue,” the young woman said. “Dermott said you’d be expecting me.”
Kendra glanced over at Maurice who was still playing with his phone.
She stood up and moved around the table, tapping him on the shoulder in the process.
“Hello,” Maurice muttered.
Kendra shook Nadine’s hand. “I’m Ms. Armistice. I’m in charge here.”
Nadine smiled. “Not anymore.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The van slowed down and pulled up next to Haley’s house. “That’s it?” Jason asked from the driver’s seat. Haley stood up and peered through the window.
“Yes. That’s me.”
Riley opened the back of the van and stepped outside with Haley. They walked round the side to meet Jason as he got out.
“So what do you think happens from here?” Haley asked. “Did we all just really quit?”
“Nah, I don’t think so,” Riley said. “Kendra will come to her senses. We’ll be able to work it out.”
“What about you?” Jason asked. “Are you really quitting?”
“I guess so,” Haley said. “For now. How will I … how will I get all my things?”
“Don’t worry,” Riley said. “Jason will drop em’ off for you.”
“Yeah,” Jason said clearing his throat.
Haley glanced back at her house. The lights were on. Her Mom was up.
“This has been a really weird day. But I guess that’s what I should have been expecting.”
Riley reached over and gave her a hug. “At least you made some new friends.”
“Oh,” Haley murmured, blushing.
Jason hugged her too. “It was really great to meet you.”
“Same to both of you.”
Haley stepped away from them. It was a nice scene to be sure.
She waved to them and walked up to her front porch, pressing the doorbell, glancing back.
Jason and Riley were still there.
Making sure she was safe.
Two seconds…
Five seconds…
Ten…
Thirty…
Haley stepped back from the house. She peered through the frosted windows of the door and saw a shadow move inside.
“Mom?” she called. “Danny…?”
“Everything alright?” Jason called from the road.
Haley turned. “They’re not hearing me or something. I’m going round back.”
“Okay. We’ll … We’ll wait.”
“I’ll be fine,” Haley said. “You can go.”
She walked round the side of the house and opened the gate. She stepped through into the backyard and walked up to the backdoor. She pulled it open.
“Hello?” she called. “It’s me Haley. I’m home.”
Haley peered around. The house seemed mostly quiet. There was some music playing down the hall near the bedroom’s. Danny must’ve been still up.
Haley went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of fruit juice. She drank a few gulps and put it back. She entered the lounge and circled it, looking for anything out of place. Everything seemed tidy.
“Mom? Where are you?”
She walked down the hall passed Danny’s bedroom which was closed and pushed open the door to her Mom’s room at the end. No sign of her. The bed was still made, and there was a pile of clothes on the ground.
Haley frowned.
She turned back and walked a few paces down the hallway, peering first into her own bedroom, and then into the bathroom.
Inside the bathroom the air was warm.
“Mom?” Haley asked hesitantly. “Sorry, but…”
She peered round the side of the door and saw there was something in the tub.
The water was dark.
“Mom…”
Haley then saw her Mom was in the tub, and it was filled with blood. She started screaming, wild, frantic, helpless. “WHAT DID YOU DO? WHAT DID YOU FUCKING DO???”
She pulled her Mom out and laid her across the bathmat.
She wasn’t breathing.
“Help!” Haley squealed. “FUCKING SOMEONE HELP ME!”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Haley stood up. Panting. Panting. Air in the lungs. This was real. What she was looking at was realer than anything else she had experienced. Her back pressed up against the tiled wall, and then
she suddenly heard the music again. The music that had been playing all along.
“Danny!” she screamed rushing down the hallway. “Danny call 911!”
She pushed open his bedroom door, eyes darting to find him curled up on the bed.
“Danny!” she cried shaking him.
Her brother rolled over, his eyes open and vacant. Looking down further she saw his neck was covered with blood.
“AARRGH!” Haley screamed.
She backed away from him, clutching her heart, the room falling into a million pieces.
Vmm…
Vmm…
Tears streamed down Haley’s eyes and she staggered out into the hall aimlessly.
Vmm…
A small white light lit up the darkened area.
There was a phone on the ground, a phone she didn’t recognize.
Vmm…
It was vibrating.
Haley scooped it up and answered the call.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” came a muffled voice.
“What?” Haley mumbled. “Hello?”
“Haley. Stay right where you are. Take a moment to breathe. You’re in shock.”
“Who is this?” she whispered.
“You were looking for me tonight. You wanted to know who I was.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Haley said. “I’ve got to go. Something… Something’s happened –”
“You’re not listening. I’m the killer. I’m who you’re searching for.”
Haley clutched for the wall. “What…?”
“Your mission was to find out who I was. And in that time I found out who you were. You are my chosen one for tonight. I was disappointed to see you leaving the game so early. So I thought I’d give you some incentive.”
Haley dropped the phone.
She stared down at it, nauseated.
What was happening?
How did this phone get here?
Who – How –
“Haaayleee,” the voice purred. “Haaayleee where are you?”
Haley stepped over it and into the kitchen. She looked out to the lounge, as if expecting someone to be there.
“Do you want me to go? I’ll go.”
Haley bent down again and picked up the phone.
“I’m back,” she said.
“Good. It’s so nice to hear your voice.”
“Were you here? Were you … in my house?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” the caller said. “I know it’s probably a lot to take in. But you could wind up surprising yourself. You might actually be fine with it.”
“With what?”
“Losing people. As cold as it may sound.”
“I have to go,” Haley said. “I have to call an ambulance.”
“They’re both dead, Haley. You know that already. It’s … really a thin line when you think about it. We’re all just one slit throat away to the other side –”
Haley’s face scrunched up, and she threw the phone across the room. She didn’t even see where it landed.
She fell to her knees sobbing.
Something terrible had just happened.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Haley?” I purred into the phone. “Haley, are you still there?”
The line had gone dead.
I stepped out from my hiding place in the yard and walked slowly up to the backdoor leading to the kitchen. I peered through the glass and saw Haley sitting on the ground, in a crying mess.
A stretch of sadness cut through me. I felt as though I wanted to console her. Step inside, pull her to her feet, wrap my arms around her. Tell her that everything was going to be okay.
“Shit,” I muttered.
I felt a tear drop from my eye.
It was bad. I’d crossed the line now. She’d never be able to love me if she ever saw who I truly was. That … that made me quite sad. Perhaps I shouldn’t have gone and…
A laugh choked over me.
I curled my fist into a ball to cover it, stepping into the shadows just as she looked over her shoulder.
Funny.
Yes, it was quite.
Some people you can see really value their lives. The Mom for instance – she knew it was over for her the moment I stepped into her room. There was almost an instant screaming.
The little brother though…
He actually tried to fight back. He thought he had a future.
Somehow, he’d been misinformed.
“Stop it,” I said with a giggling grin. “Just shut up.”
Suddenly the back lights lit up.
I edged across the wall just as the backdoor opened up.
“Are you fucking out here?” Haley called in a whimpering tone.
As tempting as it was to answer her, I discreetly slipped around the side of the house and kept going forward. I climbed up on the fence and used it as a spring to jump into the front garden. I continued to walk slowly up the side of the house, scanning to see if the coast was clear.
“Shit.”
Two dark figures and a van out front. Haley’s friends no doubt.
I reached out behind me and pulled the dark hood over my head, concealing myself as best I could. Then I strode quickly out towards the footpath.
“Hey,” a male’s voice piped up. “You there.”
I kept walking, keeping my head down.
Made it to the footpath.
“What were you doing in my friend’s house?”
I walked faster.
“Hey! I’m talking to you!”
He was chasing me.
Shit.
“HEY!”
I broke into a fast sprint and let my legs carry me as far as the end of the street. There I turned, only to realize that the bastard was just behind me.
I darted across the road and ran into a driveway where a car was waiting.
I climbed up on top the roof of the car and then leapt up onto the roof of the house. I glanced momentarily to find him also climbing onto the car, attempting the same jump.
“Jesus,” I hissed.
I ran forward and hurtled myself through the air from the roof of one house to another.
I looked back.
He’d just landed on top the first roof, and was looking a little tired.
“Hey!” he shouted at me.
“Hey,” I muttered back.
“What?” he said, peering forward. “Why – why are you running from me? What’s going on?”
I lowered myself to the edge of the roof and dropped down to the ground landing on both feet. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the names.
I heard his feet land on the house above me.
I raised the phone to my ear.
“Jason…”
“Who’s this?”
“You know who this is.”
Silence.
“Stop chasing me,” I ordered. “Or Roxanne will be next.”
“What…?”
I hung up the phone.
I hurried through the backyard, and leapt over the nearest fence into another yard. Once I’d made it onto another roof again, I looked back to see him still frozen where he’d taken the call.
My deduction would be…
That I had scared him.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Haley had to pull herself away from the wall. She had to stand up straight. Keep her hands from shaking. Find balance.
Someone was at the front door knocking and plugging the doorbell at the same time.
Haley walked towards it slowly.
“Who – who’s there?” she called out.
“It’s Riley,” came the reply.
Haley breathed a sigh of relief.
She pulled back the chain, and unbolted the door.
“Are you okay?” Riley asked as she entered. “You look like you’ve been –”
Haley collapsed into her arms. “My Mom… My brother…”
“What?”
Ha
ley cried into her shoulder.
“What? What’s happened? Haley…?”
Haley pulled away. “I can’t even…”
“Haley!”
She felt as though she might fall over. It wasn’t right.
It wasn’t right at all.
“Look, you sit down,” Riley said leading her to the sofa. “Just … stay there. Try and stay calm.”
She looked back at the front door.
“God, I’d wish he’d hurry up.”
“Can you do me a favor?” Haley asked.
“What?”
“Call … call 911. Ambulance. Police. They need to get down here…”
“Okay. Is – is something wrong with –”
“They’re dead. He killed them. He … did it because of me.”
“Who is he?”
Haley put her head in her hands. “I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I said I don’t know!”
Riley stepped back. “Okay. Sorry.”
Haley put her hands in the air. “The sick bastard. He was here. In the house. He – he left his phone for me –”
“We saw someone here. Just outside.”
“You did?”
“He came from your backyard.”
“Who the fuck was it?”
“Couldn’t see his face. He had a hood up, plus it was dark. Jason went after him.”
“Oh my God. Jesus. What the … FUCK!”
“Whoa. Take it easy.”
“Take it easy? My whole family just died! Fuck you!”
“Alright. Stay there. I’ll make the phone calls.”
Riley stepped outside onto the front porch.
Haley lowered her face back to the ground.
So much hate. So much grief. She was breaking apart.
Vmm…
Vibrating. That awful vibrating.
She stood up angrily and saw the phone lying on the ground to the side of the sofa. She picked it up and discovered a text message had been sent to her.
I’m waiting for you, Haley.
Come and find me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Haley stepped outside the front of her house, clutching the phone. Riley and Jason weren’t anywhere to be seen. The street itself, was dead. No lights on. No wind. No rain. Everything was completely still. Peaceful.
Vampire Dating Agency II Page 4
