A Homecoming to Forget Read online

  “When you flipped out about Nadia being with him, I was so jealous. I wanted that attention.” He ran his fingertips down my face.

  “How do you know about that?” I only showed Nadia and Henry I was mad about that.

  “I thought that if I fooled around with Nadia, you’d be jealous of me too. But you weren’t. So, I had to get rid of Henry.” He grabbed me by the chin and yanked my face toward his.

  “Get rid of him?” I choked on the words coming out.

  “That’s right.” He tried to kiss me but I lifted my forehead and cracked it against his.

  “Is that how it’s going to be?” His eyes grew black.

  “You framed Henry?” All these months I’d been heartbroken over what happened between Henry and me and it wasn’t even him.

  “That’s right, only because I love you. I need you.” He pressed himself against me and I let out a scream. He cupped his hand over my mouth, it was callous and smelled like his cat.

  “I did it for you, Makensie.”

  “Who’s Makensie?”

  He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “Sawyer.”

  On the floor, my phone buzzed.

  “I have to answer that.”

  “You don’t.”

  “If I don’t answer, Trey will come back.”

  He sighed. Looked at my phone, then back at me. “Stay right here.” He said as he slid off me. He picked up my phone. I grabbed my hairbrush and flung it, though I wasn’t sure why I thought that would hurt him, but there was nothing else I could use as a weapon. I cracked him between his shoulders. I was aiming for his head, but I was too short.

  He cussed and threw my phone down as he lunged for me. But I kicked him where it counts and he doubled over. I then kicked him in the face before I hurried to my window, because he was blocking my door. It took me a minute working with the latches, my hands shaking. Maybe Trey wasn’t too far. Maybe I could catch up with him.

  “Bitch.” Benji started toward me.

  The window finally broke free and I slid it open, climbed out on the roof, then turned and shut it on his fingers.

  He shouted again, shaking his hands. I jumped from the roof top landing with a thud. It shocked my legs for a second, but I stood up and ran in my heels anyway. I ran and I ran, gasping for breath, the cold air burning my lungs. I hoped I would catch up with Trey.

  Benji was gaining on me. I cut through a field hoping I would lose him. One heel stuck in the mud, I left it and continued to run. The dirt squished between my toes. Just as I came out of the field on the river bank, I tripped. As I was going down I was jerked up by my arm.

  Chapter 35

  Benji.

  It was Benji all along.

  I had to get out of here.

  I had to get to Nadia before she left. She couldn’t leave me alone until Janice and CJ were back.

  I opened the door and gasped, “Nadia,” but it was too late. She wasn’t there.

  Benji was.

  No wonder Mr. Whiskers had been crying at the door.

  “Where’s Nadia?”

  “She left.” He pointed toward the stairs, “What are you doing in my room?” He bent down and picked up Mr. Whiskers.

  “I was just … getting away from Nadia.” I hoped I closed his computer. Please tell me I closed the computer. I didn’t need him knowing I knew anything. “I don’t want to talk to her and she wouldn’t leave.” I clenched my fist at my side, feeling my fingernails poke my palm. I had to focus on something to keep me calm so I could get away.

  “Oh?” he stroked Mr. Whiskers’ head.

  I slipped out of his room and started down the hall. “Sawyer.”

  My heart sank and I turned toward him.

  He smiled a creepy smile and said, “Be careful who you trust.”

  “Right.” I gave a fake grin, pleading in my mind that he didn’t suspect I remembered. I walked toward my room, not too quickly as to give myself away. I was glad when I made it there, reaching immediately for my phone on the dresser. I started to shut my door when it jarred.

  I looked up to see Benji, stone-faced looking at me. Mr. Whiskers now circling his feet.

  “What’s wrong?” His eyes dark like they were homecoming night. All this time I’d been looking for my killer and he was living down the hall.

  “Nothing.” Though my grip on my phone was tight behind my back and my heart thundered in my chest. I wondered how long it would be before Janice got back.

  “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My computer.” He grabbed me by the arm and wrenched it around front. I winced as he ripped my phone out of my hand. “How long have you remembered?”

  “Remembered what?” Though I know my shaking voice was not convincing.

  “Don’t screw with me.” His grip grew tighter and he dragged me back to his room. I dug my heels into the carpet, but, of course, that didn’t work. Mr. Whiskers hopped on his bed and paced, meowing.

  “Let go of me.”

  “Have you been messing around this entire time?”

  “Please don’t do this.” I tried to get my arm from him.

  He slammed his bedroom door, locking it with a click. He tossed me on his bed like a rag doll. Mr. Whiskers hissed and hopped down.

  “Your mom went for a drive to put the baby to sleep. She’ll be back soon. You can’t do this.”

  “Shut up.” His face was red and he put his hands to his head.

  “You can’t get away with it, my dad …”

  “I said shut up!” This time he struck me across the face. My head hit the headboard causing a searing pain and dizziness. He yanked me. I clenched my eyes shut. My heart pounded in my throat as if it was going to leap out of me any minute. I opened my mouth to say something as he tugged on me. Something burned my right wrist as he lifted my hand above my head.

  “What are you doing?” I looked up to him tying my arm to the bed post. “No.” I cried, flopping, trying to put up as much fight as I did on homecoming night, but it was useless.

  Mr. Whiskers meowed. That meowing, the constant meowing was almost as bad as everything else.

  “Shhh.” He said yanking on the other hand. Then he tied my feet together. My head spun and a searing pain shot through it where it had been hit.

  “You can’t do this, you’re my brother.”

  “That’s the problem.” He said as he hovered above me. “I’m sorry. I have to do this.” He kissed me and I tried to yank away. He slapped a piece of duct tape over my mouth.

  Did he have this planned or something?

  I tried to talk to him, but my voice was muffled.

  Then he was at his dresser. I couldn’t see what he was doing.

  “You’re going to have a little bump. I bet it hurts.” He lowered himself beside me then lifted a knife. Tears poured from my eyes as I shook my head. “Shh,” He lowered his face to mine. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  I almost laughed at that. He thought he’d killed me before. He held my chin, cupped in his calloused hand. Then he stabbed carefully at the duct tape. The tip of the knife pricked my lip and stung.

  “I’m sorry I have to do this, baby.” He kissed my cheek and I wanted to vomit. Then something seeped through the tiny hole he made. It was bitter mixed with the blood from my lips. I tried not to swallow. However, lying on my back like this with liquid dripping down my throat, I couldn’t not swallow it. I whimpered. If I could speak right now I’d be begging.

  He stooped down, smiling as if satisfied with his work. He picked Mr. Whiskers up in his arms.

  “We can work this out. I know we can.” Then he stood and I heard the front door shut.

  I let out a muffled scream and twisted around trying to get loose and cry for help. He looked at me smugly, petting his cat until my mind went foggy.

  Then he left the room and shut off the light on his way out. My heart now pounded in my ears. It was completely dark in here. Mr. Whiske
rs curled up beside me.

  “Hey, Trey.” Benji’s voice was much louder than he normally spoke.

  “I’m looking for Sawyer.” Trey’s voice.

  I tried to call out to him. To scream or something, but my mind whirled. Even if I hadn’t had tape over my mouth, I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to speak coherently, or even be able to make a sound. Tears leaked from my eyes.

  “Sorry, she’s not home.”

  I tried to form, “I’m here.” But it just came out a mumble.

  “Do you know where she went?”

  “I don’t. But you know what? That boy she used to be friends with, Harry. He was here so maybe.”

  “Henry? The creeper.” Trey’s voice so close made me want to cry. But at the same time, I was losing my fight with whatever Benji had given me.

  “Yeah. Sorry man. Looks like she moved on.” There was a bit of shuffle, commotion. “Whoa, it’s not my fault. You’re the one who kissed her bestie.”

  I screamed “No,” though, of course, it was not what sounded out of my mouth.

  “What was that?” Trey said. My brain was shutting down. I felt like I was underwater.

  “I didn’t hear anything.”

  I was floating.

  “Something came from your room.” Trey again.

  “It’s Mr. Whiskers.” Benji’s voice was the last thing I heard before I lost my fight with whatever he gave me.

  Chapter 36

  It was dark when I woke and cold. It smelled musty and damp. I tried to cry out, but the tape was still over my mouth. What was he going to do?

  I blinked, hoping that my eyes would adjust. My head throbbed and my throat and tongue were dry. I had no way of knowing how long I’d been out. The hard cold concrete beneath me made me guess that I wasn’t in Benji’s room anymore, but where I was, was a mystery to me. I cried, nothing came out but a muffled sob.

  I didn’t want to do this anymore.

  I just wanted to be back in my warm room that smelled like vanilla and Trey’s cologne.

  I wanted to not remember again.

  Everything was back now. Henry and I that summer when Trey was away. Henry with Ambrosia. Henry with Nadia and how jealous I was. Me losing my virginity to Henry. My dad marrying Janice. My mom pregnant.

  I wanted to hug my dad.

  I wanted to hold CJ.

  I wanted to talk to Nadia and tell her I forgive her.

  And Henry, tears trickled out just thinking about him.

  I heard a rustling sound, that I could barely hear over the beating of my heart. Then the click of the door, enough light came in for me to see that I was surrounded by boxes. Boxes that had names and dates scribbled on them with sharpie. One said Benji fourth grade on the side. Another Janice.

  Before I realized I was in the shed, Benji ducked around a stack of boxes. “Good, you’re up.” He sat his cellphone down on its side, the flashlight shone in my eyes. I squinted. “Look here.”

  I only opened one eye back up, to see if the light was still shining in my face, it wasn’t. However, Benji was sitting, legs crisscross in front of me.

  “Now, I’m going to need you to be a good girl and sit up.” He tilted his head. His eyes looked wild in the dim light.

  It was difficult to do, my body was stiff, my hands tied behind my back and my feet were stuck together like a mermaid’s tail. Benji helped and I cringed at his touch.

  “I brought food, but if you want to eat, you have to keep quiet. Do you want to eat?”

  I nodded. I was starved, my stomach grumbled. Where was my dad? Where were Janice and CJ?

  “Just to let you know ahead of time, no one is home. So, if you try to scream, they won’t hear you and you’ll have to go to bed without dinner.” He reached over and caressed my cheek, making my skin crawl before he ripped off the duct tape.

  I couldn’t have screamed if I wanted to, my voice was too scratchy. I let out a pathetic yelp.

  “It’s best to take it off quickly right, so you won’t suffer?” His mouth was by my ear, his warm breath on my neck.

  A barely there laugh bubbled up. It was too surreal. This had to be a nightmare. Everything since I woke up in the hospital. Maybe I did die on homecoming night and this was my hell.

  He reached over, his thumb grazed my lip right where he had cut me. “Did I do that?” His voice was soft. “I’m sorry.” Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips ever so lightly to mine.

  I yanked away.

  He shook his head, “Is that anyway to treat someone cares for you?”

  I didn’t respond. I didn’t even look at him.

  “I’ll give you a little something for the pain in a minute.”

  I didn’t want anything else for my pain. Anything else would make me drowsy and decrease my chances of getting out of here.

  “I’m doing this for us.” He pulled a container out of the paper bag beside him and opened it. Then to my relief a water bottle. He opened the water and inserted a straw.

  “Thirsty?”

  My voice was so hoarse even the word yes had a hard time coming out. He held the straw to my mouth and I drank and drank, not getting nearly enough before he pulled it away.

  “If you drink too much at once, it’ll make you sick.” As if I wasn’t already feeling like I’d been hit by a truck.

  He poked the food with a fork and brought it to my mouth. I took a bite and quickly opened for another.

  He laughed. “Eager beaver.”

  I sneered at him.

  “I’m keeping you alive, aren’t I?” He pulled the food away.

  “Sorry.” My throat raw in protest.

  “That’s more like it.” He lifted the fork to my mouth again. Then dabbed my lips with a napkin before giving me another drink of water.

  Strength, I needed strength.

  “You know we can make this work, you and me. You’ll realize that I never wanted to hurt you.”

  “You tried to kill me.” My voice was starting to come around now.

  “That was an accident.”

  He dragged me on a dock, heading toward a boat. His grip still tight on my bicep. My wiggling made him slip, then I tripped with him. I fell on the dock and rolled into the ice-cold river. At first it took my breath away then I realized I was freed from his grasp. Careful, not to scream to giveaway my location in the dark, I swam, though my body was numb. My skin felt like millions of tiny needles were poking it. I swam hard with the current until my legs cramped and my arms burned. Where I was going, I didn’t know.

  “Are you cold,” he asked, as if he was concerned about my comfort.

  “I’m lying on a sleeping bag on a concrete floor.”

  “It’s my good sleeping bag. I have an air mattress somewhere in here.” He stretched his neck and looked at the boxes behind him.

  “How long are you going to do this?” What I didn’t add was ‘keep me alive.’ Because, right now, I wasn’t sure there was hope for me to get out of here. He’d thought I was dead once and had no problem leaving me.

  “As long as Trey keeps calling and stopping by.”

  “He won’t stop, you know that. He’s persistent.”

  “Nobody’s that pathetic, he can have another girl in seconds.”

  “Is that what I am? Replaceable?”

  “Not to me, my love, but Trey, he’s an idiot. First, he sleeps with Ambrosia then he kisses Nadia. You have to question his loyalty.”

  “But I slept with Henry and kissed Brendan, isn’t that the same thing?”

  Benji packed the food away. “We’re definitely going to have to work on that.”

  Does he really believe he’s going to have a relationship with me after this?

  The crunching of a car in the driveway startled him. “They aren’t supposed to be back this soon.” He looked at his phone. “I hate to leave you, babe, but I have to go put on the show.”

  He leaned down and kissed me. I bit his lip. He slapped me, making me fall back, with my hands tied I cou
ldn’t catch myself. My head hit the concrete, but at this point I would have welcomed getting knocked out.

  “I thought you were behaving yourself. How am I supposed to explain this?” He pointed to his lip, but it was too dark to see if I’d left a mark.

  “You can’t do this. They’ll be looking for me.”

  “You’ve only been gone for a couple hours. You went for a drive to clear your head. Trey knows that, so does Nadia.” He held my phone up and wagged it. “Hopefully we’ll have this sorted out before too long and you can come back to the house. We’ll tell our parents we’re in love and that we want to get married.”

  “Married? I’m only seventeen!”

  The beep of the car locking grabbed his attention again, “Sorry I have to do this.” He ripped the duct tape off with his teeth and slapped it over my mouth as I tried to fight it.

  I didn’t want to be left here in the dark by myself.

  The worst part about this was, he didn’t drug me again. Now I had to lay here wide awake and freezing. He’d left in such a hurry I wasn’t even covered up and couldn’t do it myself because of the zip tie holding my wrists together.

  As I lay shivering in the dark I wasn’t sure how anything else could get worse. The howling wind only made for this to be that much scarier. Now that I knew where I was and was only a few feet from my bedroom, it was even more frustrating.

  I felt helpless here. Part of me wished he would just kill me instead of keep me locked up here where I can’t do anything.

  Chapter 37

  I hated not knowing how much time had passed before he came back. My eyes were swollen and hard to close after all the crying I’d done. Sometime between now and when he left I heard the scratching and gnawing. I couldn’t even think about it. What it did make me think about was what else was in here, spiders … snakes? That may have been one good thing about the darkness, I didn’t know for sure. I couldn’t see them. They only existed in my imagination.

  “They just went to bed,” he said before he came around the wall of boxes. I hoped he knew that those boxes would not keep me hidden if someone came in here. I would raise as much racket as I could. At least I had to believe that someone else would come out here.