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Oxy would do.
Chapter Six – Ash
I stood in the forest in a daze, my mind blanking as time went on. That basement, that cabin…the look on Ray’s face. How was I ever supposed to sleep again? How was I supposed to close my eyes at night and not picture the fifteen graves I’d stumbled upon? The girl in the basement, the one he wanted me to join him in, would make number sixteen. And I…I would be number seventeen, provided he caught me.
If I had my way, he’d never catch me.If I had my way today, he’d never see me again.
I was smarter than that. I never told him where I lived, though I supposed now that I was eighteen, it was public record. He could probably Google me and find me, if he really wanted to. He could try to tell the cops that I was in on the whole thing, even though I wasn’t, or he could try to go after the one family member I had.
God, if he hurt my mom…Mom was all the family I had. Without her, I had no one. Kelsey, sure, but a friend and a mother were two separate things.
As long as the police came and checked out the cabin, as long as he didn’t hide all of the evidence—and how could he, when so many unmarked graves were nearby—they’d get him. They had his name, they could track him down. There were probably a lot of men with the same name, but that didn’t matter. I’d done everything I could, and now it was just a waiting game.
Tick tock went the clock.
Even if he was arrested, even if he was put on trial, I’d still always watch for him. In class, I’d sit near the windows, watching the parking lots nearby, worried he’d show his face. During graduation, when everyone was happy to finally get out of high school, I’d be waiting for him to pop up. He had a habit of appearing everywhere you didn’t want him. My life, for example.
I didn’t want an older boyfriend, but I was a druggie when it came to danger. I thought I was living life on the edge, dating someone who was practically double my age. I wasn’t; I was just a fucktard who deserved what she got.
Stupid. I was stupid. This whole thing happened because of my stupidity.
Two honks came from down the road, and I stumbled out of the woods, leaning closer to the road as I moved out in the open, where anyone and everyone could see me. If I saw Ray’s car driving toward me, I’d dart back in the woods. I wasn’t very attuned with nature though; I doubted I’d be able to find civilization after getting lost in the forests of these gentle hills.
It wasn’t Ray’s car, though. It was Kelsey’s.
She was but a dot at the gas station down the street, leaning her torso out of her window as she peered both ways. I waved my arms, hoping I wasn’t too far away, praying that she’d see me.
She did.
Kelsey turned around in the gas station, slowing her car as she pulled up beside me. I got in, slamming the door after me and saying, “Drive.” It was all I could get out. My voice was dry, my lips cracked. I needed water. Running for miles on end wasn’t good for you, not when you weren’t used to the physical activity, and not when you still felt like running.
I wanted to run so far and so fast, pretend as if this day just didn’t happen. If I could run into yesterday, convince my past self to never come on this weekend getaway, I would’ve. Alas, life was not a movie, and I was stuck wondering just how my life had come to this. Kids made mistakes, I knew, but this? This went beyond drinking and driving. This was worse than cheating on a math test.
This was murder.
Kelsey’s dark hair was up in a messy bun, and she wore no makeup. She looked like she just rolled out of bed, which made sense, since today was Saturday. Last night was the night to party. I would’ve been with her, had I not been with Ray.
Oh, God. I was with him last night, in his bed, while that girl was in the basement, a gag in her mouth…
No. I couldn’t lose myself to those thoughts.
“Ash,” Kelsey said, too busy staring at me with her mouth agape to drive. “What—”
She didn’t know the urgency here, so I said again, “Drive!” Finally I was frantic enough, pleading enough, for her to release the brake pedal and step on the gas. Finally, her cheap car started going, and never had I ever felt so thankful to this rust bucket.
“Ash, what happened?” Kelsey asked, tossing looks at me. The road around us was empty, and I peered behind us, fearing that Ray would be right on our tails. But, again, this was my life, not a movie. Ray was nowhere to be seen. I was alone with Kelsey and her questioning, curious gaze.
I said nothing, not knowing what I could say. I couldn’t tell her the truth, because I knew then she’d want me to go to the cops. Kelsey wouldn’t force me, but she wasn’t stupid. No, here and now, I was the stupid one, the one making the worst decisions of her life.
Kelsey then said something that took me so off-guard, all I could do was stare at her and blink: “We need to talk about it. I mean, look at you. I don’t mind the rust bucket getting some new stains, but that…that looks like blood.”
“What?” I asked, glancing down at myself. I didn’t have blood on me. I didn’t—
But…I did.
I blinked, lifting my hands in front of my face, as if seeing it for the first time. Bright red smeared all over my hands, my fingers. My right palm was clean, but that was because I’d touched the old guy’s phone. I’d gotten blood on his phone.
“Ash, you need to tell me what happened,” Kelsey said, shooting me another look. “You’re my best friend, my only friend, really, so if there’s anyone I can help hide a body, it’s you—” Kelsey’s words were a joke, but right now they were completely misplaced.
