Page 50 of Watched

I once loved hearing the comforting sound of my mother’s voice. Now, it’s like sandpaper scraping against my brain.

“Morning, Mum. Indie and Kilah are staying with me again tonight.”

“Uh…I don’t know if that’s a—”

“They’re on break, Mum. We don’t see each other much and they want to stay and spend a few days with me.”

“You have commitments, Rome,” she argues dryly.

“And they’re sixteen,” I state calmly. “They’ve asked to stay, and I agreed. This isn’t me asking permission. This is me informing you.”

I pull the phone away and hang up.

Chapter twenty-one

RAIN

Blade taps the back of his gloved hand against At’s face, trying to wake him. Dried blood is caked under his nose and over his lips, running down his neck to stain his white shirt.

Opening the refrigerator tucked between two work benches, I opt for the can of Coca-Cola. Shaking it on my way back to stand in front of Atticus tied to a metal chair with straps, I point the can in his face and crack it open. The brown liquid sprays outs. He gasps and startles awake, sucking in breath after breath as I pour it over his head.

“That’s for trying to make me feel like shit about my sexuality, you prick,” I grit out.

“He what?” Blade asks so calmly, it’s chilling.

Atticus blinks rapidly, trying to discard the liquid from his eyes. They flick over our masks, the colour depleting from his face when his puny brain puts together who he’s staring at. He tries to breathe through his nose and groans. “H-hey, boys.”

Blade rounds his back, and Atticus shakes at the simple notion of Blade’s presence. “I warned you eight years ago that if you sold to her again, I’d put you six feet under. I’m getting even more pissed off that you’re a homophobe who made fun of my little brother.” Atticus begins to scream, but the annoying sound is cut off by Blade’s hand over his mouth. “You keep trying to scream, and I’ll cut out your fucking tongue.”

At’s blue eyes fill with tears, and I chuckle to myself. While Blade’s words are menacing, I know it’s the lack of emotion in his tone that’s frightening Atticus. It frightens everyone.

Although Blade refused to be tested, after referencing notes between my parents and doctors, Blade was diagnosed with Anti-Social Personality Disorder.

He is a psychopath.

I was well liked in high school and had many friends. Most teachers adored me for my brain, but Mr Lowe—our calculus teacher—would nit-pick my work, trying to find any flaw. There weren’t any, but he’d still try. I think he was jealous of my beautiful brain, as Mum once put it. I received a 79/80 on a test once, because Mr Lowe claimed my eight looked like a six in one of my workings. Blade calmly explained to him he must be blind and proceeded to rip a pair of glasses off a student’s face and shove them on his, telling him to ‘look again’. I got a perfect score.

“Shall we try again?” Blade asks.

Atticus frantically nods.

Blade releases him, and I step forward. “You were at Lakely’s wedding.”

“W—”

“That was a statement,” I interrupt. “You weren’t on the guest list. Lakely despised you, so your presence was odd. I had someone come in here a few days ago and buy some Oxycodone from you. It was tested for fentanyl.” I crouch. “Funny thing is, there wasn’t any. Yet, what you sold Alexa was heavily cut.” His Adam’s apple bobs with a guilty swallow. “Mmm,” I hum. “They made you give that to her, didn’t they?”

“They said they’d kill me,” he whines through his teeth.

“And look where we are,” Blade taunts behind him. “You’d have to know you’d be dead either way.”

Atticus pinches his wet eyes shut, which only causes his face to scrunch in pain. “You were in London.”

I tilt my head. “Alexa confronted you that night and ordered you to leave, but you weren’t there to celebrate the happy couple. You were only there to gain Alexa’s attention. They went after her to draw us back here. Too bad for them. They’ll never get to her again.”

She will be released from the hospital tomorrow morning and taken straight to Alcove. Alexa was still smoking weed, but, despite her deadening eyes, she was regularly attending her psychiatrist appointments, filling her prescription meds, and present at all her drug and alcohol meetings. Smith had Atticus taunt her with pills, I’m sure slyly digging at her with the fact that Lakely’s happy and married.

While Alexa is strong, escape is what she craves. From her mind and reality. Atticus presented her with a pill that would give her that. I thought after being around Blade for so many years, she’d recognise the immediate trap, but she’s okay and she’s safe. That’s all that matters.