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Believe it or not, nighttime wasn’t really my hunting ground. I much preferred hunting in the broad light of day. A true hunter didn’t need the help of darkness to catch his prey. He blended in to his surroundings no matter what they were. He moved quickly and quietly, knowing how to track his prey from afar. And, of course, he waited until he had the perfect shot lined up.
And it only ever took one. If you were good at what you did, you only needed one shot, no matter how big the prey was.
I wished Charlie would call and ask me to sneak in. Things were more complicated now, though, with her uncle living there. I didn’t know how heavy of a sleeper he was. If Charlie and I made too much noise… well, the jig would be up. He was in her sister’s old room, which was literally right next door. They shared a wall, so it was a little bit closer than her parents.
If things were different… I guess Charlie and I never would’ve crossed paths. As much as I wanted things to be different, I would never give up the chance of getting to know her. A normal life wasn’t for me, and I was too selfish to give Charlie up, even if it would be for her own good.
I wasn’t a good man. I knew that. What someone like me was doing falling in love with a girl like Charlie, I didn’t know. I didn’t even know I could love before she’d raced into the picture and hit me with her car.
God. I’d almost killed her that day, when I’d gotten free of the restraints she’d put me in. I had my hands wrapped around that tiny little neck of hers, and I’d squeezed with all of my might. I couldn’t remember what it was that had stopped me. Maybe the look on her face.
No, the eyes. Her eyes were the thing that stopped me. The sadness within them, how accepting she was of her impending death.
Never, ever thought I’d think anything remotely close to this, but thank fuck I didn’t kill her.
I was finishing up a loop around the house when I happened to glance up to her window. I was near the house, by the back porch, so it was kind of a hard angle for my neck to take. Don’t ask me what made me look up; I just did, and when I did, my feet skidded to a halt in the grass.
Unless the darkness of the night was playing tricks on me, someone’s shadow was in her room. A man, standing near the window, gazing out. I couldn’t see any features of his, just the vague outline—enough of an outline to know it didn’t belong to Charlie.
I couldn’t move further out into the yard to get a better look; if I did, whoever it was would see me. Instead, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my shitty phone and the key to her house. I dialed her number as I went straight for the back door.
The key inserted into the lock right when Charlie answered. “Hello?” she sounded groggy, like she’d been sleeping.
“Someone’s in your room, I’m coming up now.” The door unlocked, and I yanked the key out and pulled it open, about to step inside the house when she told me something I couldn’t have anticipated.
“No, don’t.”
“But—”
“I’m going back to bed. You should, too.” And then she hung up.
I stood, half in the house, half out, staring at my phone as I pulled it away from my ear. The night breeze snaked around me, entering the house through the open door. I couldn’t even stop to think about how weird that call was, because I moved back outside, shut the door, and returned to the spot where I’d originally seen someone standing in her window.
He was gone. No one was there.
And, because no one was there, I stood there for I couldn’t say how long wondering if I’d seen an actual person, or if my eyes were just playing tricks on me. If someone was in her room, surely she would’ve said something to me, right?
I should go back inside anyway, and see for myself, just to make sure, but… if Charlie said not to come up, she was fine. We were past the point of lying to each other now, weren’t we? Maybe my eyes had played tricks, and she didn’t want to wake her parents or her uncle by me barging in.
I was torn. The old me would’ve barged right in, without caring what she said. The new me wanted to try to respect her wishes; if she wanted to go back to bed, then that’s what she should do.
Still, as I stood there, staring up at her empty window, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in my gut.
Chapter Sixteen – Charlie
It was easier than it should’ve been to lie to Brett, but with Uncle Dave watching, what else could I have done? I could’ve told him that yes, someone was in my room, and Brett would’ve raced up here, ready to throw down. There was no telling who would’ve been the victor, and more than that, my parents definitely would’ve been woken up, and then we’d have a body on our hands and no amount of explanation to my parents would make them okay with that.
So, I lied. I told him to go to sleep, that I was going back to bed… but in reality, it couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t think of a way out of this. I couldn’t think up a way that would end with a happy ending for both Brett and me. And if I had to choose one or the other, well, I think it was obvious I’d choose Brett. If only one of us could go on and be happy, it should be Brett.
Me? I was used to living a vacant, sad life. I could go back to it. It was what it was. Uncle Dave hadn’t really given me much choice in the matter.
After I ended the call, I set my phone back on the nightstand, and Uncle Dave turned away from the window, coming back to me. I sat on the edge of my bed, feeling small, but wishing I was even smaller when he stood in front of me.
Thankfully, it was an exceptionally dark night, so I couldn’t see much. Just his outline, really. It was enough to make me feel sick, but I held it back, held it all in. It’s what I’d done my entire life.
This secret wasn’t something I could just share. The guilt, the shame… other people wouldn’t understand why I’d never said a word all these years. They’d never get why I’d kept it all to myself, nor would they understand why I’d regressed the moment Uncle Dave had made his not so triumphant return.
