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I fight out of her hold, and she raises her other hand, placing the tip of the gun to my temple.
“Fine, okay. I’m going—”
The sound of the front door slamming open grabs our attention. I want to cry out in relief. Pray Christopher brought help. That this is going to end soon. “Hmmm. . . hold that thought.” She steps back and smiles. “Okay, this is it. Wish me luck!”
“Rebecca!” Christopher’s voice bellows from the first floor.
“I’m up here,” she sings and plays with her hair. Leaning against the doorframe, she starts, “Hey, I’ve been waiting—my goodness what happened to your—” Rebecca is shoved to the side as Christopher appears in the doorway. His eyes are frantic as he searches the room, landing on me. His body stiffens, and he sucks in a hard breath.
“Jesus. . .”
“Christopher—it’s not what it looks like.” She steps toward him, but he puts his hand out, stopping her.
“Are you okay?” he asks me.
“Just dandy,” I hiss. “Me and your lover girl are getting to know each other a little better. She’s got quite the golf swing.”
Christopher’s eyes shoot to Rebecca. “Rebecca, what have you done?”
“Baby, I did this for us. Listen, I just needed you to see she wasn’t the one you wanted. You said it yourself on the phone. You chose me. But as long as she’s in the picture, we won’t be able to move on.”
“So, youkidnapher? What were you going to do to her, Rebecca?” he asks, flinching when she reaches out to touch him.
“I—just wanted you to see.”
Christopher shakes his head. “See what? This is beneath you. I can’t love anyone who would go to such extremes. Have you seriously lost your goddamn mind?” She tries to reach for him again, but he backs away. “Don’t touch me. This is insane.” He rushes over to me and kneels. “Are you okay? You’re hurt.” He lifts his hand to graze the cut on my cheek, then drops it as Rebecca’s voice slices the air between us.
“Get away from her.”
“I will do no such thing. You’ve gone too far—whoa. . .” Christopher slowly puts his hand in the air. “Becca, what are you doing? Put the gun down.”
“No. Not until you see what I’ve done for you. For us.”
Cautiously, he scoots away from me and stands. It’s then I see the silhouette behind her.Ben.My eyes grow wide. How did he—he places his finger over his lips, signaling for me to stay quiet. I fight back the tears at seeing him, but my relief is short-lived. He’s not safe either. Rebecca is a ticking timebomb with nothing left to lose.
Ben moves closer, stepping on a loose board in the floor. A creak sounds, and Rebecca turns. Christopher speaks up, grabbing her attention before she discovers him. “Rebecca—honey, look at me.” She brings her attention back to Christopher. “I do see. But this is not you. The woman I know would never hurt someone.”
“I didn’t want to, but you wouldn’t listen to me.”
“You’re right.” He takes another slow step forward. “This is on me.” He moves in front of me. “I know why you came here.”
“You do?”
“You love this place. The time we spent here. It was just us. The only time I felt alive was with you. It’s always been you, honey. Never her.” He looks at me, his expression cold as if hoping to show Rebecca he’s choosing her. That fails when our eyes collide. His facade slips. Remorse shines through, and he swallows down his emotions, knowing he has to keep going to appease her.
“This should have been our house,” she says, bringing her envious glare to me.
He turns back to her. “Just let her go. This isn’t about her anymore. It’s about us.” He grabs for her, but she brushes him off.
“No. She doesn’t get to walk away from this one.”
“What do you mean?” Christopher asks, his voice starting to sound panicked.
“I mean, if we don’t do something now, she’ll always be in the way. You told me yourself you don’t love her. Why does it matter?”
Even in this life-or-death moment, her words sting. I wish they didn’t. I wish he didn’t affect me. But she’s claiming years of our life were all fake. Memories and emotions that were just. . . lies.
“He never loved me, see? Let me go.” I tug at the zip tie. The fresh wave of betrayal fuels my anger. This is on him. He did this to us.
