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"Sadie?" Brandon's tone was laced with concern. "Sadie."
I remembered what happened that day and knew exactly what sent my mother over the edge that day.
Pushing through the front door of my house, I dropped my bag on the white tile kitchen floor. I was the only one home; everyone else had sports or band practice after school, but for the first time in a long time I had nothing, and I was excited to have the house to myself for a few hours before my parents got off work and my siblings got home from their practices.
I skimmed the empty fridge for a snack while I flipped through my phone, and when I couldn't find anything, I headed up the stairwell to my bedroom to change clothes, and then I was going to binge watch TV until everyone got home.
With seven people living in one house, it was rare that I ever got to watch TV. and even if I did, I never got to watch it in the living room.
Bouncing up the stairwell, I yelped, and my heart stopped cold when I heard a noise from the second floor. My pulse thrummed in my ears so loud I was unsure I heard anything.
Pausing at the edge of the staircase, I listened, contemplating whether I should call out, but what if it was a burglar? I knew I should run out of the house and call 9-1-1, but how ridiculous would I look if it was my mom and she'd come home early? Of course, I hadn't checked the garage for her car when I'd gotten home. I'd just assumed she wasn't here.
Creeping on my tiptoes, I eased my way to the top of the staircase as the sound got louder. It was definitely coming from my parent's bedroom.
My mom screamed, and I shoved the bedroom door open. It wasn't a burglar. It was my mom naked, bent over the bed, getting fucked from behind... by my best friend, Brandon.
Holy fuck, I remembered everything. My gaze snapped up, meeting his. My eyes widened with a mixture of fear and shock. We weren't debating anything that night. We were fighting. I was angry with him, and he was trying to apologize. He was begging me not to tell anyone. He told me how much it would hurt my mother.
I was the one that was meant to die that night. She was scared I would tell people, and I pulled the final crazy straw that sent her over the edge.
When I fell off the roof and ran to his house, I didn't talk to him. His mother helped me, but I never told a soul about the fear. Somewhere along the line, I blocked everything that happened that day out.
But so much didn't make sense, like why he was here helping me now? Or was he? Fear wrapped around my lungs, squeezing tightly, making breathing hard.
"Sadie," he said again, leaning forward in his chair.
"Sorry," I said, shaking the shock off my face and trying to play off my flashback, trying not to give away that I remembered. I needed KJ, and I needed him now. "I need to go to the bathroom."
Pushing out of the chair, I rushed into the house, grabbed my phone off the kitchen table on my way to the bathroom, slammed the door, and locked it behind me. I didn't know what Brandon's true intentions were. There was no way he didn't remember that he'd been fucking my mom behind my back. My hand shook uncontrollably as I hit KJ's name.
Sadie: 9-1-1. Can you come over now, please?
I hit send, waited for it to go through, and then powered off my phone, shoving it under the counter to hide it in case I needed it later. I was being paranoid, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want him to know I'd texted KJ; I didn't want him to panic and think I remembered anything. I needed to remain calm until KJ got there, and then KJ could help me get him the fuck out of my house.
Throwing open the bathroom door, I walked out of the bathroom, and instant pain shot through my face when something hard struck me, and I stumbled backward, hitting the ground.
"God, I was hoping you wouldn't remember." Brandon sneered. "Or at least not before I got to fuck you."
"Brandon," I cried as blood trickled down my face. I scrambled to get to my feet, but my vision was blurred, and my entire body shook with fear.
"Shut up," was the last thing I heard before everything went black.
* * *
My eyes eased open, wincing at the sharp shooting pain radiating through my face.
"Oh, good," Brandon said. His hands rested on his knees as he leaned down eye-level to me. "You're awake." How long had I been out? It was still dark outside, so it couldn't have been that long.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked, distracting him as my gaze assessed my situation. I was still in the bathroom but strapped with rope to the dining room chair by my chest, legs, and ankles. My white shirt was covered in bright red blood. Why was I still in the bathroom? My chest tightened as realization washed over me. That was where he was going to kill me. "You were helping me."
"But was I?" Brandon sighed dramatically. Sucking in a deep breath, he stood to his full height. "The night before your little boyfriend called, Kara dumped me, and I was pissed. His timing was pure perfection. I was angry and wanted her to pay for what she'd done to me, so I told him how crazy she was and how great your dad was. He did exactly what I thought he would and hired your daddy an attorney to file an appeal."
Omigod, he was a psychopath. How did I not see this before? This was why when I left, I never looked back. I never called or texted him. I couldn't remember why then, but I did now.
"But the problem now is that Kara and I made up, and I have to eliminate you to keep her out of prison. Without your testimony, there is no appeal." He shrugged. "Sorry, but I can't live without her. Although I really did want to know if the saying 'like mother like daughter' rang true in all areas."
My stomach churned as acid rose into my throat." You've been with my mom this whole time," I narrowed my gaze.
