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“I need a minute.” I stomped away, a storm brewing inside me. My mind spun with a merry-go-round of questions. I whirled back around and placed my hands on my hips, my shock and pity morphing into anger. “What do you mean not really? You need to stop dragging your feet and tell me everything, Dope. You’re fucking with my head and feelings for a man that I’ve fallen for. Just rip the damn Band-Aid off.”
“I’m sorry, Ella. Reliving this all is gutting me. I understand where you’re at, but you need to remember that Bass, Kip, and I are like brothers. Keep that in the back of your mind as I tell you the rest.”
“So you’re telling me that you’re all insane or that this isn’t what it seems like?” I tapped my foot impatiently while a sheen of sweat broke out across my forehead.
“Both.” He shoved his fingers in his red hair, leaving it disheveled.
“Then get to talking.”
“Yeah. I’ve got this.” He nodded as if to reassure himself that he could go through with the conversation. “I ran out of the house and back to mine where I phoned Mom at work. I was nearly hysterical as I tried to explain to her what I’d seen. She called Dad and the cops and told me to stay put. It was then that I realized Bass was holding the damn knife. If the police showed up and he was still gripping it, they would arrest him and charge him as an adult. I snuck away and ran my ass off back to his place. That time I went through back yards so no one would see me. I barged into his home and ran to the kitchen. After I skirted the walls of the kitchen and reached Bass, I talked to him like I always did. I told him about the new Dungeons and Dragons story I was thinking about. I tried to be so careful walking into the crime scene as I spoke to him. He just rocked back and forth with a blank look on his face. My goal wasn’t to get him out of there, just get the knife. If they didn’t have a weapon, they wouldn’t suspect Bass had anything to do with the murders.”
The fear rising in my chest felt like an avalanche of ice-cold water. Terror rippled through me, and I could almost feel the sharp talons as they scraped along my skin. I gritted my teeth nervously, every inch of me shaking, desperate to ask a question but terrified at what the answer may be. “Did he?”
Dope’s gaze softened, a deep sorrow in them. “I don’t know,” he replied, his voice full of sympathy. “Bass and I never talked about everything that happened, only bits and pieces. Even if we did, I’m not sure he’d remember what he saw. The memories are buried so deep inside him that I don’t think he can tap into them. Sebastian blocked it out hard. Whatever went down, I doubt we’ll ever get the full story.”
I curled my hands into fists, fighting the rush of tears, ready to break free, but somehow, I managed to rein them in.
“How does Kip fit in all of this?”
“Let me get there. After the cops showed up, social services took Bass. He wasn’t at school for weeks, and I couldn’t get in touch with him. Mom was able to reach the social worker, but Bass was at a boy’s home where they were keeping him until they found a family willing to take a traumatized preteen in. Mom and Dad were all over that, and it wasn’t long after Bass moved in with us.”
“Shit. Were you scared he’d hurt your parents too?”
“Fucking terrified. I didn’t sleep for the first month he was there. But over time, I saw glimmers of my best friend. Mom was a huge fan of therapy, and the state paid for his sessions. Mom never told me what she’d learned, but whatever it was, she was even kinder to Bass. She went out of her way to make him feel like family. Damn, he’s always been family, but his parents were brutally murdered in front of him. That shit scars someone for life, man. You don’t ever unsee something that horrible. I sure as hell didn’t, and I didn’t see it all go down, just the aftermath.” He took a steadying breath.
“Life returned to normal for the most part. Kip moved into the neighborhood, and we all hit it off pretty quick. There were days that Bass was super quiet, and I knew he was struggling with the loss of his parents. It wasn’t until later that I learned how bad it really was.”
Dope shuddered before he picked up his joint. I snatched it out of his grip as he was about to light it. “You’ll get this back when you’re finished telling me the rest.”
Dope scowled at me. “Don’t be a brat, Ella, give me my weed.” He held his hand out, but I stood my ground.
When Dope realized I wasn’t fucking around, he started to talk again. The heavy ball in my stomach churned, and I needed him to get to the damn point.
“Kip was staying over for a D&D weekend. We were excited about the expansion that had just come out. Dad actually picked it up for us. Mom bought snacks and drinks and checked on us a few times. Other than that, we were holed up in my room for those two days. Man, that time was so fun. It was like Bass hadn’t lived through hell, and I had my best friend back. He seemed like he’d healed enough to move on. It was good to see him happy. Kip didn’t really know any difference since he’d only been around for a year, but I did. I really thought Bass had turned a corner. I was so fucking wrong.”
I froze, waiting for Dope to ease my fears.
“At first it was kind of subtle. Bass would imitate a character to entertain us. His voice would change and the expressions on his face were cool as hell. It was like he could become someone else. Kip told him he had found his calling and could make good money as a voice actor for Batman or some other superhero cartoon. By the time the weekend was nearly over, we were tired as hell for staying awake for almost forty-eight hours … that’s when shit hit the fan.”
The pressure in my head grew more and more intense as fear consumed me.
“All the sudden, Bass shuddered like he was cold, then his entire face changed. His eyes looked different, and his accent was gone. He gave us the evilest smile I’d ever seen, and I almost pissed my pants when he started talking.” Dope glanced at me, our gazes locking.
A dark and heavy dread licked up and down my body, and my palms grew clammy. This can’t be happening. He can’t be saying what I think he’s saying.
“He said he’d gotten home from school and walked into his house like any other day. That time, there was a strange man there. Bass heard fighting and crept closer to listen. His father argued with the man, and his mother screamed. Bass got so scared he hid beneath the stairs. There was a little door there for storage, and he crawled in. He listened to his mom die a horrible death, Ella.”
A groan of frustration and relief escaped me. “He didn’t kill his parents?! Dope, how could you not tell me that first?” I fisted my hand and bit my knuckles, trying not to punch him in the damn jaw for not telling me that information to begin with.
“Because if I’d started with that, you wouldn’t have listened to the rest. You would have made up your mind before I told you everything.”
Finally, after learning that Sebastian was innocent of murder, I collapsed back into my seat, still shaking from the intensity of my emotions. “The important thing is that Sebastian didn’t murder his family.”
A heartbeat of silence hung in the air.
“I never said that. I said I didn’t have the entire story.”
Chapter 44
