FEAR... Fear is treacherous; it confuses you and moves you like a puppet. We always think we will react in a certain way to a situation. If I witnessed a car accident, I would help. If someone were bleeding in front of me, I would attend to them and call for help. As if we really had some kind of control over ourselves in a critical situation, when in reality, you have no idea how you will react, how your brain will move you when feeling threatened or pressured by a stressful situation. Like a puppet... I blamed time for making me slightly forget what it's like to feel fear and how unpredictable it can make me. I am an idiot. The moment the word "Yes" left Mason's lips, confirming the identity of the killer who took the lives of the people I loved most, the second I knew I was one question away from knowing his identity, there was a moment of weakness, a distraction that he knew how to take advantage of. Everything happened so fast that I didn't breathe. Mason extended his b
"So I do nothing? I just keep walking around, possibly talking to the killer without knowing it?" "Ignorance can be bliss, or in your case, your lifeline." "How can you analyze all this so well? How can you know what he's going to do?" Mason sighed. "Because that’s what I would do." -Mason- "No." His gaze met mine. "Someday I will tell you my story when we have eliminated your hunter and we are out of this place." "Is that a promise?" "I'm not a man of promises; I just say what I'll do, and that's it." "It's good to know that you're so convinced about catching the killer." I crossed my arms over my chest. "But why? Why are you helping me, Mason? What do you get out of this?" "Aside from the fun of watching this game between you and the murderer, I do hope to get a deal with the prosecution that put me here." "A deal?" "Yes, when you collaborate on a case as urgent as that of a serial killer, you can ask for things in return." "But the police don't know that you
Mason's words echoed in my mind: "If you have any intention of surviving, you have to be smart, think with a cool head." Maybe I never saw him; the killer couldn't have known that I wouldn't remember him. It was impossible for him to know for sure; no matter how many sedatives he used on me, nothing could give him the assurance that I would wake up and not remember some detail of his face to reveal his identity. "Didn't I see you, monster?" "Has your face never been revealed to me? And in this way, you can be close to me without me knowing." "Who are you?" "Well, the time has come." Jasmine didn't bother to hide the sadness in her voice, and I didn't blame her; I was fighting the lump in my throat. We both stopped in front of the main door of the psychiatric hospital; a taxi was waiting outside to take her to the airport. She had insisted on staying a little longer, but she had already missed a month of school. I couldn't allow myself to complicate her life like that; I would n
Émilie's face lit up. "Do you speak Korean?" Yang-zi nodded shyly. "Can you teach me? I love Korean dramas; my dream is to be able to watch them without subtitles one day." I rolled my eyes. "That's what you said with French: 'I want to watch classic movies in French without subtitles.' Where did that go?" Émilie stuck her tongue out at me. Xander appeared at the side of our table. "Ladies." Yang-zi lowered her head, blushing. She's so cute. "Sir, what brings you to this humble table?" Xander gave me that charming smile of his. "I made some brownies and wondered if you would be interested." Lyra raised an eyebrow. “They never make brownies here.” Xander crossed his arms, satisfied. "No, but I secretly made them for you." Émilie playfully punched his arm. "Aww, you spoiled us." Xander left and came back with a tray of brownies; my mouth watered. He sat down at our table next to Yang-zi, who was so red in the face that she might have a little crush on Xander. I noticed that X
His skin looked smooth and perfect, endless eyelids that made me envious. He gave me a closed-mouth smile as a greeting; he looked cautious, almost annoyed. I swallowed. “Thanks for coming.” He said nothing. The tension built, those dark eyes on me, assessing, searching. I pulled the sheet of paper with the questions out of my pocket, my hand shaking a little, and I mentally slapped myself. Come on, Anaís, get a grip. "How are you?" I had no idea why I asked that; anything was better than silence. Adam tilted his head. "Get to the point; I know you have a lot of questions." Why so cold? I let it go. “Can you tell me about that night? How you got home and… all that?” Adam sighed. "I hadn't been able to sleep all night, so I went out to the balcony to get some fresh air. It was almost dawn; I knew something was wrong. I thought I heard a scream in the distance coming from the forest that separated our houses. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but that didn't calm the f
Home... That feeling of having a safe place, where you can always go, where you are safe, where that bed is that you adapt perfectly to after years of use. That place no longer exists for me. I no longer felt part of anything, as if all my ties and connections had vanished that night and I was left to wander, floating without anything to hold me down to earth. My only solace had been Jasmine, my grandparents, and the only people I had met here, but now I had to doubt those small relationships I had created. Because there was a murderer among them. A wolf in sheep's clothing. How was that fair? After losing everything, I should be able to enjoy these new relationships without having to doubt everyone. What kind of life was this? I felt the need to confront the killer and ask him: What more do you want from me? You've taken everything, you've left me broken; isn't that enough? Maybe it wouldn't be enough for him until I was dead. My mind kept analyzing them all over and over a
I would like to say that I stopped, that I regained my self-control, that I reacted, realizing that this was a dangerous decision, but I didn't. Logan did it. With his breathing out of control, he pulled away from me, holding both hands next to my face. "I'm sorry, Anaís... I..." I couldn't hide the confusion in my expression; I didn't know what to say. Logan's gray eyes searched mine as he spoke again. "You don't want to do this." "What are you talking about?" He got off of me, standing at the end of the bed. I raised myself up on my elbows to look at him; he looked lost. "I haven't been honest with you. I don't deserve for you to give yourself to me blindly." That set off alarm bells in my mind. I remembered his purple fists, the way he knew everything about me, and what he was telling me at that moment. Sitting down, I swallowed the fear of knowing. "So, be honest with me." I saw him hesitate, running his hand over his face. "I want to be, but I don't want to lose you." I
She just nodded. Xander stared at her for a moment before turning to me. "It's your turn in Sweet Therapy, Anna." "Well," I let out a long sigh, "I already told you about Adam; I really don't know how to feel about him." Xander clenched his jaw. “Are you going to talk about Adam again?” "Do you mind if I do?" Lyra hit Xander's shoulder. "No, of course he doesn't mind; the point of this group is so we can talk about whatever we want, right Xander?" Xander rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I'm going to the bathroom." Annoyed, I followed him. "I'll be right back." As we climbed the stairs and emerged into the lonely hallway, I confronted him. “Okay, what’s your problem?” He shrugged. “I have no problem.” "Oh no? Because it seems to me that there is something you want to say." "Well, do you want to hear it?" he began. "It bothers me that you're still talking about that idiot after everything he did to you, and not only that, he took advantage of the fact that you didn't reme
The next day, when she came down the stairs and her gaze was on us decipher emotions, I knew Anaís was back and it was time to remind her. Logan….. Days after. I had to wait a few days for Anaís to be able to look me in the face and talk to me, we didn't talk about what happened between us, we didn't have to and to be honest, we love each other. I need you to come with me. Anaís wrinkled her eyebrows at the ice cream I offered her, “Ice cream?” Just came. We left the house, heading to the trees where I had installed a couple of swings the previous few days. She furrowed her eyebrows, taking a lick of her ice cream, What is this? Ice cream and swings? Aren't you too old for this? I smiled widely at him, “Just sit down.” She did so, her free hand gently stroking the metal rope at her side, a confused expression taking over her face. Mason had looked at me reluctantly, -You recreate the place, the moment as much as you can and this might help her remember it, - he paused, But
No.- she interrupted me, -Don't lie, grey eyes. I'll give you another chance because I'm in a good mood, and honestly, it would be a waste to kill Adam, he's good. I don't know what I feel for her, but it's the closest thing to love I've ever felt in my entire life.- I said honestly, She... - I could feel Mason and Adam's eyes on me, -She makes me believe that my diagnosis is wrong and that I can feel. The red princess narrowed her eyes, “Since when? Why her?” I didn't want to say it, but I knew I had to tell the truth, "I met her when I was twelve." Mason furrowed his eyebrows. The memory was as clear in my mind as if it had been yesterday. Are you crying? - she asked me curiously. I looked up to see a little blonde girl with an ice cream in her hand and a flowery dress with too many colors. I quickly wiped my tears away, embarrassed. She sat on the swing next to mine without saying anything. We stayed silent for a while, until she spoke after taking a lick of her ice cream, Whe
Adam. Blood dripped from my knuckles in a slow but mesmerizing rhythm. Mason remained silent, leaning against a tree with his hands crossed over his chest. There was no reason for him to be here anymore, I had calmed down and had no more bullets. Maybe he didn't want to go back and have to deal with what was going on in there either. I clenched my fists, causing more blood to pour out of the cuts on my knuckles. I wanted to say it hurt, but no, my pain tolerance was impressive thanks to all those years of dealing with it. Physical pain was an area I had under control, emotional discomfort was another matter. Emotional discomfort... A self-mocking smile formed on my lips. But then, what is all this shit that I feel? That was a question I had never found an answer to. Maybe I confused the feeling of losing an object of fun with jealousy or something else, but it didn't matter anyway. I heard footsteps and within seconds I had Logan standing in front of me at a safe distance. Hi
Adam… I shouldn't have let her go like that. Anaís was disturbed by that kiss; I knew it, and yet I had let her run away from me like that. I had to make it clear to her, to make her understand that she and I had history, long before Logan and Mason got into this. I paced back and forth in my room. Should I go to her? I didn't want to overwhelm her either; it would only push her away from me. I ran my hands through my hair in frustration, not knowing what to do. I shouldn't have lost control and kissed her like that, although a part of me was happy with her reaction—she kissed me back. Maybe her feelings were coming back. Maybe she was coming back to me. A smile formed on my lips; that would make me the happiest man on the planet. I had abandoned everything for her; I had done the unimaginable for her well-being and to keep her by my side. I just needed her to accept me for all this to be worth it; I didn't ask for anything else. Regaining my resolve, I left my room and headed
The darkness was stifling; I could barely breathe, my heart threatening to jump out of my chest. The daylight that filtered in under the door was barely enough to let me see Logan's silhouette a few feet away from me, but I couldn't see his face or his expression, and that scared me. Logan... My voice came out shakier than I expected, my throat dry, my hands sweaty. Logan didn't say anything, the silence gnawing at him. "Logan, open the door," I asked, praying that this was just a game that would last a few minutes. He wants you, Anaís. That voice again. That wasn't true; I was just a game to him, nothing more. You want him too, even if you don't want to admit it. No. Its darkness attracts you, intrigues you. No, that's not true. You want to see what lies beyond that cold demeanor. You want to see the man behind the indifference. You want to dig deep and find his humanity. No... I didn't realize I said it out loud until I heard it. I expected some sort of response or mocke
"They're not going to have you," he hissed in annoyance. "I know you'd never be that interested in them, and they wouldn't be able to force you." Won't they be able to force me? - I laughed sarcastically. - We're talking about two psychopaths, Adam; I think you should know that limits are not something they have. They have limits when it comes to you. I shook my head. - Suppose they don't do anything against my will; so what if they win? Logan and I already have history; what if I fall for him again? Adam didn't say anything; he just twisted his lips. So I continued, “Could you stand it?” I didn’t know where this strength came from to say these things. Seeing me with him every day? Seeing him touch me, kiss me, let me have sex in his room? Anaís... I took a step toward him, looking him straight in the eyes. Would you please? Adam clenched his jaw; he was angry, rage rolling off his posture in waves. I kept pressing it. Maybe he'll let you watch him make love to me and... A
I'm going crazy. And I know, because I'm starting to be like them. I silently observed each of their expressions, each gesture, each exchanged glance, analyzing, trying to make sense of all this madness. Struggling to find reasons, motives, weaknesses. The only difference was that no matter how hard I tried to act like them, I wasn't like them and never would be; there was only so much I could imitate or try to copy; everything had a limit. However, the little that I had noticed had to be of some use. Mason…. He was the most dangerous of all; he didn't take anything seriously, everything was a game to him, no matter how twisted and bloody it could get. Plus, he was extremely intelligent; that ability to manipulate and decipher people could be even more dangerous than any physical ability. Logan…. He was unpredictable, volatile behind that mask of coldness. I could see how unstable he could be when something didn't go his way or when something bothered him. Logan was easier to a
He took two steps toward me. "You say you hate me, but you can't, and that makes you angry." Don't come near me. He didn't stop, forcing me back until the back of my knees touched the bed behind me. "Despite everything, you can't help but feel the way you feel about me." I hate him, I hate him; he's a murderer. I keep repeating it in my head over and over again. But Logan didn't let me think; he grabbed me by the waist tightly with one arm, sticking me to him. I struggled, trying to free myself. —Let me go, Logan! He gave me that signature crooked smile of his. I missed you, Anaís. Before I could say anything, he used his free hand to grab me by the neck and smash his lips against mine. Those soft lips that were so familiar and that I had kissed so many times still felt good against mine, but I couldn't respond. I fought against that feeling of comfort and pushed him away. Logan stepped back, smiling. I slapped him as hard as I could. —Don't you ever do that again. Logan con
Memories………Blood... So much blood on my hands... I move my fingers in front of my face, warm blood sliding down them, running down my palms to my wrists and falling into the void. Stop... That soft voice... angelic... I turned around, but there was only darkness around me. Where am I? I'll bite you back, red princess. Mason's voice in the distance made me fall to my knees, a sharp pain spreading through my head, squeezing my skull, making me gasp in agony. I'm not interested in you; I'm interested in Anaís. It hurts so much. I heard footsteps approaching me; they were slow and steady. Whoever it was was in no hurry. Holding my throbbing head, I managed to stand up, staggering from side to side. The light came back around me, blinding and imposing, and there in front of me was my father. Dad? —I couldn't believe it. I hurried towards him. —Dad, my head hurts so much. Standing in front of him, my father smiled and hugged me, but instead of feeling good, it was the opposite