Chapter 46
Elizabeth
I woke up to a sharp pain in my face.
“Elizabeth. Wake up, we’re almost there.”
My tired eyes slowly opened, and I winced as the headlights of another car blinded me. I was reclining in the front seat of a vehicle, and as I turned my head to see the driver, the events of the past few hours came rushing back.
Calvin was the serial killer.
He’d kidnapped me.
I had no idea where we were or where he was taking me.
My head ached, and I put together that he must have knocked me out once we got to his vehicle because I don’t remember anything after getting in.
I sat up straighter and winced again. My hands were still fastened behind my back and my shoulders were burning from the exertion.
“Where are we?” I asked, my voice groggy.
“We’re almost home. I’d tell you to look out the window, but it’s dark.”
I did anyway.
I figured it might help me down the line to know something about my surroundings. Calvin was driving us through a suburban neighborhood with minivans parked in driveways and basketball hoops on streets. I wished we were somewhere commercial, so I might get an idea of where we were, but all that passed us by were houses.
Finally, a two-story home came into view that looked somewhat familiar. It was light colored with dark shutters, but in the moonlight, I couldn’t tell the exact shade. However, the planters on each window were easy to distinguish, and I recognized it as Abraham’s old house.
That meant we were in Charlotte.
What the hell were we doing here?
For some reason, I thought he’d be taking me back out to Asheville, but I realized now that didn’t make much sense. It would probably be the first place Abraham looked for me.
My belly clenched with anxiety.
Was Abraham looking for me? Did he even know I was missing yet? Or was he fast asleep, completely oblivious to tonight’s turn of events.
What would happen when he woke up? Would he try to call me? Would he think I was ignoring him on purpose? Would he assume I needed some space and leave me alone for a few days?
God, I hope not.
I didn’t think I had a few days if I was being honest. The longer I stayed with him, the likelier it was that he’d end up killing me. Because despite the fact that he thinks he’s in love with me, I knew the truth.
Psychopaths are incapable of truly loving anything. Soon his delusion will fade, and he’d know what a mistake he made by capturing me. And once that happened, my future would be more unsure than ever.
Calvin turned onto a gravel road, and we traveled deeper into the complex.
I had to wonder if Abraham’s uncle, Conrad, knew about this. Calvin was his son after all, so he must be involved in this somehow. He might not know that Calvin was killing women up in Asheville, but he’d know there was something up when Calvin arranged to stay on Conrad’s pack lands again.
I wondered how that relationship mended. Abraham told me that Calvin and Clyde never got along with their father and had no relationship with him. Clearly, that had been another way Calvin deceived us all.
Finally, he pulled up to a small stone cottage and cut the engine. We sat in silence for a moment before he turned to face me. “Well, we’re home.”
I raised a brow as I stared at the little house.
Did he expect me to be happy about that?
From the way the smile slowly slid from his face, I realized that he in fact did. His eyes turned hard, and he reached out to grab the hair on the back of my head.
“I did all this for you! The least you can do is show a little appreciation.”
I did my best to not struggle against his hold, but the pain in my head was blinding. He was pulling hair right above where he’d hit me earlier to knock me out, and I was just barely holding onto consciousness.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just a lot to take in. That’s all.”
Calvin slowly released my hair as his shoulders relaxed. He reached out and cupped my face. “You’re right. This must be a lot for you to process, but I promise you’re gonna love it here.”
I tugged at the corner of my lips until I thought there might have been a decent smile on my face. Thankfully it was enough for Calvin because his grin got wider and he pulled the keys from the ignition.
“All right let’s give you the official house tour!”
He slid out of the truck and limped over to the passenger side. I scooted off the seat and fought to find my equilibrium. Between having my hands bound and the head wound, it wasn’t as easy as it usually was.
Calvin wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me toward the front door.
“I didn’t know what you’d want to do with the insides, so I’ve left them pretty bare for now. I figured once we got settled that we’d be able to decorate together. Won’t that be fun?”
He was actually insane.
How he’d deluded himself so badly into thinking I was here willingly and wanting to set up house with him was beyond me, but I knew I needed to play along. Every time I went against his fantasy, he lashed out in anger. If I had any hope of escaping, I’d need to first make sure I made it that long. And angering him would lead to only one place–my body discarded in the woods like all the others.
Calvin opened the front door and gestured for me to enter first. I stepped into a small living room dining room combination that like he’d said, was very plain. There was a futon sofa and a rickety table with two chairs set up and that was pretty much it.
Along the far wall was a small kitchen and toward the back was a small hallway that I assumed led to the bedrooms.
Please let there be two bedrooms.
“So, what do you think?”
I plastered another fake smile on my face. “I think it has a lot of potential.”
Calvin’s smile widened until I swear I could see all his teeth. “It does, doesn’t it?”
He proceeded into a long rant about all the plans he had for the space while I tuned him out. I needed to use this time to get a feel for the place and formulate an escape plan.
Above the kitchen sink was a window I thought I could fit out of, I just didn’t know how I’d do that with my hands bound behind my back.
Behind us was the front door, but Calvin had already locked the deadbolt with a key he then pocketed. So, that wasn’t a viable option.
I didn’t know if there was a backdoor, but I’d be on the lookout for one.
“Now, let’s go back and see the rest of the house.”
He walked close behind me, limping slightly as we made our way down the short hall. The first door on the right was a bathroom. An idea came to me and I shelved it for later.
Next, he pointed out a linen closet, and finally he opened the last door in the hall onto a small bedroom.
“And this, is our bedroom,” he said, pride lacing his tone.
My stomach clenched as I looked upon the single full-sized mattress on the floor in the middle of the room.
I knew I needed to do everything I could to not wind up in that bed with him.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
I nodded my head. “I do. It’s very… quaint.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. Bile rose in my throat as I remembered all the times Abraham had done something similar. Had Calvin been watching all that time? Was he trying to emulate him now? How far did his delusions go?
Calvin reached out and shut the bedroom door, and I released a quiet sigh of relief. He led me back down the hallway and sat me at the old dining room table.
Standing there with hands on his hips, he looked around the small house.
“Why are you doing this, Calvin?”
He looked down at me like he’d forgotten I was there. “Because we’re in love. We’re gonna be together forever.”
I swallowed harshly and shook my head. “No, why did you start all this? You were killing women in the woods long before I showed up. I want to know why.”
I realized I had very little room to make demands, but I figured if I was stuck here, I might as well try to get some answers out of him. It might be helpful, or it might just be a way to understand more about what was happening to me.
Calvin sighed and took a seat in the other chair opposite me. He rested both elbows on the table and met my eyes. “You want to hear about Sarah?”
“Who’s Sarah?”
He waved a hand. “Don’t worry, dear, she has nothing on you.”
I swallowed again and shook my head. “Tell me about her.”
He sighed wistfully. “She was beautiful. Looked a lot like you actually,” he said with a smile in my direction. “But she couldn’t handle what I was.”
“She was a human?”
He nodded solemnly. “She was. We dated for nine months before I told her. I thought we were in love. Thought that nothing could come between us.”
I waited a beat before speaking. “So, what happened?”
His eyes turned hard. “She thought I was a freak,” he spat. He reached up and grabbed a handful of his own hair and pulled. “I thought she’d understand. That I could make her see.” He pounded a fist onto the table, and I fought not to jump in my seat. “But she wouldn’t. So, I bit her.”
I gasped quietly. “What did you do with her until the full moon?”
He waved a hand around the room. “I kept her here where she’d be safe.”
I looked around the room with fresh eyes as a shiver went racing down my spine. Who knows how many women he’s kept within these walls. Was I doomed to share their fate?
“What happened at the full moon?”
He looked down at the table. “She wasn’t strong enough.”
“What happened after that?”
He shrugged. “I buried her and tried again.”
So, all of this was because he’d been scorned by an ex-girlfriend. Countless women had lost their lives, and I’d had mine forever altered because he was jilted.
The anger at the unfairness of it all was rising in my system, but I needed to keep my cool. My anger would only feed his, and I was completely defenseless. I needed to keep him talking.
“You must have really loved her, huh?”
He nodded and looked up at me. “Not as much as I love you, though. Don’t worry about that.”
Great.
He slapped both palms on the table and stood. “Are you hungry? I was thinking about making us some food.”
I was finally getting the window of opportunity I needed.
“Yeah, that sounds great. Could I go to the bathroom while you do that? I really have to pee.”
He jerked his head toward the hall. “Go ahead, you know where it is.”
I turned in my seat to show off my hands. “I’ll need this off then.”
I held my breath as he studied me closely.
Finally, he pulled a knife out of his pocket and opened it. “Stand up and turn around.”
I wasted no time doing what he said and a few seconds later, my hands were free, and my shoulders were crying out their thanks. I rolled my neck and shook my arms, hoping to get the feeling to come back to them.
Calvin eyed me again as he motioned toward the bathroom. “Go on and come right back out. I’ll have dinner ready in a just a few.”
I nodded and turned toward the bathroom. I did my best to walk slow enough that I wasn’t suspicious, but my feet yearned to run as far and as fast as I could.
I made it into the bathroom and switched on the faucet before locking the door. I didn’t know if he’d like that or not, so I hoped the sound of the water muffled the click of the lock.
I immediately began rummaging through the cabinets and drawers searching for anything that could help me. Maybe I’d find a weapon like a pair of scissors or even a metal nail file somewhere.
When my search came up empty, I stood back up and put my hands on my hips. I looked around the room once more, hoping to find something I’d missed, when I saw it.
There was a freaking window above the toilet.
I was so excited I skipped over to it.
Stepping carefully, I climbed up and turned the lock, crossing my fingers as I gently pushed on the frame. To my delight, it opened freely, and the night air came rushing into the small bathroom.
I was so happy I could dance, but now was not the time. I needed to still somehow climb up high enough and hope I could fit through the window all before Calvin realized something was up.
I opened the window as far as it would go and eyed it critically. I wasn’t sure it was wide enough for me to fit through, but I’d gladly burst a few organs if it meant getting out of this alive.
I put both hands on the window sill and jumped, hoping I could hoist myself through, but I misjudged the distance. Instead of slipping through the window, I fell back onto the toilet seat, the ceramic clanking softly under my feet.
I froze in place.
My breath caught in my lungs and my heart stopped beating as I quietly listened for Calvin. When it seemed like he hadn’t heard me, I decided to try again.
This time, I climbed onto the tank and was just able to get the top half of my body through the window before there was a knock on the door.
“Elizabeth? Is everything all right in there?”
I pulled my head back inside. “Yeah, I’m good. I’ll be out in a few,” I called, hoping he wouldn’t pick up on the hysteria in my voice.
The doorknob turned violently before there was a pounding on the door. “Why is this door locked? Open it.”
My heart was in my throat, beating so hard I was afraid it would explode. I needed to go. Right now.
I turned back toward the window and pushed my top half through again. Using my feet to slowly creep up the wall, I pushed and shoved and tried to squirm my way through the small space as quickly as possible.
There was a loud crash of splintering wood behind me and I knew Calvin had made it in the bathroom. I shoved once more, as hard as I could, and just got my hips through the opening when I was yanked back violently.
I went sailing back through the window and hit the top of the toilet as I crashed to the ground. I looked up to find a ferociously angry Calvin, and I swallowed harshly.
This was it.
I’d tried to escape, and I’d been caught. I’d smashed the illusion that I wanted to be here with him and my life had never been in greater danger.
Calvin’s shoulders were heaving with his rage as he stared down at me. “You really shouldn’t have done that.”