Page 16 of Escape

Kel and I started secretly seeing each other towards the end of our junior year, us getting caught together and leading to our tragic ending didn’t happen until the middle of senior year. I choked on the realization.

Was it possible that Ariana knew about Kel and me before she caught us?

I thought back to the harsh confrontation. Kel and I had been making out in the janitor’s closet like we had been for months. We were always careful to make sure nobody saw us. We’d never even been close to getting caught, not until that day.

Mid-kiss, the door swung open and Ariana appeared in the doorway, flanked by two other girls who weren’t important enough for me to remember. I immediately shoved Kel to the other side of the closet and denied what Ariana had seen.

I told her that we had spilled something in math class and were sent to get a mop together and when she opened the door, it scared me so bad that I fell over onto Kel.

She seemed to believe me, but still would question me from time to time about being with women or finding them attractive. She would even torture me by bringing it up in front of my mom, who would swear she had no problem with queer people, as long as it wasn’t her kids.

Eventually, I got so uncomfortable that I told her I had a boyfriend, a boy from another school. Luckily, Jared’s parents were friends of my parents and he’d always had a thing for me. I called him up that night and asked him out. We’d been together ever since and Ariana’s questions stopped for the most part.

After that day I denied her, I avoided Kel like the plague. She tried to talk to me, tried to reach out, but I ignored her like she wasn’t even there. It broke my heart every single time, so I slowly started building walls around it until nothing could break through. I shoved the memories so far down that they eventually all faded away. I molded myself into a completely different person who didn’t need to mourn the loss of the love of her life.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I finally let it all come flooding back. I was so stupid to deny her. I was so stupid to treat her so badly. I wished I could go back in time and have the courage to love her out loud.

Slowly, all the pieces started clicking into place. Could it be her? It had to be. Kel was the one who trapped me here. She was finally getting her revenge for how I’d kicked her to the curb.

Maybe I deserved everything that was happening.

“Time for our next game, babydoll. You’ll need what’s in the next box for this one.” The familiar nickname brought more tears to my eyes.

It was so clear now. Her voice was the same, just deeper and smoother with age. Her body had definitely grown and filled out, much different from her lanky form I’d grown to memorize. But it had to be her. I knew it in my bones.

I dug the two remaining black boxes from the backpack and set them on the bench next to me. The first box I tried popped open and inside was…surprise, surprise…another fucking key. If I made it out of here alive, I never wanted to see another key ever again.

Rolling my eyes, I stuffed everything back into the backpack, slung it over my shoulder, wincing at the pain from the rubber bullet wound, and clutched the key in my fist.

Before I left to wherever this maze led me next, I searched the lockers and found an old pair of sneakers that fit well enough. I kicked off my heels, stuffed them in the backpack and laced the sneakers up and right on cue, the sound of another door popping open sounded in the hallway.

Chapter 15

Kel

She remembered. She fucking remembered and it was tearing her apart. I could tell from the second she slammed my yearbook onto the bench beside her with tears streaming down her perfectly freckled cheeks.

I wanted to run into the room, take her into my arms and take the pain away. I wanted to tell her that I forgave her. That I was only here to give us another chance, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t time yet and I was much too busy at the moment.

I shoved my phone with the live feed of Jasmine into my back pocket and turned my attention back to the captive currently cuffed to a chair and screaming in front of me.

“What was that?” I cupped my hand around my ear and leaned forward. “Sorry, I can’t really hear you behind the...” I gestured my finger to my own mouth, indicating the gag that was currently locked between his lips and around his head.

He jerked around in his seat, nearly knocking himself over.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, killer,” I chuckled. “See what I did there?” His thrashing continued, clearly not amused by my joke.

“No? Anyway…you’re gonna get yourself hurt flailing around like that. You don’t want to fall over and crack your head open, do you? Not before you find out why you’re really here. But don’t worry, I’ve got something that’ll keep you a little more secure.”

I grabbed the tools I’d set aside next to the boxes for Jasmine and made my way back over to her shitty husband. I held my hands up, wiggling around what I had in my hands. It only made him jerk around more, swinging his head from side to side as his skin turned almost as red as my mask.

“Don’t worry, crybaby, it’ll only hurt for a second. Promise.”

I dropped to my knees in front of the wooden platform that his chair sat on and positioned the giant nail over his chained-up left foot. The sound of his muffled screams sent a thrill down my spine. I was happy I got to inflict a little bit of pain on him before I handed him over to his wife.

I cringed at the thought…not his wife anymore. Mine.

Teasing him, I did a few practice swings with the hammer, stopping just before I hit the nail. Each time, his toes would flex and he would scream louder. I could’ve sworn I smelled piss soaking into his jeans.