Oh you never seem to notice

When I follow you home

In the dark of your apartment

When you think you're alone

Chapter Nine

||KIT||

†

On Monday Amy and I went to school despite Sara's protests.

She'd said it wouldn't be safe and on top of that it would be too much stress for me after what happened but Amy was adamant that sticking to my usual routine would be better for me.

Later, she practically had to become my bodyguard because the whole school had heard about the murders and I was getting a lot of unwanted attention.

The first couple periods were spent with me trying to avoid the myriads of questions being thrown at me and after having lunch Amy dropped me off at my history class and I sat at the back, picking my nails with my eyes trained on my desk, barely paying attention to the lesson. Apparently no one else was either because I could feel their questioning gazes on me the whole time.

Most were in awe at the fact that I'd survived, little did they know it was sheer luck that the killer took a slight interest in the fact that I'd killed Cassandra.

I couldn't stop thinking about that. I killed a person and here I was walking free like everything was normal. Did I even deserve it?

The classroom door suddenly flew open with a bang and before I could lift my head I was being yanked from my chair and dragged out of the room.

"M-Mason?!" I squeaked, his large hand gripping my wrist tightly as he dragged me down the hallway despite my struggle. He looked a mess and his hair was all over the place.

He let me go once we were outside, turning to face me and I gasped. His eyes were bloodshot and he had a host of small cuts on the left side of his face and a deep gash above his eyebrow that seemed to be infected and in need of stitches.

"I need answers."

I blinked, fidgeting with my top a bit nervously as my heart thundered in my chest, "w-what do you mean?"

I saw him visibly clench his teeth, "How did you get away? Why don't you even have a scratch?"

"I-"

He was pacing, running his fingers through his already touselled hair before he came to stop before me, his eyes wide and filled with tears, "I- I saw. I saw and I couldn't-" he broke down a bit, sobbing into his hands and I was tempted to wrap my arms around him to comfort him but I couldn't bring myself to.

A part of me wanted to feel bad but all I felt was disgust. I tried to cast the feeling aside and did what I initially wanted to do, wrapping my arms around his body firmly, feeling him go rigid under my touch.

He calmed down after a while, face wet with tears and his nose swollen and red.

"Do you want to sit?" I asked. He nodded a little and we went to sit on one of the few benches outside under the old oak trees. Neither of us spoke for a long time until he grabbed my hand.

"I think I'm going crazy. I haven't slept. Since that night I keep feeling like I'm being watched-" He looked around for a little before saying, "what if the killers- what if they come after us?"

"They?"

He nodded, "there were two of them, you didn't see them?"

I bit my lip, "only one of them. He knocked me unconscious and that's all I remember," I lied.

He scoffed, "you got lucky. I went outside after you went upstairs. I saw what they did to Dylan and Rolland. It was-" He choked up a bit, "I know I should have helped but I panicked. After they went back to the house I took Dylan's car."

My brows furrowed. So this is how he got away? A part of me was disgusted at the fact that Mason had fled like a coward, Another part of me sort of understood. No one really wants to die.

"I was so out of it I hit a tree on the way back but I got home anyway. I'm happy to know you're alive but Cass..."

He trailed off and I slipped my hand out of his grip. I killed her and here I am comforting her brother. When did life get so complicated?

Just then someone shouted my name. I looked up to see Amy heading over to us.

"What happened?" She asked looking concerned, "I went to your class and you weren't there. Are you okay?"

"Mason was just telling me how he- escaped," I said looking over at him.

He could barely meet her eyes and she placed her hands on her hips, "you dragged her out of her class."

Ducking his head he nodded lightly, "Sorry."

Amy took my hand and I let her pull me up from where I sat. It was so weird for me to see Mason this way.

So broken.

"Amy," I said softly, "his sister."

She sobered up a bit, "oh shit I'm so sor-"

"No," he got up from his seated position on the bench, "don't say it," and before she could say anything more he walked away.

She shrugged and wrapped an arm around me, "I still don't see why you're into him."

I bit my lip. After Friday night it was hard for me to see Mason in the same light. Seeing him this way now, knowing he'd ran way like a coward leaving everyone behind to die, I wasn't sure I even liked him anymore.

"I'm not anymore," I voiced and both her eyebrows went up.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, besides he told me he was into you Friday night."

She laughed and shook her head, not even bothering to comment on that "Come on we have class."

I followed her inside wondering why she was being so cool about everything. I was grateful for it though. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be okay with it too.

That evening Amy dropped me home and after studying and having dinner I bathed the twins and put them to bed. Sara was busy on a call with Tia Rosa, my favorite aunt and I yawned, heading into my room barefoot as I rubbed my tired eyes.

Closing the door behind me I made my way over to my bed and shook two of the pain pills into my palm before dry swallowing them.

As I lifted my shirt to pull it over my head I caught a slight movement over by the window in my peripheral and I stiffened, turning slowly to make sure I was only seeing things. My heart almost dropped out of my mouth when I saw the white shape before me.

My breathing calmed down a little when I realised it was just the seashell patterns on my curtains that had created the illusion and I let out a breath, pulling my shirt down again.

I swallowed the lump in my throat before creeping over to the open window.

Had I left it that way all along?

There was no one on the outside and I closed the window before pulling the curtains shut as well but as I turned around I came face to face, well mask, with the killer from the cabin and I was so frozen in shock I couldn't move.

After a moment he spoke.

"Expecting me?"

His voice was slightly muffled and I took a step backwards, my back coming into contact with the cold wall behind me.

"What are you doing here?" My voice sounded a lot firmer than I felt inside.

"Just came to pay you a visit, besides Cinderella, you left something behind."

My brows furrowed in confusion before he produced his left hand and as he opened his palm, there was my choker.

"You took it- " I said slowly, cautiously stepping forward but before I could snatch it from him he took his hand away and I gulped.

"Well I needed something of yours to track you with, and this necklace-"

"Choker."

"What?"

"You said necklace but it's a choker," I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, "but continue."

"Huh," he said in wonder, "I like my chokers better."

"Wh-" before I could ask, his hands were already around my neck, squeezing with just enough force to make me a little light-headed but still able to breathe.

"My hands do a much better job," I could hear the smirk in his voice.

His thumb gently brushed over my lips and his hands were callous but for some reason made my spine tingle in a good way.

"That's getting real old," I managed to grunt at him.

I had the urge to cough but I held it back, not wanting him to know he had any sort of power over me. I don't know why but for some reason even though he currently had his hands around my throat and even though I knew he was a cold blooded killer and possibly stalker, I wasn't afraid.

I felt like a completely different person whenever he was around. Who was this mouthy girl that took over my body?

He let out a light laugh and I winced, relieved when he let me out of his choke hold.

"You're not gonna go crazy when I make a joke again are you? The last one wasn't even that funny."

He chuckled, using both hands to secure the choker around my neck, passing his thumb over the gleaming silver circle and X, "I'm far from crazy, Baby. I'm insane. Don't you know who I am?"

Baby? I could feel my face heating up from the nickname and I let out a breath, ignoring his question.

"You can't be here."

"And yet here I stand," He took a couple steps back so he could look me over.

"A-are you here to kill me?" I asked after a couple beats.

"Actually," he spoke, tucking his hands into his pockets, "I'm here to save you."

My brows furrowed, "I don't know why you'd think that but I don't need saving, besides isn't that kinda ironic, since you're a killer and all?"

"You think the cops won't find out you're the one who killed her?" He asked bluntly and I quickly took a step closer to him looking towards my bedroom door.

"Don't say stuff like that!"

He stepped away from me and I could sense he was looking me over again.

"Just know you're in trouble," he stated going over to pick up the framed photograph on my night stand.

It was a picture of my birth parents on their wedding day. She was pregnant with me then but you could hardly tell. It was all I had left of them after everything.

"Who are they?" Masky asked, snapping me back to reality. His voice was deep and captivating but his tone was uncaring, almost robotic.

There's a heartless killer in my bedroom asking me about a photo of my dead parents.

This must be a dream.

"My parents," I said on a whisper.

He re-placed the photo on the stand and looked around, "they home?"

"They're dead. They died when I was young," I said quickly to clarify, "I live with my kinda permanent foster family now."

I don't remember much about my earlier years in foster care but Sara took me in when I was eleven and by then I was already too old to be considered for adoption by most couples looking to adopt.

"Interesting," his tone wasn't sympathetic.

"What did you mean by I'm in trouble?" I asked.

"Exactly what I said."

I rolled my eyes, "Be more vague why don't you?"

"I already told you."

When I was quiet he made a chuckling sound, "what, you actually thought you'd get away with it? The cops are going to go over that place with a fine-toothed comb and they will find out. Don't be stupid and think they'll let you off the hook."

He paused for a bit, "so here's my offer, come with me and I'll make sure they'll never get you and you can continue to have your fun, strangling your friends and whatnot."

My cheeks heated up, "W-what? I wouldn't. It was an accident!"

"Yeah sure it was. You know you enjoyed it. Probably the most exciting thing a girl like you has ever done. I bet you're still riding that high-"

"I am not!" I clenched my teeth, hands fisting at my sides. The audacity of this guy.

"Your voice just got all squeaky, is that your telltale sign when you lie?" He asked, his tone amused.

"No!" I squeaked before covering my mouth knowing I was probably being too loud. If Sara were to come up those stairs, my goose would be cooked.

He shrugged, "All of us, we look out for each other somewhat. Take my offer and you won't have to worry about having cops after you."

This was all so strange. How did he even find me?

"W-how did you find me? Who even are you, like, I don't understand whats happening at this point."

"You might not know it but the sign on that choker is very important."

"I've seen it before," I said fiddling it with my fingers, "at the diner where they found all those dead people. Did you do that?"

He shook his head and his brown hair fell over his mask a bit, "that was Jeff."

"So there are more of you?"

He laughed low in his throat, "more than you could imagine and you can be an addition. It's either coming with us and living your best life, doing what you love or prison and I'm sure you don't want to live in a concrete box for the rest of your life."

"Why do you even want me to come with you? I'm not like you. What happened was an accident."

He tsked.

I continued, "These things happen all the time people make mistakes and they-- well they end up taking a life. It doesn't mean I'm meant to be a killer."

I heard him sigh before he walked over to my window, "you have two days to decide, after that my offer won't be open anymore."

"What? But I-"

"After that it's open season."

What the hell did that mean?

"Wait!" I said as he opened the window before looking back at me, "just tell me your name at least?"

"They call me Masky," He said gruffly.

I wanted to laugh at the stupidity of it but didn't want to risk offending him and getting bludgeoned to death, "who's they?"

"Everyone who knows me."

"Is it because you wear a mask or- never mind, stupid question."

He grunted and slipped out of my window and as he dropped to the ground from the second story I saw someone else, larger than him, join him from the shadows. They turned their head looking up at the window.

He was wearing a hood over his face, a red frown standing out against the darkness and over it he'd pulled the hood of his sweater as well. I chewed on my lower lip, a shiver darting down my spine before he turned and they both were gone into the night.

There was no trace of Masky left behind apart from my choker that I thought would be lost forever.

I sighed and flopped onto my bed, looking up into the overhead light that threatened to blind me.

A killer was just inside my bedroom and I was talking to him like I didn't have a care in the world.

What the hell is my life?

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