A Strange Message

TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains violence, abuse, dubious consent, stalking, murder, alcohol and drug use, bondage, and other scenes that may be triggering to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

NOTE: This story touches on some serious topics and do know that if you're going through the same or know someone who is going through this you and they are not alone. There is help out there just waiting for you to take it.

Four Years Earlier

[Brielle's POV]

"We're here!"

The shrill announcement breaks through my light doze, causing my already pounding head to hurt worse.

"Fuck," I hiss, snapping open my eyes to take in the brightly lit house ahead of me. "Son of a..."

All the lights could only mean one thing. My parents were awake, and they were waiting for me.

"Good luck, chick," Anastasia giggles. "Don't make it too obvious how wasted you are."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I growl, reaching into the backseat and fumbling for my leather jacket.

"Naughty girls should expect punishment."

Naughty… I wasn't a fucking child throwing a temper tantrum. I was seventeen and just so happened to sneak out to go to Anastasia's birthday party. Who told my parents to be so damn overbearing and refuse to allow me to attend?

Anyway, she drank just as much as me! How was she still so sober? The girl could drink like a fish and would still be fine.

Sighing, I unbuckle my seatbelt and then shove open my door and stumble out.

"Careful!" Anastasia giggles as I work to right my footing. "You really are horrible at holding your liquor."

"Fuck you too," I snap, slamming the door shut. "See you tomorrow, if I'm not killed first."

As I speak, I take in the house again and find myself wondering if I should just go back to Anastasia's house for the night. I knew what was waiting for me in there, and with my head pounding and spinning the way it was, I really didn't want to deal.

Sighing, I look back at the car as it begins to move, spinning out of the drive, knowing that my chance at that is ruined.

"No use putting it off," I mutter, beginning to move. "Just get it over with."

When I reach the front door, I begin to dig in my purse for my keys. However, before I can find them, the door opens, and I'm met by someone dressed in all black with a mask covering their face.

At first, I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at and wonder if maybe I'm hallucinating from just how much I drank, but when they reach out and grab me and throw me into the house, I know I'm not.

Gasping, I crash into the floor, causing shards of glass from a broken lamp that lays nearby to cut into the flesh of my hands and knees, sending waves of pain through me.

"Help!" I shriek, scrambling to my feet. "MOM! DAD!"

As the words leave my lips, I beeline for the stairs, determined to find my parents and have them save me from the one who is out to kill me.

Behind me, I can hear footsteps, but I don't dare look back. They grow closer and closer with each step I take until my hair is being grabbed and I'm being yanked backwards.

A shriek escapes me as I'm thrown against an end table, shattering it on impact.

"Please!" I cry, ignoring the pain in my chest from where I hit, "Mom! Dad! Help me!"

"They can't help you," a gruff, muffled voice cackles. "They're already dead."

Dead… No! He had to be lying. There was no way that was possible! I wouldn't believe it!

"MOM! DAD! PLEASE HELP BEFORE HE KILLS ME!"

Tears begin to prick in my eyes, and my ears begin to ring as I scramble forward, grabbing at a piece of the broken lamp right as my attacker comes after me again.

Letting out a scream, I lash out, connecting my makeshift weapon with his face and earning myself a snarl of rage.

Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, I get up and rush upstairs, beelining straight for my parents room and then stumbling inside.

“Mom! Dad!” I gasp, reaching their bed and tugging at the blanket. “Please! Get up! You have to…”

The rest of my words get stuck in my throat as I take in the bodies on the bed and feel bile begin to rise.

Blood… There was so much blood that I couldn’t tell where exactly it was coming from, but one thing was certain: it belonged to my parents.

Feeling sick, I take in their lifeless faces and their terrified expressions that stare blankly up at nothing. A little further down, their necks are sliced, and if I looked too closely, I was sure what muscle and bone were showing.

Both their torsos are shredded to pieces, to the point where it is hard to tell where one wound begins and the other ends. It's gruesome and horrible, and I feel like I'm going to puke while trying to make sense of why this is happening.

“No!” I whimper, backing away slowly while trying to make sense of the reality in front of me and keep everything I ate and drank down. “No, please, mom and dad, you can’t be…”

As the words leave my lips, the door behind me opens, and I’m being grabbed again and dragged down the hall, then the stairs, until I’m being flung on the couch.

“NO!” I scream, beginning to kick and flail. “PLEASE DON’T!”

I watch in horror as the person grabs my arms and pins them down while he begins to climb on top of me.

“Please,” I repeat, beginning to hyperventilate. “Please don’t! I’ll do whatever you want; please just don’t…”

“Shut up!” He snarls, slamming his head into mine and wrapping a hand around my throat. “Just be good, it will all be over soon.”

Spots explode in front of my eyes, and pain shoots through me before the world begins to fade in and out while I desperately try to remain conscious.

“N-no,” I stammer, weakly fighting against him as he begins to tug at my clothes. “S-stop!”

My voice is weak, and I know that I’m going to pass out soon, but I bite down hard on my bottom lip, trying my hardest to hang in there until finally there is the sound of a gunshot, followed by inaduible shouting, and before the world finally fades, I get a glimpse of a handsome face with striking blue eyes and shaggy dark hair that scatters about chiseled cheekbones.

“You’re okay,” a warm, soothing voice murmurs. “It’s all going to be okay.”

After that, I fade in and out as I feel myself being lifted and placed on a stretcher. Then I’m loaded into an ambulance, and the world disappears.

When it starts to come back, the steady beeping of a machine is the first thing to reach me, followed by immense pain that radiates from the top of my head down to my toes.

Wincing, I pry one of my eyes open to find that I’m in the hospital, and a nurse hovers over me, taking my vitals.

“Oh goodness,” she gasps, taking me in. “Did I wake you, dear?”

“Where?” I rasp, realizing that my throat is extremely parched and sore. “Is this?”

As I speak, I attempt to sit up, only to be stopped by the nurse.

“Careful!” she warns, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t make any sudden movements, sweetheart.”

“But my parents,” I manage, beginning to fight against her. “Where are my parents?”

For a moment, she doesn’t speak as she takes me in with a look of pity while the events leading up to my being here begin to appear.

“No!” I squeak, my heart squeezing painfully. “No, tell me they’re okay!” I beg, reaching out and grabbing the nurse's shirt. “Please tell me my parents are okay!”

“I’m so sorry,” she says gently, prying my hands off. “They were already gone by the time help arrived.”

Gone… My parents were gone. They were taken from me by the psycho who tried to kill me. But why? What did they do so wrong for someone to want to kill them? It didn’t make sense!

My head begins to spin as the sickening realization of what has happened in the span of a night hits me, and just before I feel like I’m going to crash into a never-ending abyss, a knock sounds at my door.

Remaining silent, I watch as the nurse goes to answer it, but when she opens it, no one is there.

“Odd,” she murmurs, taking in something that is on the floor. Leaning down, she picks up whatever it is and takes it in for a moment before turning and taking me in. “I think this is yours,” she says slowly, bringing me what I can now see is a phone. “Maybe one of the officers dropped it off.”

Furrowing my brows, I reach out and take the phone from the nurse, then take in the screen, which has a new message flashing on it.

Not sure of what was happening, I click the open box and then take in a single message.

By your parents' wishes, I will be the one taking care of you from this point on, but due to certain circumstances, I am unable to reveal my identity. Please know that a lawyer will go over all of this with you at a later date. Until then, you will be sent to a safe house where everything you need will be provided for you by a few faithful servants.

My sincere apologies for your loss.

L.

“L,” I whisper, unsure of what I’m seeing. “Who could he possibly be?”