Imagine you are given two choices. Choice #1 gives you a stable life with little to no uncertainties. You can have a comfortable existence but you may never experience the thrill of falling in love or the satisfaction of taking that leap into the unknown. Choice #2 gives you all the thrills and all the satisfaction but you also have the possibility of heartbreak and failures along the way. Which would you choose? For Aurora Butler, this is the exact crossroads she has come to as she starts her Senior Year at a new school. Her head is telling her one thing but after meeting Owen Marshall, her heart is telling her something entirely different. Choices are made even more difficult as responsibilities take a toll on her and she realizes some choices requires sacrifices she just isn't able to make. Just when she thinks she has it all figured out, bodies of young women who look eerily similar to her start showing up as the town realizes there is a serial killer walking among them, one who has particular tastes when it comes to his next victim. Will Aurora's instincts lead to the right choices or will her choices have deadly consequences? Can she survive to have it all or will she lose everything in the end?
View MorePROLOGUE
My hands trembled as I searched for the phone. I knew it had to be around here somewhere. She was never without it, always within reach, waiting for that next call. The call that would lead to either the next big hit or the means to an end. My hands felt blindly, frantically through the sheets. Not finding what I needed, in desperation, I ripped them from the bed. I breathed a sign of relief as I heard, no felt a thud on the floor next to me.
I was temporarily deaf. The pounding of my heart fueled the high amounts of adrenaline running through my veins, creating a dull roar in my head, an endless pulsing wave rolling back and forth, blocking out all other sounds around me. My heart beat was strong, albeit a little too loud and unnecessarily quick at the moment.
I scooped the phone off of the floor, my knees buckling as I flipped it over in my hands. Pain ricocheted through my legs as I hit the hardwood on impact, all strength leaving me as I collapsed to the ground. The screen glowed brightly in the dusky darkness of the room. Her background was a picture of me holding Nate, taken the day we had brought him home from the hospital. I became so immersed in the image that I lost all train of thought, feeling the numbness seep in as I stared at the screen, lost to everything else.
A single tear splashing against the glass shook me from my daze. I hurriedly swiped them away from my cheeks and dried the screen against my shirt. I could not show weakness, not now. That little boy needed me and I needed to do whatever necessary to keep him safe and keep us together.
I opened her contacts, fighting the angry flames of betrayal and the bile that rose in my throat as I scrolled past the many disgusting and perverse nicknames in her list of clients and otherwise. If the beer bellied swine on the police department in this godforsaken podunk town really cared about the drugs and the prostitution rings that resulted, confiscating her phone would be on the top of their list of priorities. They could take them all down in one fell swoop. But, of course, it would take an IQ higher than fifty or actually giving a damn about your job to begin with for that to happen so I knew better.
This town was just like all the rest. The police department was long ago bought and paid for by the highest bidder. All paid to look here, not there and don’t do anything to rock the boat. She was just another useless face, a snag in their otherwise picture perfect days. That arrogant prick in the living room would end his day most likely climbing on top of a woman just like her, hooked on the high the drugs promised and willing to sell anything and everything, including herself, to get that next fix.
I cursed as I scrolled, struggling to find the name I needed. Why couldn’t she have just been normal? That’s all I ever wanted. No riches, no luxuries. Just some semblance of normal in our lives. Thinking I could possibly go with “Paycheck”, I scrolled on further, just in case. Coming across “Sperm Donor”, I’m thankful that I did but scoff at her audacity and the pedestal she propped herself upon to think she was any better of a parent that he was in the short time I knew him. If he was “Sperm Donor” she was little more than “Birth Giver”.
I was the one that took care of that little boy since the moment he entered this world, making sure he was fed, clothed and bathed. Walking the floors with him when he was a colicky newborn. Making sure he was at every appointment he needed, including dragging her to the ones that ensured he had formula and everything else a baby needed to survive. Shoving cup after cup of thick, black coffee down her throat to sober her up enough to fake our way through whatever ring of fire the government agencies made us jump through to get the handouts and giveaways. All so Nate could be a happy little boy and never know the pain and heartache I have had to face.
Not that any of that would matter if I couldn’t manage to pull one more miracle out of thin air. The last sixteen months will be for nothing if he won’t take us in and play along. With that in mind, I stabbed at the contact number with a forceful finger and with baited breath and a still shaky hand, brought the phone up to my ear.
After just two rings, he answers.
“Dammit, Janet. I am not doing this with you today! I’m at work and I don’t have any more damn money to send you!”
“Janet’s dead,” is all I manage to croak out before my lower lip wobbles and the dam breaks.
After the longest pause, I hear him take a deep breath and roughly exhale again. “Rory?”
“Yeah.” I clench my eyes tightly shut, trying to stop the tears.
“Where are you?”
I told him where we were staying and heard him curse again. “That’s five hours away. It’ll be dark by the time I get there.”
“Okay, but you are coming, right?”
“Yeah, I’m coming. That’s my kid.”
“There’s one more thing, Phillip.”
“What’s that Aurora?”
“I told them you are my dad, too.”
Silence. Complete silence to the point that I pull the phone away just to make sure we have not been disconnected. He’s still there but he says nothing for what seems like forever.
“Fine. I’ll deal with it when I get there. Anything else I might need to know?”
“No.”
“Be packed and ready to leave. I have work in the morning.”
Owen took Nate and I out for breakfast. Since the diner was closed, we opted to just do a fast food breakfast. I order Nate and I some pancakes and couldn’t help but just sit and watch him. He loved pancakes and sat there swinging his little legs with a smile on his face as he ate, not a care in the world. I wanted to savor this moment and hoped that this crazy cruel world we were living in would allow him to remain this innocent for a long time still.I made sure it wasn’t going to ruin Owen’s plans with us having Nate with us but he insisted that Nate was a part of me and that he knew Nonna would just love him too. His consideration of Nate and the relationship the two shared was one the main reasons I was so quick to trust Owen with my heart. He knew how much that little boy meant to me and I felt like he genuinely cared about him, too.After we finished breakfast, Owen and I took Nate to the park in Urbancrest to run off some energy. Owen wanted somewhere for him to play where we
Taking it one day at a time proved easier than expected, mostly because we were so busy that there wasn’t a lot of time left to ponder on the workings and thoughts of a madman. The man with the mask haunted my dreams Thursday night resulting in me waking up ready to scream twice but during my waking hours, I was too busy to dwell on it. At least that’s what I kept telling myself. Stay busy and live my life.On Friday, I doubted if anyone actually learned or, at the very least, retained anything that was taught in any class we had. Between the announcement of a serial killer, the police department’s precautions and the upcoming game, the entire school was nothing but endless chatter and tension so high it was almost visible in the halls in it’s chaotic waves of red and black.As soon as school dismissed, the normal Friday ritual ensued. Pizza delivered for the players, cheerleaders and supporting members, of which I was now considered as the official photographer of the games. This mea
“What do we do?” I asked, surprisingly not as freaked out as I thought I would be. It was as if some part of me knew from last Friday night at the football game that I was the one he wanted to begin with.The diner was locked, Sheila was on her way to the hospital and I was huddled in a booth surrounded by Owen, Barb and John with Detective Clements and Chief Harding sitting in chairs they had grabbed and pulled up beside the booth.“Honestly, I don’t know.” Chief Harding answered as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Wood Haven hasn’t had a murder in years let alone a serial killer. This is beyond my scope of expertise. Clements, do you have any suggestions?”“No, sir, I don’t other than getting the experts in here as quickly as possible to take over and tell us what to do next.”“So, that’s it!” Owen said, as he banged his hand on the table. “We just sit back and let this maniac come and get Aurora?”“I didn’t say that, son.” Chief Harding answered in an attempt to c
The photo that Detective Clements took didn’t reveal anyone that I thought looked suspicious or that I remembered from last Friday night. Chief Harding thanked us both for our help and both officers issued words of caution for me, wanting to make sure that I would not be left alone. Owen assured them that he was making sure I was protected. Detective Clements walked out leaving us alone with Chief Harding.“Listen,” he started as soon as Clements shut the door. “I know CiCi has shared what I told her with you all. She was very clear that she would and I can see that you are both taking this serious and not divulging anything she said to anyone.”“No, sir. Of course not.” I stated. “I want this bastard caught as quickly as possible. We wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that.”“Good and thank you. I really am putting my neck on the line here but some information just came in from TBI right before the press conference. Owen, the two of you can tell your mother since the more times I am
Chief Harding said he would consider my offer and discuss it with Detective Clements this afternoon. In the meantime, he would let Detective Clements know prior to the press conference starting that I would be in the crowd and to be on the lookout for anyone that seemed to be paying too much attention to me.Owen still didn’t like it, even more so now that we were here but I was insistent upon doing this. I wanted to help and I was also considering there might be information at the press conference that we were not yet aware of, either.We left Chief Harding’s office and walked back across the interior of the station to the front doors and quickly made our way toward the small crowd of people that were gathering outside. A news crew was setting up their equipment off to the side and I suddenly second guessed being here.If Chief Harding revealed the victim type, here I was front and center with a news crew that could pick me out of the crowd to try to interview. They would also see and
We checked back into school during the last half of P.E. class, just twenty minutes before the pep rally was set to start. Coach Lawrence gave us some last minute things to do for the gym to be ready and ten minutes before start time, Mrs. Laughlin brought down the camera equipment and helped me set it up.“Don’t overdo it today, Aurora.” Mrs. Laughlin suggested with a smile. “You have a lot going on and we still have to process all those photos from last week so just go with whatever feels natural here and the game tomorrow night, too. Don’t overextend yourself trying to capture everything.”I nodded my understanding, knowing she had my best interests at heart with her suggestions but I was never one to half-ass anything, especially something I was passionate about.Starting Monday, I planned to tackle those photos from the game and just deal with the effects afterwards with Greta in session. I refused to hide from this anymore. The best way to prevent becoming a victim was to let thi
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