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MADELINE
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Oh, shit. The cops are talking to my sister. I watch them from the balcony of her apartment. That same bitch cop has her cornered in the laundromat. There are several others around Paul’s apartment. I watch as they carry him away on a stretcher, wrapped in a black body bag.
Mal sees none of this. The old female officer is keeping her busy while it all happens. Do they suspect something? I was acting as her with Paul, but I am not her.
Fuck! I didn’t even clean up the crime scene after I left. My DNA is all over the place. Fingerprints, saliva, and vaginal fluid. You name it. It is all there. Now that I think about it, I might have left some prints at Shawn’s house. Fuck! I left my sister’s sweater.
Everything besides the sweater can be linked to me and me alone, not her. If I can get out of here quickly, then we can both be saved. She will be questioned, but nothing will come back as a match. All will be good in the end. The sweater can easily be explained. An ex wanted to keep something of hers, nothing new there.
Where should I go? I have no one, nothing. With no transportation, communication, or much money, I can only think of one place. Kent Pratt. We connected. We have a bond. I could head there on foot now and either ask for help or hide out until this all blows over. I could come clean about not being my sister. Will he help me?
I don’t have time to think about it. With my sister’s clothes on my back and what little cash I have left in my pocket, I leave my sister’s credit card on the kitchen counter and book it before anyone can see me.
Ten minutes later, I am at his front door. What will I do if he isn’t home? Breaking in is an option. However, this place looks heavily secure. Breaking in might just bring the cops right to me.
I can’t get away with any of it.
Last night wasn’t even in self-defense. I killed that man outright. Same thing with Shawn and Amy. There is no way around a murder charge for any of them. I am looking at life in prison, and then some. If there is a hell, there is a place saved for me.
Kent opens the front door. A chicken wing in one hand, the doorknob in another. Heavy rock plays at a low level throughout the house. Oh, why did I have to go and fuck this up? The man is perfect!
“Mallory, I didn’t know you were coming. Is this part of our ‘no communication’ rule? I just DoorDashed an eighteen-pack from B-Dubs, so there is plenty to share. Are you hungry?”
“I am never not hungry for B-Dubs,” I say, while entering the house, grabbing the wing from his hand and stuffing it into my mouth. Act natural, Mad.
“Good to know.” He shuts the door and follows.
I am frantic and unsure why I am here. He does not know this, so I need to keep my cool. This is a good place to hide out for a bit. No one would look for me here, at least I hope they wouldn’t.
Will they search Mal’s phone? There is correspondence between us, or between him and Mal, but it’s all innocent. If they get their hands on her phone, then they will know. They will know the two are connected besides working together, and that might put her in hot water, considering I was pretending to be her. Wait, I still am pretending to be her. I am here with Kent now; he thinks I am her. They might be able to find me here soon.
Oh, how I wish to tell him. He might even understand. I think about last night. About my time with Paul. I tried to understand him and his issues, but it got way out of line.
No, I cannot risk it. There is no way I could tell Kent the truth without having him freak out.
Planting myself on a stool at his kitchen island, I reach for another wing. He has fries and ranch dip as well. So, the healthy doctor isn’t so healthy after all. Noise catches my attention. Looking up, I see a large screen showing an episode of Hoarders.
“Wait, something is off here. I thought you didn’t have a television in this room?”
“I know. Masterfully done, isn’t it? So, the screen actually stays back behind the fireplace façade. That isn’t a working fireplace. When I want to watch TV, I just push a button and it slides up. Otherwise, it looks like either burned out logs when it is off, or a burning fire when I want it to appear that way. A genius idea of my decorator.”
He smiles over at me, and I can’t help but smile back. Fucking brilliant. Especially for someone trying to get intellectual ass.
I polish off six wings and half the fries while Kent finishes the rest. “Did I impose on your dinner? Are you still hungry?” I ask.
“Honestly, I order the larger pack of wings, so I have leftovers. I am stuffed. What about you? Did you get enough to eat?”
“I’m good for now. What do you usually do on a Saturday afternoon? Don’t go changing plans on my account. I actually want to get into your head, your life. Show me who you are when no one is watching?” Do I want to do this? The last time I asked someone to let me in, it didn’t go so well. No, Mad, he is different. He isn’t some freak from another realm that stalks your sister. Okay, deep breaths.
He plops down onto the couch and presses a button on his remote. “Come over here. You don’t want to miss this.”
I do as he requests and sit thigh-to-thigh next to him. With a controller in his hands, he looks at me and asks, “Are you ready?”
“Oh, yeah. I think I’m ready.”
That does it. With one click of a button, a platform rises from the coffee table, and I am staring at a PlayStation 5.
“Oh, snap. Look at you.”
“This is nothing. I just have to do this one battle in Diablo with Dr. Nguyen. Then we can bust out the VR headset. That’s where the real fun begins.”
“Kent, please do not tease me with a good time. Do you seriously have BeatSaber? I have been wanting to play that forever.”
“Wow! Okay, so watch me kick Chen Nguyen’s ass. It will only take a minute. He has like five kids and no time to play. It will be well worth the wait. Then we can slay some shit with BeatSaber. It has been a bit for me, but I am always up for a challenge.”
“Deal!” I agree and sit back to watch this Dr. Nguyen’s—someone my sister should know, but I clearly do not—ass get kicked. This is actually a Saturday night I thrive for in life. My sister is missing out. I could stay here forever.