The Darkness Within (10 page)

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”

Boredom

The sound of running water and dishes clanking was the tell tale sign that Mom was cleaning up the kitchen. After dinner, Adrianna and I had excused ourselves to the living room to sprawl out across the floor and finish our homework. Really, neither of us had much work to do and had finished before dinner was even ready. I knew that if we finished our work before Mom went up to take her shower, Adriana would probably have to go home. The guise of doing homework had been the only reason Adrianna was allowed over, considering my behavior last night.

Beside me, Adrianna twirled her freshly dyed, purple lock of hair around her finger and pretended to scrutinize a math problem. After we finished our actual homework, we decided to flip through our math textbook, going over the chapter we were currently on. We were making up problems and answering problems we hadn’t even been assigned yet. By the time the water in the kitchen turned off, we had gotten about three days ahead on homework questions. Adrianna began to work on a new problem as Mom walked down the hallway toward us. I pretended to be deep into solving a problem. I even typed out some random calculation onto my calculator. It was all for good measure, because just as I expected, Mom stuck her head into the living room to check our progress.

“How are you girls getting on? Need any help with anything before I get in the shower?” Mom asked with a smile.

I shook my head no as Ade said, “No thank you, Mrs. Anderson. We’re almost done and then I’ll be heading home.”

Mom’s smile enlarged. She loved Ade like she was another daughter. “Oh honey, you take your time. It’s starting to get dark, so if you’re still here when I get out of the shower then I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Anderson.”

Mom waved off her thanks, saying that it was no big deal. Before she turned to head up the stairs, she commented on Adrianna’s new color choice. “Oh, and I love the purple.”

Adrianna smiled brightly at the compliment as my mom disappeared up the stairs. We waited in silence until her bedroom door closed and then began packing up our things. I stacked my textbook, folders, and notebooks, while Adrianna stuffed hers into her floral print backpack. Then I walked halfway up the staircase, just far enough to where I would be able to hear the water start, while Adrianna slipped on her shoes. Finally the shower water began to run, so I hurried back down the stairs to put my shoes on.

“She usually takes about fifteen minutes to shower, so we have plenty of time. Let’s just hope David doesn’t come back in that time period.”

Adrianna left her backpack by the front door, and then proceeded to follow me to the back door. We wanted to stay out of sight in case David came home. Not long after we finished eating dinner and had returned to our homework piles, we heard David’s car pulling out of the driveway. Ever since he left we had been waiting on pins and needles for my mom to leave us alone, and now we finally had our chance. We needed to get into his backyard, take a look around, and see for ourselves if anything was buried in his yard last night. I wasn’t going to believe that the ground was undisturbed until I saw it with my own eyes.

Outside, the sky was just beginning to darken. It was that weird in-between period when the day and the night began to overlap. If we knew for certain when David was going to return, I would have preferred for us to wait until nightfall, but since we didn’t know how much time we had, we decided to move fast instead. Thankfully, David’s house was at the end of the street, and there was a large, overgrown hedge, which ran along the opposite side of the fence near the street and would hide us from view. Since it was also David’s property, much like the rest of his land, the grass and weeds were tall and unkempt. Therefore I wasn’t too worried about someone seeing us, rather that David would return and add us to his vile
collection
.

Before I jumped the fence I took another look at David’s house. It was still and quiet, and there were no cars in sight on the street. I climbed the fence like a pro, swinging my leg over quickly to avoid the sound that the chain-link made, and landed in David’s yard with a soft thud. Adrianna joined me—her entrance was a lot less graceful and far noisier—before we got to work. The outskirts of the yard had overgrown grass, while the center was just hard dirt. Before David moved in, there had been a poorly constructed, brick patio where the hard dirt was. Now all of the bricks were stacked in a line along the back of the house to the right of the back door.

Maybe he actually
was
trying to fix the house up at one point.
I scoffed at my own thought. He didn’t plan on sticking around long, so why would he do that? Was it to keep up appearances?

“Where was he standing?” Adrianna whispered, furrowing her eyebrows as she asked.

“Um,” I turned to look up at my bedroom window that faced out over his yard. In my mind I saw David standing with his shovel in his hands, and the body bag on the ground. “There,” I pointed, hurrying toward the spot.

Adrianna joined me, peering down at the clearly untouched ground in front of us. She looked up at me with a questioning expression lining her features. “Are you sure this was it?”

I nodded fervently. “One hundred percent sure.”

Her eyes lowered to the ground again, and she slowly began to spin in a circle as her gaze swept over the expanse of hard, packed dirt. When she faced me again, I saw the unmistakable glint of skepticism in her almond shaped eyes. It was the same look my mom and the police officers had worn last night. They hadn’t believed me then, and Adrianna was starting to change her stance as well. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to prove I wasn’t going crazy.

I did the only thing I could think of. I dropped to my knees, smoothing my hands over the dirt and then digging my nails into it. Up close I could have sworn that I saw the faint imprint of an X in the dirt, but I had began digging too quickly to even examine it. It was most likely just my mind playing tricks on me again. I tossed handfuls of soil to the side while Adrianna squatted down next to me, watching me in horror. I probably looked so neurotic, digging and sifting through the dirt to prove that I hadn’t been hallucinating. At this point, I didn’t know who I was trying to convince more, Adrianna or myself.

“Wait, what’s that?” Adrianna asked, causing me to stop as she pointed out a small piece of black plastic that I’d uncovered.

I hoped to God it wasn’t Holly Martin. Somewhere inside of me I thought I would find a way to get David locked up, and that the police would find Holly alive. I began to dig faster, not stopping again until the plastic bag was fully in view. The lighting made it hard to see, but it helped that it wasn’t too dark out yet. Once I had fully uncovered the small piece of plastic bag, I pulled on it gently and it slipped out of the dirt. It was just a small, black, plastic bag. Definitely not what I thought I saw from the night before.

I threw the bag to the ground, anger creasing my brow. It was just a stupid plastic bag. I
was
crazy. I must’ve dreamt or hallucinated the whole thing. “We should go before David comes back,” I resigning, giving up and beginning to push the dirt back into the small hole I’d created.

Adrianna picked up the plastic bag, turning it in her hands. “There’s something in here,” she declared, before she began to rip a hole into the bag. She pulled the sides back, cautiously peering inside, before she breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought it was going to be a finger or something,” she confessed, letting out a nervous laugh. “It’s just a picture.” She pulled the Polaroid out of the bag and all of the color drained from her face.

“What is it?” I asked, taking the picture from her hands.

Adrianna turned to the side and threw up the lasagna we’d just eaten for dinner.

“Gross,” I groaned, my stomach gurgling. But I wasn’t referring to Ade’s vomit; instead, I was referring to the scene depicted in the photograph. In the picture, Holly was lying on the ground, topless. The picture was taken from the hips up. Her long, blonde hair was tactfully placed to hide her breasts and show exactly what this picture was meant to. The six on her forehead was small, but in view, and there was a large number six cut into her chest and stomach, with the top of the six starting between her breasts on her sternum and looping around across her stomach and over the left side of her ribs. The only thing that kindled my hope was that Holly’s eyes were open. There was life in them, and pain that was emphasized by how her features were creased with agony. I flipped the photo over to get rid of the horrible image from my mind, and that’s when I saw it. There was one word printed on the back of the picture.

Boredom

If it was possible, the word elicited even more hatred for the man responsible for this. What kind of human being could harm another like this? And for the sole reason of
boredom
? David was more horrific than I’d ever imagined. In my mind, it didn’t get any worse than this. For a moment I actually hoped Holly was dead because what was a life where you were in pain and being held captive, away from everyone and everything you’ve ever known, and being tortured because of sheer boredom? The agonizing expression on her face was hard to look at.

“What do we do?” Adrianna asked.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Then I hurriedly began fixing the ground to make it look as untouched as possible. It was harder than I thought it would be. “We’re going to leave now before we get caught, and while it’s still light out. Then you can take the picture home with you to your dad. He’s a police officer so he’ll know what to do. You can tell him I found it in my neighbor's yard and gave it to you to give to him because I was too afraid to call the police.”

We hopped the fence, hurrying through my yard and back into the house. Adrianna locked the door for me since my hands were so dirty. We walked down the hall to the bathroom where I scrubbed my hands clean as Adrianna tried to calm down. She appeared as frazzled as I felt on the inside. When I finished washing my hands, I went to let her out the front. She tucked the picture into her backpack and then slung the bag over her shoulders.

“Tell me what your dad says,” I instructed, pulling her in for a hug.

She squeezed me tightly, letting the hug go on for longer than usual. “I will. My dad will fix everything. Love you. Be safe, and make sure you lock up behind me.”

I nodded once before I pulled away. “Love you too, Ade.”

She gave me a forced half smile before pulling the door open and walking out into the rapidly darkening night.

No Response

For the first time in a few days I actually felt refreshed, like I’d had a good night’s sleep. I gave credit to the peacefulness that overcame me at the thought of David finally being caught. As I carefully went over each strand of curly hair, flat ironing it for school, I knew the day was going to be hectic, but I was prepared for it. I was oddly calm for a girl who had just gotten proof to show the police that her neighbor actually was the creepy psycho she thought he was. It was cathartic knowing that soon everyone would believe me, and he would be thrown in prison for all of the horrible things he’d done.

I pulled the flat iron away slowly, finishing going over the final lock of hair. Then, I set the straightener on the sink and took a deep breath. I was ready for today. I couldn’t wait to see Adrianna and for her to tell me her dad was going to take care of everything and I wouldn’t have to worry about David ever again. At the thought, a huge grin swept across my face. I looked happier than I had in a few weeks, and I was starting to look like my old self again. I was wearing my usual makeup, black mascara on my upper and lower lashes, and had applied a layer of
Chapstick
to my lips. My style was even thriving considering my excitement for the day’s expected events. Instead of the jeans and sweatshirts I had been wearing to school for the past few weeks, I had woken up early and put a little more thought into my outfit. Dressed in a pair of light wash jeans with cuffs at the bottoms and a green, knit sweater that made my skin tone glow, I actually felt pretty.

“Claire?” Mom called up the steps. “Are you riding with me or are you walking?”

“Riding with you,” I called back, hurriedly unplugging the flat iron and turning the light off. Slinging my backpack over my shoulders, I raced down the stairs so I could have time to grab a cereal bar before heading out to the car.

Mom was standing by the door, tapping away at her phone, her nails clicking against the screen rhythmically. When I passed by, she looked up, doing a double take. “You look beautiful, Claire.”

“Thanks, Mom, so do you.” I grabbed a granola bar and joined her in the foyer to slip on my white Keds.

“What’s the occasion?” Mom asked, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “Is there a
boy
?”

I scoffed at her question. “Yeah, right. I wish,” I answered honestly.

Mom looked like she wanted to jump in joy at my response. She forced herself from grinning too hard, obviously happy that her little girl wasn’t growing up too quickly. “Well, there will be plenty of time for boys in the future. I’m going out to the car. Hurry, because I can’t be late.” She turned and pulled the door open, sending a chill of morning air whistling through the foyer. “Don’t forget a coat,” she reminded.

I nodded, tying my shoe before pushing myself off of the ground. “I won’t,” I assured her, grabbing my jacket off of the coat rack. Winter was approaching fast and the temperature was dropping quickly. Once I was bundled up, I headed out of the house and onto the porch, locking up behind me. As I tucked my key ring into my coat pocket, my gaze landed on a rectangular electronic that was sitting on the seat of our porch chair nearest to the door.

To say that I was surprised to see my phone sitting there was an understatement. I never expected to see it again after I left it in David’s home. Whatever the reason, I was thankful to have it back. I hadn’t even told my mom I had lost it and now I didn’t need to. As I scooped the phone up off of the seat, I pressed the home button to see if it still had power, and to my excitement it had a full charge. David must have charged it for me. I didn’t see his small act of kindness as anything more than a way to try to bribe me to keep quiet about what I knew he was up to, but either way I was grateful to have my phone back. I almost did a happy dance as I hugged it to my chest.

Mom beeped the car horn at me and I hurried to get into the front seat. As soon as I was inside, I pulled up my texts, shooting Adrianna a quick message.

Me: You will never guess what just happened…

Me: I got my phone back!

I smiled down at the screen for a moment before sending another quick message.

Me: Meet me at my locker before class so we can figure out what to do about you-know-who…

“Who are you texting?” Mom asked, glancing at me before returning her gaze to the road.

I locked the screen and placed my phone in my pocket. “Just Ade.”

Mom nodded and turned onto the main road. It didn’t take long before we were pulling into the Kiss and Ride line in front of my high school. “Have a good day, Claire. Learn something new.”

I leaned over the middle console and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. “Will do. Have a good day. Love you!” I called before I pushed the door shut and joined the throng of my fellow peers as we made our way to the main entrance to begin the school day. As soon as I was inside I made my way toward my locker, hoping that Adrianna would already be there so she could fill me in on what happened last night. Knowing Mr. Rodriguez, he would find a way to handle the situation and would want Ade and I to stay far away from David. That, I would be able to do as long as I knew he was on the case and would help bring David to justice once and for all.

No one was waiting for me at my locker, so I unloaded the items I didn’t need into it and shoved the items I needed for the day into my backpack. By the time I was finished, it was almost time for the bell to ring to signal the start of class and Adrianna still hadn’t joined me. I checked my phone to see if she’d texted me back, but she hadn’t, so I sent her another message saying that I had to get to class but we would talk at lunch.

All through my first three classes I couldn’t stop thinking about what was going to happen and why Adrianna hadn’t texted me back yet. She was always quick to reply because she was always checking her phone. By the time lunch rolled around, I was really worried. I hoped she would be sitting at our lunch table, fiddling with her purple streaked hair and preparing a mildly insulting comment on how I finally looked alive again. Yet, when I walked into the cafeteria and located our normal table, she was nowhere in sight.

I was so sick with worry that I couldn’t even eat. Instead I just pushed my food around my tray slowly, waiting for the lunch period to end. Halfway through lunch, I felt the burn of a stare on me and glanced up to see Ben smirking in my direction. His shaggy, blond hair was unwashed and greasy, and he was wearing the same clothes from the day before. Never before had I seen him look so sinister. My blood ran cold as the idea that he had something to do with Adrianna’s absence crossed my mind. I averted my eyes quickly, looking away from Ben, yet I could still feel the weight of his gaze throughout the rest of the period.

The remainder of the day passed by slowly. I was filled with an all-consuming dread, hoping that Adrianna was just home sick and her phone was out of reach or turned off. My worried thoughts had me thinking about last night when I called her cellphone before bed to see if she had spoken to her Dad yet, and she never answered. At the time I had assumed she was already asleep considering the late hour, but now I couldn’t be so sure.

After school, I ran home, dropping my stuff off in the foyer before walking one block over to Ade’s house. As I walked up her front pathway, her beautiful, Victorian styled home looming over me, I felt small and afraid.
What if Adrianna isn’t here? What if something happened to her last night?
As soon as I thought it, I shook the thought from my mind. I didn’t need to think negatively like that.

I pressed the doorbell and waited impatiently for someone to answer, hoping against hope that Adrianna would pull the door open and laugh about how paranoid I was. But when Mrs. Rodriguez opened the door, staring down at me with a confused expression on her face and asking where Adrianna was, my paranoid thoughts were confirme
d
.