Chapter 44: Chapter 44

CHELSEA

I jolt awake, screaming, in my bed. I throw off the covers and realize I’m drenched. ~Must be the pond water.~

I get out of the wet bed and dry myself off. I put on the clothes Lynn had brought me from the hospital.

I start looking for my phone, then remember it’s still at the house. I get into Lynn’s car and drive to her place. It’s still dark, but the morning is just beginning.

I knock on the door a few times before Zoey comes to answer it.

“Chelsea! What’s wrong?” she asks.

“I need to talk to Lynn and Dan now. Where are they?” I ask, stepping inside.

“In Lynn’s room,” Zoey says, watching me head in that direction.

I knock on the door and open it. Lynn is asleep on Dan’s chest, holding him. Lynn opens her eyes and sees me standing in the doorway.

“Chels, what’s wrong, honey?” she asks.

“We need to talk,” I say.

I watch Lynn get out of bed, naked. She goes into the bathroom, and I hear the toilet flush. She comes out wearing one of Dan’s sheriff department polo shirts.

Dan opens his eyes. Lynn walks back over to him. “I’ve got this. Go back to sleep,” she says, kissing him on the forehead.

Lynn and Zoey join me in the living room and sit on the sofa. Both of them are rubbing their eyes and yawning.

“Okay, what’s up?” Lynn asks.

“The past two nights I’ve been out of that house, I’ve been having nightmares, and I think Clayton is behind it,” I say, trying to keep my composure.

“The first night I woke up at the house, he told me I’m not going anywhere, that he owns me till I die. Tonight, I woke up in the same bed at the house, but it’s six years in the future.

“I have a new groundskeeper named Christian. I had my baby, and it’s a girl. Her name is Christine, and she’s five years old.

“Then I looked at Clayton and asked what happened to my friends. He said Brian left because he couldn’t be the man Clayton was.”

I look at Zoey, pointing at her. “You killed yourself.”

Zoey covers her mouth in shock.

“You and Dan started a business together, then moved out of state, leaving me all alone here. So, I went back to living in the house again.

“Then he told me I’m not worth anything anymore. He tried to kill me, so he can raise my daughter Christine to be a good servant and to mold her into whatever he wants,” I say, fighting back tears.

Lynn and Zoey sit there, staring at me with their mouths open.

“You need to tell me what Dorothy wants me to do next.”

“Burn it down to the ground,” Lynn says.

“How? He’ll be all over me as soon as I walk in that house.”

“Talk to him like nothing’s happened. Be his friend. Tell him you were never mad at him. Talk about all the great sex you’ve had and want to do,” Zoey says.

Lynn and I just look at her with ~what?~ expressions on our faces.

“I read it in that book I was reading the other day.”

“She’s got a point,” Lynn says. “You’re going to talk to him like nothing’s happened. Tell him you never wanted to leave.

“You want him to be your king in his kingdom. While you’re distracting him, I’ll be inside gassing the whole lower level. I’ll give you a signal, that’s when you turn on him and light the match.”

“I’ll go upstairs and get my phone,” I say, sounding nervous. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Honey, you were with him for almost two weeks. I just need you to give me fifteen minutes. You’re stronger than you think,” she tells me.

“I hope you’re right about this.”

“I know I am.”

We plan to be at the house around noon. Lynn tries to get me to lie down—that isn’t going to happen. I’m too wired to sleep.

Then Lynn tries to keep Dan at her place, but he isn’t having any of that either. So, the plan is that I will drive to the house in Lynn’s car.

They will follow within five minutes of me being there. I’ll distract Clayton as Lynn pours gasoline all over the lower level.

When she’s done, she’ll give me a signal to light the place up. I’ll have to plan on being close to the front or back door when I light the gasoline.

Before we leave to go to the house, I tell Lynn I’m getting my keys and my phone and that when she’s done with the gas, she should text me. I put it on vibrate.

We decide to drive a different way to the house. We want to avoid the big oak tree as much as we can. So, I drive, with Lynn following behind, a different way down State Road 22.

Right before I pull into my driveway, I see Lynn park on the side of the road. I roll my window down and give her a thumbs-up. Then I proceed down the driveway.

My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest, and I’m scared to death. But in my head, I can hear Lynn say over and over, ~You’re stronger than you think~.

I get to the house and park next to my car. The front door is still open. I open the screen door quietly and listen for any sounds.

I go up the stairs to my room. There I find my keys and the phone. I hit the power button, and it shows me 1 percent battery.

“No!” I say as my phone shuts off. I sit at the edge of the bed and plug it in. “I just need enough charge for—”

I stop and look up to see Clayton standing at the door.

“What for?” he questions.

“Hi, sweetheart. I’ve missed you.”

He gazes at me. I know I need to tread lightly with him. “Lynn had no business dragging me out of my own home,” I tell him, moving closer.

“She didn’t,” he agrees.

“No, she didn’t. That’s why I returned. Because you’re the only one I trust,” I confess, my hand resting on my belly.

“Did you mean what you said in my dreams? That you don’t need me anymore? Are you planning to kill me? Then mold my daughter into your servant? Sleep with her like you did with me?”

“I would never do that to you. I just wanted to frighten you into coming back to me,” he admits.

“You didn’t need to do that. I was already on my way back to you,” I tell him, moving closer and placing my hands on his hips. “Do you want to pick up where we left off a few days ago?”

He tilts his head to the side as if he hears something.

I slide my hand over his jeans, rubbing his crotch. I look up at him, trying to catch his eye.

It’s not working.

I keep my gaze fixed on him, looking up. I start to unbutton his pants, then unzip them. I reach in and grasp his cock, stroking him through his pants.

Now he looks down at me. He grabs my face and leans in. He forces his tongue into my mouth.

I want to bite it off, but I have to keep up the act.

I let my tongue meet his. I suppress the urge to vomit. He stops again and looks away. I kneel and pull his cock out completely.

“Am I not good enough to hold your attention?” I ask, stroking him in front of my face.

I glance to see how far I am from my phone. I can’t reach it from here.

“Why don’t you come lie on the bed so I can give you a blowjob?” I suggest.

He grins broadly as he walks toward the bed. I glance at my phone, but he catches my gaze. He grabs my head and forces me to look at him.

“What are you up to?” he questions.

“Trying to get you to make love to me,” I reply, my voice trembling.

“No, you’re trying to distract me. You’re up to something,” he accuses, throwing me onto the bed.

“Sweetheart, there’s nothing going on. I missed you,” I assure him, hearing something fall and shatter in the kitchen.

I sigh as Clayton bolts, rushing down the stairs.

I follow him; the scent of gasoline is potent. I glance back to see Lynn sneaking out the back door from the kitchen.

“You bitch! You think by burning this house, you’re going to get rid of me? You’re so wrong!

“I own you. I own the baby. She’s going to be next in line and be the next Clementine. I’ll have her killing before she’s even a teenager. She will obey me and do whatever I command,” he declares, laughing.

I pull out the Zippo lighter from my pocket. Clayton starts to approach me. “Don’t come any closer,” I warn him.

In a split second, he’s standing right in front of me.

He knocks the lighter out of my hand. Then he backhands me across my face with his other hand.

I stand up, rubbing my cheek. “You’re such a big man for hitting a woman. Instead of showing me who you are from a book character, why don’t you show me who you really are?” I challenge, raising my voice.

Right then, he starts to transform into eighteen-year-old Clayton Tucker.

“Look at you, you’re just a boy pretending to be something you’re not. Especially a character I created. You’re pathetic.”

He hits me harder this time, then hurls me against the wall. I land on my hands and knees, gasping for breath. “If you kill me, you kill my baby!”

“I’ll take my chances,” he retorts as he morphs back into my character. “But if the baby dies, I’ll kill all your friends before they leave the property.

“I’ll keep Zoey around. She’s already had a taste of my friends. She’ll be easy to convert,” he says, walking over to me and kicking me in the chest, sending me flying across the room.

I wheeze, clutching my chest. I look up to see him standing there, proud of his actions.

I get up and dash up the stairs. I make it to my room and grab my phone.

Then I feel a punch to the back of my head.

LYNN

“Something’s not right,” I say.

“Just give her a few more minutes,” Dan tells me.

“No, it’s been almost ten minutes. That place should be up in flames by now,” I say, stepping out of the car.

“Lynn, get back here!”

I run up the front stairs and stop at the door. I stick my head in to listen for something. I can hear noises upstairs like someone is tossing furniture.

I step a little further inside the house and spot Chelsea’s Zippo lighter lying open on the floor. I flick the lighter, and it ignites.

I walk toward the curtains and set them alight, then ignite the carpet in the dining room. The flames quickly engulf the entire front of the house.

“Chelsea!” I yell. “Chelsea, the house is on fire!” I scream as I run out the back door.

CHELSEA

I wake up to the smell of smoke.

I open my eyes to see Clayton on top of me, trying to undress me. He pulls my shirt over my head with his left hand, then he pins my hands above my head with his right. He starts to unbutton his pants.

“I’m going to fuck you so hard, you’ll wish you were already dead. I should have given you this from the start,” he says, pulling out his cock.

“Chelsea! Chelsea, the house is on fire!”

“That witch!” he spits out.

Then he lands a punch on my face.

I play unconscious, and he climbs off me, heading downstairs.

I crack open an eye. Smoke and flames are billowing from downstairs. I scramble up and dash to my office.

I seize the chair at my desk and hurl it at the window. I step out onto the ledge, clutch the ivy growing on the latticework, and climb down.

LYNN

I return to the car. My heart is pounding so hard I feel like I might faint.

“Did you spot her?” Dan inquires.

“No, but I heard something upstairs.”

By now, the house is almost entirely engulfed in flames.

“God, I hope she got out.”

I start the car and reverse. I can feel the heat radiating from the house. Once I park, I spot Chelsea darting around from the back of the house.

She hops into her car and reverses next to me. “You okay?”

She nods.

“Ready to go?”

“No, I want to stay and watch this place burn to the ground. I want to see nothing but ashes.”

I watch her climb out of her car and perch on the hood. Dan dials the fire department and reports that we’re burning brush on the property.

I get out and join her. She has dried blood on her nose, and a bruise is starting to form on her cheek. She’s also covered in scratches.

“Where’s Zoey?” she asks.

“As soon as you got out of my car, she hopped in and took off. She wanted no part of this,” I explain, and Chelsea chuckles.

Now the entire house is ablaze. We can see different colors bursting from the roof. Bright red and white flames are shooting out.

Then there are sounds like fireworks coming from the basement, accompanied by faint screams, lots of them.

It sounds like there are people trapped in the burning house, unable to escape.

We sit and watch the entire house burn to the ground.

“I really loved that house,” Chelsea murmurs.

“I know you did,” I respond, placing my hand on her leg.

She looks at me.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”