She’d be the one to survive this, the one to live.
But it wasn’t her choice, it was their choice. Their choice of who would die, and who would live.
That’s how this game started, how it was going. She saw Lindsey get shot before her very own eyes, saw how Aaron hurt Charlie with a hammer, leaving her in the room. She’s fine, but unstable.
The way he cut Isabell with the scissors being precise where exactly to cut, to explode her veins. Lucas had found a way to untie Jeremy, and Alex, getting shot in the arm, as they quickly ran into a room, putting as much furniture they could in front of the door. And that’s where they’ve been for the past months, October already passed. Police had come to this house multiple times throughout the month, search parties were being sent out all across Westmore, and even Chicago. All of Illinois was packed with search parties, little did they know that they were looking in the right place, just not fully. It was only three of them, with a serial killer in the house, a serial killer in his own house. Katie had been poisoned because he had locked her up with them the week after Charlie got killed.
He was sick, a sick fuck.
Now it was them, one would live, one would die, and one would have to survive.
“OK, what the hell are we supposed to do? We’re locked up, my dad is fucking insane, and we saw four of the people we cared about die and get hurt in front of us. Jeremy got kidnapped somehow from Florida, and Lucas is somehow alive.” She said, looking out the room window, Jeremy paced around, looking at the ground. Lucas sat on the ground, looking at the ceiling.
“Lucas, how are you alive?” Jeremy said, looking directly at him.
“I don’t know, all I remember was seeing Alex, and then everything went black. It was the day of the funeral I think; I was laying in that coffin thingy right? Well uhm, I think Aaron buried me out of the ground, and took me away somehow. After that, all I remember was being in that room, Katie would go in there to check up on me, give me food. I was grateful for that, but now I understand that she isn’t who she said she was. “ He said, yawning a bit.
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The thing was, how did Aaron revive Lucas. How was it possible, it had to have been some kind of science behind it. But she didn’t know anything, not anymore. Just the daily cars passing by the same street every day, red, white, black, and blue. She memorized the license plates just in case, as the two daily runners always crossed paths, one with a white water bottle, another with a blueish one. It annoyed her, for some reason but she wouldn’t think about it much.
She also memorized the daily couple walking their corgi down the sidewalk, either laughing, or watching the dumb shit the dog would do or how it would waddle. The same three birds on that electric pole, recharging for the day ahead. That same motorcycle that passed each day, looking directly at the window, like right now. Did they know about the three teenagers in there, about the secrets and danger that this house holds?
But today it was different, they didn’t just drive by. They stopped in the drive, looking directly at the window once again.
“Guys..” She said softly, hoping they would hear over Jeremy’s rant, and Lucas trying to explain.
“Guys-” She said louder, looking back at them. Both of them looked up at her blinking once, and twice.
“What?” They both said in unison, Alex gestured for them to look out the window, Jeremy walked over to the window, he tried to look at whatever Alex was looking at, until she turned his head to the correct spot, he blinked and looked at her.
“Isn’t that the same biker that passes by here everyday?”
She nods, and watches as he gets off the bike, and takes his helmet off.
Rome Everest.
They all knew who he was, he was a senior in their school, an outcast to everyone. Dark hair, eyes cold as ice, quiet. But kind, or at least he had been kind to her a time or two back in freshman year when she fell on the track, and some kids made fun of her.
He walked towards the front door, ringing the doorbell the chime filling the whole house. There was some weird noise from downstairs, most likely Aaron on the sofa drinking beer or something. As soon as the door opened, Rome bursted inside.
“Is this really happening?” Lucas said, behind them startling the both of them. How did he stand up so quickly?
There was faint chatter down stairs, Aaron protesting on how he just bursted into his home like the, and Rome staying silent, his shoes bringing a loud thump on the steps, matching with the rhythm of Alex’s heart, closer, and closer, and closer. Until they stopped right in front of the door.
“Don’t you dare.” Aaron said, somewhere far in the distance.
“Oh I dare.” Rome replied, twisting the doorknob. Shit, the furniture was in the way, Alex quickly ran over to the door, trying to move the stuff away from the door, Jeremy did the same as they placed each thing to the side. With the last push Rome gave, the door opened. They made eye contact for a split second, until finally coming back to reality.
“You have to get out of here as quickly as you can. No turning back, no looking back, and no nothing. Now, go. Hurry, Jeremy, don't just stand there, run. Lucas, you too. Nevermind, I’ll carry you out, and Alex. Run.” He said, and they all listened. Rome ran over to Lucas and placed him on his back, as they all ran downstairs, finally they’d be free. They’d be OK, she’d live.
She survived, she-
A strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer, she blinked and tried getting out of the arms’ grip, but she couldn’t. Cold metal pressed up against the side of her head, and she froze.
“If you even try to run, I will shoot.” Aaron said, Rome stopped to look back. Blinking.
“Let her go.” He said, but Aaron didn’t budge, “I said let her go-” but there was no use in that, he would never go not until she died in front of him, so he could relive that day every single second of his life, to know he got rid of his useless daughter, and that she was never going to be needed in this world ever again, to hide the secret he had, to hide the fact that Alice and Elijah were alive, normal, not a memory, that they had their own secrets, their own perfect lies. Things that could never be said to the world, things that no one would believe.
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“Fine, don’t let her go. But just know, we will come for her, and for you.” He said, and walked out. That cold feeling left the side of her head, and she let out a subtle sigh of relief.
“Don’t get too relaxed, you still have a long way to go in this house, and you will die sooner or later.” He said, releasing Alex from his grip, letting her breathe, find that air to fill that void deep inside her stomach, ready to spill the moment it got too heavy, when the pain of it all got to her, when the pain of knowing that she might never see her family again, see Andrew again, see Bryan grow up, or watch her friends do something good for once.
Watch them do something great. At least watch Jeremy, Lucas, and Andrew do that. Aaron walked over, and placed the gun down on a cabinet, she made a mental note of where it was. She stood there, not moving a muscle, Aaron walked down stairs, not even checking if Alex was still standing there. Her hand reached out, taking the gun in hand, she didn’t feel scared, she felt powerful in some way or another, knowing that she can use it to harm those who harmed her.
She ran back into the room, her safe place. But now it wasn’t really safe.
“Alexandra, come down here now.” Aaron said, Alex placed the gun aside and went down stairs. Walking into the kitchen, Aaron was by the sink.
“You needed me?” She asked, he smiled walking over to her. Same eyes looking into the same eyes. Same blood, same family line. Same everything.
“What you just witnessed is the reason why I can’t let you go. That was the dangerous part of this, if I get exposed, you get exposed. Alice and Elijah get exposed. And we don’t want that, do we?” He asked, stepping closer. Way too close, she didn’t like how close he was.
Alex stepped one calculated step back, and he reached out grabbing her wrist in his hand.
“It isn’t dangerous, if you get exposed then you go to jail. Behind bars, where you belong.”
“Is that what you really think, sweetheart? That if I get exposed I’m the only one who goes to jail? Think about Alice, about Elijah. About what they’ve done”
“They’ve done nothing, nothing at all.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know what they truly have done, everyone has secrets, sweetheart. Even you, and we both know that. Because that’s what you and I hold,” he reached out to grab a hair strand between his fingers, “we both hold perfect lies, we’re a family of liars. And you’re one of those liars.” His hand lingered on her face longer than necessary. Alex stepped back, nearly tripping.
“No, that isn’t true. That's impossible. You’re insane, you’re the liar here.” She snapped, Aaron smirked. He stepped closer, grabbing her arm. He leaned in, his face close to her. Same eyes looking into the same exact eyes.
“It’s not impossible. You know, you should’ve never been born. You just caused problems the moment you came into the world. There was just something you had that was… Not normal.” He pulled her closer, his hand around her arm tightening almost to where it hurt. Alex stifled a cry, she hated this. Hated that she was related to a man with nothing but psychotic thoughts in his head. She tried stepping back, but he pulled her even closer. He grabbed a knife, nearly putting it to her neck but she dodged. He scoffed, and put it down.
“What is wrong with you?” Alex yelled, hitting her back on the edge of the counter, she let out a soft ‘ow.’ Aaron was making his way towards her, but she started running back upstairs. She ran into the room where Charlie was. She had woken up, that’s good.
“Charlie- we need to get out of here now.” Alex said, rushing towards her and grabbing her arm. Charlie coughed, her legs wobbly as she stood up. A few drops of blood came out of her mouth, splashing on the floor. They made their way out of the room, and downstairs. Aaron was nowhere to be found, as they made their way out the door. Aaron yanked Alex back, her hands slipped out of Charlie’s. Alex cried, trying to get away from his grip but it was no use.
“Charlie, don’t stay there. Go, now please.”
“I.. I can’t just leave you here with that psycho.” She said, her voice hoarse and just above a whisper. A car pulled up in the drive, David nearly jumping out from the door, walking towards them. A gun in hand, pointing straight at Aaron. Charlie looked at David, and noticed Sebastian was in the car. She walked towards the car, and got into the passenger's seat.
“Let go of her, or I’ll shoot.” He said, reaching out for Alex but she got pulled back even more. One bullet went out, hitting Aaron on his arm. A shiny reflection went by Alex’s peripheral vision, the knife flying at full force towards David; but he dodged right in time.
“Don’t come back. There’s no use, she’ll be dead by then.” Aaron said, slamming the door shut, and shoving Alex into that room upstairs. Where everything had happened, Katie, Lindsey, and Isabel slowly rotting in the corner. She fell to the floor, letting out a soft grunt.
“You will stay here to rot with the rest of them. I’ll come back and have my way with you, understand?” He asked, she nodded. “Use your words.”
“I understand.” She mumbled, he smirked and walked out the room, shutting the door and from the sounds of it, locking it so she couldn’t get out. Alex sat with her back to the wall, curling up. Knees to her chest, arms around legs. Her chin resting above her knees. The wooden floor was stained, dried blood covering everything. She was alone, no contacts. She trusted Rome into keeping his promise and coming back for her. She wanted that to be today, so she could survive, not get hurt by her own father.
She curled herself up more, as if trying to make herself one. Only one, and nothing else. With no other parts. Just soul.
“What do you want?” She asked, looking up as he came closer with something in his hand. A letter? He walked closer, crouching down to her level, his hand reaching for her jaw lifting her face up towards him.
“Just wanted to see how you were doing. Maybe even tell you some stories of those lying bastards you seem so fascinated about.” He sat down, his legs crossing. Alex narrowed her eyes, scooting back into the wall, if that was even possible. She wanted to disappear, be miles and miles away from this man.
“What stories? By far the only lying bastard here is you, so there is no way they’re liars.”
“Yet, they’re alive. Made you think several times they were alive, and then disappeared in plain sight. Making you think they were dead once again. And you call me a liar?” He hissed, cocking his head forward. She scoffed, looking away.
“How can you say that?”
“How can I say it? Easy, I’ve known Elijah since your mother met his mom, it was easy. I mean, we all went to college together. And then when I had Charlie with Margaret, then boom. More secrets uncovered. You really didn’t think the Songs’ were that innocent, did you?” He laughed, almost in a mocking way. Alex blinked, yes they were. They were innocent in every way possible.
“Trust me, that family is far from innocent, Christi was it? Yeah, no she comes from a family just like ours. Crazy isn’t it? Just like David’s mom, and your mom. They’re all liars, sweetheart. You are too.” He said softly, too softly.
“But how are any of them liars… What do they have to do with Alice and Elijah?” She asked, daring to lean closer, her eyes narrowing. Aaron laughed, running a hand through his hair. Shaking his head.
“You really think this is all just a coincidence, don’t you? That Alice and Elijah’s deaths, everything that’s happened, it’s just a freak accident? No. You’re the reason this is happening, Alex. You—you—are the one who made this all go down. And you have no one to blame but yourself.” He pauses, leaning closer to her face, letting out a cold laugh, as if he’s the one with the whole truth.
“What are you-”
He cut her off, placing a finger on her lips. “I’m not done yet.”
“You think your little project—your innocent attempt to prove Elijah’s innocence—was just about some stupid end of year project? But no, you opened up a door that should have stayed shut. You dug too deep, Alex. You wanted the truth so badly that you set this entire thing in motion.”
Alex blinks, looking up at him.
“You wanted to prove that Elijah was innocent? You wanted to clear his name, to expose the lies? Well, congratulations sweetheart. That little project of yours—you need to know the truth—is why we’re here right now. You’re the reason all of this is happening to you. You thought you were doing the right thing, didn’t you? But you were just too blind to see how much it would cost you.”
Alex shook her head, why the hell was this happening?
“I get it, Alex. You wanted to believe that Elijah wasn’t a part of this mess. You wanted to think that your version of the truth would make everything better. But that’s not how it works. You’ve been running from this your whole life. You think you can just fix things with a few words, a little research? No, no. Your project—your obsession with the truth, it opened Pandora’s box.”
Alex spoke up, after what felt like years.
“No, none of that is true, you’re just lying like you always do.”
“No, I’m not. I’m the one saying the truth, and you just can’t see it. Every time you dug deeper, every time you asked questions that no one wanted to answer, you pushed us closer to this moment. You dragged all of us, including our town, back into this damn nightmare. You gave me no choice, Alex. The more you uncovered, the more I had to step in. Because you couldn’t just keep things how they were. Now look where you are,” he stood up walking around, “you opened the door, sweetheart. And now, it’s too late. You’re the key to everything. And I’m the one who has the guide through it. Because if you haven't done that project, if you hadn't tried so damn hard to bring back the past, maybe… Just maybe, none of this would have happened. But now? Now, it’s all on you.”
He looked at her, his voice lowering into a dangerous tone.
“I was trying to protect you, all along. I’m not your real father, you never had one. Yes, he died when you were little. I met your mother when we were in college, we were liars. Just like everyone in this place. But you made your choice, when you started digging. And now, you’ll have to live with it, until you get out of here. I won’t kill you, like I did to them. They knew way too much, but I’ll keep you safe. Yes, Alice and Elijah may be alive, but nothing will ever reverse what you have uncovered.”
Tears swelled up in Alex’s eyes, all of her life had been a lie. Who was she? What was she? Aaron walked to the corner, cleaning up the mess, just a bit. Not all of it. Alex sniffed.
“W-why are you telling me this now?” She stuttered, tears running down her cheeks.
“Why am I telling you this now? Because you’ve been living in a lie all your life, but that’s only half of it. That’s only one of the lies yet to uncover. We live in an imperfect world, with perfect lies. Ironic isn’t it?” He turned to her, smiling. Far from warm, far from anything really. She wiped her face, the salty after taste of her tears adding even more bittersweetness to the reality she is now facing. She tried to stand up, but failed miserably.
“Dammit-”
“No, not so fast. You need to be careful.” He said, running a hand through his beard. Alex scoffed, standing up supporting herself with the wall. Her feet let her move just a bit, she wanted to scream, throw up, to do anything but to be here. She hated it here, she really did. Aaron came behind her, putting a hand on her arm.
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed trying to unwind her arm, but he gripped it harder.
“I’m not going to hurt you, sure I killed people. But I’m not going to hurt you, OK? Just, let me take you to the shower and I’ll leave you from there. Just please, you can’t get hurt. We have visitors coming in a week.” He muttered, leading her to the bathroom, and closing the door.
“I’ll bring you clean clothes and put it on the sink, OK?” He said from the other side, Alex let out a hum and got into the shower letting the warm water fall down her skin. She felt at ease, in a murderer's house? So she really was insane. A few hours passed, and she was somehow drinking tea at the kitchen island that Aaron had prepared.
“Hey, Aaron..”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“How am I part of all this?”
He blinked, a smile appearing on his face.
“Come on, darling. Let me show you something, follow me.”
They walked to a room, and what she found was never on her life bucket list…
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