Don't Close Your Eyes (Don't Look Series Book 2), page 24
“Oh yeah?” Fiona sweeps my feet out from under me. Oof. I land on top of the heap in a fit of giggles. Somehow Marisa’s elbow is buried in my hair, making me wince when I try to sit up.
“Just give in,” Erin says, splaying a leg over my waist.
“It’s better down here anyway.” Viv smiles from her spot pinned under Fiona.
Karen does a double take when she comes into the room. She snickers. “Everything okay? I thought I heard—Oh. I didn’t know you were playing Twister in here.”
“Very funny. Help us up?” I hold out a hand, which she uses to haul me upright.
When we’re all up straightening out our sweatshirts and messy ponytails, we plop down in a bunch on and around the sofa. Erin sits against Viv’s knees, running her hands over the carpet. Marisa gets Viv talking about her progress on the play costumes, which perks her up. She starts waxing poetic about the fabrics she talked Esau into letting her use. Audrey cuddles in next to me and pulls a fleece blanket over us.
Karen lifts a phone to her ear. “What pizza do you guys like?”
“Cheese!”
“Pesto!”
“Veggie lovers!”
Nodding, Karen orders a lot of pizza—way more than we can possibly eat—before perching on the edge of the plaid chair across from us.
Audrey’s head tilts forward on my shoulder in that direction. She sits up. “Is there something going on?”
Our guardian adjusts the pillow at her back, relaxing further into the cushy seat. “Nope. For once, I have nothing to report. Which is why we’re celebrating with pizza.”
Justin comes in the front door, leaning against the frame. “Looks like a party in here. Anyone in the mood for dessert?”
A cheer goes up from our girl pile.
Justin looks out the door. “Two dozen cupcakes, coming up. Guys? Come on in.”
A bunch of heads swivel to the door as Justin steps aside. Esau, Noah, and Dariel come in, arms laden with pink bakery boxes. Esau winks at me over Noah’s head, and I smile wide. Cupcakes sound amazing. Popping up, I follow the guys into the kitchen.
Noah greets me with a smile as he slides his pink box onto the counter. “How’s it going in there?”
I shrug. “I think we’re all going to be okay.”
“Glad to hear it.” He ducks out, probably drawn to where my sister is cuddled up on the sofa. Yep. He slides into the spot by her, and Audrey happily shares her blanket. They’re way too precious together now that they’re officially dating.
“It’s been hours since I’ve had pizza, and I’m so ready.” Dariel unloads his pink box on the countertop, patting my elbow in greeting as he lopes past, joining everyone in the living room.
I watch him settle in next to Fiona, my attention moving back to my twin and her super sweet boyfriend. “It’s so nice that we’ve been drama free long enough for them to actually date. Eep.”
Esau must have put his pink box down when I wasn’t paying attention, because he snatches my hand and pulls me out the back door. It snicks closed, and he turns the intensity of his attention on me. The heated look in his eyes warms my fingers and toes, which is good because I don’t have shoes on and it’s freezing out here. His eyes sweep over me when I shiver. “I should have asked. Want to go in?”
Shaking my head, I move closer to him. “You’ll keep me warm, won’t you?”
Inclining his head, he unbuttons his coat. I trace his progress with my eyes, assuming he’ll take it off and throw it over my shoulders. I turn to give him my back, expecting the weight of the shearling to cloak my frame.
Esau draws me against him, my back to his chest, tucking my arms over my belly and wrapping his coat around both of us. He leans against the wood siding of the house, taking me with him. I rest my weight on him, knowing he’ll hold me up.
Sniffing at the lining of the coat that’s tickling my nose, I bury my face in it. It smells good, like him. Plus it’s warm. I’m in heaven.
“Getting high off my smell?”
“As a cat on catnip.”
His arms tighten over my chest, keeping the flaps of his coat closed over us. His nose draws a line from beneath my ear down to the collar of my sweater, breathing deeply. “That smell. You know it drives me nuts, right?”
My mouth splits in a grin. “I might have noticed, since you bury your face in my hair every chance you get.”
I can feel him shrug behind my back. “Won’t apologize for it.”
“I didn’t ask you to. I bet you’re glad you got your cast off, finally. How’s your hand?”
He flexes it before snaking it over my stomach again. “Pasty and gross, but not bad.”
I drop my head against his shoulder, completely relaxing in his arms. It’s the first time I’ve been able to uncoil the tension that’s been building in my chest for weeks. The moon ascends over the tops of the eucalyptus trees that span our backyard, marking the edge of the property. A rustling in the branches draws my eyes. A raccoon shimmies down the trunk of one, followed by two of its babies. “Cubs? Kids? What are baby raccoons called?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.”
“Unhelpful.”
“Speaking of parents.” Esau’s arms tighten around me. I can feel his throat bob as he swallows.
“What about them?” I tilt my head to catch his profile.
His eyes lower to mine. “They want to have dinner with you and your family tomorrow, to celebrate opening night on Friday. You up for that?”
After the flood, we postponed the play’s opening for two weeks to give everyone some time to breathe. Many of our classmates were displaced as cleanup on Hacienda began, but at this point everyone in drama is excited to finally be putting on the show we’ve been working on since January. Nodding my cheek against his chest, I smile. “That sounds really nice.”
We go quiet, watching the night and its denizens wake from their slumber. In the distance, a coyote howls. Its brothers and sisters answer.
A shiver of cold goes through me. My sweater is no match for the wintry air. Goosebumps rise along my skin. I rub my arms with my hands to try to warm up.
Esau hauls himself up straight, pushing me upright too. Opening his coat, he spins us until I’m the one pinned against the house. He moves closer. Crowds me against the wall. Heat from his body permeates my skin. I pull him nearer by the lapels of his jacket. “I blame you for making me cold.”
“You should. My fault you’re out here. How can I make it up to you?”
I hum in my throat, grinning. “I can think of a couple ways.”
My boyfriend’s attention dips from my eyes to my mouth. A pulse pounds in my throat. “Yeah?”
I nod. Fisting his coat, I pull his face closer. “Are you nervous? About opening night?”
“Yes.” His lips barely skate over mine when the back door opens and Justin pops his head out. “Pizza’s here. Come on inside.”
“We’ll be in in a minute.” I say, knowing that my cheeks are probably red, and not just from the cold.
Justin looks between us, his eyes settling on me. There’s mock somberness in his expression. “Do I need to get out my gun? Give some version of the ‘you behave yourself because I have a shotgun and a shovel’ talk?”
“No! We’ll just be a second.”
“I’ll be watching the clock,” he says with a jaunty wink. The back door closes behind him.
“Busted,” Esau whispers, his hot breath fanning my skin. I hold him in place when he tries to put space between us.
“Just one more minute.”
“I should say no. Don’t want to get shot.” His chuckle works its way through me, pulling my smile wider. We kiss, enjoying the quiet for a stolen minute. I make good use of it, mussing up Esau’s hair with both hands. When I finally let him pull away, a giggle breaks out of me. He looks like he just walked through a wind tunnel. I love it.
Sweeping my palms off each other, I grasp the knob. “Job well done.”
“If I get held up at shotgun point, I’m blaming it on you.” Esau holds the door open so I can go in first.
“Fair. Let’s get some pizza.”
Chapter 38
Day 347, Friday
Audrey
In the past two weeks, a ton of work has been done in Hacienda. Hundreds of people from neighboring towns came with tools and supplies to help begin the repairs on waterlogged storefronts and homes. It’s been pretty inspiring to watch. Noah and I have spent a couple of afternoons after school helping clean up the grounds around the senior center where Mrs. Lopez works. It’s incredibly satisfying hearing the seniors living there remark about how much better the courtyard looks after we spent a bunch of time replanting pretty plants and mulching the flower beds that were destroyed in the storm.
As of today, everyone has moved out of the gym—either back into their homes, local hotels, or other places. Campus is quieter during the day, but after school the cast spends hours upon hours in the drama room, going over the play until it’s ingrained in their brains. My friends are so entrenched in it they quote it constantly.
I’m backstage with Taryn, hanging out while she gets ready. Last night, we had dinner with Esau and his family at the diner, and it went really well. Justin and Mr. Chavez spent most of dinner talking about the work Justin needs to do to repair his boat. Karen got drawn into a conversation with Mrs. Chavez about cooking, and when Esau’s mom found out Karen can’t cook, she strong-armed her into agreeing to lessons. So that’ll be entertaining.
“Fifteen minutes to curtains up. Everything okay in here?” Fiona balances on the door frame, leaning halfway into Taryn’s dressing room. Taryn sits at the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her stage makeup. Her blond hair is already pinned in an up-do that she, Viv, and Esau agreed on for her character. It fits perfectly with the play’s historical setting. Somehow, her nest of curls makes her look both younger and more timeless, as if she stepped out of the mirror, a traveler from Victorian England.
“We’re good.” My sister smiles at Fiona in the mirror. Getting up, Taryn strips out of her button-up shirt and pants, trading them for one of the beautiful gowns Viv updated for the play. “Zip me up? Thanks.”
She grins at me over her shoulder. “Tonight is going to be climactic. I can feel it. I might pop if we don’t start right now. You know?” Turning to face me, she wiggles her hips. “I’m itching to get the show going. Speaking of, have you seen Esau? I’m dying to know what his costume looks like.”
“You know I haven’t. He and Viv haven’t let anyone see. It makes me wonder if he’s going with the emperor’s new clothes or something.”
Taryn laughs. “Not likely. But why all the secrecy? It’s just a costume.”
I shrug. “Maybe he’s embarrassed?”
“A distinct possibility. But that doesn’t explain why Viv hasn’t spilled the beans. She’s usually so effusive when it comes to costumes, but this time? Not a peep.” It’s true. When Viv is excited about something, she’s a gusher. But for some reason, Esau’s costumes for the play are a secret they’ve guarded like the script for a hotly anticipated superhero movie. So naturally, the entire cast is morbidly curious about how our illustrious director will be attired.
The dressing room door opens and slams, making us both whirl toward it. “Geez, Fiona, I thought we still had—” Taryn’s breath dies as it hits the air, the words sinking like bricks to the ground.
Robert Baugh stands in front of the closed door, blocking our only exit. My eyes are locked on his weapon of choice. The shrewd, protracted knife held confidently in his hand. “Just came by to say, ‘break a leg.’ Isn’t that what you theater types say to wish each other good luck?”
Taryn’s hands are buried in her skirts. Eyes latched on the killer. Her tone is quiet, but firm. “How did you get in here?”
The man snorts. Advances toward us, herding Taryn and I until hemmed in against the back wall. “They were letting anybody in the other night, during the storm. So I came in. Had a warm meal. Found a hidey hole and waited. I knew I’d get my chance, sooner or later. That pixie-haired costume girl hasn’t been here all week, so the costume room was a convenient place to hide. It’s practically a jungle in there, perfect for a patient man like me.”
“They’ll realize we’re missing,” Taryn says. Behind her back, a single finger forms into a point. I try to pinpoint what she’s gesturing at without being obvious. Makeup is strewn across the vanity’s surface. A hairbrush rests on its side. The curling iron she used to transform her hair into beautiful curls blinks red. It’s still on. Still hot. Genius.
“They will, but not for a few minutes. Plenty of time. You know how long it takes a body to bleed out, if it’s cut in the correct place? Minutes. By the time someone comes back here looking for you, I’ll be gone. And you’ll both be dead.”
My sister shifts, leaving me room to inch along the vanity. She’s giving me the chance to grab it. I can’t hesitate when she distracts the man who came here to watch us bleed out on the floor. Trying to harness my fear, turn it into something useful, I take slow, tiny steps closer to the only weapon we have.
Taryn squares her shoulders to block the man’s view of my hands as I grope for the appliance behind my back.
“You don’t have to do this,” she says. She sounds so composed, so sure. “If you leave now, we won’t tell anyone you were here. You can get away. Go somewhere else. Start over.”
Immediately, it’s obvious that this was not the right thing to say.
The Gemini Killer bristles, his eyes blazing with angry heat. “I don’t want to start over,” he spits. “Ever since I was a teenager I knew what I was supposed to do. My mom and dad were shit parents, pitting me and my brothers against each other at every turn. They made being a twin miserable for me and for Albie. It was obvious they should never have been parents at all. They didn’t know what to do with us. Then I hear from Albie that he’s made friends with a girl who’s a twin. That her parents are shit, too. It made me realize that most parents of twins are rotten. Nature didn’t make parents good enough for twins, so I decided to do something about it. My parents died before I could make sure they got their punishment, but there’s lots of other twin parents out there for me to find. To teach their lesson. But you two… You two are just as rotten as your parents. It’s because of you I lost my brothers. I can’t stand by and let that go.”
Righteous fury glows in the man’s eyes as he gains ground. The dressing room shrinks until it feels like we’re trapped in a too-tight box, gasping like fish dragged up a rocky shore and left to die.
I suck in what air I can, my ribcage expanding, then hold my breath. Tiny plastic tubes shift under the tips of my fingers. None of them is the one I need.
There.
My hand seizes the cord before painstakingly slowly inching upward. My fingers shift around the handle, trying to get a firm grip. My wrist is twisted at such an odd angle I’m not positive I’ll be able to hold it long enough to use it.
Robert Baugh’s nostrils flare as he works to calm himself down. He resets his grip on his blade, eyes not leaving us. “Hiding your fingers? Don’t worry, little monsters. I don’t have time tonight to take you apart piece by piece. In fact, since the show is about to start, I’ll make this quick. Tell you what. I’ll let you decide who goes first. Personally, I’d say it’s the easier way. I wouldn’t want to watch one of my brothers die.” His eyes home in on my sister, fluttering over her cheek in a grotesque caress. “Since you’re already scarred, let me finish the job. One stab is all it’ll take.”
The metal in his hand glistens as if hungry for blood.
I can do this. I have to do this. Taryn is trusting me to save us; I won’t let her down.
“No thanks,” my sister says, her fingers white in the folds of her skirts. “I have too much to accomplish to die tonight. Rain check?”
“No can do.” He lunges, his bulk blotting out the edges of my vision until all I see is him. The whites of his blazing eyes. Large hands. A gleaming blade thrust toward Taryn’s fitted bodice.
With a battle cry, I whip the curling iron around and hook it under Robert Baugh’s chin, burying it in his reddish beard. Burning hair smell fills the dressing room. He screams, pushing away, clawing at his burnished throat. “You bitch,” he growls. “You’ll pay for that.” His arm swings out, his blade cutting through the air toward me.
The dressing room door is thrown open, its wood frame splintering against the brick wall.
My hands hold up the curling iron like a sword as Karen hurtles inside, sizes up the situation in a heartbeat, and shoots Robert Baugh in the back. He gurgles as his face registers the shock. Slowly, his hands sink to the ground. The knife drops to the floor with a clang. A weird convulsion flows over his body, and then he goes still, unresistant.
Crimson oozes around him on the vinyl floor. I don’t look away. I’ve had enough of blood for a lifetime, but seeing this, proof that the Gemini Killer won’t rise again, is worth one more bloody vision imprinted on my brain.
Taryn pries the curling iron from my clawed fingers. Switches it off and sets it on the vanity. Wraps her arms around me and pulls me close. “You saved us. You did good. Never forget that.”
Returning her hug, I take in my first full breath in what feels like eons. “Zero out of ten, do not recommend. But I’d do it again if I had to.”
My twin’s cheek curves in a smile against my shoulder, and I smile too.
Epilogue
Day 365
Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, I woke up in my bed at home. I took a shower, got dressed, ate toaster pastries for breakfast and left. Walked to school for the last time with Taryn, my twin sister and best friend.
Three hundred and sixty-five days ago, I stayed late after class to ask a favorite teacher about the camera I was dreaming of buying with money I’d saved up. If I hadn’t forced my sister to hang around campus waiting while I gushed over lens options, playback features, and a movable view screen, I wouldn’t have been late getting home.
