"I GO CRAZY ALL FOR THE LOVE OF YOU..."
The roar of an engine sounded as two teenagers pulled up to the grandeur estate that was the Patterson household. Nina Patterson, the Patterson's only daughter, sat in the passenger seat while her boyfriend, Tyler, sat at the driver's side, his hand casually resting on the steering wheel.
"Look, it's not cyberbullying! It's a time-honored enforcement of the food chain." Nina rolled her eyes and took a sip from the flask that was gripped tightly within her manicured fingers. "The weak are outed, then eaten."
"Wow, you're a mean drunk tonight."
The red-headed girl let out a scoff. "Oh, please," Nina rebuked, her words slurring slightly. "You agreed that video was too good to trash."
"Office, she made me do it," Tyler said, turning his head toward Nina. "She makes me do a lot of things," he whispered, sending a suggestive look toward his girlfriend.
Nina ignored him, only paying attention to the numerous alerts on her phone. "Oh, my G-d! Chirpster is all over it!" Everyone was buzzing about the viral video of Audrey Jensen making out with a random girl in a parking lot—courtesy of Nina herself. "It already has five hundred views and counting," the Patterson girl added as she turned to her boyfriend, a prideful look on her pretty face.
Tyler moved closer to Nina. "Then why don't you make me a drink while we break the internet?" he suggested. "I know your parents are out of town."
The red-head remained unimpressed. "Hm, no," she replied, unsympathetic toward his sexual needs. "I've been there. Definitely done with that." A cruel half-smile crawled its way to the edge of her lips. "I only needed your tech savvy tonight, not what's in your pants." Opening the car door, she stepped out and headed toward her house.
Even though her parents were out of town, Nina never really did plan on hooking up with Tyler tonight, despite her implying it to him earlier that day. Really, she only needed his tech knowledge, so she could upload the video without it being traced back to her.
Nina's heels clicked against the pavement on the way toward her front door, leaving the boy with the fallen smile behind. He tried to remain unaffected, tried to suck it up, but on the inside, it stung—even though he knew it would never last, knowing deep down that a girl like that would never settle for a loser like him.
Nina walked up to the front steps of her house, opening the doors and greeting her little puppy, Sage. "Hi, baby!" she chirped. "Yes, Mama's back."
After saying hello to her dog, Nina walked through her house, planning on taking a nice, relaxing soak in her jacuzzi. Not liking the quiet, she opened up an app on her phone and commanded, "Music on," into the device. She bobbed her head to the beat as a pop song started playing from the various speakers around the house.
A little while later, Nina changed into a black string bikini and a magenta kimono, while Sage yapped at her feet. "Aw. You want to come into the hot tub, don't you, Sage?" she asked, securing her hair up into a ponytail. "But you can't go in the hot tub. That would be gross."
Dinging, Nina's phone blasted with numerous notifications. Not unusual, but enough for her to tilt her head with interest. Seeing a video of her talking to Sage just a mere few minutes earlier, she widened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings.
But no one was there.
How does it feel to be the star of the show?
Nina let out a scoff, seeing the text was from Tyler. She turned around, noticing the green light shining from her computer, a signal that the webcam was on. Shaking her head, she marched over to her computer and slammed the laptop shut, retaliation already on her mind. "Tyler, you are skating on restraining order lake."
Getting another text alert, Nina quickly grabbed her cell-phone with a frustrated grunt.
Am I on thin ice?
"Tyler!" Nina started wandering around the house, trying to see where her soon to be ex-boyfriend was. "I swear, if you are in my house, you are dead! Sage is a trained attack Pomeranian, and she will gut you on command!"
Reaching the doors to the pool, Nina stepped outside. She scanned the area with narrowed eyes, frowning when she noticed that, again, there was no one there.
Getting another alert from her phone, Nina looked down in the device and saw a video playing of her from just moments earlier. She gasped, looking behind her.
But still, there was no one in sight.
Nina's breath was coming out in short pants, no longer finding Tyler's little game funny. She couldn't help but jump in fright as another beep came through her phone.
Maybe you'll get more views than Audrey's video.
Nina froze momentarily before quickly heading back inside the house. "Yeah?" she shouted in response. "Well, maybe you should grow up!" She walked back toward the pool with a scowl on her face. "And when you do, I'll be outside."
Wanting to come follow, Sage nudged Nina's leg with her snout, only for the girl to shut the door in the dog's face, whispering, "No, baby. Stay inside."
Sensing Nina's movement, the motion-detecting lights turned on to reveal numerous woven lounge chairs, a seemingly unused barbecue, a large swimming pool, and some aesthetically pleasing plants.
Heading toward the hot tub, Nina turned on the spa controls. She rolled her shoulders back as she watched the steam rise from the heated water in front of her. "Outdoor speakers on," she commanded into her phone. As music emitted from the speakers along the house, distracting her from her creep of a boyfriend, Nina dipped her legs into the hot water and let out a relaxed sigh.
But her calm state only lasted for a few moments, interrupted when a strange noise reached her ears. Instinctively, Nina turned around, trying to push down the fear that gnawed inside her. "Tyler?" she called out hesitantly.
The motion-detecting lights shut off, and Nina turned back around to grab her phone, sending a text to Tyler's number. "Was that you?" she typed.
Maybe. Is this where it gets interesting?
A smile made its way onto Nina's lips. She liked this new side of Tyler. It was exciting. "I may have underestimated you," she texted back.
Setting her phone down and removing her legs from the water, Nina headed toward the other side of the hot tub. She dropped her robe, giving Tyler a perfect view of her scantly clad body as she slowly made her way back into the water.
When her phone alerted her of another text message, Nina was quick to snatch the device from the edge of the tub.
You're killing me.
Satisfied, Nina typed back, "Then get over here, and do something about it." After sending the message, she set her phone down again, leaning back and closing her eyes.
Heads up.
Nina opened her eyes, squinting slightly from the splash of something dropping into the water. Frowning, she moved closer to see what it was, only to let out a shriek once she saw Tyler in the water.
Her shriek wasn't one of excitement but of horror at seeing not all of him—just his head.
His skin was ashen and his eyes wide-open, causing Nina to let out another blood-curdling scream.
Quickly reaching out for her phone, she grabbed it and scrambled out of the water. Panting while she ran, Nina only looked back to see if anyone was following her. After a few moments of running aimlessly around her backyard, she came to a stop, deciding to hide behind a tree. Still hyperventilating, she struggled to unlock her phone with her trembling fingers. Trying the voice command app, she whispered frantically into the device, "Call 9-1-1."
"Calling Pottery Barn."
Nina cursed under her breath. Deciding to make another run for it, she sprinted toward the house, only for the motion-detecting lights to turn on and her to let out a frustrated scream. Just her luck. Tapping on the locked door, Nina tried to get inside, but to no avail. "Help! Help!"
Seeing as that wasn't working, Nina ran further down the side of the house. "Somebody! Please help me!" Whimpering, the red-head continued to frantically bang her hands against the window in an attempt to get someone's attention. But no one, besides her dog, was home.
Just as she was about to call out for help again, in the hopes that one of her neighbors would hear her, the blade of a knife was plunged into her back. Nina let out a strangled cry as the cool metal tore through her flesh with a sickening gushing sound, desperately reaching behind her to stop the bleeding.
But she couldn't reach the injury.
With her back stinging from the stab wound, Nina dropped down to the ground. She fumbled, trying to crawl away, but the energy was quickly draining from her body. Standing up with as much strength as she could muster, she limped across the grass in a last attempt to escape.
But she didn't have the strength to go any further.
Nina moaned in pain, dropping down to the ground again, her back coated in blood. Crawling forward, she continued to whimper, letting out a frightened cry when the masked figure picked her up. "Please, don't!" she protested. "No, no!"
But her desperate pleas for help came to a stop once the masked figure took the knife and slit her throat from ear-to-ear. Nina choked on the blood that began to fill her airways and let out a wheeze, feeling her lungs tighten for oxygen.
The masked figure carelessly tossed her into the pool with a splash, not even bothering to check and see whether she was still alive or not, knowing that if she wasn't, she would be soon. Near where Nina's splayed out body floated, the previously clear water-filled pool began to turn a crimson color.
Once blood had begun to swirl around her half-naked form, the killer left soon after, only a trail of bloody footprints behind.
Nina's phone flashed with an alert for the last time that night—the contact named 'Mom' flashing across the screen.
But that was a call she would never be able to answer.