Killer
Everyone is put on the earth to accomplish something. And that is exactly what my sister did. She made me the person I am today. The sad thing is that she was murdered 6 years ago. All I know about the killer is that he was male and had an infinity sign tattoo on his wrist. I told the police, but they couldn't help me. They said that there are probably thousands of men with sideways eights on there wrist. This summer I'm looking for my sister, Lexi's killer. Well with the help of my amazing boyfriend Kyle. I don't know why, but I just feel that the murderer is here, right now, waiting to kill me too. Everyone says that Lexi's killer is dead, but I'm pretty sure he's not. That's why I'm on this call it "quest." I want the killer to be alive so I can ask him WHY he killed my sister. I mean she was such an amazing sister, and bestfriend.
"Hello! How may I help you?" A women behind the counter of the most expensive bakery in Austin, Texas said.
" Yes thank you. Can I have a chocolate croissant and coffee please." Kyle said then looked at me. "What would you like, Anna? It's my treat, so get whatever you want." He said. I know he didn't actually mean "get whatever you want." Him and his mom have had a lot of trouble with money ever since his dad died. His mom is working at a Walmart and doesn't make much money, and Kyle just got fired from his job at Pizza Maria's.
"Can I have the cheapest breakfast item you have?" I say.
"Anna, I said get whatever, I'm paying!" Kyle says.
"That is exactly WHY I want the cheapest thing. Listen Kyle, I know how you are having trouble with money, ever since your dad died and..." I started to say.
"Stop, ok? I told you I never wanted you to talk about my dad. He made some horrible decisions and I don't want to remember any of those ok?" Kyle said paying and getting our food, then walking towards a seat. I took a seat across from him on the wooden chairs.
"I'm sorry Kyle." I say taking my donut from the bag.
"Its ok. It's just he wasn't a great role model for me, and I'm embarrassed to even call him my dad." Kyle said taking a sip of his coffee.
"Lets go ok?" I say pointing my head toward the door. He nodded and we headed out the door.
~ Then Kyle and I walked past the public park, past Aero Elementary, holding hands, talking and laughing together. Everything was perfect.
"Woah what's that?" I asked pointing at a weird looking house.
" I don't know, just some abandoned house." Kyle replied. It looked so strange. I remember walking home from elementary school and seeing it, but not until today did I think it was abandoned. I walked up to it, and looked at the mailbox.
"Oh my Gosh." I said. "Kyle, look. At the mailbox. It has a sideways eight on it. Exactly like the one the killer had. Let's go inside." I say taking a step closer to the house.
"What? Are you crazy?" Kyle said pulling me back.
"Kyle, this is one step closer to finding out who my sister's killer is. Please, please, please?" I say. Kyle was thinking.
"Fine. Do you have 2 flashlights?" Kyle said.
"Got it." I replied pulling them out of my purse shaking them in his face. Woah, the door to this place looks like it was beat up completely. Kyle knocks just in case anyone still lived in there. We waited for someone to say anything but no one did.
"This is so creepy Anna. Are you sure you want to do this?" Kyle said turning on his flashlight as soon as we walked inside.
I nodded. I was sure. I could be so much closer to finding the murderer if I just find even one clue. We look all around the house. We go past what I think used to be the kitchen. Then to what used to be the living room. No clues anywhere of who used to live here.
"Let's go up the stairs and look for more clues." I say putting a foot on the stair.
"Anna, stop! It's to dangerous. If you put all your weight on that, you could fall right through. I can't afford to lose you." Kyle said pulling me back.
"Kyle, I have to do this... For my sister. We have to get up those stairs." I say.
"We will. But I'm going first. I'll be careful, and don't you dare come up until I tell you it is safe. Got it?" He said. I nodded. I never noticed that Kyle was this protective, and persuasive. He walked up the first step and I was holding my breath. I couldn't afford to lose HIM either. As soon as he got to the 5th step I started to breathe normally again. "Kyle is going to be okay. Kyle is going to be okay." I kept saying in my head and under my breath.
"Ok, come on up, it's safe." Kyle said. I could tell that he was holding his breath too. I start to go up them. Unlike him, I almost sprinted up those steps.
"Okay, let's go look for the bedroom. There are probably a lot of clues in there." I say when I'm at the top of the stairs. Kyle nods and we head over to what we think used to be a bedroom. When we walk in there I see a desk full with random things.
"Anna, come over here." Kyle said pointing at a nightstand.
"Oh my God." I say. There, on the nightstand, was a picture of a family. A man, a women, and 2 girls. The man was not smiling like the rest of the family; his face full with guilt. Maybe guilt that he killed my sister.
"Look closely at his wrist." Kyle said. It was the sideways eight.
"Now what the hell do you think you're doing?" Someone with a southern accent said. Kyle and I jumped and turned towards the door. I can't tell who it is because its dark.
"Oh my gosh it's actually him. I told you he wasn't dead." I said to Kyle.
"Do I... Know you?" The man says.
"You killed my sister. You're a murderer." I say walking back. Kyle turned on his flashlight towards the man to see him.
"What? Anna, he's no the killer." Kyle said. He was right. This man didn't look at all like the killer.
"Who are you?" Kyle said.
"I'm the owner of this house, Al. Give me one reason of why I shouldn't call the cops?" Al said. That is true. We did basically just break into his house, and he is completely innocent.
"Oh, sorry sir. We thought this was someone else's house. He had an infinity tattoo on his wrist, do you know him?" Kyle said pulling out the picture and pointing to the killer.
"Yeah... He used to live here, until he disappeared 6 years ago unexpectedly. Why do you kids want to know this stuff anyways? Was he a friend of yours?" Al said.
"No, actually he..." I started.
"Yes, he was my uncle, then we got in a huge fight and I came to apologize." Kyle interrupted. "I thought he still lived here, guess not. So sorry, but we better get going. But one quick question; why is there a picture of him in your house?" I was wandering the same thing.
"He forgot to clean out this room, and I thought it would be best to just leave it,
you know, in case he came back to pick it up. When we walk down the stairs I don't say a word until we get out of the house and onto the street.
"Why did you just lie?" I say.
"Um, because I want to keep our murderer case a secret. That guy could be the murderer. It has been 6 years, maybe he just looks different. Plus that photo could be old." Kyle said.
"Ya right. That's not possible, he looked completely different. Where is the photo?" I said looking in his hands and pockets to see where he had it.
"In the house. What? Did you think I would steal it? Damn Anna. If I would have done that, I would have been as much of a criminal as your sister's murderer. Do you know what? I think we should spend some time away from each other." Kyle said.
"Are you... breaking up with me?" I said and he nodded. "Fine. Fine, go ahead, I don't need you anyways. You were just dragging me down anyways." I said trying to hold back the tears. He shook his head and started to walk the opposite direction. I need to go home and get some help from my 17 year old Hecker sister, Paris, about what to do after breakups.
When I walk in the door Paris is standing there.
"Geez Anna, what happened to you? You look like your dog just died." Paris said.
I started hugging her and crying again. "It's much worse. Kyle broke up with me."
"Awe you poor thing. I know exactly what can cheer you up. Go sit on the couch." Paris said walking into the kitchen. I sat on the couch like she told me to. Then she came in and put a blanket on me and gave me a whole gallon of rocky road ice cream.
"This was his favorite ice cream." I said between sobs.
"Oh sorry, ya that's not going to cheer you up. Oh, ok lets just watch some TV." Paris said. Iron Man 2 came on and I started to cry again.
"This was his favorite movie." I said again crying, putting my face in my hands.
"Ok then, sorry. Lets just talk ok?" Paris said and I nodded. Paris was an amazing sister even if we aren't blood related. She is beautiful with her blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.
"So why did he break up with you? You are like so perfect." Paris said. Pshh, I am the opposite of perfect.
" I don't really know it just came out of the blue." I said between sobs.
"What have you been doing lately? Are you still trying to find out who killed Lexi? Anna, come on, it's been six years now. Don't you think it's a waste of..." Paris started.
"Geez, Paris! You are just like Kyle. No it is not a waste of time. Damn, there are no people that understand me." I interrupted jumping up off the couch and running towards the kitchen. My throat is really dry from yelling at Paris. I feel pretty bad for her, I shouldn't have been as rough on her. I get an expensive cup out of the top cabinet and fill it with diet coke. Until I heard a noise."Paris? Was that you?" I said. Footsteps were getting closer and closer. I was holding my breath while pulling out the sharpest knife we own. Then the figure appeared and I got ready to stab the intruder when I recognize the face.
"Kyle? What are you doing here? You scared me to death. I don't really want to talk to you so please leave." I say.
"I'm not leaving Anna. Not until I explain to you what happened earlier today. Anna, I really need you back; I love you." Kyle said putting his hand on my arm.
"Get off of me. I don't care, I told you to leave." I said pushing his arm off me.
"Anna..." Kyle started.
"LEAVE!" I said losing patience and pointing to the door.
"Fine. Your loss." Kyle said leaving.
"Hey what did he want? My mom said walking through the door.
"We broke up earlier today and he wants me back but I definitely don't want him back." I say.
"That reminds me of when I was younger. I broke up with your dad; the same day he came to me and begged for me to take him back. And after a long time I finally said yes." My mom said. She has told me this probably a million times, but I don't care. I love it when my mom tells me about when she was younger.
"Here help me make dinner. We are having chicken Parmesan!." My mom has won best cook in Texas for 3 years in a row. I couldn't ask for a better mom. Except I really do want to know my real parents.
Dinner was quiet because Paris and I didn't even look at each other. My mom didn't know what was going on so she just kept quiet. My dad never ever talked through dinner anyways. Actually he doesn't talk period. Ever since Lexi died. The only things he says are "hi," "bye," or "nice seeing you." Lexi and Mr. Hecker were best pals. They loved playing sports together and everything. I decided to break the silence.
"Can Paris and I be excused?" I say and my dad nodded. Me and Paris ran up the stairs and into my bedroom.
"What do you want?" Paris said.
"I want to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been as tough on you. It's just, I don't want to give up trying to find her murderer. I'm a lot closer... I found his house." I say.
"What? Was he in there? " Paris said.
" No but there was a picture of him there and he used to live there. Kyle and I had a great day but then he just broke up with me. He came back but..." I started.
"You guys are dating again? That's great!" Paris interrupted.
"Actually he came over and said he loved me but I kicked him out." I replied. I really didn't see me and him getting married and living together for the rest of our lives anyways.
"Oh. Well who was at the house? Did he say where the man with the infinity tattoo is?" Paris said.
"He wouldn't say." That was the sad part. I had no idea where the killer was.
The next day, was a hot ordinary Saturday. Paris was out with her boyfriend, my mom was shopping at the mall, and my dad was out trying to get a new job. I would usually be with Kyle, but you know. I decide to order Chinese delivery and just hang out. I hear a knock on the door. I guess my Chinese food is here. But when I open up the door the man doesn't have any food, but he does look familiar. It's him. It's the man from the picture in the mansion.
"You. You. Get away from me, get away from me!" I said and started running up the stairs.
"Wait stop! I know what you think I am but I didn't kill your sister." The man answered. I stopped and looked at him.
"You didn't kill her? I saw you kill her. Get out of my house!" I screamed.
"I didn't! Just let me talk to you. Please just give me 60 seconds, and then if you don't want to listen any more, I will leave." The man said. That was fair enough.
"Fine." I said under my breath. We sat down at the dining room table and I grabbed the phone just in case I had to call 911.
"So what's your name?" I said trying to hide my shaky voice.
"My name is Jerry. And I am not the killer. I am... your real dad." Jerry said. That means Lexi and I were those girls in that photo.
"My... father? Then why did you try killing Lexi... your daughter?" I asked.
"I already told you, I didn't kill her. That night six years ago I was going to visit her and tell her I was her father when I saw her getting murdered. I was trying to save her but I was to late." Jerry said. Great now I'm back to where I started. I have no idea who killed my sister.
"Ok thank you. I believe you... dad? You better get going before my family comes home." I said.
"Great. I would like to help you find the real killer. I will meet you at Starbucks tomorrow, Anna? At 11:00?" Dad said. I nodded. As soon as he left I texted Kyle.
Hey. Come over right away. I have something really important to tell you. -Anna
I didn't get a reply for 10 minutes.
'On my way.'
I heard the doorbell ring and I shot up out of my seat to get the door. It was the Chinese delivery guy and Kyle. I paid for the food and thanked the man. I told Kyle to come in.
"So. This is awkward. What did you want to talk about?" Kyle said.
"Well first, I want to say I'm sorry and if you want to, I sort of want to get back together again." I said.
"Ya. I would like that. What else did you want to talk about?" Kyle said. I smiled. It was going to be a lot less awkward talking to him now that we are back together.
"Um, yes. The man with the infinity tattoo was here. Just a couple minutes ago actually." I said.
"What? Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Kyle said scared.
"No, no, not at all. Kyle, he is my dad and he didn't kill Lexi." I said. Kyle's eyes widened.
"What? And you believe him?" Kyle said. I nodded. Why wouldn't I. He looked so familiar, and he didn't hurt me at all. Plus, the night my sister was killed, I didn't actually see Jerry kill her. Now that I think about it, I did see another shadow in the room.
"Just go get some rest. You've had A LOT to handle in these past two days." Kyle said thoughtfully. He was right; I have had a lot happen to me.
"Do you mind if I sleep on your couch today? My mom kicked me out because she is mad at me." Kyle said.
"Sure. Why did she kick you out?" I said.
"I don't really want to talk about it." Kyle said grabbing a grape from the center of the table and popping it in his mouth.
"Ok. I will go get some blankets for you. My family is out but they are probably going to be home soon so you can sleep in my room and I will sleep on the couch." He thanked me and went downstairs. I plopped down on the couch and fell right asleep.
I get up the next day and I'm in my bed with Kyle sleeping on the floor next to me. Awe he's so sweet! He carried me upstairs and put me in my bed and now he is sleeping on the floor. I'm so glad we are back together. I don't know why I was so mean to him the other day. He said he loved me and I kicked him out.
"Good morning babe. Did you have a good sleep?" Kyle said sitting up.
"Ya, thanks so much babe. Did you carry me up here?" I replied.
"Ya, it looked like you were having a nightmare so I carried you up here." Kyle said. I don't remember having a nightmare. There was a knock on the door.
"Anna, can I come in?" My mom said.
"Hide. If my parents find out you were sleeping here they will kill me." I said to Kyle while he was hiding in my closet.
"Come in!" I say getting back in my bed pretending like I just woke up.
"Honey, it's time for breakfast. Who were you just talking to?" My mom said. My eyes widened.
"I guess I was sleep talking! I sometimes do that. That's why my mouth is dry, can you get me a drink of water?" I lied and my mom nodded. I opened up the closet as soon as I heard my moms footsteps down the stairs.
"Phew that was close. So what do you want to do today?" I said to Kyle.
"I have a question. Do your parents... hate me?" Kyle said.
"What? No! They just don't like that I have a boyfriend. It's not you, if I had any other boyfriend they wouldn't like them either! Plus I'm not allowed to have a boy over after midnight!" I said.
"Oh! I almost forgot! I have to go meet my "dad" at Starbucks in 30 minutes. Do you want to go with me?" I said and Kyle nodded.
~We walked to the Starbucks together,not holding hands since everyone thinks we broke up. I walked up to the counter and ordered my usual soy decaf caramel frap. Kyle ordered a cappuccino and I payed this time. We sat down and in about 5 minutes Jerry walked in.
"Hey! This is Kyle, Kyle this is Jerry." I said. They both shook hands then sat down.
"I have something to tell you about the killer. I caught his first name... But not his last." Jerry said. "He had blonde hair, tan skin and eyes like I've never seen before. His name was Nick." I almost dropped my drink and passed out when Jerry said this. I knew exactly who he was.
"Nick as in Lexi's ex boyfriend? As in the Nick who dropped out of school 5 years ago?" Kyle said. Okay now I REALLY feel like I'm going to pass out. This all makes so much sense now. Lexi broke up with him, so he got mad and... killed her?
"Do you know him?" Jerry asked. I was shaking.
"Ya, we know him. He went to our school." Kyle answered for the both of us. I wasn't feeling to well. Nick was first my boyfriend, then I broke up with him because Lexi liked him. After we broke up, he started liking Lexi too. They dated for 5 months. He must have been mad at the whole Hecker family, but since she broke his heart the most recently, he decided to kill her. That means that he might want to kill me too...
"Are you ok babe? You don't look to good." Kyle said. I didn't FEEl so good either. I felt that any minute now I would pass out. Everything was spinning.
"Lets get her home." I barely heard Jerry say to Kyle. The next thing I knew, I was in my comfy King sized bed. Maybe everything that happened at Starbucks didn't happen at all. Maybe Kyle was still downstairs on the couch and all of that was just a dream. My iPhone with the Vera Bradley case on it buzzed. It was from Kyle:
Hey! I hope you are ok. Luckily Jerry's car was fast enough to drive you home before you passed out. I was thinking if you felt better we could go out to dinner tonight? Love you. -K
Great, it wasn't a dream. It was real, and Nick was most likely the killer. I texted Kyle back:
Sounds great my love. You pick the time and place. And ya thanks I'm feeling a lot better. Especially since I know I'm going to see you tonight! ? Love you too.
You might be thinking to yourself that we are the cutest couple ever. Well let me tell you, we haven't always been this good together. We used to always get into these fights that would last for days. I'm glad that's over.
At 6:00 sharp I heard the door bell ring. I ran to it and opened up the door to see Kyle all dressed up. Crap. I didn't know it was going to be a fancy place so I was just wearing pants and a shirt, and makeup from the day before.
"Um, can you excuse for just a moment?" I said to Kyle. He nodded and I ran upstairs as fast as I could. I am completely embarrassed right now. Kyle was wearing nice pants and a tux. His blonde hair spiked up in the front, and perfectly combed everywhere else. I picked out my hot pink strapless dress and put it on. It was my mom's old prom dress, but if I didn't tell you that and you saw me, you would have thought it was brand new. I put on my high heels and diamond neckless with matching earrings. I put mascara on and put my light brown hair into a perfect bun. Now for the finishing touch... lip gloss. Lip gloss has been my best friend since the fourth grade. I ran downstairs and said, "Okay, I'm ready! Where are we going?" I asked.
"It's a secret." Kyle said. Geez I hate surprises. When I walked outside, I saw a huge surprise; there was a white limo parked in front of our driveway.
"No, way! You actually rented a limo? Kyle, please tell me where we are going!" I said while the driver opened up the back seat for me.
"I already told you I'm not telling you." Kyle said smiling. After about 45 minutes in the limo, it stopped. Kyle got out and opened my door. We were at... a McDonald's? I must have looked as confused as I was because Kyle moved my head and said, "Not there... There!" It was the Paramount Theatre and a fancy Italian restaurant.
"We are going to the Italian restaurant then we are going to go watch Romeo and Juliet." Kyle said. I smiled and we walked into the Italian restaurant. We sat down and our waiter came over and asked us what we wanted to drink. I ordered a strawberry lemonade and Kyle ordered a diet cherry doctor pepper.
"So have you ever watched Romeo and Juliet?" Kyle asked. I shook my head. I love plays, musicals, and acting and I really wanted to watch Romeo and Juliet. I ordered my pasta Alfredo and Kyle ordered his fancy chicken dish. Dinner was pretty quiet so I decided to break the silence and said, "Do you think we are ever going to find Nick?"
Kyle put his fork down thinking of what to say. "I don't know. Maybe... Hopefully." Kyle said. I could tell he couldn't think of what to say. The rest of dinner was super quiet... again.
"I'll pay." I say. "You paid for the tickets and the limo, so it's the least I can do."
Kyle nodded and thanked me while we left to go to the theater. Kyle gave the usher our tickets and we headed for our seats; row D seats 18 and 19. We grabbed 2 programs labeled Romeo and Juliet written by: Shakesphere. We sat down and I started flipping through the program while Kyle went to get some candied almonds. I went to the cast page. A girl named Nichole Bahari. Oh my gosh. '"Playing Romeo: Nicholas Lawyer." the program read. I completely forgot that Nick dropped out of school to be in theatre. I don't think I was breathing at this moment. We were sitting in the front so he might see me here. I ran out as quickly as I could to the ladies room. I need to think of something to get me out of having to stay here. Maybe I could tell Kyle I wasn't feeling to well. I went back to my seat and saw Kyle getting an ice breaker.
"Hey Kyle. I'm not feeling to great. Can you take me home?" I asked faking a sick look. Which wasn't that hard since my stomach was twisted in a knot because Nick was only going to be about 8 feet away from me.
"No can do babe. The limo isn't coming back untill 10:45 when the play is over. You don't look too sick, what's really going on?" Kyle said and I frowned.
"Nick, is sort of... in this play." I said, my voice shaking.
"Oh no. I'll be back." Kyle said standing up and walking towards the stage. I followed him but he didn't know it. He was going behind stage even though there was a sign that said, "Actors Only."
"Nick. Nick, come here." Kyle said to Nick. Nick started running away. "Hey you get back here." Kyle screamed trying to run after him. Nick turned around and punched Kyle then started running again. He slipped me a note but I didn't dare read it.
"Kyle! Are you ok?" I asked running towards him. His nose was bleeding and he couldn't open his left eye all the way.
"I think so. What's that?" Kyle said pointing to the note.
"I don't know. He just gave it to me." I said and Kyle nodded to it like he wanted me to read it. I opened it up and it read:
Don't tell anyone I killed your sister... or you're next.
I showed the note to Kyle and I started crying.
"How did he have that note written so fast?" Kyle asked. I was wandering the same exact thing.
"Maybe he had it written and took it everywhere he went just in case he saw you. Ok, I'm going to call the limo driver and see if he can come early." Kyle said but I could only understand some of it. My head was spinning. I just saw my sister's murderer and I saw him punch my boyfriend and just run away. I couldn't even walk when Kyle told me the limo was here so he had to carry me there which was not to grand of an idea since he couldn't see anything. We bumped into the Concession stand, into an old lady who fell over, and Kyle hit his face on the glass door. Kyle laid me down in the back seat and I heard a noise outside. The driver opened the door to see what happened. There, on the floor was Kyle all beat up. I heard the driver on the phone. The only words I made out that he said was "Beat up, outside of Paramount Theatre, and hurry." After about 5 minutes I could sit up. There were red lights flashing all over the place. I looked out the left window and saw Kyle on a stretcher. I tried opening the door, but it was locked. I kept trying but it wouldn't budge. Did I ever mention I'm a claustrophobic? I can't even stand knowing that I'm stuck somewhere. The driver got back into the car. "Hey Hun. How you doin back their? Your boyfriend got beaten up some how. Doctor said he would be alright. I'm gonna drive you back home ok?" The driver said. His hair was grey but he didn't look to old. I nodded and told him my address. I knew exactly what happened to Kyle... Nick. He must have been jealous that I was dating Kyle so he beat him up. I hope he's ok but I'm not going to the hospital until tomorrow. I still don't feel to well. I just saw Nick. And he beat up my boyfriend not once, but twice. And he gave me a note that told me not to tell anyone that he killed my sister or I would be next. I walked in the door but it was sort of more like wobbling because I was so tired and confused. If you saw me you would have probably thought I was a zombie.
"Hey girl, you don't look to good. You okay?" Paris asked me.
"I'm fine I just need some rest." I said and Paris nodded.
~The next morning I woke up to the bright light shining through my window. My parents and Paris bursted into my room with a cake while they sang happy
Birthday. I almost forgot that today was Lexi and my 20th birthday. After I turned thirteen I sort of didn't really celebrate my birthday that much. But every morning on my birthday, my parents would carry a birthday cake to my room and then I would eat it for breakfast. It was always yellow cake with vanilla icing. My mom always wrote "Happy Birthday Anna and Lexi." Well at least she used to when Lexi was still alive. She still puts "Happy Birthday Anna," in pink but it's not the same without Lexi. Lexi was the type of girl that would at least pretend to be happy when she got socks for Christmas instead of an iPhone. She was identical to me, but somehow everyone could still tell us apart. Lexi was an amazing friend to everyone and even after she broke up with her boyfriends, (16 to be exact) she was still friends with them... even Nick.
"Happy birthday sweetie pie!" Dad said. I rubbed my eyes and said, "Thanks." It wasn't to enthusiastic since I was still sleepy. "Um, I'm going to have to skip breakfast I have to go to the library." I said making an excuse to go see Kyle in the hospital. I got dressed into my purple sundress and purple high heels and hopped in my car. I then realized that I had no idea which hospital Kyle was in and in Austin, there are 5 hospitals. I went to the Franklin hospital and he wasn't there. Then I went to Selimon, then Deger, then Mercy, no sign of Kyle anywhere. There was only one more; Lassope. But that was the furthest one. It was one hour south from my house and of course, Mercy was 20 minutes north from my house. But I have to go see Kyle.
~When I passed the sign that said "Lassope Hospital," it was 11:00. I walked to the front desk and asked for Kyle Polar. She nodded and told me he was in room 212. I thanked her and left. Room 210, 211, there it is! Room 212 was right there with Kyle laying in a bed looking out the window.
"Hey babe. How are you?" I asked walking in his room.
"I'm ok. I'm going to stay here a little longer though. Happy birthday." Kyle said. Awe he remembered!
"Thanks. So why did Nick beat you up?" I asked, even though I sort of knew the answer. First of all he didn't want Kyle to tell anyone he killed Lexi. And second of all, he was jealous that I was dating Kyle.
"It... Wasn't... Him..." Kyle said slowly.
"What? Who did then?" I said. Kyle's eyes closed and doctors barged in.
"Young lady you need to get out." One of the doctors said.
"No I can't." I said. "I need to talk to him."
"Yes you can leave, and you will." The doctor screamed impatiently pushing me through the door. If Nick didn't beat Kyle up... then who did? I decided to grab some Oreos at Royal Blue Grocery store, even though I'm going on a no-carb-or-sweet-diet. But hey, it's my birthday, and your birthday only comes once a year. Plus, eating makes me concentrate. And right now, I REALLY needed to concentrate. Ok so all I know is that Nick didn't beat up Kyle. But that doesn't mean he didn't kill Lexi. But it does mean, someone else is out to get Kyle... but who? I walk into the door and I hear a huge, "surprise!" I smiled. Usually when someone gets a surprise birthday party, they get one every year so it's not much of a surprise. But this was my first one ever. There was streamers and balloons,food,friends, and loud music. Everything was perfect. Except that there were two people that are close to my heart that weren't here... Lexi and Kyle.
"Happy birthday Anna!" My bestfriend from 1st grade until 12th grade said.
"Thanks Bella. I miss you! How's Duquesne?" I asked. She was going to Duquesne in Pittsburgh and I haven't seen her in 3 years.
"Great. I miss you too. Let's go dance!" Bella said grabbing my arm and pulling me too where everyone else was dancing. I finally forgot about the whole killer thing, and about Kyle, and Nick. I was having so much fun with best friend, I even forgot that Lexi was murdered.
"Hey Bella, I'm gonna get a drink. You want anything?" I said. She shook her head and I walked over to the punch bowl. There was a man pouring a cup of bright red punch for himself. It wasn't until he turned towards me that I knew who he was. It was Nick.
"Happy birthday Anna." Nick said. Then he grabbed my arm and started pulling me to my room. I tried asking what was going on, but nothing came out. He locked the door and sat down on the sofa in my room.
"So, why did you break up with me?" Nick asked.
"After all that has gone on for the past few days, you choose to ask why I broke up with you? Well why did you kill my sister and punch Kyle?" I said.
"Only one of those is true. I did punch Kyle but its just what the guy I'm working for told me to do." Nick said standing up walking towards me. I was scared, but I tried acting calm and strong.
"The guy. The guy you're working for? Who would that be." I said.
Nick opened up his mouth to speak, but then he closed it. After a while of silence he finally said, "Look, I've already said to much."
"No, no you haven't. You better tell me what's going on." I screamed moving away from Nick.
Nick waited for a while then gave in and said, "Fine. So there is this guy. He hired me to pretend that I killed Lexi. He wrote that note and made me give it to you."
"What was in it for you? I mean you wouldn't do that for free." I said.
"He said I would be able to see you again." Nick said. while putting his hand on my shoulder.
"Get away from me. I have a boyfriend." I said pushing his hand off. "But if you tell me who really killed Lexi, and who hired you, and who beat Kyle up... I will kiss you."
"Deal. Ok, so the man who did all that is Jerry. You can't trust a thing he says." Nick said.
"Damn. I shouldn't have fell for that." I said and Nick gave me a questioning face. "Well, Jerry said that Lexi and I were his daughters." I said.
"Oh. Well a deal is a deal so..." Nick said. He leaned forward. I kissed him on the cheek and he shook his head. So I closed my eyes and kissed him. Like a real kiss... on the lips. It was probably one of the longest kisses ever. I pulled back but he kissed me again. I looked out my window to see Kyle shaking his head and dropping a rose he brought. I pushed Nick out of the way and started for the door. I tried opening it, but then I remembered... Nick locked the door with a key stuck in his back pocket. But I had an idea.
"Hey Nick. I'm sorry. I do want you back." I acted while hugging him. He smiled like he just won a million dollars. Then I pulled the key out of his pocket and ran to the door.
"Nice try." I said. "Oh and by the way, my acting classes really worked. We are never ever ever, getting back together." I sang. I ran outside but I was to late. Kyle already left and the rose was on the ground along with a ripped piece of paper. I gathered it all up and walked in the house towards the office room.
"Hey peanut. Are you enjoying your party?" Dad said.
"Yep. Sorry I got to go, see you in a second!" I apologized. I taped all the ripped pieces from Kyle's note together to notice it was in French. The first time Kyle and I met was in French class. But to be honest, I sort of don't remember any French. I texted Paris:
Hey. Meet me in the office room. I need your help for French.
She texted back:
On my way. Why are you doing homework in the summer on your birthday?
She came in about 5 minutes later. "Hey birthday girly. What's up?" Paris said.
"Well Kyle was going to give me this note but he got mad and ripped it up. I taped it and then noticed it was in French. Can you translate it for me please?"
"Ok it says, "Happy birthday babe. I've been wanting to ask you this for a while but I didn't know what you would say. Anna... Will you marry me? I love you so much and would like to spend eternity with you. I want my grave next to you when we die. I always want you on my side."
"Oh my gosh. Paris, he was going to ask me to marry him." I said and started to cry.
"Why did he get mad at you?" Paris asked.
"Well I can trust you right?" I asked. She nodded and I continued. "So he saw me kiss Nick."
"What? I thought you broke up with Nick a long time ago." Paris said.
"I did. But it was a bet and I lost so I had to kiss him." I lied.
"Oh well what was the bet?" Paris said. I hated to lie especially to Paris.
"It wasn't a bet. It was a deal. That if he told me who killed Lexi, I would kiss him. I pulled back but then Nick must have seen Kyle so he kissed me again." I was freaking out. Kyle was going to propose to me. I'll tell him tomorrow but he won't understand. He'll think it'd just a cover story I made up. You might be thinking that he wouldn't think that, but trust me, that's Kyle for ya.
"Oh. Well forget about him. Just go to sleep and in the morning you will feel better." Paris answered. She was wrong. I couldn't even fall asleep until 3:00 I'm the morning. When I finally fell asleep I was having a horrible nightmare. I was old without a husband. Bella was there and she had a husband. Kyle was there and he was married.(not to me obviously) Nick was even there... married. There I was, by my self with a cat next to me. Great, I'm going to be a lonely cat woman when I'm older.
~I got up the next morning and looked over at my clock; It was 10:30. I walked over to my dresser that was full of presents from last night. I picked one up and threw it back down. They were all the same: To: Anna From: your friend.
Then one caught my eye. It wasn't wrapped in wrapping paper and tight little bows. It wasn't even in a nice birthday bag. I opened it up, scared to see what was inside. There was a card that said on the front: Happy birthday. May God bless you on this special day. I opened it up and a letter fell out:
Happy birthday twinny! You might be wandering how I'm writing this to you while I'm dead. Well I'm not dead at all. I was kidnapped by a man named Jerry. 6 years ago he told me I was his daughter and I stupidly believed him. He told everyone i was dead so no one would suspect that he kidnapped me. I'm stuck in his basement now. I gave it to Nick to give to you at the party.(Do you remember Nick? Our ex boyfriend?) Anyways, I don't know his address number. But his last name is Wagner so look him up in the phone book. Love and miss you! -Lexi
What? Lexi is... Still alive? But I was there at her funeral 6 years ago. This makes no sense but that is Lexi's hand writing. I really need to talk to Kyle write now. I texted him:
Hey Kyle, I know you are mad but this isn't about that. I have some REALLY important news to tell you about Lexi.
I really didn't expect him to text me back but surprisingly he did:
Hey. Ok come to my house in 10 minutes.
Ok I know this is sort of bad thing but I have never been to Kyle's house. I look up his address in the phone book and put it in my GPS app in my phone.
~ When I get to his house I am in shock. It's probably the biggest house in Austin. But I thought he was low in money? I knock on the door, scared to see someone other than Kyle open up the door. But Kyle came and gestured for me to get in. There was a chandelier and dozens of candles. We ran up the stairs to his room when he said, "So... why did you kiss Nick?"
"Kyle it wasn't what it looked like. I made this deal that if he told me who really beat you up, and who really killed Lexi that I would kiss him. So are we still... Dating?" I exclaimed.
"It's ok. I believe you. Ya we are still dating. Ok so who did kill Lexi?" Kyle said. I was filled with relief. I really thought Kyle was going to be mad.
"Well actually, she's not dead." I said. Kyle looked very confused so I continued, "I got a note that said she isn't dead but Jerry kidnapped her and she is in his basement." I gave him the paper and his eyes widened.
"But I saw her dead and I saw her at the funeral and..." Kyle started but trailed off.
"It must have been a wax dummy of her." I said.
"Wow Jerry is smart." Kyle said. That was sad but true.
"Do you have a phone book?" I asked. "Lexi told me Jerry's last name. It's Wagner and I need to know his address." Kyle nodded and ran down the stairs. Kyle's room was nice. It had a nice sized bed, a nice dresser, and a walk In closet... even though I thought those were just for girls. If I didn't know Kyle and I walked into his house I would have thought he was the richest 20 year old in Austin. Kyle returned with a phone book in his hand. I looked up Wagner, and there were 15 just in Austin. There were no Jerry's.
"Well isn't Jerry short for Jeremiah?" Kyle said. I looked and there was no Jeremiah Wagner. I looked at the note again and gave it to Kyle to look at.
"Here, look closely. Doesn't that say Magner, not Wagner?" Kyle said. I looked up Magner and there was a Jeremiah Magner. He lived on Mercy hurst Avenue. That was about 5 miles away. Kyle and I run out to my car and I put his address in my GPS. The ride was quiet. I was waiting for him to say, "Anna, will you marry me?" But he didn't. He just stared out his window listening to the radio I just turned on.
"Anna?" Kyle said as soon as I stopped the car in front of Jerry's house.
"Ya?" I said excitedly hoping he would propose. But he didn't SAY anything. What he did do was lean in and kiss me. We pulled apart for no more than 3 seconds to kiss again. I felt a spark between us like I've never felt before. We pulled apart. That was not my first kiss, but it was my first kiss with Kyle.
Kyle changed the topic, looked out the window and said,"Um... How the hell are we gonna get in?" That was true. I didn't even think about that. I shrugged. "Any ideas?" I said.
"Do you wanna check if he's even home? Like ding dong ditch ?" Kyle said.
"Good idea. You do it, I'm definitely not." I say. He rolls his eyes then heads for the door. He knocked and ran back to the bush I was hiding in. Jerry peaked out looking to see who knocked.
"Great." Kyle said sarcastically. "Now what?"
"Maybe we could go in the back door? That's where Lexi would be anyways." I said. Kyle nodded. I tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.
"If you were a key, where would you hide?" Kyle said holding a key."Hiding a key under a mat is so old school." He said with a chuckle. He put the key in and it fit. But the door wouldn't budge after a couple inches. There must have been something blocking the door... or someone. There was Nick laying there, unconscious.
"Anna?" I heard someone say weakly. It was Lexi.
"We are coming Lexi." I said. I was wandering if she actually was alive because anyone could have written that.
"Not on my watch. Now that you saw that Lexi isn't dead, I'm going to have to kidnap you guys too." Jerry said opening the door further. He grabbed me first and put a knife to my neck.
"You either have no fuss about in here, or I kill her." Jerry said. Kyle cursed some words I can't even say. He nodded and came in. He let me put us in hand cuffs and chained our feet to a wall right next to Lexi. I could hardly breathe. Jerry was stronger than he looked. My neck was throbbing and warm. I looked down and noticed the reason that it was warm was because there was bright red blood running down it. I gasped.
"Oh my gosh are you okay Anna?" Kyle said. "I'm so sorry."
"It really hurts really bad, but I will live through it." i thought and thought of something, "Kyle, you should have let him kill me. Then you could have told everyone that Lexi wasn't dead." I said.
"What? What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you get killed right in front of my eyes. At least we are together." Kyle said.
"Well at least if you would have let him kill me then Lexi, Nick, and YOU would be free. That means that three people would be free and now no one is." I screamed losing patience with Kyle. Lexi still didn't speak even though when I used to scream, she would yell at me. She just stood there with her head down. Kyle moved his head away from me and stared at Lexi.
"So what happened to Nick?" Kyle said looking over at Nick who was completely unconscious.
"Jerry. He found out that Nick gave Anna the note that I was still alive. So phe beat him up. And we were engaged." Lexi said weakly with a sob.
"You. And Nick?But isn't Nick working for Jerry? Why would you want to marry someone who kidnapped you?" I said. I would never tell her that Nick kissed me just nights before.
" He has been trying to help me but Jerry is Nick's father. Jerry locked him in here too. He only lets him go out once a week. The poor thing. And we were going to get married but he is unconscious, and my last chance of escaping are locked up right next to me." Lexi yelled.
"Lexi, we tried. Jerry is just to good. We have to find a way to escape." I say.
"Don't you think I have been trying to do that for the past 6 years? It's no use these chains are to difficult to break. And even if we did, this place is locked up from the inside and out. The key is hidden who knows where. Plus, Jerry only leaves once during the day at 12:00 until 12:35. It's basically impossible to get out." Lexi replied.
"Nothing is impossible. Just hard. But if we all work together then we can accomplish anything." Kyle said. I guess he was right. But how the hell were we supposed to get out? "Well lets go to sleep, and then we can think about it in the morning." Kyle said. He looked over at me and said goodnight. I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Is there anything you wanted to ask me?" He shook his head, laid down, and closed his eyes. Wow, that was rude. I guess he still hasn't completely forgiven me for kissing Nick yet and he doesn't want to propose yet. I woke up to a door closing. Lexi and Kyle got up too.
"It must be 12:00. We have 35 minutes until he gets back." Lexi said sleepily. Kyle pulled and pulled and tried to break out of his hand cuffs. Then he tried breaking the chains on his feet.
"Shit. When you said they were difficult to break, you really meant it." Kyle said to Lexi.
"It's no use Kyle. You're gonna hurt yourself." I said. Then I had an idea. I'll say things that will make him mad so he can break the chain!
"Kyle, you are the ugliest thing alive. And don't even get me started with how fat your momma is." I said. He started pulling harder so I thought of one that would definitely work. "Kyle,you are exactly like your dad." He pulled so hard that he broke the chains and handcuffs. It worked! He went over to Lexi and freed her. Then he started helping me out.
"You do know I was just saying that so you would break the chain." I said. He nodded and let me out. It was 12:10. We had 25 more minutes. Kyle and I started running upstairs to get the key when we realized Lexi was still back there. We ran back and she was sitting next to Nick, holding his hand and crying. I went over to her and said, "Lexi, he will be alright. Well if we get out of here he will. But we don't have much time so you are going to have to help us find the key, ok?" She kissed her hand and then touched his heart. She stood up and hugged me. I started to cry and she continued to cry.
"Um, I don't want to mess up this whole sisterly love thing but we sort of have to escape." Kyle said. We pulled apart and ran up the stairs.
"Ok, Anna you look in the living room. Lexi you and I will look in the kitchen and bedroom." Kyle said. We nodded and I went over to the living room. There was an old TV, a glass table full of magazines, and a couch. But no sight of a key. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
"We found it." Kyle said. "But it's 12:32, so we have three minutes to get as far away as we can, and call 911. Plus we need to carry Nick out of here."
"Well you just wasted 10 seconds saying that. Come on, lets go." I say. We ran downstairs and Kyle carried Nick. Lexi fell on the ground when we got outside.
"Come on Lex, what's wrong?" I asked.
"I haven't been outside in 6 years. I can't walk out here." She said. I went over to her and picked her up. Crap. There is Jerry's car.
"Here, take Nick. Get back." Kyle said and I didn't move. "GET BACK." He demanded. I did as he said. And I heard some fighting. I peaked, and I saw Kyle standing there with his fist, and Jerry was knocked out on the floor.
"Hurry up, lets go." Kyle said. "Lets go to my house, it's the closest." I nodded and handed Nick over to Kyle. We ran and ran, which was tough because it was poring down rain. Once we reached Kyle's house, we laid Nick down on the floor and Lexi down on the couch. Kyle kneeled down and got out a little container and asked me, "Anna, will you marry me?"
I gasped. "Yes. Yes, baby yes!" I said and started crying.
"Awe!" Lexi said. "Wait shouldn't we call 911 about Jerry and get Nick to the emergency room?" Kyle and I looked at each other and reached into our pockets to get our cell phones.
"Hello?" I said on the phone. "Yes. There is a man unconscious here. 1284 Nomia Drive. Please hurry." At the same time Kyle called 911 and told them about Jerry. We carried Nick out when the ambulance came. We opened the door and there was mom, dad, and Paris.
"Is it true? Is Lexi... Still alive?" My mom asked. It looked like she has been crying for awhile. I nodded and pointed to Lexi who was still family ran in and we walked to the ambulance and gave them Nick. They told us that we could visit him tomorrow so we headed back , dad, and Lexi were all hugging and crying. Paris just stood there crying, staring at me. She ran up to me and started crying even harder.
"Thank you so much for finding Lex." Paris said. "It was not a waste of time. I'm so sorry Anna." She said between sobs. I hugged her harder instead of saying your welcome.
~I wake up and wonder if yesterday was just a dream. Maybe Nick isn't at the hospital. And my neck wasn't bleeding. And Lexi IS dead. I walk downstairs with my checkered pajamas on and see Lexi peeling a hard boiled egg. I guess it wasn't a dream. She was already dressed and had her makeup on and her hair perfectly straight with no frizz.
"Hey Anna." Lexi said. "I sort of didn't thank you yesterday. It really means a lot. You risked your life for me. I was thinking maybe we could go to see Nick today?" I nodded and ran back upstairs to get dressed. I looked at my hand and remembered that I was engaged!
~I drive into the parking lot of the hospital that Nick is. We walk in and ask for Nicholas Lawyer.
"Room 234 on the right. Just sign in on the visitor sheet." The woman said. We signed our names and the woman continued, "Oh wow. He has been asking for you all night and morning." She said this staring at me, but Lexi thought she was talking to her because her head was down still signing in. I gave a puzzling look. Why would he be asking for me? Was he NOT unconscious last night and he saw everything that happened? We go up in the elevator and walk down the hall that seemed like a lifetime. We finally reached room 234 and walked inside. He was awake on the hospital bed staring at me. Lexi gasped at his conditions and ran over to him and started to cry. But Nick didn't look away from me. I didn't know what to do so I break the silence. "How are you doing? Doctor said you'll be out in a couple days." He didn't say anything. Still staring at me he said, "Hey Lexi babe, can you go get the nurse? I really need a drink." She nodded and walked out the door.
"Is there something on your mind?" I said. He was still staring at me with his big light brown eyes. "Stop doing that." I said turning around. He still didn't say anything.
"I'm... I'm... I'm sorry. About the other night. On your birthday. I shouldn't have done that." Nick said. I turned around and started walking towards him and sat on the chair next to him. "You're just too pretty." He said getting closer to me. I leaned back.
"Ok, you do know that we are BOTH engaged right?" I said. He was scaring me.
"Yes well the only reason that I proposed to Lexi was because she was the only person that I really knew. Until I saw you again the other night. What do you say we leave Austin and Lexi and Kyle, and go get married?"
" What the hell? No way. Get away from me, I am marrying the only one that is right for me and that is Kyle." I said and ran out of the room to the car. Lexi was sitting in there crying. Oh no, she must of heard what Nick said.
"So, are you alright?" I said.
"What do you think? I just heard my fiancé say he doesn't want to marry me anymore, and that he loves you? I am definitely not ok." Lexi replied between sobs.
I thought of what to say. "Well maybe he's just not the right guy for you. I mean he IS a jerk."
"But I really thought that he loved me. That he wanted to get married to me as much as I wanted to." She said. I just hugged her not knowing what to say. I mean what WAS I supposed to say?
~Lexi didn't show up for dinner. She didn't show up at all actually. She was in her room crying all day.
"May I ask why Lexi is crying so much?" My dad asked. Silence. He continued eating his food.
"Nick." I said. "Nick and Lexi were supposed to get married. Them yesterday he said he loved someone else."
"What? He broke my daughters heart? And on her first day back?" Dad said with rage hitting the table. "Who is this other girl he likes?" I almost choked on the piece of steak I was chewing. What am I supposed to say now?
"He wouldn't say." I lied.
"Well someone better go talk to her. Where is Nick? I need to have a word with him." Dad answered.
"At the hospital." I say. "I think he'll be out tomorrow. I'll go talk to her." I ran upstairs into her room.
"How are you doing Lex?" I asked. "Dad is going to talk to "you know who" when he gets out of the hospital tomorrow."
"Please Anna, just leave. I need some time alone." Lexi yelled. I backed away but didn't leave.
"Lexi, you can't just cry away your problems. Just let it go." I said as sweetly and calmly as I could.
"You just don't unsure stand." Lexi said between sobs. "YOU have an amazing fiancé. And YOU weren't kidnapped. And Nick loves YOU!" She screamed without breathing. She panted, trying to catch her breath.
"Lex, I'm so sorry. I wish that Nick loved you and not me. And I wish you weren't kidnapped." I said. I looked at the clock in her room, "Well it is getting late. I love you. You are beautiful, do not let anyone tell you otherwise." I left and ran down stairs. I grabbed an apple and sat down on the couch. I took a bite of my red apple and noticed something on the table in front of me. It was a note from my dad:
I called the hospital and Nick is out early. I went to talk to him. I'll be back at 11:30. Love you, Dad?
I closed my eyes and when I woke up it was 11:15. I turned on the T.V and the news was on. Oh my gosh. Nicholas Fawyer; killed. The news lady said, "This man was the last person to see Nicholas and is suspected as the killer." There, on the screen was a picture of dad. So... dad got so angry that Nick broke Lexi's heart that he killed him?
End of Killer 1