ENTRY 10
IMPOSTER


It's Halloween night.

Every year, my best friend, Jake, throws the most epic Halloween party at his cottage in the woods. It's not a massive event; just most of our friends from high school and some people from our college show up. It's a night full of shenanigans and always a good time.

It's three in the morning, and everyone left. My boyfriend Edward and I are the only guests staying the night. I'm not as drunk as either of them, and I'm pretty sure they're somewhere around here passed out. I'm helping clean up some of the mess, so Jake doesn't have to do it all tomorrow. Plus, I'm not very tired for some reason.

As I'm clearing up all the used plastic cups and throwing them in the trash, a loud bang from the back door in the kitchen startles me. I jump at the sound, ready to reach for something to protect me, but relax when I see Jake on the other side. I thought he had crashed in his room after drinking too much when he disappeared an hour ago.

Fear chills me to the bone when I see his bloody hands press against the glass door, leaving an imprint. His brown eyes are wide in horror.

"Bella, help p-please." His croaks are muffled and weak.

I don't see anyone else behind him, but it's also practically pitch black outside. Rushing to the door in a panic, I open it and pull him inside quickly, slamming it shut and locking it behind him.

Jake collapses to the floor, cradling his stomach as an alarming amount of blood spills through his fingers, pooling around him.

Kneeling next to him, I inspect his injury, but I'm worried about hurting him more.

"Oh my god, Jake!" I freak out. "What happened?" Tears fill my eyes as I put pressure on what looks like a stab wound on his abdomen, my hands flooding with his blood.

He chokes on his words. "E-ed…w-ward."

My brows furrow in confusion until dread fills my stomach. "Is he out there too? Is he hurt?" My voice raises in hysteria, and I let go of Jake, jump up and rush back to the door.

I love Jake, but if something happened to Edward…

"N-no… Don't go out—" His words break off as Edward appears in front of the glass door, in the same spot Jake was minutes ago. He's not bleeding as much as Jake, but I can see the crimson streaks on his hands and face.

I open the door even faster this time, pulling Edward inside just like I did with Jake, but this time I check every part of his body to make sure he's okay. My heart plummets when I see a stab wound close to his hipbone, just above his jeans. His injury isn't as deep or bad as Jake's, so he's more coherent and able to stand.

"Fuck, baby, are you ok?" I cry out, devastation and full-bodied fear consuming me. I cradle his face in my hands as he leans on me for support.

Edward doesn't answer me. His eyes seem a bit crazed and manic, but it's probably because he just got stabbed.

"Who did this to you?" I ask, my voice trembling.

Jake spits out Edward's name at the same time Edward growls Jake's name.

"What are you talking about?" My head snaps back and forth between the two of them in confusion.

Edward pulls me into his arms, trying to protect me. "Bella, Jake tried to kill me, so I stabbed him in self-defense. He didn't get too deep and missed my stomach when he stabbed me, but when he tried again, I ripped it out of his hand and reacted. I plunged it into him to protect myself. I had no choice, he was gonna kill me," he explains in a shaky voice.

Edward glares at Jacob, who's still lying on the floor. "He told me you were supposed to be his, and I stole you from him. That I needed to die so he could have you all to himself."

My blood runs cold as I stand there frozen. My mind doesn't want to believe the words spoken to me are true.

That Jacob, my best friend, tried to kill my boyfriend, Edward.

I knew Jake harbored a crush on me since we were kids and that it took a while for him to take a liking to Edward. I sensed jealousy and tension between them at times, but I never would've thought he would take it this far.

The horror and pain in Jake's voice snap me out of my thoughts. "Bella, no, he's lying! I-I swear he tried to kill me. He… he said I was getting in the way of y-your relationship and—fuck," he groans in pain, squeezing his eyes shut. "—And that you belonged to him and would never be mine before stabbing me in the stomach. You need to call t-the police." He heaves as his words consume all his energy, but he needs to get them out. "Stay away from him, Bella…he's not who y-you think he is. He's fucking crazy, dangerous…insane," Jake warns.

Edward stares at me pleadingly, reaching out his hand. "Bella, I've been your boyfriend for more than two years. You know every part of me. You're not going to believe him over me, are you? I love you and would never hurt you."

I'm conflicted for a moment. Not sure who to believe. Edward is my everything, and I know he's it for me. No one has ever made me feel as loved and worshiped the way he does.

But Jake has been my best friend since we were in diapers. We grew up together, and he's always had my back and been loyal.

"Bella, p-please call 911 quick. He needs to be locked up," Jake pleads, his voice weakening. I can see the life slowly draining from him. I can't leave my best friend to die.

My body starts trembling with sobs, and tears streak down my face. Staring back between the two men in my life who always made me feel safe and protected, and now I need to choose between them to save only one.

"Bella, if you save him, he'll lie to the cops and I'll get arrested. They won't believe it was self-defense since his stab is worse than mine, and I have no evidence. He'll try to kill me again, or I'll go to prison for attempted murder. We need to let him die."

I stare at Edward, desperate to see the truth in his alluring emerald green eyes I've gotten lost in so many times. Ones that have always made me feel loved and protected and have always been honest.

One of these men is an attempted killer. As much as I could've never imagined Jake being capable of murder, the Edward I've gotten to know and fallen in love with isn't capable of this either. He's never been bothered by Jake's presence in my life and has always been friendly to him. He's not a violent or dangerous person.

I look back and forth between them, conflicted about who to believe.

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I can't let Jake die, but if Edward is telling the truth, Jake is a psychopath and tried to kill Edward. If he's rushed to a hospital in time and survives, what will he do to him… to me? And I doubt the cops will arrest him. There are no witnesses, and it's Edward's word against Jake's. And Edward is right; he looks like the more compromising one in this situation.

I have to go with my heart and gut, and based on the evidence I've seen throughout the years of knowing these two.

I turn and glare at the murderer.

"Jake, I don't know why you did this. Why you couldn't just let me be happy? I never wanted more with you and wish you had accepted that." I sniffle back tears. "I never wanted to lose you, but I can't risk you hurting us again or destroying my boyfriend's life."

"You're making a… a m-mistak—" Are his last words as Jake's body stills, and I know he's gone. Lying there lifeless in a pool of his blood.

Even though he tried to kill my boyfriend, I can't help but mourn the loss of my best friend as sobs wrack through my body.

Edward pulls me into his body with relief, kissing my forehead and holding onto me for dear life. He rubs my back, trying to calm me down.

"Thank you," he whispers against me. "We need to leave and get out of here. Pretend we're missing. They'll pin the murder on us if we don't. They won't believe I did it to protect myself, and they'll think you were an accomplice. We have to move far away from here and not tell anyone. Make it seem like someone broke in, killed jake, and took us… or killed us too, but they won't be able to find our bodies."

It's too much to wrap my head around, so I just agree shakily. "O-okay."

I never expected tonight I would have to uproot my whole life and leave everything behind to protect my boyfriend, all because of my crazy, jealous—now dead best friend. But it's not Edward's fault, and I won't let him take the fall. I got him into this mess, and I'll do what I have to to get us out of it. As long as we have each other, we'll be fine.

I head into the living room to grab my phone, and as I go back into the kitchen, Edward stands over Jacob's body, staring at him with a numb expression. It's kind of weird, but I'm sure he's just freaked out that someone tried to kill him.

I snap him out of his trance, grabbing his hand to walk us out the front door and toward his truck. He helps me into the passenger seat, buckling me in and kissing my lips. "Now, it'll just be us two. No one in the way."

His words remind me of the ones Jake told me Edward said before he supposedly stabbed him. I try to push down the uneasiness I feel from the hint of his eerie smirk, dark glint in his eyes, and strange tone I haven't seen from him before—almost like a mask.

He closes my door and moves around to the other side of the car, settling in the driver's seat. My breath gets trapped in my lungs when I see something familiar in my periphery. The dark brown, leather braided bracelet I made for Jake when we were younger that he never took off… covered in blood, sitting in the cup holder of Edward's truck.

An uncomfortable feeling settles in my stomach, now doubting myself if I made the right decision or chose the right man.

I lift my head and feel the heat of Edward's eyes on me. He's staring at the same spot I was and then shifts his eyes to me, a slow sinister smirk creeping on his face. His hand squeezes my thigh tightly as I flinch.

"You made the right choice," he says in a low, chilling voice before pulling out of the gravel driveway to wherever he's taking us. Far away from here.

I fucked up.


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