CHAPTER 21: Alone

Nicole looked up at the man, again realizing how familiar his eyes were. She tried not to cry, afraid that might make him madder than he already was.

"So..." He began. "What can we do now? I mean, we're all alone and I know that you don't wanna be here right now, but I know I can make it enjoyable."

Nicole flinched as he placed his hand on her face, stroking it gently. She closed her eyes, wishing he would just go away.

"Now what can we find that's fun to do?" He asked, his voice a whisper as he got closer and closer to her.

"I...I don't know." Nicole stuttered.

"Are you afraid of me?" He asked gently.

Nicole looked at him, curious as to why he was being so nice to her after what he had just done to Jeff. 'Jeff.' Nicole thought. 'Is he okay?' She looked back at the man, who was waiting for an answer. She nodded slowly.

"You are afraid of me?" Nicole nodded again. "Well, you don't have to be. I won't hurt you."

"But... you... you hurt Jeff." Nicole managed to spit out.

"That's because he was in the way. I needed to get rid of him to get to you. I know I can make you see how much I care about you. And I know you'll feel the same... in time." He said with a laugh.

"Jeff." Nicole said quietly, not realizing she said it out loud.

"What?" The man said, looking at her intently.

"Um... Jeff. Is he okay?" She asked.

"Why do you care?!" He snapped. "You said you'd come to me to save him. Well your here and you have me! You don't need him!"

Nicole jumped when she heard him yell. "I just... you said if I come... Jeff would be okay if I came here. Is he okay?"

The man rolled his eyes and sighed. "He's alive." He answered flatly. He turned and walked past Nicole.

She just stood and watched as he made his way across the room, picking up the chair he has used to hit Jeff with. She stood, frozen in fear, watching as he made his way back to her.

"See this?" He said when he got to her. She nodded, but kept her eyes focused on the chair. "Well this chair was used on Jeff, remember that?" Again, she nodded. "Well that was because Jeff deserved it. Jeff did something he wasn't supposed to do, he touched something that was mine. Do you understand?"

Nicole looked at him fearfully, not answering.

"I asked you a question!" He yelled, moving closer to her. She backed up slightly, hoping he would stop advancing on her. He continued walking, taking small steps toward her each time. Every time he would take a step towards her, she would back up. She continued to move away until she came up to the wall. She froze, knowing there was nowhere she could go.

The man smiled under the mask. He placed one arm on either side of Nicole, making sure she couldn't go anywhere. He moved close, so his face was almost touching hers. Nicole stayed perfectly still, trying to not even breathe.

She could feel his hot breath on her face, his eyes staring at her intently. She closed her eyes and prayed that he would move. She cringed when she felt him kiss her on the cheek, then the neck. He felt her tense up and he smirked, looking at her. "Now, like I asked before, Do you understand?"

Nicole opened her eyes and nodded. "Y...Yes." She stammered out.

"Good." He said, backing up. "Now, I'm going out to get some food for dinner. You'll be good while I'm gone right?" Nicole nodded, still not moving.

The man laughed and walked out the door, leaving Nicole alone.

As soon as he was gone, Nicole let herself fall to the floor. She let the tears fall as she recalled the whole day. All she could picture was Jeff, who was probably lying on the side of the road somewhere. She hoped someone would find him. She brushed away her tears and looked around.

She looked for anything special in the room, until something silver caught her eye. She jumped up, running over to what had caught her attention. She slowly picked up the small object, smiling for the first time that day. She opened it and pressed the buttons she needed.

"Hello?" Nicole sighed in relief at the voice.

"Matt." She said quietly.

"Nic?" Matt replied. "Where are you?"

Ignoring him, Nicole responded, "Go find Jeff."

"What? I don't know where he is. Where are you?"

"Don't worry about me, go find Jeff. He's hurt." Nicole held back the tears that were coming to her eyes, afraid that Matt would get more worried if she started crying.

"How do you know he's hurt?" Matt asked, getting more and more panicked.

"I just do, now go find him." Nicole instructed.

"Nic, where are you? What's going on?"

Nicole sighed. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." She heard Matt sigh and she knew he still didn't believe her. She heard him move the phone away from him. Then she heard someone else take it.

"Shorty?"

Nicole closed her eyes, recognizing the voice. "Shane." She said quietly.

"Come on shorty, tell us where you are. We can come get you." Shane offered.

"No." Nicole responded sternly. "Just go find Jeff."

"But shorty..."

"No Shane. Go find him. I have to go." Nicole replied, letting a single tear fall down her face before she brushed the rest away.

"No please..."

"Goodbye Shane." Nicole replied, hanging up. She got up and placed the phone in it's original spot. She went back to her spot and sat down, placing her head in her hands, drifting away to sleep.

A/N: ??? I hope you like it! Thankz again for the reviewz! I was hoping to get to 50 by my 20th chapter and I did. I actually never expected this many reviewz to begin with. So thank you to the people who did read it! It meanz a lot to me that you like it! Especially, my regular reviewerz, Brit, Becky, Iccess-America and everyone else!!! Thankz!!! :)Nicole***