The lady in Red (REWRITTEN!)

Chapter 45

 I leaned my head against the dirty wall and listened intently to the conversation. My heart was hammering so hard against my chest that just taking a breath was borderline painful. I resisted the urge to go over to where Kapoor sat and wring his neck with both of my bare hands after hearing that one word. However, I refrained from doing so. I had the opportunity to learn the bitter truth here. I had no choice but to find out why Kapoor had exposed me, and I believed he had single-handedly destroyed my life.

"The process was simple. I did a little bit of research on her, and I spoke with her family. They revealed they have been looking for her, trying to get her back to claim the properties that were still in her name. I wanted revenge, and that's what I did." By now tears were falling out of my eyes. Red was all I could see as my hands were balled into tight fists. My blood ran hot with fury, threatening to spill out like molten lava, and it took every ounce of strength I had to hold back. This is the angriest I've ever been.  I was unable to see straight. My whole body trembled as I stared at them again. Reece's composure was slipping and I noticed it in his eyes. I was obscured from seeing the lethal weapon when, out of nowhere, he pulled out a gun from behind him and held it in between his legs. Reece's sudden change in mood made Kapoor swallow once again. In less than three seconds, none of us could have predicted what would come next. Reece was sitting with the knife on his lap one moment, and the next he was leaning over, bringing the knife with him, and stabbing him right in the thigh. Kapoor unleashed a bloodcurdling scream, allowing a string of curse words to spill out of his mouth. I gulped as my eyes widened, and I covered my mouth again as I stifled another gasp. The pain must have been so severe that saliva was pouring out of his mouth. Blood pooled down his thigh like thick water.

I focused entirely on my breath for a good minute in order to distract myself from hyperventilating, blurring everyone and everything at once. The problem was, I was failing. Reece's fury was all I could see, as his knife stabbed Kapoor's thigh deeply. As I slid down the wall, the panic was rising in my veins.

"The knife could have done a lot more damage than this," Reece said, his voice a much more lethal weapon than any in the room. As he worked through the pain, Kapoor exhaled harshly and spat.

Angry, he exclaimed, "You're insane!"

"You haven't seen crazy yet." Reece retrieved another knife from God knows where and stabbed him on his other thigh. Another piercing scream echoed throughout the room, and I covered my mouth again as bile and vomit rose into my mouth. In an attempt to avoid vomiting all over the place, I dug my fingers into my wrist in an attempt to distract myself from the sight and sound. Making noise was not an option. Not right now, at least. I looked anyway, even though I didn't want to, and found Kapoor slipping out of consciousness. He struggled to stay awake, and I struggled not to vomit.

"Fu..fuck..you," Kapoor croaked.

"Where are they now?" Reece asked, leaning back against the chair. The Reece I knew didn't exist here. His eyes were dark, dangerous, and filled with evil. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and my vision blurred, but I could not look away from the horrifying scene before me. When I heard the strangled sound coming out of my mouth, my heart thundered against my chest, and I rushed to cover my mouth.

"I...don't..."

"The next move will be far more lethal than these ones. I'm out of patience. Trust me when I say that. You don't want to upset me." Another knife was retrieved, but this time Reece didn't reach forward for another stab. Kapoor's eyes bulged again, and I swear they were about to fall out of his sockets.

"No, please! I don't know where they are! The last time I checked they were in Agawam! I talked to her...her uncle on the phone..." I couldn't listen to the rest of the words coming out of his mouth. The noise coming out of his mouth became a blur. Agawam was only two hours away from Boston, which meant they were not too far from me. The last time I checked, when I escaped, they were in an entirely different place. I never thought they would settle in Agawam out of all the places to go in the world, but they did. I fled Oklahoma, where I had my mother's property. I knew they were in Boston now, so it was only a matter of time before they found me and pulled me back with them.

Reece's jaw tightened, his body rigid, and his posture hard as he asked, "Do you realize what you have done? As if to taunt his prey, Reece moved forward, taunting it without touching it. The gun bounced between his legs as his finger twitched to pull the trigger.

"No...please..."

"You put her life in Jeopardy. For four days, I had to endure not seeing her, or talking to her. For four days, I had to bear the implications of not having her around me. She put all of your shit on me, and I had to take it without giving anything away. Do you have any idea what this means? She quit her job because of you. She hates me because of you." Reece pulled the knife out of his right thigh and jabbed it right back down into his open wound. His wound oozed blood, which sprayed out like a small water hose. It swept all over Kapoor and soaked Reece's leg. Kapoor's screams were so loud I almost went deaf. It was impossible for me to look away. I was astonished and in awe of what Reece was becoming and what he was saying. When I looked at him, instead of my heart becoming stone, it thawed. I was beginning to understand the implications of the situation. Until now, I had no idea what Reece was really like. Seeing him now...it didn't break me. This helped me heal. Despite being the monster that he was, he made me feel safe. I felt important to him. I could not stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks.

His voice broke in defeat as he pleaded for help. But, Reece wasn't listening. 

I warned you not to mess with what belongs to me. Didn't I warn you what would happen?" As Reece pulled the gun from between his legs, its telltale gave it all away. He was on a murderous rampage. I knew he would not stop. 

"All for that stupid...bitch? She's trouble. Her...her fucking family hates her. I bet...I bet everyone hates her. Did...did she tell you she was a whore? Their whore. That pussy is beat up. How can you...my God, how can you like that?" That struck a nerve. Ultimately, the rationale won out. The statement struck a nerve with Reece, but before he had a chance to react, I stood up and slowly made my presence known without a second thought. 

"You're wrong. I am no one's whore."