𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨 , 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲

10

"...And it was my fault..."

My hand stung as I jiggled the doorknob for the billionth time. I no longer cared for the dried blood that decorated my palm underneath the bandage Billy had given me or the sweat collecting on the back of my neck. All I cared for was getting out of the room Billy and Stu had trapped me in.

How could I have been so dumb? My sister was down there. If I couldn't get down there in time, she would be apart of the pile of dead bodies downstairs. I pushed my shoulder against the door, trying to break it down, but the door remained perfectly intact. I felt my hope crumble. What had I gotten myself into?

I slid down against the door, my head in my hands. How did my investigation come to this? I started this investigation to protect my family, yet I've done anything but that. Instead, I've been playing psycho killer boyfriends with Billy and Stu. My eyes welled up with tears as I realized what I turned into; a stupid, stupid boy who let my feelings get in the way of protecting my family from the hands of death.

My hand stung even more as salty tears sunk into the bandage covering on my hand. God, I really needed to replace my bandage or something. An infection would just be the perfect thing to top off my night. I stumbled up, my vision somewhat blurry from the tears, and went to the closet.

My current shirt, once so perfectly clean, was now drenched in blood. I looked like Carrie for Christ's sake! My fingers trembled as I clawed open the door to reveal a few white shirts. I quickly grabbed one as I ripped my old one off. The cool air from the balcony chilled my skin, and I moved toward the balcony doors; closing them.

People were no longer entering the house, and by the sound of downstairs, the party had begun. In any other circumstance that phrase wouldn't bring the dread it did, and I felt my face contort into a pathetic excuse to hold in my sobs.

The party had begun.

And that could only mean one thing; death was going to swallow this place whole.

Swallow my sister whole.

Swallow me whole.

I couldn't let that happen. It seemed as if something in me had snapped. Ridiculing myself for sitting in this room with nothing but loud cries and weak attempts of getting free when I could've been doing something useful; saving my sister.

I wiped the tears away; leaving only a few to stain my cheeks. Moving back to the clean shirt I had laid against the bed, I pulled it over my torso. Now that I was clothed, I could begin to haggle my brain for a way out of here. The door was impossible for me to break down, but the door wasn't the only way to get out of a room... I had never snuck out of the house before, but that didn't mean I hadn't seen my fair share of teen media where most teens my age learned how to escape room detention.

I strode over to the balcony as I peered down below to the ground. Climbing down there was dangerous. Plus, it would be a big fall if my clumsiness got the best of me. My fingers danced along the hem of my shirt as ideas popped in and out of my brain. I had to be resourceful since there wasn't much for me to get out of here with, and there was only two ways out; down or through the door that seemed impossible to break down. The most useful thing I had was the knife Billy had given me which happened to be the same very knife I was betraying him with.