The Psychopath Maker

Chapter Forty

Faith felt like a weight was off her shoulders. Last night when she told Isabeth her secret, she was filled with an emotion she hadn't been acquainted with for months. Serenity. She didn't feel like the broken-winged bird she was before, second-guessing everything she wore. Was this skirt too short? Was the top too tight? Because that's what she did after she told her mother she was raped. After her mother told her she must've done something, led him on. So, Faith played all the session she had with Dr. Fulton over in her mind trying to pinpoint what she did or said to make him rape her, make him summon her when every he wanted to vandalize her body.

As Faith drifted off to sleep next to Isabeth, she was torn between two emotions, being heartbroken and vindicated. Faith thought if she let Fulton have his way with her then no other girl would have to endure the pain and hurt she did but she was wrong. Her idiotic plan didn't work and he attacked once more and it was the girl she loved like her own flesh and blood, the sister she didn't have.

On the other hand, she received the proof she needed to quell her conflicted conscience and extinguish her mother's ranting out of her psyche. Giselle praised Isabeth on her lady-like demeanor and Grace Kelly's style. Isabeth didn't ask for it and now Faith was reassured that her friendly, over-zealous behavior didn't either.

So, Faith sat in the boot at Gomes Diner with a clear mind. A clear mind focused on one thing, proving Benny wrong. She knew Lucas was The Imposter. She didn't care what Benny said.

"Who are your people?" Faith pushed the chicken-free Caesar salad away. Lucas stopped dipping his fries in the glob of mayo, which Faith also noted in the strange column. "I mean...you're black. I have eyes."

Lucas dropped the half-bitten fry and dusted the salt off his hands, "Then what are you saying."

"What I'm saying is...everyone at Dawson Prep knows one another. Hell, we even know Benny because his father is a governor and his grandfather was a Vice-President." Faith just learned the later after googling Benny that morning because she had suspicions about him. "No one knows where you come from. No one knows who the Plaints are."

"I'm Lucas Plaint from Connecticut." He spoke abrasively. He pushed his back against the booth's tufted chair pensively staring at her, "That's all you need to know. Unless.... someone's talking about me, behind my back. Is someone talking about me, Faith?"

"I don't know Lucas." Faith tried to keep her composure but his unwavering eye contact was making her uneasy. "I'm just trying to get to know you."

"You don't need to know me more than you do." He picked up the steak knife and cleaned his nails with a sharp point. "I mean.... are you in yearbook all of a sudden."

"No." Faith wished he would put the knife down. "I just want to deepen our friendship." She smiled wryly.

Lucas smiled as he cleaned the nail of his middle finger. He flicked the dirt off the tip of the knife then set it back on the table. "Did you deepen your friendship with Brittany." Faith cocked her head to the side with confusion. Lucas went on, "I ask because they just found her rotting corpse and I wanted to know if I should express my condolences or wish maggots feast on her flesh. Which one, Faith?"

"Um." Faith dug in her purse and threw a ten on the table. "You're sick." She grabbed her purse strap and looked passed him as she scooted out the booth. "Get some help." She muttered she walked away from him.

Faith practically ran to her car. She popped her alarm and the headlights came to life. Her steps stopped at the door and her hands froze as her heart throbbed in her throat. Lucas unnerved her but the envelope stuck in her window made her skin crawl.

Faith grabbed the envelope and jumped in her car. Once she closed the door and hit the locks she looked out the windows to see if the person that delivered the letter still lingered but the parking lot was empty. She cranked up the car and ignored that one of her favorite songs was playing.

With sweaty palms with opened the envelope and pulled out the note. It was in the same penmanship as the other letters they receive. Her lips moved as she read the letter, "Tic Toc went the Cuckoo clock. I may be patient but don't test my will. You have three brothers: Chance, Augustus, and Kelly. Which one do you like the least? It doesn't matter because if you don't fulfill your task you won't have neither." Faith's hands began to tremble. "Yours Truly, The Psychopath Maker."

I don't think TPM is bluffing. What do you think? Is Benny wrong, should Lucas be feared?