Wide Eyes (Jeff the Killer Romance)

Chapter 20

Jack and I just finished dropping off the cats, and they didn't even blink at our weird masks. We rounded the corner and stopped in front of a coffee shop.

"Can I get some birthday coffee?" I asked.

"Sure. Get me a medium white chocolate, okay?"

I handed him my mask and he handed me the money. It had been a while before I was comfortable going out without the mask. People usually just stared and asked what happened, and I liked having someone else to talk to.

"Hey, Mandy. Medium raspberry truffle, right?"

I had recently made friends behind the register, from coming so often. Tonight Marquis was working, and he and I had "bonded" the most. He always asked how my day's been, and he helps with my problems.

"Yeah, plus a white chocolate."

"Ooh, finally buying for somebody else?"

I told him about Jack as he made our coffees. He knew about Jeff, but didn't know anything besides he didn't like coffee.

"You should bring him in sometime," Marquis said as I was leaving.

I left the shop, expecting Jack to be waiting for me. He wasn't where he was before, and I couldn't see him anywhere on the street.

"Jack?"

No one answered and I couldn't find him, so I started walking home. He didn't leave my mask, so I had to go home with a pale, burned face and black eyes. My scar stood out so much more since what Jeff did, and no amount of makeup could cover it up.

I had made it a block and a half before I saw Jack up ahead. I wanted to run over to him, but he was shaking his head slightly, so only I would notice. He turned his head to the left, toward thick trees.

"I have your mask, if you want it," he said, holding it up.

He was still shaking his head, so I turned to run. Before I could move my feet, I was grabbed and pulled into the trees. I screamed for help, but they put their hand over my mouth and pulled me to the ground.

"There's no one here to help you, freak. You're a murderers girlfriend."

He pushed my face into the dirt, then pulled me up by the hair. He held a knife to my throat, drawing blood, and pushed me forward.

He stopped me in the middle of a ring of trees with toadstools around them. These idiots probably thought it was magic. Jack and the other guy were here, along with a guy laying on the ground.

"What do you idiots want?" Jack sneered.

"You're the idiots, parading around the city when you're wanted in 15 different states. But you, Eyeless Jack, right? You're not the one we want. We want the girl's boy, Jeff."

"Jeff's not here," Jack told them, "he's in Wyoming. He'll be gone for weeks."

I looked over at him, to see if it was true, but I couldn't tell from that damned mask. The guy behind me started to laugh and the other joined in, confused. Then he cut my arm, done laughing.

"You're lying. You were just with him before you dropped off those cats. We saw you."

I silently cursed myself, and I saw Jack's head drop too.

"Then why didn't you follow him? He told Olivia he was leaving and wouldn't be back when we got back."

Who the hell is Olivia, I wanted to say. But I kept quiet.

"So your name is Olivia?" the guy behind me smiled.

"Yes," I answered.

"Perfect. Nobody knows about you, but we can change that, right?"

"Is that what the sleeping beauty is for?" Jack asked.

The guy behind him nodded, and my guy pushed me forward after cutting my jaw. He tossed me a knife and I caught it effortlessly. A few months ago I wouldn't have been able to do that.

"Kill the guy, and this'll be a lot easier."

"I'm not a killer," I insisted.

"But you will be by the time we're done. Now kill him, or we kill you."

"Just kill him Ma- Olivia," Jack pleaded.

I glared at him. He knew better than anyone that I would never kill.

"She's not gonna do it, Gavin. Lets just kill her," the guy behind Jack said.

"You touch her and I'll rip your heads off," Jack growled.

"You'd think he was the boyfriend," Gavin said.

I walked back over to Gavin and held the knife out.

"What, you want me to kill you? How sweet."

He reached out to take the knife and I swiped it across his palm. He cried out while Jack pulled out his own knife and cut the other one.

Gavin was holding his palm to his chest, so I had no problem stabbing it into his back. It didn't go as far as I thought it would, so I pulled it out and did it again. I kept doing that until Jack pulled me off of him.

"Mandy, he's dead. We have to go. Please, stop!"

I started to cry, letting go of the knife. Jack lifted me from the ground and carried me home.

When we got there, Jack dumped me on the couch and ran upstairs. I got up and zombie walked to the bathroom. I pulled out the gauze bandages and tried to put them on my wounds. Jack went past the bathroom, then came back to the door. He saw what I was trying to do and ran to help.

"Are you ok, Mandy? I think you might be in shock."

I nodded, not sure which question I was answering. He finished with the gauze and guided me back to the couch. There was a note next to me, so I picked it up.

Jeff

Two dicks grabbed us, tried to get the Innocent to kill. Wanted you, told them you weren't here. Going to Slendy's, meet us there. Eyeless

"Who's the innocent?"

"That would be you," Jack sighed.

"Mandy the Innocent?"

"Pretty much, unless it bothers you."

I didn't say anything, so he handed me my mask. I thought he had left it back there, so I was glad I had it. I strapped it in the back, feeling more secure.

"Are you ready to go?"

I nodded and he tossed me a back pack. He didn't tell me what was in it, so I didn't ask. We left the house and cut through the trees to the main road. There was never anyone on this street, so I was surprised to see a car sitting there.

"I see it. There's no one in it, so it's either those guys' or we have company."

We hurried over to the car and Jack broke the back window. The car didn't go off, which we were grateful for. I sat in the back and slept.