No Control (Chris Motionless)

Chapter 13 - Torture Garden

I brushed the loose dark curls from my face before I tried to focus on keeping my hand steady as I applied my burgundy lipstick. I peered up at the mirror, noticing the way my black latex dress gleamed in the bathroom lights. Mackenzie appeared behind me in the mirror a minute later, still dusting the baby powder we used to get this dress on me off of her own clothes.

She grinned as she took in my look exclaiming, "You look amazing!"

I chuckled, "Thanks."

"Chris isn't going to know how to act when he sees you."

I rolled my eyes muttering, "Oh, hush."

A knock on the door stops our conversation short as Mackenzie goes to answer it. I check my phone, seeing that I should call Chris and let him know that I was ready to go. Peeking out of the bathroom I saw Mackenzie waving goodbye to Kamaria before shutting the door as the other girl turned to go. She turned around, thumbing through a leather-bound book, looking confused.

She glanced up at me, sounding slightly concerned as she asked, "What is this?"

I gently slid the black book from her hands and instantly knew what it was. "I asked Kamaria if I could borrow this. I just didn't expect it to look so old."

"What's it about?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I do know that she said that her brother got it from the cult that worships Jack the Ripper." I explain as I take a seat on my mattress, flipping through yellowing pages of swirling texts and crude drawings.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Are you serious? That's fucking creepy. Why do you want to read something like that?"

"I think it might help me prove that Chris is innocent."

"Do you think this cult could have something to do with the murders?"

"Maybe, but I'm still not certain. It could be them, the cop, or...it might be Chris after all."

She frowned, "But he's the last person you want it to be, isn't he?"

I glanced down at my red nails as I nodded. Just considering the possibility that Chris could be a murder had my chest aching. I would hate to think that I had been helping him commit these crimes somehow by telling him about that cop being after him.

The sound of my phone ringing on the end of my bed pulled my focus back.

Mackenzie grabbed the cellphone to read the screen and held it out to me murmuring, "Speak of the devil."

I shake my head at her and answer the call, but as soon as he spoke, I knew something wasn't right.

"Amber, you're going to kill me, but I can't even get out of bed. I got another one of these fucking migraines. I don't even know why, but I'm getting them all the time now."

All my thoughts about the plan to go spy on Hudson took a back seat as I asked, "Do you think you should see a doctor?"

He sighed heavily, "I think I might have to."

"Alright, well don't worry about our plan, I'll take care of it." I reassure him.

"You can't do that, you shouldn't go by yourself. If Hudson really is the one committing these murders, you'll just be putting yourself in danger." He argues in an urgent voice.

I shut my eyes and let out a deep breath before finally saying, "Okay, you have a point."

"If I end up feeling any better soon, I'll call you and let you know."

"No, it'll be alright. We'll get to the bottom of this another way. You need to just rest."

Once I had gotten off the phone and then explained to Kenzie what this night out was supposed to be about, I announced, "I'm still going regardless."