Asher Banning still mourns his mother after three years. When his friend, Caden, decides to get their group of friends together for Christmas as a way to help Asher not feel lonely for the holidays, things quickly turn upside down.
MATURE: for expl...
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The moment she fell on the floor, clutching her hand to the wound, was the moment I lost it. Everything fell out of place. My entire life became a black hole, sucking in every living thing I was close to.
He knew it'd tear me apart. He knew it and I didn't doubt that he'd do it again.
Nick fled the scene. He didn't even turn back to bat an eyelash at us. Instead, he continued walking, straight out of our lives.
I sat up, pain coursing through every muscle in my body, and slid my way toward Freyja. Blood stained her black dress and the carpet she lay on. Her body shivered, her mouth quivered as if to speak, but nothing came out.
"Asher," Abigale finally said. She stood, waving her hands around in a frantic gesture. Her eyes glistened with tears; her mouth curved into a frown. "You need to go after him!"
"W-what?"
"Go!" Abigale came closer, kneeling down to put pressure on the wound. "I got her. Go kill that son-of-a-bitch! Or do somethin'. I don't care! Just go!"
What am I supposed to do with him? Instead of arguing, I stood and headed straight for the door, taking a jacket with me from the hanger.
I didn't know where I was going or if I was going to find Nick. But it was the best bet I had. Only an idiot would stay in the house and play hide-and-seek. He was smart enough to play hide-and-seek in the wilderness, with the forest as his playground.
As I headed for the trees, my eyes trailed down the slushy-snowy road that we came in. Sam's physique was in the distance, walking toward the gate with a large backpack.
+ + + +
I had to be over a mile away, and it had been one, maybe two hours since I left the house. There was no sign of him or any fresh tracks. I barely had a sense of direction and the harsh winter air wasn't making it any better.
Who was I kidding? I couldn't have been an investigator even if I tried! This wasn't what I thought it was going to be, how it would've turned out. Nick was smarter than I was, specifically at playing this game he wanted to desperately play. It was probably something he made up himself, studying every way he could so easily win.
The more I thought about him, the more I wanted to know if he was genuine or was it all just an act he put on to manipulate us.
With the constant doubts I had, I leaned toward the latter. He couldn't have felt any remorse with their deaths. There was no possible way! He was a psychopath! He didn't have empathy despite showing it. But with how he fooled us, I suspected he lacked sympathy and lied about everything else. He didn't care about Kirsty, Tori, or Paris. He thought something else entirely.
