What We Once Were

Chapter 21.

"Daxton, please don't do this." Bridget pleaded, trying not to make any movements as she spoke. She could feel the blade hovering over her neck, its icy sensation just one motion away from drawing warm blood.

Daxton slinked around Bridget's chair, still playing with the switchblade between his fingers. "See that's where you're wrong my sweetheart. I have thought of nothing else for years. Ever since I came back three years ago and learned you had left town, I have thought of nothing but how to get you back. I have been planning my revenge on James for years since I left that night after you rejected me."

"Rejected you?" Bridget shuddered, "You attacked me."

"I merely lost control. That was my mistake." Daxton replied like he'd only shouted at her.

"Lost control, my ass. You went mad, you're insane."

"Watch your mouth sweetheart, because as much as I love your fiery spirit, I suggest you listen to me very carefully or else, I may have to punish you." The top of the blade pressed against Bridget's chin, he hadn't drawn blood, but she knew that would only happen in a matter of time.

"Good, now, would you like to know why I did all this? Why I killed those girls?" His voice was horrid, dark and unforgiving, he hadn't a trace of remorse for what he'd done.

"You..you did it because of me." Bridget gasped for air while trying to stay still as to not touch the sharp edge of the blade.

"That's right, let's see how much you know. You better get it right, or else-" Daxton removed the blade from her throat lightning fast and slashed the arm in which he'd gripped on prom night.

Bridget screamed as the wound opened and blood quickly coated her olive skin. "You-" she stammered, her vision began to cloud with black dots. "You did it to bring me back. You knew what I did for work, you knew that I loved solving cases back in high school. You knew that I obsessed over it, so what better way to get what you want, to bring me back than to lure me here with a murder with symbols and perfectly combined my love for Harry Potter to tempt me."

"Very good Bridget, you've done your homework. Now, what about the girls?" He brought the blade back to her throat and Bridget couldn't keep still. She was shaking and her vision was going in and out from the gash on her arm.

"The girls were all like me. All of them were different parts of me. Becky was intelligent. Alison looked like me and dated a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. And Colleen was powerful, she used her words to build that power and command the attention of others. You had them all as students and each of them wanted to walk on the wild side, just like me. You were able to use them for your own gain. You got to "have me" in all the ways you've fantasized about for years. Then when the girls tried to break away, you would flip out." Bridget explained, feeling her head tip back but she fought it. She couldn't lose consciousness or god knows what would happen.

"Excellent my brilliant girl." The blade was removed from her throat and Bridget let out a breath and her shoulders sagged.

"But I don't understand one thing." Bridget tried to catch her breath and forced herself not to steal a glance at her bloody arm.

"Yes?" Daxton stood in front of her, his eyes darting back and forth from the blade in his hands and her in the chair.

"How did you get them out in the woods? Alison and Becky were found together, how did you get them together? And Colleen, she was found on her parent's property."

Daxton's laugh was the most horrendous sound she'd ever heard. It was low, evil and despicable. It was demeaning, making her feel like an insufficient child. "I told Alison and Becky that day that I wanted to speak to them privately about their classwork. By the time they were placed in The Black Woods, they'd been dead for hours." A wicked gleam crossed Daxton's black eyes. "They were stupid enough to come to my house that night. Then, as soon as they entered my home. I got them comfortable with dinner and then struck them both. When they woke up, I'd already tied their wrists in slip knots. You should've seen these two girls hanging helplessly in my shack." Bridget's stomach dropped as she imagined how terrified those poor girls must've been.