Murders Of The Past

TWENTY-THREE

THE SOUND OF something buzzing jolts me awake and I pull my heavy head up until I'm staring ahead, wincing from the tension in my neck. The sound sounds like a low buzz, going on and on in a specific pattern. It buzz's for three seconds then stops, and starts buzzing again, almost like a phone... my phone!

  "That dumb fuck doesn't know how to kidnap people," I muter under my breath.

  It honestly pisses me off. It shouldn't, because now I have an advantage, but it does. That's like the number one rule when you're holding someone hostage. Take away any contact they have with the outside world, i.e. their cell phone!

  Even though the phone is all the way on the other side of the basement, that's still a jackass move. Where's Owen? I need to yell at him for this. I really didn't think that boy could get any stupider, turns out, he can.

  Wait, my phone is all the way on the other side of the basement. How am I supposed to get it? My wrists are tied around this pole and my ankles are taped around the pole.

  "Dammit," I mutter.

I hear footsteps and tense, then frown. Now is my chance to yell at him, tell him what a dumb ass he is.

"Alright man, I didn't know it was possible but you're an even more— " I stare down at the little girl in front of me, her staring back up at me with her big green eyes. He kidnaps little girls too!

  "Who are you," the girls speaks.

  "Who am I? Who are you?" I frown at her.

  "Audrey."

  "Audrey?" Why is that name familiar? Audrey... Audrey... "Audrey!" It finally clicks. "Owens sister? Yeah, he talked about you." I nod. Owens eleven year old sister who he was left to raise all by himself after I killed his father.

  "Who are you?" She repeats.

  "I'm the Boogy Man." I growl in a demonic voice, making her eyes pop as she takes a step back. "Nah. I'm Sadie. Nice to meet you." I nod to her. "Could you do me a favor and bring that phone over here for me?" The girl turns around to look at my phone on the table, keeping her eyes on it for a while, contemplating. Finally, she goes to grab it, bringing it over and showing it to me. Wesley.

  "Could you do me another favor? Cut these ropes for me?" She looks down at the ropes, playing with her fingers anxiously.

  "I don't think I'm supposed to be down here." She turns and walks around me, starting to leave. She can't leave.

  "No, no. Audrey, honey." I watch her stop behind me.

"Audrey, listen," I start in a soft, friendly voice, "I have babies at home, and if I don't get out of here then they'll never see their mommy again. I have to get out of here, please, cut these ropes?" I don't know if I was pretending to seem concerned or if I really was. Carlos is taking care of them, and let's be real here, I wasn't a good mother.

Carlos was right, I am a bad mother. Well, I guess it's hard to be a good mom when you don't have anyone to show you what a mom is.

I hate myself for thinking this, but I regret having kids. God, that was wrong. That was so wrong to say. I love the little guys, really, I do, but I was not made to be a mother. I messed up, I really messed up.

And now what? Now I'm going to get out of here- I think- and I'm going to have to face my demons eventually and go back home, where I'll stay home all day watching movies, hanging out with friends, picking the kids up from school and going on trips to amusement parks and Florida. And of course, drinking wine.

That's not the life for me.

Getting in fights and going to war with my enemies, stealing one-dollar gum and setting fire to cars- that's the life for me.

And here I was, sitting on my leather couch in my unreasonably large, fancy house, with my in-ground pool, and sipping my fancy red wine. And this hair, this stupid blonde hair. It's fake. All of it is fake!

I don't want to be fake anymore.

Something shifts inside me, and suddenly this wave washes over me, as if cleaning me from all this fake bullshit, and I feel something familiar, something natural, something I haven't felt in a very long time. Finally, I feel like Sadie Bane again.

Audrey appears in front of me again, scissors in her hand. I smirk.

The first thing I'm doing when I get out of here is washing this color out of my hair.