Forever And Always (On My Mind)

Forever And Always - Chapter 4

I woke up from a buzzing sound coming from my phone next to me. I grabbed my phone and and saw 2 missed calls from Tom. It was 7.00 am. Why on earth was he calling me at 7.00 in the morning?! I called him back to see what was going on.

"Hey baby, what's up?"

"Come now."

"Wha-What do you mean 'come now'? It's 7 in the morning. Besides I'm seeing you later anyway."

"No Bree. It's urgent. Pack your bags. Pack everything you've got and come now. Do not say anything to anyone. Not even your parents. Ok? I want you here in half an hour. Goodbye."

"Tom wha-"

I put the phone down in confusion. What was going on? Why did he want me to take everything? I couldn't just drop everything and leave! I looked at the time. 7.05. He wanted me there at 7.30. Well he wouldn't tell me to do this if it wasn't important. I got up and quietly went into my room to pack everything. I stood by the door staring at an empty room 15 minutes later. I felt a pang of guilt in my heart. I couldn't leave my parents. They're the only family I've got... No. I have to do this. I have to go. I walked into my parents room and said a silent goodbye, a tear falling down my cheek. I love you Mom and Dad. Don't worry, I'll never forget you.

I walked out the door and shut it as quietly as possible so that I didn't wake them up. I turned around ready to run to Tom's house but instead I saw a car with a note attached to it on the driveway.

'The keys are in the ignition. Just drive it over to mine. Don't worry about crashing, you'll be fine. Just be careful. Love you beautiful. Forever and always x'

I ripped the note from the car and crumpled it into my pocket as I got into the car. As soon as I managed to switch the car on and work out which pedal was for what, I took one last look at my house and drove away.

I reached Tom's house safely and walked inside.

"Tom! What the hell? What's going on?"

"Sh-sh-shh.... Come. Sit down." He replied quietly with his eyes closed. Ok now this was getting freaky. What the hell is happening?

I reluctantly walked towards him and the chair he pointed out to for me to sit down on. I put my bags down and sat on the chair slowly. Tom held my shoulders tightly to make sure I didn't escape and kissed my forehead.

"I'm doing this for your own good baby. Ok? Just listen and do everything I tell you to and don't speak or you'll be punished." Tom said eerily.

"Tom -" I whimpered.

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!" He boomed, leaving me feeling small and terrified.

What the fuck was happening? Where the fuck was Tom? This isn't Tom. I silently sat on the chair crying quietly to myself, careful not to make any noise that would get this... this stranger angry again.

A few minutes later, I felt a something wrap around my wrists tightly. I tried to move it out of the way but it was too tight. I couldn't move my arms. Suddenly, I felt the same thing happen to my legs. I couldn't move anything now. I was trapped. Trapped with... With him. Oh god.

"Tom, baby what are yo-"

*SLAP*

I opened my eyes in shock. He just... He just slapped me. My cheek was stinging and felt so painful and couldn't hold my tears in.

"What the fuck did I tell you?! You stupid bitch. In fact..." He shouted as he started tying a towel across my mouth to stop me from talking or screaming.

Why was this happening? What had I done?

"You haven't done anything sweetie... But surely your parents raised you to worship God.... Not imaginary people." He whispered in my ear as if he read my mind.

What the hell? What has imaginary people got to do with anything?

"Oh it's got everything to do with this." He said again.

Oh god... How is he doing this?

Suddenly I heard a voice in my head.

"How? Well... That's easy. But let's not dwell on that now. Let's start from the beginning... My real name is Joe. Joseph Reynolds. Sound familiar?" He said with a wink.

My eyes widened. Joe? But Joe's dead? How...? No... That's impossible...

"Joe's dead." I mumbled between the cloth.

"I'm perfectly aware, thank you very much. I was there remember?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"BECAUSE YOU LEFT ME! YOU LEFT THERE TO DIE!" He bellowed.

"I didn't mean to! I was 8! I didn't understand what was happening!" I cried.

"Look, I dont care. And don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I just need your help. But for you to do what I ask you... There's still some work that needs to be done." He said quietly. A devilish smile spread across his face. He brought out a red hot iron and put it so close to my face, I could hear it sizzling. He put the iron down next to him and broke the top of the chair so that he could pull my shirt up.

Instead of pulling my shirt over my head, he got a pair of scissors and cut my shirt off my back leaving my upper body bare with only my bra on. He started to trail his fingers up and down my back making soft and quiet moans.

"I'll miss the touch of your beautiful skin baby" He moaned into my ear.

I didn't reply. Instead I continued to cry and cry, knowing what was going to happen. He unhooked the back of my bra so that my back was completely bare. He brought the iron up and pressed into my back ignoring my screams. Suddenly, my vision blackened and I passed out.

*8 years earlier*

"Ugh come Bree! You're so slow!" Joe shouted.

"Joey I don't think we're allowed to be here! Won't your mom get mad if you ruin your new jeans?" I replied.

"So? Who cares? We only live once Bree. It's time to have some fun. We could die tomorrow. Besides what's the wor-"

*BANG*

I snapped my head up to see what had happened, only to see Joe lying on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood.

"Bree... Help me." said Joe weakly.

"ARRRGGHHH!!" I screamed.

I ran out of the woods as fast as I could, not caring about my Sunday best dress and if it got ruined. I had to get out of there.

I reached my home, ran into the bathroom and threw up. After that I washed my face multiple times trying to get rid of the horrifying image that was engraved into my brain but it was no use. Whether my eyes were open or closed, the image was still there.

Joe's body was found a few months later in a river nearby his parents home, with weights attached to his body. I never forgot the day when his mother came to speak to me alone about Joe and asked me so many questions about his disappearance. It pained me to lie straight to her face. I cried myself to sleep for years after that...