[ɪ ʟᴇᴛ ᴍʏ ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ]

5

??? pov

I sat on my couch on my phone. I was feeling feelings I could not control. I didn't understand. The news of the fire at the station had just gone viral. Showing on the news on TV, and many articles on the internet. The words JUSTICE FOR EMILY on the grass near the station. Lit on fire in the middle of the night while many officers burned to death. It sounds like a movie, almost fake. There's no way that Sam could have overpowered so many officers. He's doing something horrible now. Something bad. And I don't know if I could say it's my fault. I don't know if I can stop it. And I'm so tempted to.

I stood up from my couch and went to the kitchen and sat down on a chair next to the counter. I grabbed a bag of chips near me and ate them while I started watching YouTube on my phone. I was addicted to it and trying to get off of it, but right now I just need to feel okay. But the feeling wouldn't go away. I had this knot in my stomach that was killing me now more than ever. Ever since Sam was caught with what he did I've been devastated. Inside me gets twisted more and more. Like my veins are just wrapping around my heart and suffocating it. I've been going to therapy but it doesn't help. It doesn't get rid of this feeling. I don't know if I will ever be able to get rid of it. It kills me. Destroys me. Tears welled up in my eyes and began to fall. My phone is on the counter while still eating chips. I had my arms held up to my knees. I just sat there.

A few minutes later I heard my front door open. "Mom?" I heard a little voice ask. I quickly wiped away my tears and walked towards them. I saw my little boy Nate. His shaved head and cute little backpack. He was in kindergarten. The school only went until noon. He jumped right to me and hugged my legs. Then ran right upstairs. My husband Jackson walked right up to me and put his hand on my cheek, wiping underneath my eye.

"Are you okay Emily?"

We both made eye contact and I immediately looked down. I went and sat back at the counter. He came and sat next to me. He began to rub my back.

"What should I do?" I ask. You could tell that I had been crying. My voice was choppy.

"You want to do something about it?" He asked.

We sat for a few moments in silence. "Maybe-" I said

... "Honey you don't have to do anything, you know that. You didn't cause this, he's just doing this."

... "I know, there's just this nagging feeling that maybe I can help." They both looked at each other for a few seconds.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." He said. I stood up and walked over to the couch. He walked behind me. We both sat. "What would you even do?" He asked.

I thought for a second. Tears cupped my eyes again. "I would have to go to the police and tell them who I am. And then find out if I can help in any way."

We held each other's hands. I crawled onto his lap as we cuddled. "Do you care about Sam?"

I sat in silence. I didn't know how to answer. He was my brother, my best friend. But he abandoned me. And he's a serial killer. And he wants me back for what? Does he think I'm gonna comfort him? Go live with him wherever he's hiding? No. I wouldn't. I wouldn't.

"No, I just don't want anyone else getting hurt," I said in a calm voice.

He nodded his head and cuddled me more. "Just keep yourself safe."

Colby pov

I scroll some more through an article I just found. Reggie and I had looked through many things. I described the things I had seen in my dream. Like a big lunch room. I thought maybe it was my old school. But it's not. The logo with a boy on a bridge. I now remembered a few letters on it. LAMP. Those were the letters across it. With the boy on a bridge above it. It was a metal sign above a big set of brown wooden doors. Now thinking about it, it seemed like a private type of school. I remember a graveyard. So I don't think it's super near a lot of buildings. Or in a populated place of town. Hell, it could be hours away from here. But I think we found it. It took us about 3 hours. But Reggie stumbled on a photo that looked just like the logo. Then we found out everything about it.