Twisted Truths

Chapter 12: Losing Control

The dull vibration of my phone cut through the morning haze. I glanced over at Kelly, sprawled out on the bed beside me, her hair wild, her chest rising and falling as she slept off the last of our morning session. I reached for my phone, not expecting much, but the moment I saw the name on the screen, my mood soured.

Christine.

How the hell was she messaging me? She was supposed to be locked up, her plan falling apart just like everything else she touched. But the message was there, clear as day:

"James, I need you here. Now!"

I tossed the phone aside, glaring at it as though it could somehow change what was happening. This wasn't supposed to go like this. Christine was ruining everything. She'd always been the problem, hadn't she? Sure, I loved her once, but that was a lifetime ago. Now, all she did was mess up the plans I carefully laid out.

Kelly shifted beside me, mumbling in her sleep. My jaw clenched. She's not supposed to be waking up to this shit. I had it all under control, damn it. Everything was supposed to fall into place perfectly—Christine would take the fall, I'd have Kelly right where I wanted her, and my life would finally be... right.

But now? Christine was screwing everything up. Again.

I dressed quickly, barely glancing at Kelly as I slipped out of the room. She'd probably wake up soon, wondering where I'd gone, but I couldn't worry about that now. Christine was dragging me back into the mess, and it wasn't my fault. It was hers.

She should've stayed locked up.

By the time I reached Christine's place, I was seething. I slammed the car door shut and stormed up to the front door, not even bothering to knock before pushing it open.

There she was—Christine, pacing the living room, her face twisted in anger. She barely even looked at me as I walked in, still acting like she could boss me around, like she still had some control over this whole thing.

"James," she snapped, like I was the one that had messed up. "What the hell is going on?"

I crossed the room, my fists clenched at my sides. "What's going on? You ruined it, Christine. You messed up everything."

She stopped pacing and turned to me, her eyes flashing with fury. "I messed it up? You're the one who told me to go along with this. And now they're saying I killed a man? They say I hired him, James! They found my knickers at the scene! They showed me the evidence! There doing fucking D.N.A test on them. They have my DNA from years ago" Her voice was rising, panic creeping into her tone.

I gritted my teeth. "Of course the DNA will match. I put those knickers there."

She froze, staring at me like she couldn't quite believe what I'd just said. Her face went pale, and for the first time in a long time, I saw real fear in her eyes. It was cute.

"James... how could you?" Her voice was shaking now, not the Christine I knew. She was unravelling, and fast. "You — you put my knickers there? Why? Why are you doing this?"

I smiled, though there was nothing kind in it. "Because, Christine, I've always been in control. Always. You thought you were playing me? You thought you were the one pulling the strings? No. I've been playing you this whole time."

Her hands trembled as she took a step back, shaking her head in disbelief. "But... they think it was me. They're going to put me away for this, James. What the hell am I supposed to do? What do we do now?"

We. She still thought there was a "we." Still thought I'd help her, save her, fix this mess. How deluded could she be? This was all her fault.

I took a deep breath, forcing my anger down. "You should've stayed quiet, Christine. You should've trusted me. Now, you're panicking, and that's going to get you into even more trouble."

Her eyes were wide now, her breathing ragged. "You don't understand! They have evidence! They have—"

The door swung open, cutting her off mid-sentence.

Kelly stood in the doorway, her eyes sharp, dark, and dangerous. There was something feral about her, something that made my pulse quicken. The look in her eyes... it was the same look she'd had last night. That raw hunger. That danger.

She walked into the room slowly, her gaze flicking between Christine and me, as though she was piecing everything together. But I didn't care. I couldn't take my eyes off her. That wild look—it was the kind of danger I liked.

"Am I interrupting?" Kelly asked, her voice low, almost mocking.

I grinned, my heart pounding in my chest. This was it. This was the moment. Christine was falling apart, but Kelly... Kelly was different. She was strong. She could handle the danger.

I could feel it. The rush, the thrill. Everything was about to come crashing down, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next.