The Man In The Woods (Virgin Killer #1)

CHAPTER THREE

As soon as I heard the front door close, I jumped up from my bed, ran out my bedroom door and went downstairs into the living room. Momma was sitting on the couch with her briefcase at her side: She's a criminal defense lawyer, and she's a very good one from what the other lawyers told me. Momma is 5'3", has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and pale skin (although she's tan). Today, she was wearing a dark blue dress with long sleeves, black high heels and a pair of matching silver earrings. I walked over to one of the reclining chairs and sat down on the one closest to the couch. There are two reclining chairs (one on either side of the couch) but the other one is near the window that shows a view of the block, and I don't like that one so much.

I ran my hand through my hair and sighed as I looked at my mom. An anguished expression appeared on her face. I didn't doubt the fact that Christopher called her on her way home and told her everything like he always does whenever something happens with me. But the thing that really pisses me off about my brother is that he's 27 years old, and he blows everything out of proportion and makes the situation seem a hell of a lot worse than it already is! But the reason why I tell him is only because he's my brother, I mean; he deserves to know about this as much as our mom does. Momma cleared her throat and smoothed out her dress with both hands before she said: "So Skyler, your brother called me, all upset and imploring me to return home as soon as possible. He told me that you were almost run over by a car; because you were aimlessly standing out in the street without any concern of the traffic" - she paused to lift my head up by my chin to meet her at eye level, for I'd looked down so I could conceal the aggravation on my face - "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"You want the God's honest truth, right? Well, Chris didn't tell you the whole story, so here's how it began." I took a deep breath and combed my hand through my hair as I spoke. "I was walking home from school, like usual, when I saw a man staring at me on the other side of the street. But his stare wasn't a normal stare; it was as if he wanted to hurt me. And the scary part about it was I felt drawn to him... I know it sounds hard to believe, but that's how I felt, although he frightened me at the same time."

"Well, if that's how you felt then why did you walk out into the middle of the street?" Christopher asked when he suddenly entered the room. Momma and I both whipped our heads into Chris's direction, and I shot a cold glare at him. "Christopher, when Skyler and I are talking I would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt us. She'll answer you when she's answered my questions," Momma said in what I would like to think of as her lawyer voice. I thought of making a snide comment about the whole not-talking-to-cops-without-having-an-attorney-present thing, but we were having a serious conversation. Christopher scoffed and walked to the other end of the couch and plopped onto one of the cushions with a book in his lap. It was another one of James Patterson's Alex Cross novels: Along Came a Spider. I also noticed that he wasn't in his detective outfit either. Now he was wearing an old white wife-beater shirt and gray sweatpants, his dark brown hair was a rat's nest, literally, and dark circles surrounded his green eyes. I felt so guilty at that moment for yelling at him earlier, and I felt even worse for treating him like hell.

I stared down at the hardwood floor. The situation with the murders of his friends and the perpetrator's sentencing was taking its toll on my brother, and now that this thing with the man occurred today, I ended up putting more stress on his plate. Tears welled up in my eyes as I realized what I had done. And in that same moment I felt hands on my shoulders, shaking me. Instantaneously I snapped my head upward and saw Momma's face; it was pale, and full of deep concern. "Skyler, baby, what's the matter?" her voice was filled with panic, her eyes were wide, and her hands were trembling at an insane level.

Chris was already up off the couch; his large hands cupped my face and the next thing I knew I was looking at him. I looked crazy; I know that for a fact because of the frantic look on Chris's face. I know that he doesn't think that I'm really crazy, but he can't help that his facial expressions say otherwise. "I-I'm sorry," I stuttered, "for everything that happened today." Chris sighed in exasperation and wiped away my tears while Momma stated, "Oh, honey, it isn't your fault. What makes you think that way?" I opened my mouth to reply, but instead, Chris spoke for me; "Because of what happened to Skyler today, she wanted to let us know, like any rational person would. But then she found out about the murders that happened recently, and it got out of hand because I yelled at her and lost control." I abruptly shook my head at the last part and looked at Momma. "It's not Chris's fault," I said as calmly as I could. "It's mainly my fault."

"Well, it takes two people to tango, Skyler," Momma responded. "Yeah, don't take all the blame, sis," my brother agreed. With a nod, I pulled away and laid back on the grass-green recliner. "Okay, you guys win," said I. "What do you say we discuss how today's trial went, Momma?" I looked over at her as she and Chris sat back down. "Oh!" she exclaimed, returning my gaze. "It went very good, he got sentenced to 90 days of community service," she replied. "I know it sounds bad, but it's better than spending time in prison," she quickly added. Chris glanced up from his book and looked at her. "Well," he started, "what did he do to get community service and not go to prison?"

"Chris, I'd rather not discuss the details with you. But let's just say that he's a young man who made a mistake, like we all do in our lives because we are only human, after all."

I smiled widely as I added, "Yeah, 'cause the only way you're old and wise is be young and stupid." Chris laughed as he shifted his eyes at me. "Skyler, where did that come from?" he asked. "I heard it from you!" I said, directing my index finger at my brother. I could feel my cheeks getting hot, and Momma and Chris started laughing. And I joined in. Then, out of the blue, we heard someone knock on the door. I rose from my chair and strolled to the door, ecstatic from the final bit of the conversation. Opening the door, I was astonished to find that no one was there. My eyebrow arched skyward as I stepped out onto the porch. I looked around the area, and again I saw no one. "Hello?" I called out. No response. I called out again, louder this time, and still no answer. Huh, some kid's just playing Ding Dong Ditch, I thought to myself as I turned on heels to head back into the house, but then someone grabbed me from behind.

Whoever it was clasped their hand around my mouth while the other made its way around my waist. His breath was warm on my ear as he spoke: "My name is Casanova, the world's greatest lover. I've chosen you tonight as my mistress out of all the ladies in St. Peter's Town. Aren't you excited?" And then I finally recognized who it was. It was my friend Christian, and he was imitating Casanova (well, the fictional serial killer from Kiss the Girls)! I elbowed him in the gut to get him to release me from his possessive grip. "Kiss the girls on your own from now on, 'Casanova'," I said playfully as he placed his hand on his stomach and pretended to be fatally wounded. "Oh, you got me..." he groaned sarcastically. Straightaway I broke into laughter. And he smiled. "Did I scare you, Sky?" he asked. "Eh, just a smidge," I answered.

Christian is 5'9", lean and fit (like my brother), has red hair like Ed Sheeran, and blue eyes, which looks very good with his paste-white skin. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him, but instead of returning the hug he decided to sweep me off my feet and carry me through the threshold and into the living room. "Hey guys, look who stopped by!" I said excitedly as Christian set me on my feet. "I was wondering what was taking you so long out there, and then I heard laughing," Momma said as she stood up and walked up to us, embracing him. "It's good to see you, Christian," she added. He chuckled and hugged her back. "It's great to see you too, Mrs. Williamson," replied Christian as he pulled away and we sat on the recliner (Christian sat normally while I sat bridal-style on his lap).

"Wait there, you two," Christopher said as he stood up and approached us. I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "You okay, Chris?" I asked. "We're not doing anything we shouldn't be doing," Christian mused. "Oh, I know," said Chris, "but I still want to make sure." He winked at me before he turned and walked upstairs, leaving his book on the couch. "What's wrong with your brother?" I heard Christian whisper in my ear. I shook my head and whispered back, "It's a long story," before I grabbed the remote on the coffee table and turned the TV on.

Momma, Christopher, Christian and I all took turns on picking out what movies to watch, it took a while but we finally agreed on two movies: Kiss the Girls and The Man in the Iron Mask. But while we were watching Kiss the Girls, all I could think of was the masked man who stared evilly at me. His eyes were mesmerizing how they were trance-like as he stared into mine. I wondered what color they were, and what he was thinking when he looked at me. But what bugged me the most was the mask. Who is he? I thought. Why was he staring at me the way he did? Why did he even bother wearing a mask at all? It was all too much to think about in one night, I concluded, it can wait until tomorrow.

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~S.M.