At Gunpoint

Chapter 9

With my hands I gestured we should hide. Harry gave me a look that said "obviously" in captial letters. I looked around the room that seemed to be lacking hiding places just for the special occasion. Before I knew what happened, Harry had dragged me along with him inside the closet. He was just quick aswell as careful enough to make it in time for the closet door to shut without a sound before the other door flew open.

"What did you say you needed?" A deep voice asked.

"My wallet, silly." Stacy answered. I quickly figured the man voice belonged to her clingy other half, Ethan.

Stacy scattered her things around the room and I crossed two fingers she wouldn't think of looking in the closet. She had a habit of leaving stuff just about everywhere. Harry probably felt my racing heart through both our chests, because he put a calming hand on my shoulder and slid it down my arm.

"Why are you stressing so much? Are we in a hurry?" Ethan coaxed and I heard a sloppy sound, assuming he had started kissing her somewhere. 'Yes you are yes you are' I mimed repeatedly with much annoyance.

"I guess we're not." Stacy's irritably silky voice mumbled and I registered a soft thud. Shit, they we're making out on the bed. Now? Really?

Due to the great (read: worst ever) timing, I could feel a persistant, oncoming sneeze wanting to make itself heard. I struggled to catch my breath and clenched one of the jumpers hanging in my field of vision. Just when I thought I was going to blow our cover completely, a massive hand clamped over my mouth. For a brief moment I thought I was going to sneeze anyway, but to my surprise, I didn't make a sound. Harry had some darn fast reflexes.

"Did you hear something?"

"Hear what?"

There was a moment of silence. I shut my eyes hard and prayed Harry wouldn't let go of his grip. If he did I'd most likely let out a breath so deep it'd bust us all together. We we're pressed to the wall so hard I started to imagine our bodies merging to one.

"I thought I heard someone inhale..." Ethan's voice mumbled.

"You're dumb." Stacy laughed and I heard the sloppy sounds again. I've been holding my breath for so long my face was starting to engage the same colour as my black eye.

"I found it!" Stacy yelled ecstatic. I prayed to some higher power she was talking about her wallet and not a condom. To my delight, guess number one seemed to have been on point.

"Let's go then." Ethan suggested, and for once I actually agreed with something he had to say. I had a bad habit of discretly rolling my eyes every time he opened his mouth. It was a strange feeling to almost have the urge to buy him a present for his outstanding suggestion. Within a minute or so, a door slammed shut and Harry let me out of his grip. I exhaled so deeply I felt like my lungs were tagging along with the air.

"Sorry about that. Sounds like I almost suffocated you." Harry apologized and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"It's fine, I'd rather die from lack of oxygen than of the rage of my room mate." I joked and spun around scanning the room for my laptop. My gaze locked on something flat and lilac peeking out from behind Stacy's headboard. "Oh, NOW it reveales itself."

I didn't feel like hanging out in enemy territory for much longer than was needed. As soon as I grabbed the laptop, me and Harry were out the door.

"Do you have your car? Can we go somewhere else? Campus gives my shivers."

Harry replied by pulling out his car keys from his back pocket. I smiled and we altered our direction towards the parking lot. Harry's car looked exactly like I had remembered it. The navy car paint shimmered in the sun but as much attention it drew towards itself in broad daylight, it must do quite the exact opposite at night. Harry walked infront of me, towering over his car, and me too for that matter. When he got there first, he casually held the door open for me.

"You got to be kidding?"

"What? I don't strike you as a gentleman?"

I shook my head with a smug on my face. Harry did a terrific job, acting hurt to the very core of his soul. I did a just as stunning performance seeing right through him. We drove into town nearby and steered our steps into a coffee shop.

"What did you need your laptop for anyway?" Harry asked, flopping down on the couch next to me.

"Did you notice the bars on his wrist?"

"What bars?"

I left Harry in ignorance as I tried to connect to the shop's wifi. With the tip of my tounge outside of my mouth in concentration, I found what I was looking for.

"There were five bars." I began and faced the laptop towards Harry so that he could see clearly. "Four next to each other with the fifth one crossing over the four in a diagonal, which suggested something's been count to five. I read this article at the end of senior year about a serial killer who counted his victims by burning bars into the inside of their wrists. Max..." I pushed away a wave of nausea when the picture returned to me. "Had the number five-"

"Which means he's the fifth victim." Harry finished and looked and me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Pretty much. Also," I continued, pointing to paragraphs of the article, "all victims so far have been students."