The Psychopath Maker

Chapter Fifty-Eight

A Week Later...

Benny was going to wait until Isabeth came to Malachi's SUV. Most of the graduates gravitated to the black truck bumping beats that were louder than the audience's applause at their graduation earlier that day. But she didn't. So, he swallowed his nerves and jogged across the student parking lot.

He stopped at the green Land Rover as Isabeth started to hoist up a stuffed suitcase. He wrenched the handle from her, "You shouldn't be lifting that."

Isabeth let him take the luggage from her and watched him push it in the back of the truck. She then shifted her gaze over to the laughter ricocheting across the parking lot. Smiles were plastered on the faces of people she knew for years. They reminisced about their first day at Dawson Prep, game days, and prank wars. Hugs were given out like Halloween candy and plans for later meet ups were setup. The air was filled with excitement as life rewarded them with endless possibilities of thrill. But she didn't feel that exhilaration. She was weighed down with the pounds of regret and guilt that sat on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Benny spoke plainly.

She refocused on him, his sagging shoulders and melancholy in his cognac eyes. "Lucas wasn't your fault." She scraped her teeth over her bottom lip. "Him killing Brittany, Kevin, and Mya wasn't your fault." She fixed the falling strap of her sundress. "You didn't know he was The Impostor."

"He came here with me." He closed his eyes then rubbed his hand down his face. "Gavin's in a coma...cause I brought my mess into your world." He watched the sunshine over her golden skin and wondered how she could still be so beautiful and sad at the same time. "I ruined your senior year and I'm sorry." 

The sun's radiance made her back tingle and the humidity made her purple sundress stick to her skin. "You were chasing a ghost." She weakly shrugged. "I endured The Maker for a few weeks and you were tormented for a year. This person ruined your life and killed someone you loved...I would try to find them, too." She took a step closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I don't blame you. We all did things.... things we wouldn't normally do."

Benny pulled her hand off his shoulder, "And we still lost." He kept her hand buried in his, "Fulton was many things...a rapist, a cheater, a liar...but he was right about one thing...evil can not be locked away; it must be wiped out."

Isabeth unknowingly weaved her finger between his, "All by yourself?"

"My burden." He declared. "My chore."

"I let them out so...its as much my burden and chore as yours."

"You're with child."

"I won't be in six months."

"I want you to take Faith's advice." He spoke. She glanced over at Faith leaning on Malachi's car with a new do—black hair just above the shoulders. "Act like this was a nightmare and once you leave." He stepped closer to her, her body heat bringing chills to his skin. "When your plane is hovering thousands of feet above the ground wake up and live your life as nothing happened."

"I will..." She closed the space between them, their bodies touching. "If you will." He tried to pull away as he shook his head but she placed his arm around her waist. "I can't have the fake father of my child take on the role of Psychopath Hunter. It's been a week and nothing has happened. Nobodies have dropped matching their MO."

 She'd been watching the news and news websites looking for murders that matched the killing style of The Mockingbird, The Vampire, Mime, and his hallmates but there hadn't been anything. 

"So, until they do we live a normal life. Go to college. Party. Date people." She winked.

He barely smiled at her playful wink, "You really think that's plausible. The Maker is done with us."

"I haven't got a letter." She let go of his hand but he kept holding her waist. "Have you?"

"No." She draped her arms over his shoulders. "Now, kiss me. So, people can believe we're madly in love and—"

He cut off her words matching his lips with her plump lips tasting her cherry lip-gloss. He passionately pursued what he desired since he first laid eyes on her. Bodies glued together he explored her mouth, discovered her essence and devoured her moans. Pulling away proved to be impossible when he was pleasing his enchantress but he found his inner Hercules and pulled away. Her low hum and flustered cheeks made him want to go in for another dose but he fought the urge.

"Was that believable, enough?" Benny breathed out as he rested his forehead against hers.

Isabeth wrapped her arms around his neck still catching her breath, "Oh, yeah!" 

Her smile rivaled the sun. "Benjamin Alexander...very convincing."