At All Costs || Jerrie

Chapter 31

Jade
Some of the pictures were from before we found out about his escape. Others were from our night out, when we went clubbing at Electric Ballroom.

"What the hell?"

A picture of me and Perrie eating breakfast at Raison D'etre caught my eye. Beginning to feel uncomfortable, observed, I ripped the picture off the wall. The person who took this photograph must've been standing on the other side of the street.

The one who took the picture clearly followed us throughout the day. Pictures of when we were at the zoo and then when we took the ferry and went for a romantic evening ride on River Thames hung on the wall. The photographer was on the ferry with us. And we didn't even know!

My blood began boiling when I caught a picture of Perrie walking into the school where she worked. Leigh was on the picture too.

Now I felt even more uneasy about the two being on a camping trip in the woods. They were probably getting photographed there too. And I wasn't there. I hoped they stayed with their students and didn't go away alone.

"Sam is either stalking us or he has more people on his side than we know of" I said slowly.

"We can scratch Kevin Lahey. What about Silas?" Jesy asked curiously.

"He did run away and now he's currently missing. Could be him" I said.

Looking around the basement, my eyes caught pictures from when we arrived at the crime scene where Madison Miller had been killed. A picture of Jesy and Zac kissing hung on the wall. There were pictures from when Kevin shot me with his taser, when I was given CPR, and when I was taken into an ambulance.

There where also pictures of the Jerrie-flat, of me standing on the balcony. Some creepy loser had actually come to our place. This was as messed up as it could get. And scary. We were being watched without even knowing it. Each one of us.

One picture in particular caught my attention. It was on all of us. This one was different from all the other pictures. Sam had taken this from Jesy's Instagram account. But it wasn't what worried me.

Across the picture, SOON was written in big bold, red letters. 'Soon'? When was 'soon'? And why 'soon' out of all the words he could've used?

He or the one who got him the picture had also drawn a big X across Perrie. I felt sick. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was after her as well, and not just me.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Before I could open my mouth and say anything about the cryptic picture, I heard heavy footsteps from above. They seemed to come closer the basement with each passing second.

"Bloody hell! He's home!" I exclaimed.

I grabbed Jesy by the arm and dragged her with me to a rusty desk. I threw her underneath it, then I joined her.

The door to the basement opened shortly after. Sam walked in. We breathed out in relief, we found a hiding place right in time. If he had seen us...ugh, just thinking about what he would've done made me light-headed.

Sam had a bunch of paper in his hands. Grinning like an idiot, he looked through them. I feared it was new pictures of us, feared that Sam had sent people to where Perrie and Leigh were at the moment.

"Soon" he said happily.

When he turned his back to us I caught a glimpse of a photo in black and white. I couldn't see it clearly but the person on the picture looked like Jesy, or me. It was hard to say. He attached the picture to the wall. He kept saying 'soon' as he looked at it.

A shiver cascaded down my spine. This didn't feel good. My tanned skin turned into goosebumps when he laughed. His laugh wasn't joyful, like laughs usually were. His laugh was cold, heartless, murderous.

I knew him so well I could tell he had a plan, a plan he was confident in. Sam never showed any joy or happiness unless something really good had happened, or a plan of his had succeeded.

"Oh, fuck!"

Jesy's phone started ringing.

"Huh?"

Sam turned around. Oh-oh. He heard it.

"Slaving in the kitchen, iced you a cake
Then I served you a plate, but that ain't what you ate, no
We been busy doing all Fifty Shades
While we listen to Drake, we on that hot love and emotion..."

She struggled with getting the phone out of her pocket. When she finally had it, however, she couldn't turn it off.

For the love of God.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" I whisper-screamed to Jesy.

Too late. Sam had already heard her phone and he was on his way over to us. Great. God knows what he'll do to us now. Might as well call Perrie and say my final words.

My heart pounded dangerously fast in my chest. My pulse increased the closer Sam got. The old wooden floorboards creaked for every step he took.

A terrified squeal escaped mine and Jesy's lips when he threw himself to the floor and shouted:

"Gotcha!"

Acting on the first thing my brain told me, I threw myself at him and buried my teeth in his hand. I bit him so hard he started bleeding. I tasted it in my mouth. Ew.

"Bitch!" Sam shouted furiously.

With his free hand, he punched me in the face. I flew off his muscular body. Before I could react or even think of what just happened, Jesy grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the basement. We ran up the stairs, pushed furniture to the sides and didn't stop screaming.

It was first when we were safe in my beloved Range Rover that we could breathe out.

"Holy shit!" Jesy exclaimed while catching her breath.

"Holy shit indeed" I replied, a little shaken up.

"Are you okay? Did he hit you hard?" She asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you alright?" I asked.

"Uh, no. I want to get out of here. Now" she said seriously.

"That makes us two."

I put the key in the ignition and twisted it. The engine roared to life. I didn't bother to put my seat-belt on. It could wait until we got far, far away from here.

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What do you guys think Sam means when he says 'soon'?

xxMxx