Life Is A Nightmare

Chapter Twenty One: Everything Isn't Perfect

(Gavin)

I can't get his eyes out of my head, the same blue eyes Jayden described, and I know for a fact were watching me too. On more than one occasion he's been there. He's been closer than I thought and not just in the background hiding in the shadows. He's been too close for comfort right in front of me all along pretending to be my dad's good friend for the past five years and I didn't know. How could I have known when he made sure to keep his identity of who and what he is a secret?

I can picture the day I first met Jordan in my head now. I was thirteen and I was going to spend the weekend at my dad's. He promised nothing would change the plans we made, and I believed him. I wanted to have hope that my dad could make a promise and keep it, but I was wrong.

As soon as he opened the door the excitement, I had escaped me once I saw the look on his face when he answered the door, "Gavin, you're here?" he questioned looking lost and confused.

I slipped his mind and it shouldn't have been anything new to me, but it still hurt. It still affected me, but I tried my hardest to hide it. I didn't want to show him how much it hurt that he couldn't give me one day when he could give the past more attention than anything else.

Right then I wanted to leave. I wanted to turn around and go home. I didn't want to listen to him attempt to comfort me when nothing he could say was going to make it better. There was nothing I wanted to hear him say at that point when I was sick and tired of what he chose to prioritize in his life instead of me.

Looking back, I think that was the day he started to drift away from me more, but I didn't realize it. I didn't see this new friend was going to cause him to be dragged into the past even more, but it makes perfect sense. My dad never wanted to be in the present with Vivian gone and Jayden convicted of the crime. He didn't want to be in the present when the past, how horrible it must have been, was what he was used to and couldn't leave behind. And now he had Jordan that probably made it worse.

I remember walking inside still hiding how I felt inside and that's when I saw him. He didn't introduce himself as Jordan and his eyes were never blue but a dull brown, I realize now are contacts. Everything about him is a disguise, a lie he keeps up to be close to our family he destroyed.

He's a killer, he's the person responsible for tearing our family apart but why? Why did he do it? Why did he kill Vivian and put all the blame on Jayden? Why did he approach my dad and become friends? What does my dad know about him because it can't be his real name or his eyes too haunting and familiar? What is he getting out of all of this? And what does the past before Vivian died have to do with any of this?

"Will you tell me what happened?" Cole asks again as he continues to drive back.

I haven't said anything since I got in the car. I've been trapped in my head instead of trying to figure out what I should do. Too many thoughts running through my head. Too many dark possibilities I don't want to come true. "Gavin?"

"I don't know." I don't know what the doctor knows and how she has a picture. I don't know what it means and what she is trying to do by asking questions about Jayden's past. I don't know what to think of my dad and Jayden being closer to the truth without realizing its been staring them in the face the entire time. "He's been there the whole time."

"Who?"

"Jordan, the person responsible for everything." I finally say out loud, but it doesn't help. It doesn't make me feel better to know the truth of who really killed Vivian and has been following me. It only makes things so much worse knowing what I know.

"We should tell someone."

"Who?" Who would believe me?

                                      -----

(Third Person)

He stands in the living room smiling, happy with himself to be the one in charge again, "Life is a nightmare sometimes. Dark and disturbing in ways you wish it wasn't. Monsters like me lurking around every corner and you don't know when they will grab ahold of you and never let you go. Oh, come on don't be so surprised. You had to know this was going to happen sooner or, later right? I've always thought I made it clear I've never really liked you. I hate you to be quite honest, but I must admit I can't hate you completely. After all, you did help me cover up Sean's death."

"You said.."

"Yeah, I remember I said it was an accident and the funny thing is you actually believed me. You thought I was telling the truth for once and it was so easy to fool you. Put on the face of a son so scared and frighten needing my dad to help me. Just like how I used you to get me into the institution, to begin with. See I never really, well I did, want to hurt you but I needed to do something to get you to admit me as a patient. I wanted to be close to Jayden after everything I did to get him to end up there. Remember I was the one to have you talk on his behalf of being sent there? I set everything in motion to get what I wanted because I wanted him. I deserve him more than anyone and he loves me. I just needed to get rid of his sister for him to notice me and have him all to myself like I always wanted."

"No, Jordan." the man on the floor bleeding from his wound says. Disbelief in his eyes not wanting this to be true. Needing this to be some drawn out delusion his son is making up because for it to be the truth pains him. Pains him more than anything to know he didn't do anything to stop this. He didn't see his son needed him more than his patients he always sought to help.

"Yeah dad, it was me. I killed her. I followed him to that stupid maze and knocked him out. I knocked her unconscious too and drove to the house Jayden called home for the first few years of his life. I thought it would be perfect to kill her. I mean yeah it was going to hurt him at first, but he got over it. He moved on from missing Vivian when he has me," Jordan says pointing to himself so determined to make it clear it had to be this way. "There was no other way dad. He loves me now and that's what matters. We're happy and I'm going to have this baby we made together. Neither you, Gavin or the past is going to ruin this. Not even that stupid replacement you hired can interfere with the future I planned for Jayden and I. Now all I got to do, is get rid of you. Then take care of that stupid nuisance of a brother of his and everything will go back to normal. Everything will be fine again. Everything will be perfect." Jordan says.

                               -------

Everything isn't perfect as I walk into my dad's. I know it isn't the moment the dreadful feeling I had in the pit of my stomach the entire drive home worsens at the sight of Jordan. "I think it's time we had a little chat Gavin, don't you?" he says walking towards me, and I'm frozen in place unable to move, unable to yell for help.

He stops in front of me and my mind goes to dark thoughts while my heart races. Thinking of how stupid it was to come here alone but I didn't know. I didn't think he would be here before me, but I should have known. Should have considered the possibility he would get to my dad first and it terrifies me to think what he's done since I arrived. "Wha- why?" I'm barely able to let escape me.

A terrifying smile engulfs his face, "You really should have left the past where it belonged Gavin. We both know it's never helped your dad to fixate on it now has it?"