✓ | WELCOME TO DEADTOWN → original

fifteen

                    THE DOOR SLAMMED SHUT BEHIND AIDEN AS HE REENTERED THE HOUSE, SHAKEN UP BY WHAT HAD HAPPENED OUTSIDE. He felt like every part of him was ice cold, and the house couldn't warm him up no matter how much heat flowed through its walls.

"Aiden?" He heard Kayden's soft voice, and suddenly understood all at once. He knew why she hadn't wanted to tell him, why she kept excusing Kyle's behavior, why she loved- or thought she loved- the manipulative fucker. Because he had branded her. The sick fuck had given no other though to carving his name in her skin, and if that wasn't completely fucking disgusting, Aiden didn't know what it was.

There was obviously something very wrong with Kyle Becker, something psychopathic about him. But his hopes were dashed of Kyle having anything do with the murders and being locked away forever- the one at his party had happened while he had been confronting him and Kayden. There was no way he could have killed anyone.

But if he hadn't done it, who the fuck had?

"Aiden?" Her voice was clearer now, and he looked up, his eyes focusing on her form standing at the kitchen door.

Her blonde hair fell against in her back, and her blue eyes were wide and alert. His eyes fell to her slightly overly large tshirt, and knew that under it, those initials were imbedded.

His voice came out sudden and harsh. "We need to talk."

Kayden drew back ever so slightly, and Aiden knew it was probably instinct from all the times Kyle had came after her in a rage. "What about?"

He jerked his head towards the stairs. "Privately?"

She hesitated, and then slowly nodded. He lead the way up the staircase, calling to Reed and Gen that they would be back in a moment. They reached the top and went into the first bedroom they found; most likely a guest room.

Aiden shut the door, and Kayden laughed nervously. "We're not following in Reed and Gen's footsteps, are we?"

Aiden allowed himself to smile, despite the queasiness of his stomach as he remembered how Kyle had been watching him in the woods. "No, unfortunately not."

A silence fell between the two of them, and Kayden said quietly, as if she was about to cry, "Aiden?"

He held up a hand, sighing. "Don't talk yet. Okay? I need to ask you something, and I need you to answer me honestly."

She swallowed, and then closed her mouth, waiting. He sat down beside her on the bed, angling his body so that it was facing her own. He took a deep breath, and then said lowly, "When you went back to Becker's house, did he hurt you?"

He could feel her body stiffen. And he felt the force hitting him in the side when she said, "What? No."

He barked out a laugh, running his hands through his hair, pulling at the roots. "That's bullshit. That is such bullshit. And you know it, and I know it. So I'm going to ask you again: When you went back to Becker's house, did he hurt you?"

She closed her eyes, wishing anything and everything would just disappear. Without another word, she nodded, the blackness of her eyelids enveloping her vision.

"Right," Aiden said, his voice harsh. "Right. What did he do?"

Her voice trembled as she kept her eyes firmly shut. "He was angry at me, and he wanted me to know it. I shouldn't have left in the first place."

"Kayden," Aiden reached out and took her hands inside of his own. "Show me."

She reopened her eyes, staring at him. Slowly, she took one hand from his own, and pulled down her shirt to reveal her collarbone.

He gave an intake of breath, and almost thought he was going to puke. The letters still not healed from her skin were worse than he thought. Slashed carelessly, and deeply, into her collarbone was Kyle. He didn't even want to think about what it had been like for her.

"What the fuck," His voice was shaking with rage. "Did he do to excuse himself?"

Kayden started to breath deeply, putting a hand to her temple. "He just- said I needed to know who I belonged to. And then he told me he was going-"

A sob slipped from her mouth, and she clapped a hand to it, a tear spilling down her cheek. "I sound so stupid right now. I fucking hate this."

He squeezed her hand tightly, his grip not letting up. "He told you he was going to what?"

The tears started to flow now, pouring down her sunken cheeks. It hit him how destroyed she really was, the pain in her eyes clearly visible. It seemed as if the whole disgusting mess of Kyle Becker's actions had just now hit her.

"He said he was going to hurt you," She gasped, clutching his hand in her own. "Aiden, I can't let that happen to you. I can't."

"So, what, your solution is get thrown around by him for me?" He said furiously. "That hurts me even more than anything he could do. He's a coward, Kayden. Any male human being who takes pleasure in hurting women is a fucking coward. He doesn't deserve pity, and he definitely doesn't deserve your love. You deserve someone who loves you for you, Kayden, and doesn't try to twist you around to be what they want. That's not love. That's manipulation, and Kyle Becker is a master of it. He's drowning you, Kayden. Look at you, you can barely breathe right now!"

He was right. She was shaking her head, choking on air, too overcome with everything that had happened to her since the day of the first murder to even think straight, much less talk.

She managed to stutter something, her eyes bloodshot. "He's not going to s-stop. Something is happening with h-him. He's not himself. He's disturbing, Aiden. I don't kn-know what's going on anymore. I d-don't feel fucking safe. It's like- it's like he enjoys hurting me."

Her voice cracked, and Aiden threw his arms around her, pulling her into his body. She clung to him as if he was her lifeline, her hard exterior finally coming apart at the seams.

They sat there, his head on top of her own, holding onto one another. When her sobs finally faded out, her eyes puffy and red, the only sound was the wind making branches hit the window.

Suddenly, Kayden's phone began to ring. They both jumped, and then stared at the other, their eyes wide.

She pulled it out of her pocket, bracing herself for Kyle's name to flash up at her, and then face morphed into confusion when "Lex" was there instead.

She showed it to Aiden, saying hoarsely, "It's Lex."

He was bewildered. "What does she want? It's four am."

Kayden looked back down at the phone and then pressed "accept", putting her on speaker.

"Kayden!" Lex's voice was hysterical.

"Lex?" Kayden asked as Alexis began to speak in a high-pitched voice, her words stringing together so fast they couldn't even understand her. "Lex, calm down, we can't understand you."

There was the crackle of static before Alexis spoke again, her voice thick with a sob. "Kayden- Kayden, have you seen the news?"

"What?" Kayden and Aiden locked eyes. "No, I haven't, not since after Kyle's party. What is it?"

Lex's voice was trembling. "Kayden- the body they found- the girl that was raped-"

She breathed again as her voice broke. When she finally spoke again, it was as if she didn't even believe what was coming out of her own mouth. "Kayden, the girl they found- it was Eliza."

and we have our first death of the "find-out-who-the-murderer-is" or as i like to call them, FOWTMI. who's the murderer? or does everyone still suspect kyle becker? remember to vote and comment, i'll see you next chapter