Blood Spilled and Secrets Exposed

Chapter Four

Blake's words only seem to reverberate in my head as each minute passes. Even if he doesn't say it, I know he blames me for his relationship's secrecy. I know I certainly would if I were in his position. He wasn't supposed to inherit the company. I was. If only things hadn't gone so wrong at my last school.

Moonlight is the only source of illumination in my hospital room tonight and it's not a very good source as bright as it is. The different pieces of furniture around me cast ominous shadows, forming shapes eerily human-like.

Normally I'd be asleep right now, but with a mixture of all of the machines hooked up to me and Blake's arrival earlier, sleep evades me. On top of that, I can't take a walk either because of these stupid machines, so here I am: stuck in my hospital room, staring at the ceiling, and obsessing over the events of today.

Did I want to be stabbed? No. No one asked for my consent in that matter. All I knew at that point was I trusted Alex and what she and the boys had been doing to keep me safe. Can't say this craziness is much different from that of my old boarding school. The one I attended before- well before I was disowned. There's nothing I can do now, though. I'll just have to talk to Alex the next time I see her.

Snapping me out of my thoughts, my ears hear a subtle rustle from a shadowed corner of the room. The hairs on my neck and arms raise and I can immediately tell there's something not right. I feel as if I'm being watched. As cautiously as possible, I move my hand over the call button, ready to press it if anything jumps out at me.

"Is there someone there? If so, show yourself," I say, almost whispering out of pure fear.

Almost as if someone was responding to me, I hear the lock on the door click into place. Light footsteps approach where I'm laying and I feel my body start to take over in its fight or flight response. My hand presses down on the call button and I try to position myself in the best way possible to defend myself.

"Whoever's there, I just pressed the call button, someone will get here any minute," I warn, hoping that alone will send my attacker away.

The attacker snickers and responds, "Sweetie, by the time someone gets in, you'll be dead."

"What do you want?" I growl. "You sent Chelsea after me first and now you're here to finish the job? Why do you want me dead so badly?"

"You remind Eric of a girl who's gotten in my way once before. She hurt him and now you're doing the same. I'm simply doing my job as his protector. I can't let you stuck up bitches continue to hurt him this way. There must be consequences to your actions."

"Wait, so you're the one who killed Emma? And did you tell Chelsea?"

The attacker snarls and places a knife to my throat before whispering, "A bit talkative, aren't we? Trying to stall, so you won't die, I assume. Well, sorry, but I pulled the plug to that call button while you were out on those drugs earlier."

Shit. Of course, they did. I should've known that they were a bit too cocky from the start. I'm going to die and I'm utterly helpless.

"What if I leave? I leave this school, city, all of it, and never speak of what happened here? Is that punishment enough?"

They snort. "Did you think that I didn't know your true identity, Gwen Livingston? Or that you ran away from home because of your disownment? Trust me, death is the only valid option for you."

The blade's pressed harder on my neck and I feel it tear skin and draw blood. Before it can dig any deeper, the door handle starts wiggling.

"Gwen, baby? It's your mom, can you please come and unlock this door?" my mother's voice rings out from the hall.

"Mom, help! Some psycho is trying to kill me!" I scream as I slam my elbow into the killer's side.

The killer grunts as they fall to the floor. Seemingly muttering profanities, they grab their knife and escape out the window. By the time my mother returns with a worker to unlock the door, the killer's long gone and I lay in bed with a bleeding neck.

My mom takes one look at me before rushing to my side crying, "Are you ok? I'm so sorry I wasn't here earlier today. I'm so sorry you were hurt. If I'd just fought harder for you to stay in the Livingston house, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Mom, I'm ok. If you hadn't shown up when you had, I'd be dead right now."

"Hunny, just apologize to your father and agree to the-"

I cut her off as soon as I realize where she's going with her plea.

"Mom, no. I refuse to submit to father's demands all in the name of his company. The last thing I want to do is to be forced into a relationship or job just because it's what's most convenient for him. I would've gladly inherited Apple if I could do it alone."

Mom just places her face in her hands and sighs.

"As much as I agree with you, Gwen, I hate seeing you putting yourself in danger because of your stubbornness. Quit being so hard-headed and come home."

"I wish I could. I don't like staying away from home. I won't budge on this, though. You can tell Dad that too after he finds out that you snuck over to the hospital to see me."

"Fine. Now go to sleep and I'll stay by your side until you do. Then I have to head back home and deal with your father."

As I try to make myself comfortable, I grasp her hand if only to absorb as much of her presence as I can before she disappears from my life, yet again. Sleep doesn't come easy, but I have one last thought before I finally drift off: I'll figure out who that killer is.

*~*

So, yes, I know it's been a while since I uploaded any sort of update or post for my stories, but now that quarantine is a thing, I've been doing a lot of writing and playing catch up with the four novels I have uploaded right now. I'm starting to put a writing schedule in place which you'll be able to find in my bio. With all that said, please make sure to comment and vote!