YOURS

Chapter 24

"Are these all of them?" Cole slid my phone back to me.

I took a big breath and a long pause. "Yes."

"You should have told me about them before." He was fighting his mind, I could tell from the way his hands gripped the counter. It was like when I walked in on him just a few minutes ago.

"I know. I'm sorry." I apologized. This time it was not out of fear or compliance.

"I think you should stay here." Cole looked to me and his hands let go of the counter.

"Okay." I nodded my head trying not to trigger Cole. I knew that we needed to have a bigger conversation and him being calm might not be an option.

Cole took a step towards me and I backed up. My eyes must have showed panic.

He raised his hands in the air. "I'm not going to hurt you." His hand closest to the counter reached over to the pizza to grab a slice.

I was being silly. Cole is fine.

"Can we talk about everything? I want to get everything out of the way so we can move on and trust each other. Especially if I'm staying here until we take care of the Zac situation." If I was going to ever get answers, I needed them now. If Cole gets upset I can deal with it.

"Everything?" He asked.

"Faith. Why was that picture in the dead FBI agents car? How did he die?" I blurted out.

Cole set down his food and wiped his hands on a napkin that was beside the box.

"Zac probably killed him. Or he got Alec to do it. I'm sure they took all sorts of evidence from the cabin and are using it to mess with us. They could give a lot of shit to the police to make me guilty. The picture was probably going to do that - if I didn't get to it."

"A lot of stuff like what?" I asked.

"More pictures." He sounded scared.

"What kind of pictures?" I pressed harder for information.

"We took pictures of everything. Memories for when the girls were gone. Sometimes we used them to show what could happen if anyone disobeyed." He made himself look me in the eyes. It was hard for him.

I thought back to the first few times I tried to look Cole in the eyes to figure him out. They were different now. Open about the guilt. No longer closed off and holding back his feelings.

"But Faith was happy in the picture?" I questioned.

Cole sighed. "She wasn't. I threatened to beat her if she didn't smile. I sent the picture to her family. They we going to pay us for her safe return. It  was accompanied with a picture in the same place but with her face beat to hell."

I closed my eyes. That was horrible to imagine.

"So you threatened to beat her if she didn't smile and then beat her anyway?" I scoffed.

Cole nodded with a frown.

"What things could they use against you? Anything else besides pictures?"

"Phone calls. Security camera footage if they got that. Mainly pictures though."

"Even if they send in pictures of you with girls they can't link you to me? Not immediately because there are none of me. Right?"

Cole stayed silent for longer than I would have preferred.

"No. There are some of you." He finally looked away from me.

"What? I don't remember you taking any!" I felt exposed.

Cole sighed. "Most of them are of you sleeping. Or passed out. I took some the first night you arrived. Zac took a few when you were in the basement. I'm in a few of them."

I tried my best to remember that Cole is a different person now. He wouldn't do this now.

My elbow propped my head onto the counter.

"So if he has these he has solid proof that you were there."

"He might also have the video of me killing Faith."

My head shot up to Cole. I started pacing around the living room. "Jesus, Cole!"

He didn't speak.

"A video? A fucking video?!" I half screamed.

"From the security cameras. Any fights or beatings are kept to use as persuasion if needed."

"Idiots. ALL OF YOU." I cried out.

They were just that. I can't believe they survived that long. There is evidence of every bad thing they've ever done!

"And Zac has all of this you think?" I asked.

Cole nodded.

"Great." I clapped my hands before pretending to blow my brains out with my fingers as the gun.

"If we get to him and Alec...."

"Yeah. Kill them? That'll fix everything. More death!" I pretended to sound on board.

Neither of us said anything for a while. We awkwardly stood across from each other finishing the pizza that had been the only innocent thing in this room. The air was thick and the tension high. We both knew we needed to calm down before talking again. Only bad things would accrue if we did anything other than  that.

It was getting late and I was tired. Cole was too. He yawned often.

I decided I was going to sleep and ran off to the bedroom.

After entering the room I cleared my stuff and put it in the corner to keep everything neat.

Cole walked through the door.

"I bought another blanket." He walked over to his closet and grabbed down a blanket that was still folded in ribbons. It was pink.

"It's pink?" I laughed a little.

"It's all they had left." He defended himself.

Why did he get another blanket? In case I came back over? 

He threw the blanket to me and I unwrapped it. It could cover the bed twice if needed.

"Can I?" Cole motion his head to the open spot beside me.

Could he? I was asking myself.

I nodded yes. Cole climbed onto the floor mattress and I tossed the blanket over us. He looked surprised that I was okay with sharing it with him.

"Do you think there is a chance they left evidence back at the cabin?"

Cole was taken back by my sudden shift of conversation.

"Maybe."

"Why?" He asked after hearing my silence.

"We should get rid of it."

"The evidence?"

I cleared my throat. "No. The whole damn cabin." I breathed in and slid down into my sleeping position.

Cole must have been thinking hard about what I said because he didn't respond. I fell asleep soon after he shut the lights off.

It didn't last for long. Cole and I were both woken up but my phone - the real one - going off. Someone was texting me.

I opened it.

"Who the hell?" Cole grunted.

I sat up in bed quickly after reading who the messages were from.

"I KNOW WHO YOU ARE." It read.

It was from Emma.