Killer One ✓

Chapter 32

Lacey.

Ben was kind enough to buy the camera that I had picked out. The man that owned the store we were in ended up being named Martin and he was much more talkative once he realized Ben was going to spend a lot. Well, he was nowhere near as talkative as Hannah but he introduced himself and asked if we were new around here. Ben told him yes and just like at the cafe with Meredith, Martin seemed to already know the answer.

He nodded, "You're the new kids that finally took over the old Haddish Farm, right?" He nodded to himself before we could confirm or deny this. "I knew 'em before they had to get rid of it. Was nice back in the day." And then Martin leveled us with a look that just said we had better not mess the farm up because he obviously had standards on where it should be, despite the fact that it was dormant for years.

We visited one other place for Hannah and Ben and I waited in the car that time because there wasn't much around. Ben had opened one of the security camera boxes he bought and was reading through the pamphlet that came with it.

I tapped the tip of my lip as I looked out the window. Two women jogged by on the sidewalk and one truck passed us as we sat parked on the curb.

"What?" Ben asked, not looking up from the instructions he was reading.

I watched as he grabbed the security camera and started inspecting it. I didn't answer because I figured he was just talking out loud and trying to figure out how to work it.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, startling me. "You have something on your mind."

I frowned, confused on how he knew this because I did. "If you were me and all of your stuff was at your old apartment, would you go back to get it?" I asked.

It seemed like such a silly question now that I voiced it out loud. There was no immediate reason not to go and get my stuff. But it felt like if I went back there, I would be leaving the protective bubble of the Casey gang that had just started to calm down. I was afraid that something would happen to keep me from returning even though it was logically as simple as driving back or buying a plane ticket. Also, I was afraid that something would happen to my friends if I left. I knew I wasn't the thing keeping them safe, I hardly did much but that didn't stop me from worrying that if I left, the safety bubble would pop.

Ben kept tinkering with it, "Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's just stuff sitting there. Plus, you could see your dad, right?"

I pursed my lips to the side because I couldn't remember the last time I'd talked to my dad other than it being a long time ago.

"We don't really talk anymore," I said.

"I know, Travis told me," he said and I wasn't surprised. "May I ask why?"

"After I was released from the hospital and we went back home, he got...very controlling. He didn't let me go to the grocery store or gas station by myself. Anywhere I went, he drove me and picked me up, like when I had to go to physical therapy. He monitored my phone to make sure I wasn't texting or calling anyone I shouldn't be. I let it go for a while because I figured he was just concerned and worried about me. I understood that but then kept blaming Travis for everything and told anyone he ran into."

Ben frowned and I continued, "He brought me everywhere with him, including to church a few times which we never did before and the priest asked for a moment of prayer for me, because I "was letting evil corrupt my head and choices" which was embarrassing, to say the least." I buried my head in my hands, keeping the fact that some of the teenagers attending church that morning interpreted the priests words in their own way and propositioned me.