The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation) (4 page)

Katie’s eyes flew open and anger surged back through her. So that’s what this was about. It was just another ploy to pull her back in, make her care about him so he could break her heart—for the millionth time. And she almost fell for it. Her grip tightened once again around the sheet and she pulled with all her might. Wes didn’t fight; he let her go. She made it to the other side of the bed and plopped onto the floor, kneeling so she faced him. He was in the same position across from her. The room was still dark, so she couldn’t see him clearly, but the small sliver of light illuminated his red-rimmed eyes. If it had been anyone else, she would have felt sorry for him. On Wes, the only thought that crossed her mind was that he was getting what he deserved.

“Get out of my house.” She tried to keep her voice soft; she didn’t want to wake her mom.

Mom would have been a valuable asset if Wes decided to do anything, and, no doubt, her mom would have no trouble getting Wes out of the house. She kept a gun next to the bed for safety. It had been there since her dad’s funeral eleven years ago. One scream would bring her mom running into the room. Yet, Katie didn’t want to bring her in if she didn’t have to. She could handle Wes. Besides, her mom might call the police. She didn’t want the entire school talking about the incident. 

“Please, Katie, hear me out.”

“Hear you out? I’ve been ‘hearing you out’ since we were six. You’ve never told me anything. The only thing I get from you are broken promises.”

Katie had had enough. Anger boiled over inside her. Jumping to her feet, she stomped around the bed and grabbed Wes by the ear. She placed her mouth inches from his head and hissed.

“I’m not going to play these games any longer. You’ve had years to let me hear you out.” She released her grip. “Get out. I don’t ever want to see you again.” She folded her hands across her chest.

Slowly, Wes got to his feet. He paused for a moment in front of her and tried to touch her cheek, but she jerked away from his fingertips.

“Josh isn’t who you think he is,” Wes stated softly.

Katie forcefully grabbed his arms and roughly turned him toward the window, figuring that was the only way he could have gotten into her room. With slow, deliberate steps, he climbed onto the windowsill before disappearing into the night. Katie threw herself onto her bed and screamed into her pillow. She was sure she wouldn’t get a wink of sleep for the rest of the night.

***

Katie’s alarm screeched through the room. With a heavy hand, she hit the snooze button and moaned. Her eyes were glued shut and her head ached. For two hours after Wes left, she tossed and turned, wondering if he was going to come back into her room and thinking about all the things she wanted to say to him. She had fallen asleep for an hour, but it only felt like two minutes. It was going to be a long day.

After rubbing her eyes for several moments, she was able to open them and lifted the covers off her body. As she did, she noticed something on her sheets. It was dark brown in color and dried into the fibers. She blinked. It looked almost like blood. She pulled the covers closer to her face, attempting to get a better look. Yep. It was dried blood. But where did it come from?  She pushed herself into a sitting position and looked at her t-shirt. A streak of blood went across her front. Her eyes flew open, her heart rate increased, and she flew out of bed. She stood on the side Wes had been on a few hours earlier and examined the area. The side of her bed and the floor were marked with the same brown stains. Oh, my God! Wes was covered in blood when he came into her room.

She dove across the bed and grabbed her phone. With shaking hands, she found Josh’s number and pressed the call button. The phone rang on the other end. One. Two. Three times.

“C’mon!” Katie said under her breath. “Pick up.”

Right before the phone went to voicemail, a groggy “Hello?” sounded in her ear.

She sighed with relief. “Josh, it’s Katie. Are you all right?”

“Katie? What time is it? Yeah, I’m fine. What’s going on?”

Thank God he wasn’t dead! “I’ll tell you about it later. Sorry to wake you.”

“It’s fine. You sure you don’t want to talk about it now?”

“I can’t. I have some things to take care of, but I’ll see you when you pick me up.”

“Okay.”

Katie hung up the phone and turned back to her bed. She pulled the covers off and stacked them in her closet. She’d take care of them after school. Thank goodness Wes hadn’t done anything to Josh. From the way Wes acted last night, it was quite conceivable he had killed Josh. At least that was the first thought that ran through her mind. Of course, she didn’t really believe it. She didn’t think Wes was the murdering type. She never felt threatened in his presence, ever. Not even last night. Yet, after the previous episode, she realized she knew nothing about Wes. It was completely possible he was a killer. Maybe that was why he was always gone. He was off finding victims. Or maybe his dad was a killer and forced Wes to help him with the crimes. That would explain a lot and validate her childhood fears. She shuddered.

Katie tore off her pajamas and threw them with her sheets, then high-tailed it to the bathroom to shower. She glanced at herself in the mirror, and her jaw fell open. On her face, across her lips, was a faded, bloody handprint. Wes literally must have been covered from head to toe. Where had that much blood come from? She didn’t hesitate, she jumped in the shower and immediately soaped up. If her mom saw her like that, she would definitely call the police.  What happened? Why was he covered in blood? And why did she feel compelled to protect him?  If he was a murderer or an accomplice, she needed to call the police. He needed to pay for his crimes. Perhaps she protected him because she didn’t really believe he had hurt anybody.

Oh, no! What if he was injured? What if he was dying and came into her room to tell her something important before he expired? She kicked him out. Threw him wounded into the night. How could she do that? She quickly rinsed the soap from her body and out of her hair, then threw on a towel and ran back to her room. Grabbing her phone, she dialed Wes’s number. It went straight to voicemail. She contemplated leaving a message, then decided against it. She dropped her hand to her side. What was she doing? She walked to the window and looked out, just to make sure his body wasn’t in the yard below. When she didn’t see his corpse, she shook her head. It was another ruse, it had to be. Granted, Wes had never done anything like this before, but she’d never given him a reason to. Maybe he was crazy. Maybe he was so jealous of Josh that it led him to act like a creep. He was fine, she was sure of it. He’d be at school, and everything would return to normal. It had to. She couldn’t feel guilty about kicking Wes out of her room. If he was injured, he should have said so. Yes, he would have. She was sure of it.  Nodding with resolve, she placed her phone on the bed and got dressed for school.

JOSH PICKED HER UP AT 7:30
on the dot, and she ran to his car. As she climbed into the front seat, she noticed the worry on his face.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “You freaked me out when you called this morning. I almost showed up at your house five minutes later to find out what was going on.”

“You’re never going to believe what happened. Wes broke into my room last night at, like, three in the morning.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.”

“Did he say why he was there?”

Katie suddenly felt insecure about telling Josh the rest of the story. Wes was her friend, she’d known him for eleven years, she’d only known Josh for less than a day. For some reason she couldn’t explain, she felt like she was betraying Wes. He didn’t hurt her; he only wanted to tell her something, about Josh. Maybe Wes really did know something she didn’t. No! He was acting crazy, being jealous. Still, would Josh hurt Wes if she told him the whole story? She didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

She shook her head. “He wanted to apologize for earlier in the day.”

Josh laughed. “He couldn’t send you a text to do that?”

She shrugged. “I guess not.”

Josh put the car in gear and they headed to school.

Katie noticed Wes’s truck in the parking lot at school and that made her feel better. At least she knew he didn’t die in his house or yard. Still, the mystery deepened. Whose blood was he covered in? Why did he show up at her house? Would she be able to talk to him at school? Did she want to talk to him? Confusion and anger swirled through her being. On top of that, she was exhausted. Her brain was not functioning as it should. She decided to leave it up to fate. If Wes showed up to talk to her, she would hear him out. If not, well, she’d decide what she wanted to do later.

Josh parked the car and the pair walked toward the building. He stared over her shoulder, squinting to scan the area behind her. When he found what he was looking for, a smile crossed his lips.

“Looks like your boyfriend wasn’t too tired after last night’s visit. He made it to school.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Katie snapped.

Where did that come from? Why would Josh make that comment? He knew they weren’t an item. Granted, he didn’t know the extent of their relationship, but he knew enough to know they weren’t together. Maybe she was reading too deeply into it. Maybe he didn’t mean anything by it. She was tired, that’s all. Still, that comment coupled with Wes’s warning to stay away from Josh had her nerves frazzled. Maybe she should go home sick and get some rest. It might be better to approach the topic after a good nap. No. She’d never sleep. Her brain would keep replaying the scenario through her mind. She’d have to tough out the day and see what happened.

Josh escorted her to her locker. “You gonna be all right to get to class on your own?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. You have my number if you need anything.” He placed his hand on Katie’s cheek and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Don’t be shy about using it.”

Katie was too shocked to say anything, so she just nodded. Josh turned and headed for his locker. Adrenaline surged through her. She just might make it through the day.

She made it to homeroom five minutes before the bell. Part of her expected to see Wes already at his desk, but the other part wasn’t surprised he wasn’t there. She took her seat and focused on the door, trying not to look desperate and worried. Student after student filed in, but not Wes. The bell rang, and his desk remained empty. Katie knew he was at school, she saw his truck, and the teacher didn’t call his name during roll call, so she must have known where he was. Katie slumped in her seat. Of course he wasn’t there. It was what Wes always did. She really should have been used to it.

By second period, Katie questioned her decision to stay at school. Twice she fell asleep in class and caught herself before her head slammed into the desk. Thankfully, no one else noticed. Between classes, she went to the vending machines and got herself a Mountain Dew. She didn’t think it would help, but she was desperate to try anything.

Third period wasn’t much different. The pop wasn’t helping at all. How could she possibly make it through the day? She still had one period and lunch before gym class, where she knew for sure she’d see Wes. She had to. He couldn’t possibly avoid going to all his classes.  Katie knew he was still there. The vending machines were by a window that overlooked the parking lot and his truck was still out there. She contemplated hunting him down, but thought better of it. If his actions were part of his game to reel her back in, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing it had worked. Yet, curiosity burned through her, and she wanted her questions answered. It was pretty much the only thing keeping her at school. She’d have to hold out a little longer.

She was a little disconcerted that she hadn’t seen Wes in the halls. Yesterday, she couldn’t lose the guy. Josh was his chivalrous self and met her after every class, escorting her to her locker or the next class. That made her feel better. At least someone cared about her well-being. And, technically, Wes wasn’t acting out of the norm. However, he did have a lot of explaining to do about the night before, and she would have assumed he wanted to do that. But, if she was honest with herself, she would say she wasn’t really surprised.

By the time gym came around, she was so annoyed and irritated that Wes hadn’t tried to hunt her down during the day she really didn’t care if she saw him or not. It all became very clear it was just another one of his stunts to keep her interested in him. Even with her sleep-deprived brain, she figured Wes killed a rabbit or other small animal and smeared it all over himself to worry her. If it was even real blood. For all she knew, he could have concocted something before climbing into her window. Ugh! That guy was so infuriating. Why did she constantly allow herself to be sucked back in? What was so damn special about Wes that she couldn’t get him out of her system?

As she and Josh walked to gym, she was half-tempted to say screw it and skip class. She really didn’t want to see Wes. Even more so, she really didn’t want to be forced to be his tennis double again. She was so angry, she might end up beating him with her racket. Her pace slowed the closer they got to class.

“Everything all right?” Josh asked.

Katie stopped in the hall. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I want to face him, you know?”

Josh put his arm around her shoulders, a gesture that made her stomach tingle and her heart skip a beat. “It’ll be fine. I’m here to protect you. Besides, aren’t you the least bit curious to see what he’s going to do?”

If Josh had asked her that question this morning, she would have instantly said yes. At that moment, though, she honestly couldn’t care less. She really didn’t care if she saw him again.  Katie opened her mouth to tell Josh that, and to tell him they should skip class, when Ms. Bode buzzed by them.

“C’mon, kids. Class is about to start.”

Crap! No way they could ditch now. With a sigh, Katie let Josh lead her into the gym.

The bell rang as Katie slowly made her way to the locker room. She reached forward to grab the door handle when someone grabbed her from behind and lifted her up. A squeak of surprise escaped her lips, but no other sound came out. A hand covered her mouth. Really? Katie thought. Again? He’s going to pay for it this time. She struggled against her attacker, but his grip was too strong. He lifted her like she weighed no more than a doll. He carried her toward the gymnastic storage area and stepped over the mats until they were in the far back corner, covered in shadow.