Chapter 15

Shock takes over my body and a shiver immediately wanders down my spine. My mind starts racing. Then, an idea pops up in my head and I open the iCloud. I put in the email that is linked with Selene’s Instagram and type in the same password, which this time, is incorrect. After a few tries of combinating it, I somehow get in with the password “Quinnie69” and start scrolling through the gallery. There’s one picture that immediately grabs my attention. Clicking on it, I recognize Selene who is taking a live photo of herself in the changing room, making the duck face. Something red pops into my eye again and I zoom in to the door behind her, where I see an arm covered in a red jacket, reaching for the helium bottles. She must have pulled them towards the door. It looks like she sabotages the bottles in the live photo, probably closing the door right after.

Trying to breathe starts to get harder and harder and my body shakes uncontrollably. Then suddenly, I hear glass breaking from the first floor.

Is someone breaking in?

My phone starts vibrating, and I barely recognize Aidyn on the screen, sending me several messages. I can read that he wants to come over soon, to talk about something, asking if I am home.

Holding my breath, I can hear someone roaming around downstairs and then the creaking of the wooden stairs as they are walking up.

I look around, panicking, trying to find something to defend myself with, when I hear the person halting in front of my door. I decide to grab the scissors that are on the table and tiptoe towards my closet, where I hide behind it. The door opens with a creak and I hear the person walking in, looking around. Carefully, I poke out my head only slightly, noticing the red jacket and then the rest of her: her curly light brown hair, her red chapstick.

And then, I see it.

She is holding a knife in her right hand.

My hands start to shake, and I can feel my pulse going up to 180.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I’m going to die, I’m going to die. My body sweats even more, and I can feel the scissors slipping out of my hand and right onto the floor. A loud gasp leaves my mouth, which I immediately cover. I can feel Taylor staring my way, looking at the scissors on the floor, and beside it, my shoes.

“Stop hiding, Max. I know you’re there.”

Looking at the scissors, I think that if I grab them I can defend myself if she attacks, but it seems she reads minds. “Don’t even think about picking them up, if you don’t want to die right away”, she warns me, her voice sounding like it had been possessed by something evil all along, and she had just been good at hiding it.

Horrified, I step out, preparing that this might be the moment where I die.