Chapter 142: Dance With Danger

“Julian!” *Fuck!* I mentally cursed myself when I panicked. The cat’s outta the bag. I did the same thing I did that got the neighbor murdered. *Is Amy next?!*

Using my hands to crawl off the bed was agonizing. The deep slash in my palm didn’t feel right. I had a feeling it could be getting infected. As for the hand I dislocated my thumb on, it was still swollen and I could barely move it.

Julian swung the door open and looked both ways. I guess nobody was there because, after a second, he looked back at me with a lifted brow. “Were you expecting someone?”

“Yeah, bro, I was waiting for your sister to peep.” I sassed. “I didn’t expect her to get caught that fast. She’s probably super embarrassed now.”

*Did I nail it?*

Julian stared at me for a moment before closing the door. “Grace… wanted to listen in on us?” He frowned, a hint of disgust in his eyes. “I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true!” *Fuuuck meee, this won’t end well. You owe me double as much, Amy.* “The truth is, a couple of months ago, Grace asked me to be her fake girlfriend for some drinking party to get back at some chick. Uh, I think her name was Sasha? Rasha? I can’t remember.”

I knew I needed to add in the woman’s name as proof and I must’ve said the name right because his jaw dropped with disbelief. “She had you… for her?”

*Looks like he already knew about their beef. Fun.*

“I didn’t think we’d get that intimate.” Each word made me feel like I was digging my own grave, but it was either me or Amy. “I mean, I knew she’d try to kiss me, but I didn’t think she’d, well, you know. Get that into it. I guess she’s got lingering feelings?” *Let’s rub some salt in that wound.* I made a pouting expression. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to feel like I was falling for your sister when I already had feelings for you.”

*A liar has to lie if they want to get what they want. I’ll tell him I love him a thousand times if it means Amy will be safe.*

Julian stood there in silent, completely struck. I bit my lying tongue as regret began to swallow me. *Fuck. It’s like I knocked him into a different dimension. He’s gonna be pissed when he comes back to this one.* Before I could say anything else to him, he turned on his heel and left his bedroom with a slam of the door.

“Julian!!” I called after him. “Shit!” I grind my teeth as I struggled to bring myself to the edge of the bed. My jeans may be off, but at least I still had my underwear on. I quickly grabbed my tank-top and slid it back on before hurriedly limping to the door and darting out of it. I looked both ways down the hall. Nothing.

*Damn he’s fast! Now then…* I looked in the direction I saw the anonymous shadow scurry off too. *Should I go investigate? What if I get her caught?* Doubt circulated my mind again and my hand subconsciously went to my stomach, unknowingly reminding myself that I need to stay strong for more reasons than one. *That’s right.* I need to tell her the truth and tell her to get out of here as fast as she can or she’ll be next.

I warily looked around as I limped down the hallway, keeping an eye out for both Julian and Amy. I don’t know what was going on between him and Grace but, hey, at least it wasn’t me. Serves her right for what happened to my thigh.

When I got farther away from Julian’s room, I finally started to call out to her as quietly as possible. “Amy? Are you there?” After a few seconds of silence, my impatience made me call out louder. “I know you’re fucking there, asshole!” I perked when I heard the creak of a door slowly opening. The familiar creaking sound came from my shitty art room’s door.

And out peeked Amy, trying to act brave but, she was shaking like a leaf. “S–Suki??”

“You motherfucking–UGH!” I quietly growled in frustration as I quickly limped to her and shoved her into my art room, locking the door behind us out of sheer habit. “You fucking IDIOT! Do you wanna die?!”

“H–huh?” Amy blinked a few times in shock. “Die? What do you mean–oh my god–” She gave a startled gasp when she saw my dark, bandaged thigh that still had big patches of red from the wound being reopened several times. My bandaged hands weren’t looking much better. “What happened to you?!” When she picked up one of my hands to examine it, I flinched even though the touch was gentle. She released it as soon as I did. “S–sorry.” Tears filled the corners of her eyes as she looked me up and down. She even brushed some of my hair off of my shoulders to get a better look at my reddened neck. “Oh, Suki… what the hell have they done to you??”

“Julian is a murderer, Amy.” I bluntly jump to the point. There wasn’t time for emotional breakdowns and comforting. “You need to get out of here NOW. You’re not off limits just because you’re my best friend.”

Amy’s eyes flew wide. “Wait–what?!”

I quickly covered her mouth before her startled reaction could make her voice louder. “SHHH you fucking idiot!!”

“Mmf!” She muffled before I removed my hand. “You’re saying he killed somebody??”

“Yeah, I…” I looked away guiltily when the thought crossed my mind that both of their murders could’ve been my fault. “The first one was a maid that had walked in on me and Julian… The second one,” I rubbed the back of my neck with my wrist since my hand was throbbing. “He was holding me captivate and I made a run for it when he was sleeping. My stupid ass went straight for the neighbor’s. Fuck, I should’ve known better. Julian was already there, waiting for me. I blurted to the neighbor that he’s a murderer and he killed her right in front of me.” I bit my lip as regret flooded my conscious again. “If I didn’t tell her that, then the neighbor would still be alive.”

“Holy shit…” Amy whispered in utter shock. It wasn’t often I heard her curse.

“Anybody who tries to get between us isn’t safe. He even told me that he won’t let Grace interfere, either.” I bitterly looked away. “And that’s saying something, if he’s willing to turn on his own twin.”

Amy cupped her mouth. The panic and fear of the danger under this roof shook her up more than I thought it would. Then again, that’s how anybody would react when they realize death could be behind any door.

“Amy!” I grabbed her shoulders tightly and gave them a rough shake, ignoring the intense, pulsing pain. “You need to get out *now.* There’s no service out here with this fucking storm. Get back to the city and call the cops.”

“Th–the cops?” Amy stuttered, startled. “B–but, Suki, you’ll get arrested! Who knows how many warrants you have!”

“Fuck the warrants. I was hesitant too before I found out, and witnessed, what Julian is capable of.” My green gaze hardened with fire. “He won’t get away with this.”

“You want me to leave you behind? Suki, I can’t just–” We both fell dead silent and whirled around to the door when we heard footsteps approaching.