Foolish Games Page 12

  "But Nick thinks-"

  "I know what Nick thinks." Jessie said cutting him off abruptly, "He was too mad at me to hear the whole thing."

  "I can relate to that." Brian said letting out a sigh.

  "Yeah well the truth is, I didn’t want to go out with Nick at first. You know about my relationship with Josh. After coming out of something like that, it’s hard to start another relationship. Then Erica came and begged me to join Phi Alpha Beta with her. She swore she couldn’t do it alone. And being the good friend that I am, I did it. But the catch was that I had to sleep with Nick to get in."

  "You didn’t have to do it you know. Join the sorority I mean." Brian said.

  "I know, but my grades were falling so bad and they said that being in a sorority looked good on your record so I asked Nick out. And then as we went out, I got to know him better and I really liked him. I forgot all about that stupid sorority and went out with him because I wanted to."

  "Did you tell Nick this?" Brian asked.

  "No, he wouldn’t listen to me." Jessie said.

  "Oh. Sorry." Brian said.

  "You gonna tell him?" she asked.

  "Do you want me to tell him?"

  "Do you think he’ll believe you?"

  "Well, we’ll see."

  CHAPTER 41

  "Hi Nick. Come on in." Brian said after opening the door which revealed his best friend.

  "Why did you call me over? You sounded really serious? Is something wrong?" Nick asked walking inside and facing him and noting his tired expression and sad eyes.

  "Yes. Everything." Brian said and sighed.

  "Well?" Nick prompted.

  "Josh took Erica."

  "What?!" Nick was shocked.

  "A couple of days ago, he had kidnapped Erica and Jessie but they got away from him. Unfortunately, Erica was hurt and she lost the baby." Brian said, his eyes showing his emotion.

  "OhmyGod." Nick said, "How do you know all this?"

  "Kevin told me that Erica had lost the baby and I went to see how she was doing, but mostly to apologize for the way I acted. While I was there, Josh, who I didn’t know at the time, came and he disguised himself as the pizza delivery guy so when I opened the door, he knocked me out and held the house up and took Erica." Brian explained.

  "Brian, I’m so sorry." Nick said not knowing what else to say.

  "Wait. There’s more."

  "More?" Nick didn’t know if he could take any more.

  "Britney’s dead." Brian said, "Apparently, Josh had kidnapped her afterwards and he’d raped her and she was beaten to death."

  "God!" Nick muttered under his breath. He didn’t like the girl but she didn’t deserve to die..not like that! "Why would Josh want Britney? I mean, I didn’t think he even knew her!"

  "Me either. But the fact remains that she’s dead." Brian stated. "They found her body."

  "This is unbelievable! How could someone do something like that?" Nick asked.

  "Only God knows." Brian said shaking his head.

  "So what do we do now that Josh has Erica? Did you tell the police?" Nick asked him.

  "Jessie did. And that’s another thing we have to talk about." Brian said.

  "What? Jessie?" Nick asked his eyes narrowing a little in remembrance and disgust.

  "Yes. I know you think you know why she slept with you Nick but it’s not true. That’s not why."

  "It’s not?" Nick asked sarcastically lifting an eyebrow.

  "No. If you had given her a chance to explain, maybe you would have found out the truth!" Brian stated.

  "You’re taking her side?! Some best friend you are!" Nick said heatedly.

  "Nick, this is not about taking sides! She told me the truth. She told me how she really felt. And you know what? I believe her." Brian said.

  "Good for you." Nick said. He wanted so badly to believe what Brian was saying but he didn’t know if he could.

  The phone rang early that morning and Jessie ran to answer it. She hadn’t slept the entire night. She couldn’t. She’d been too worried to do anything but sit and wait.

  "Hello?" she said almost desperately into the receiver.

  "Couldn’t sleep huh? Thought so. Worried about Erica?" she heard Josh chuckle. "You shouldn’t be. I’m not after her Jessie. You know that."

  "Then leave her alone!" Jessie cried, ‘Let her go Josh>"

  "I can’t do that." Josh said simply. "But i’ll make a deal with you."

  "I’m listening."

  "I’ll let Erica go if you come here. And if you think about bringing the police, i’ll kill her Jessie. You know I will."

  "Yeah I know. Like you did Britney." She spat out.

  "That was an accident. So? You got my message then. I thought you would. I know you Jessie. Better than you think."

  "Screw you!"

  "Oh I’m planning to baby." Josh said a smile in his voice, "Now here’s the address..."

  CHAPTER 42

  Jessie wrote the address down on a scrap of paper nearby, but realized that she didn’t need to as she already knew where the place was.

  "How do I know Erica’s okay?" Jessie asked into the receiver.

  "You don’t believe me? I’m hurt." Josh said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  She then heard shuffling and then Erica’s voice came onto the phone.

  "Jessie? Jessie please help me!" She heard Erica say desperately.

  "Erica? You okay? Did that son of a bitch hurt you?" Jessie asked after hearing the pain and fear in her friend’s voice.

  "No. Not yet anyway. He’s threatened to do so though." Erica said.

  Jessie could tell she was holding back tears.

  "Okay enough of that!" Josh said snatching the phone back from Erica. "You see? She’s fine! Just like I told you. now, are you coming or do I have to hurt your friend?"

  "Give me half an hour and I’ll be there." Jessie said then hung up the phone.

  Jessie grabbed the car keys and her dad’s cell phone. In her haste to get out the door, she didn’t notice that she’d dropped the scrap of paper while fumbling to put it into the pocket of her jeans.

  She got into the car and started driving. She suddenly remembered her promise to Brian so she picked up the cell phone and dialled his number.

  Brian was still talking to Nick when the phone rang.

  "Please let that be Jessie." He said softly picking up the phone.

  "Brian? It’s Jessie. Josh called and-"

  "IS Erica okay? He didn’t hurt her did he?" Brian asked cutting her off. He didn’t mean to but he was really worried.

  Nick motioned for him to put her on speaker phone so he did.

  "No, Erica’s okay. I spoke to her myself. She says she’s fine." Jessie said.

  "What did Josh want?" Brian asked.

  "He gave me an address and told me to be there or he’ll kill Erica." Jessie’s voice shook slightly. "I can’t tell the police or anything. I’m not even supposed to be telling you this but I promised you that I would." Jessie was unaware of the fact that Nick was listening in on their conversation.

  "Jessie, you have to tell the police!" Brian said, "You can’t go there by yourself! It’s a trap! Surely you can see that!"

  "It may be a trap, but I can’t let him hurt her Brian. She’s been through enough already. I have to go." Jessie said, tears slowly making their way down her cheeks.

  "Jessie?" Nick said softly, "Listen to Brian."

  "Nick?" Jessie asked, not sure if it was really him.

  "Yeah. It’s me." He returned," Brian’s right. This is one big set-up. Do you really believe that he’ll just let Erica walk out of there once he has you?" he asked her suddenly forgetting that he was supposed to be mad at her.

  There was silence on the other end of the phone and Nick could hear her crying. His heart went out to her and he wished he were there to comfort her.

  "I have to go. Erica’s my best friend." She repeated. "I have to help her."

  "Jess, why don’t
we meet you at your house and then we’ll go with you okay? No police. Just us. We’ll just follow you. Josh wouldn’t know we’re coming." Nick said.

  "Too late. I’m already in my car." Jessie said.

  "Jessie wait! Don’t do this! Tell us where he is!" Brian demanded picking up the receiver.

  "I’m sorry Brian. This is something that I have to do on my own."

  CHAPTER 43

  "Damnit!" Brian shouted slamming down the receiver so hard the entire phone jumped. "She hung up on me!"

  "Why the hell did she do that?!" Nick asked heatedly, ”She knows she’s walking into a trap!"

  “We can’t let her do this by herself!" Brian said grabbing his jacket and heading out the door. "Come on! Let’s go!"

  "Where are we going?" Nick cried following him.

  "At Jessie’s house. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll find some clue as to where she’s going." Brian said as they got into his car.

  "How?" Nick asked looking at his friend.

  "I dunno. But it’s better than just staying here and doing nothing!" Brian stated, "Besides, we should tell her father what’s happening since I doubt that Jessie told him herself."

  "Poor man is gonna have a heart attack she’s he finds out what she’s doing." Nick said knowing that he almost had one himself.

  "Yeah but we have to tell him. It’s his daughter."

  Jessie drove up to the Sunny Side Hotel and parked in the parking lot before heading inside.

  "Room 202 please." She told the lady at the front desk.

  "One moment please." The woman told her politely, picking up the receiver. She got off a couple seconds later and smiled at Jessie. "You may go on up."

  "Thank you." Jessie said forcing a smile for the woman’s benefit. She got in the elevator and headed to the tenth floor. Her heart beating rapidly as the elevator got closer and closer to the tenth floor.

  The elevator stopped abruptly and Jessie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before getting out. She walked down the hallway and to her right was the door, the number 202 imprinted in gold in front of her. Her hands were balled into fists and she raised her right hand and knocked gently.

  Brian and Nick were now at Jessie’s house. Brian knocked on the door while he and Nick waited for a reply.

  Mr. Andrews opened the door dressed in a robe which covered his pyjamas. He looked like he was having breakfast, totally oblivious to his daughter’s activities.

  "Nick?" he asked looking at them strangely. They looked nervous and scared to death. "Is something wrong?"

  "Yeah. It’s about Jessie. May we come in?" Nick asked him.

  "Of course." Mr. Andrews said allowing them in. "Jessie? Isn’t she upstairs asleep?"

  "No. She left a while ago." Brian said.

  "To see Josh." Nick finished.

  "What?!" Mr. Andrews cried, his voice raising an octave.

  Nick and Brian sat down and proceeded to tell him what happened.

  ‘And she left?" Mr. Andrews asked.

  Nick and Brian nodded.

  "How could she? After everything he’s done to her!"

  "I know! We tried to talk her out of it but she wouldn’t listen!" Nick explained, "She said that she wanted to do this on her own."

  "But she can’t! Why can’t she see that?"

  Nick shook his head.

  "So she didn’t say where she was going?" Mr. Andrews asked them.

  "No. She doesn’t want anyone to know. She promised Josh." Brian answered.

  "She must have written it down somewhere!" Mr. Andrews said getting up and looking through the papers near the phone but found nothing. "There’s nothing here."

  "I can’t believe Jessie did this without telling me!" he started up again.

  Nick’s gaze flew to the floor near the door and he saw the scrap of paper.

  His eyebrows narrowed and he walked over and picked it up.

  "Here it is!" he said excitedly, "Number 202, Sunny Side Hotel."

  "I’m calling the police!" Mr. Andrews said picking up the phone.

  "Tell them to be careful. Josh specifically said no police or he might hurt Erica." Brian said.

  "Don’t worry. I’ll handle it." Mr. Andrews said.

  "Let’s go then." Nick said, then they left.

  CHAPTER 44

  “So? You made it.” Josh said, a smile appearing on his lips as he stepped aside and she walked in. He glanced at his watch, “And on time, as usual.”

  Jessie gave him a hateful look and looked for Erica. She saw her on a chair, her legs and arms tied and her mouth was gagged.

  Jessie rushed over to her and hugged her and pulled off her gag.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Josh asked when he saw that Jessie was untying Erica.

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m untying her.” Jessie said undeterred.

  Josh went up to her and grabbed her by the arm and threw her on the bed.

  “No you’re not.” He said simply.

  “But you said-“

  “I know exactly what I said.” Josh cut her off, “I lied.” His smile widened.

  “Come on Jessie!” he laughed, “You’re so gullible! Did you really think that I’d just let her walk out of here once I had you? Unharmed?”

  Jessie could feel her anger building inside her. She couldn’t believe this was once a person she trusted. Someone she thought she knew.

  “You’re right. I should have known better.” she said. “Let me ask you one thing Josh. Why Britney? Why’d you kill her? Did you even know her?”

  “Ah yes, Britney.” He said as if in thought, “You see, that was a mix-up actually. I was on-campus looking for you and I saw her and I mistook her for you so I kidnapped her instead. Imagine my surprise when I saw her. I couldn’t just let her go after that so I found a way to use her. I knew eventually you would get the police and come after me at the cabin so I took off. I was gonna take Britney with me but she passed out. She was alive when I left her Jessie. I knew you’d find here there so I left a message for you which I assumed you got. Too bad she had to die though.” Josh said. “She was really pretty.”

  “You’re sick you know that!” Jessie hissed at him.

  Josh pulled out a gun then and pointed it at her. “Don’t you ever call me sick again!” He told her harshly, “Or I might be forced to hurt you. And we wouldn’t want that now would we?”

  Erica was still tied and shaking in her chair. Josh looked at her then. “Now what am I going to do with you?”

  “Just let her go Josh. This has nothing to do with Erica. This is between you and me,” Jessie said, surprised at the calmness of her voice.

  “Really? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?” Josh asked her.

  “I don’t.” Jessie grated out. Suddenly she thought of a way she could get Erica out, unharmed and something Josh would actually agree to. “How about I make a deal with you?” she asked him.

  Josh’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  “Oh yeah? What kind of a deal?” he was interested now.

  Jessie swallowed hard before replying.

  “Well since i’m the one you want, if you let Erica go, I’ll have sex with you.” she said avoiding his eyes.

  “Jessie! No!” Erica screamed at her.

  “Oh i’m gonna get that whether or not I let her go.” Josh said.

  “Maybe. But you wouldn’t have to use force.” Jessie pointed out. She couldn’t believe she was actually making this deal with him. But right now she had no choice. She knew, by the look in his eyes, that he wasn’t going to let Erica leave here alive.

  “That sounds really tempting Jessie. I just might take you up on that.” Josh said.

  “Jessie you don’t have to do this!” Erica cried at her.

  “Shut up!” Josh shouted at her walking over and hitting her.

  Jessie saw red. She went over and pulled him away from Erica.

  The door flew open then and Nick and Brian came in. Nick tackled Josh,
sending the gun to the floor. Josh was surprised but tried to hit Nick who blocked the blow. Brian was at Erica’s side untying her.