#oopsie again

JULY 6TH, 2023

The last time Jake remembers feeling at ease was after Adee had left the beach, and he’d been alone with Dante to cut off a body part of his choosing and clean up his own mess. He’d played one of his songs on his phone for a minute before quickly turning it off, not wanting to ruin his happiness with garbage. Jake’s eyes flickered to Dante’s ears that night, thinking that he’d never listen to the thing he clearly loved most ever again.

He misses Dante, or at least the dead version of him that brought him a sense of peace that night, because it’s beginning to feel like the monster he ignited in Adee is going off the rails, cleaning up her mess on the same night when he’d seen Sawyer dead and stabbed outside of Siren’s. It was a hassle more than anything, having to clean up her mess and knowing it would upset his girlfriend more than he’d planned for. Jake didn’t care for Sawyer, but she was a piece of the puzzle that had been violently removed by Adee. The following attack on Azra weeks later does nothing to absolve Jake of his annoyance, and it makes him feel out of control once again.

Truthfully, Jake would have been ready to stop the night Dante died. His plan worked, and he’d ruined her beyond saving. But Adee seemed to be kill-hungry and erratic, and Jake didn’t plan on getting caught somehow because she couldn’t keep it together. He’d give her what she wants, just as long as he remained in control.

Theo and Bianca were more out of convenience than anything. He didn’t have anything against either of them, and he hadn’t bothered to ask why Adee wanted to kill Theo. The only thing he knew about the other was his attachment to Jake’s younger sister, Sarah. But after spending a couple hours with the guy, even if Theo was unconscious and battered, he decided she could do better. The kid didn’t seem to be the brightest, and maybe Jake could warm up to the idea of Toby and Sarah getting together. His best friend was miles better for his innocent sister than a washed up, milf-chasing model.

As for Bianca, it truly was random. He’d seen her alone after knowing Adee was going after Theo, and he took the opportunity. Jake had hoped by kidnapping them that Adee’s problem could be controlled, and she could take out her anger on either option instead of making his life difficult. He’d sat back and watched her have her fun before being the one to stab her in the neck and take her out of her misery. After all, would either really want to live through what they’d been through? 

The downside of this is dealing with Sarah, his least favorite of his two siblings. Charlotte had at least been kind, despite her shortcomings. To Jake, she'd always been more reliable, more level-headed even if it was clear she was a mess. But his younger sister was a nuisance, and every problem she had become his problem too. It was exhausting, and maybe it was why he couldn't bring himself to care when he'd helped kill her best friend and potential boyfriend. Maybe he'd spare Kyle given the chance, save his older, better sister from becoming worse than she already was. One unbearable sibling was enough.

The only movement on either side of the room was the two pools of blood growing larger, no cries or screams of pain heard, allowing Jake to leave back on the table of the abandoned building he’d spent a day cleaning up beforehand, and look over at Adee. She was a mess, just like she usually was, except this time, there wasn’t any sense of annoyance or anger towards her. 

He hated when she cried, he hated that it made her look ugly and pathetic. Jake preferred her like this, covered in blood with a certain look in her eyes that he'd only recognized by looking in a mirror. Maybe it was why a sense of desire came over him, why he'd grabbed her by the waist and kissed her so intensely. Why he didn't want to stop, and why suddenly he was slipping his hand under her clothes and ripping them off in the next moment. Maybe it was because he saw himself in her that he'd crossed a dangerous line, impulsive thoughts getting the best of him in the moment and gaining a sick sense of pleasure from cheating on his girlfriend and screwing someone with two dead bodies mere feet away from them. 

He was the good guy. The loyal boyfriend. The protective brother. 

Except he wasn't really any of that.

A foot for the fallen dancer. And the head of the one who used his looks to get through life. 

JULY 11TH, 2023

Things were supposed to be fine now. Jake had figured things would calm down, that the repercussions of his own actions wouldn’t come back to bite him. He knew he’d ruined Adee, he just wasn’t sure how bad it would get. After their hookup, and after the search party finds Theo’s head and Bianca’s foot, he’s ready to put an end to his fun, even though he secretly enjoys the look of horror that crosses over every person’s face in town. He’s ready to end things with Adee, whatever it was, and be loyal to Kat again. She meant too much to him to give her up for another girl that he only really held any attraction towards when she looked completely insane. Adee wasn’t Kat, and she’d never be. If she acted out again, it was the planner, the methodical side to himself that knew he’d frame her for it all. Half of the town already looked at her like she was the delusional homewrecker already, so he knew it’d be easy.

Jake plans to remain intact, to not fall apart and to remember how to be normal again after his couple months of fun. He might be crazy, but he’s not insane. He’s not her. 

And maybe that’s why he doesn’t expect her to cross the very line he crossed too many times, for Adee to take something that mattered to him away. The relaxed expression on his face remains as he pulls out his phone to see a text from her. A surprise. Just like he’d had for her. But he doesn’t account for her taking his game, for using his slight weaknesses against him. He doesn’t think about that much happening as he drives back up to the trails, where all of this began in the first place. Jake doesn’t believe Adee is that smart, that insane to test him like this. But maybe the part of him he’d seen in her was bigger than he realized.

Because the last person he expects to see at her feet is his best friend.

He glances silently between Adee’s sick, deranged smile and the body of the man he’d known since he was a kid. And somewhere in between processing the truth, Jake broke inside.

Love wasn’t something he knew. Deep down, he knew he couldn’t love anyone, that his mind didn’t process the emotion, that as much as he pretended, most of his feelings weren’t genuine. But over the years, Jake had created his own version of love. His own version of what it meant to care about someone, even if it was purely attachment and obsession. It was easy to care about someone when you saw them as a part of you. His sisters. His girlfriend. His best friend. After pretending for so long, he couldn’t help but feel attached to them, and being in control of what was happening in town had put him at ease, because he knew none of them would be taken from him. But she took Toby. His best friend. His brother.

Toby Rivers was his first obsession. Long before Kat, and long before Adee. Jake knew his best friend had faults, that he was significantly poorer than Jake, that he wasn’t the smartest guy ever, and that he’d definitely developed a savior complex over the course of his life. But he’d been someone who Jake thought the world of. It’s why he hated Tucker, and why he hated every single person that had a bad word to say about him too. With the exception of Kat, of course. Toby was one of the few weaknesses Jake had, one of the few people that showed he was capable of genuinely caring about someone besides himself. And Adee had taken that away. 

He wishes he had a knife, that he could kill her right here and be done with it all, but instead, he’s left to look at her ugly smile as he grabs the lifeless body of his best friend. “Go.” He doesn’t look at her, rage and anger already beginning to burn at his core and his hand shaking under Toby’s back. All the fun he was having is gone, and he can’t stand the idea of her being around him right now. 

It’s far too late, nobody around the trail or even the main road at this hour, and Jake is left alone to take care of his best friend’s body. He hates the way he feels right now, the way he shakes and his breaths are unsteady. Jake is beginning to feel out of control all over again, knowing he’d let Adee get out of his grasp after pushing her too far. But his mind isn’t focused on what to do about her, how to get rid of her right now, because he’s looking at his best friend and trying not to fall apart. It’s why he cleans Toby up, thinking that although he can’t change what happened, he doesn’t want one of the few people he held close to him to be seen in such a disgusting light. Covered in blood and wounded. 

He doesn’t mind the silence of every other dead body he’s chopped up and cleaned, but he hates the quiet right now. After a while, he can no longer take his time, picking Toby’s body up and leaving him at the sidewalk to be found. Jake gets back in his car, the blood of the other stained on parts of his hands and as he pauses to look at it, the hurt he once felt is replaced by a familiar emotion. Anger. Uncontrolled, unbridled anger. He wants everyone else to feel the way he feels right now. 

Right now, in the dead of night and hours before they’d find Toby’s body, he wants to kill the first person he sees.

JULY 12TH, 2023

It hasn’t been 24 hours since he’d last seen Toby, but the wheels of his brain have been continuing to turn nonstop since he’d gotten home, even if he wasn’t speaking much. He’d pushed Charlotte away. He’d let Kat be there for him, even if there weren’t any tears and if he’d mainly focused on the way her body felt warm against his to keep himself calm. But he had to get out, making some excuse later that night and going to Medusa. He normally hated the loud music, and the way it was always so crowded because it was hard to focus, hard to think. But right now, he felt like drinking away the dangerous, uncontrolled thoughts in his mind instead of giving them too much weight.

If it hadn’t been for Dominic, and the way their fight set him off, maybe he would’ve gone home and swallowed down the anger. Instead, he left Medusa bloodied and bruised, driving half drunk to the next available bar in the town even though it was far too late for it to be open still. The place was empty, and his mind lingered on the idea of letting some steam out. Jake leaned over and grabbed the knife he had in his glove compartment, taking out the knife he’d used on Tucker weeks ago, free of the other's blood and sterilized the same night, and a pair of disposable gloves. He looks out through tinted windows as the remaining bartenders leave, and it’s just the owner that remains. 

Jake doesn’t bother to say anything when he sees Efe, doesn’t bother to hide his face even when the other’s back is turned to him. He doesn’t bother to check the mess he’s made as he stabs Efe over and over again. He let out a sigh of relief, feeling at ease for just a moment. At the other’s pleas, he grins. Why are you doing this? Jake grabs him by the shirt and sends a knife into his stomach. “Because I can,” he lets out, before leaning down to his fallen body and slitting his throat. 

He’s covered in Efe’s blood, picking himself up off the ground and taking his knife with him. He’s ready to go home, until he sees Derin by his car. It’s unfortunate that two people happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, because even if Derin can’t see him yet, Jake won’t entertain the possibility of being seen like this. He won’t entertain the possibility of him living to say a word. 

There isn’t any hesitation as he sticks his bloodied knife into Derin’s back, pushing him onto the ground to make things easier. Anyone could see him right now, out in public and killing the other right by Deadlights. Jake told himself that as enjoyable as this moment was, he had to be quick. Each stab was quick and harsh, aiming for the man’s stomach and chest as blood pooled around the two. He’s too upset to think about cleaning his mess up, dragging Derin’s lifeless body next to Efe’s to be found in the morning. There’s a trail of blood everywhere he walks and it’s covering the interior of his car as he slips back inside, driving away to get himself and his car cleaned up.

JULY 22ND, 2023, ELEVEN PM

The last thing he wants is to be at this awful engagement party. Mei was an idiot, and from how he’d been seeing Levi act since the night began, it seemed as if his intelligence only applied to his business. Everyone was happy, or at least pretending to be and it pissed him off, because hadn’t people died only weeks ago? Jake was still on edge from the death of Toby, faded bruises still apparent on his face from the fight with Dominic a week ago. He finds himself getting another drink, losing count of how many he’s already had. 

Getting drunk was the easy way out. He didn’t want anything happening here, thinking it would be too hard for him to control. Jake didn’t account for not being able to control himself. Because after a few hours, and a few too many drinks, he’s suddenly in front of Lucia, gloves on his hands and knife to pair with it, doing the exact opposite of what he’s telling himself is right.

Jake can’t remember how he gets there, or what inclines him to twist a knife into his neighbor’s chest and shove her into a storage closet before anyone can see. Maybe it’s because when he looked into her eyes, he didn’t see her as Lucia. She was a friend of Dominic, someone who he wanted to hurt. She was an extension of his sister who’d sent him nothing more than a text after he lost Toby, after the years of being there for her. If Sarah wanted to hurt, if she wanted to cry and break, he wouldn’t hold her this time. He’d kill her best friend, and he’d make her feel like he did. 

He walks away hidden from the cameras, wondering how long it would take for the police to arrive.

THREE HOURS LATER

Where the fuck is everybody?

They’re missing. Kat and Adee. The two people, particularly in combination, had Jake standing up from the bar. The alcohol he’d once been drinking heavily seemed to have lost its effect. He pulls out his phone to call Kat, only for there to be no answer. Everyone is still shaken up from what happened to Iris, Levi, & Mei, the work of Adee that she’d managed to screw up again. If it wasn’t Toby’s death that had formed a sick hatred towards the woman who knew everything, it would have been because as blood-thirsty and ready to kill as she was, she was incompetent without him. Two more injured people that could’ve seen her face on top of what she’d already done. He hated her, and he hated having to clean up her ill-timed messes.

He glances around the room before leaving the ballroom, telling the police officers that he needed to go to his hotel room, offering the keycard to the suite he’d gotten for him and Kat as proof. Their room had been right next to Kyle and Vera’s, condolences exchanged either way during the two men’s short conversation. Jake started to make his way down the hallway, but he no longer needed to see the numbers of each door to find where everyone was, because the closer into view he got, the more apparent that there was someone lying on the ground. He slows down until he sees it’s Vera, and that the door to her hotel room is open. 

Shit.

Jake pauses at the half-opened door, forgetting for a moment that there were cameras watching the outside of the room. He was pissed that she was still being sloppy, that she still hadn’t learned from what happened to Azra and how quickly she could’ve been behind bars. Jake had half a mind to play innocent, to call the cops and tell them about Vera. Adee would be locked up, and there would be nothing to tie him to the murders even if she cried out his name. What evidence did they have? None. He was about to pull out his phone when he looked ahead, and froze at the familiar blonde hair sprawled out on the floor. Jake opens the door wide open and steps inside.

Whatever he felt seeing Toby’s body can’t compare to the feelings running through his mind right now. There’s blood everywhere, and it’s not the blood of the woman he wishes it to be. There’s a cold, dead expression that forms on his face as he steps closer to the pair, and leans down to look at her. To look at his girlfriend. She wasn’t breathing, her heart wasn’t beating, and the blood from every open wound was already staining his clothes and his hands. Kat was dead. And Adee was holding the knife. He doesn’t freeze, but he gives himself a moment with her, a moment with the girl he truly loved—or at least fooled himself into believing he did—before glancing up at Adee. The hatred for her grows just like Kat’s blood spreads across the ground, and he stands up, facing the much shorter woman, and picking up the knife Adee had been using.

There’s an unrecognizable glint in his eyes, and the smile he was used to faking is nowhere to be found as he steps closer to her. “Do you think you’ve won?” he asks, voice rough and full of malice, continuing to back the both of them up until she hits the wall. Jake doesn’t think before extending his hands up, tightly grasping at her neck until it was her forced breaths that filled the silence. 

“She was everything,” he lets out, hands tightening around her necklaces he grows angrier. “And you are nothing.” There is no taunting on his part, no manipulation or tactics besides the anger he runs on, letting go of her neck, and raising the blade between the two of them. “You never meant anything to me, you worthless bitch,” Jake adds, before pushing the knife into her chest, pulling the blade out before pulling her by the hair and throwing her on the ground, mere feet away from Kat. 

“Look at what you did. You ruined everything.” Jake bends down and stabs her again, and again, and again until they’re both bloody and he’s the only one left to make heavy breaths. He tosses the knife to the side, standing up and running his hands through his hair. Fuck. Killing Adee doesn’t make him happy, it doesn’t put him at ease like it had every time. Because it wouldn’t bring Kat back. It wouldn’t bring Toby back. And it certainly wouldn’t absolve him of his inevitable future. 

He ignores the blood everywhere, unable to look at his girlfriend’s face for too long and he decides to make another plan. Jake was good at them. The first would have worked, if that crazy bitch wouldn’t have taken things too far. He’d make another plan. Ruin Adee’s life again, only this time it was to save himself. It wouldn’t be long before the police showed up, before someone checked the cameras and saw all three of them go into the room along with Vera’s body outside.

Jake knew he had to be quick, picking up the knife that was tainted by the blood of the two women he’d been with before bracing himself and jamming the blade into his stomach. The pain was immediate and undeniable, but it was necessary. Adee had killed his girlfriend because she was jealous, and when Jake got upset, she tried to kill him too before he acted in self-defense.

For good measure, to make sure his story would be accurate, he took the knife out, his own blood spilling down his clothes before stabbing himself again, and dropping to his knees, tossing the blade off to the side and letting himself feel the physical pain. He hunched over in pain as the police pushed open the door, revealing the horror. As the only one left barely conscious, it was Jake who was put into handcuffs, mind blurring out his rights being read and being escorted out of the building as a blank look crossed over his features, the wheels in his mind turning as he was bandaged up and taken to the station. 

MAY 21ST, 2023

Just as he expects, everything is going to plan. Somewhere along the line of cleaning Adee’s mess up, Jake notices how unbelievably out of it she was. She killed a man, and she still found a way to look helpless. It conveniently makes forgetting something behind all too easy, even if it was wiped free of any fingerprints or DNA, effectively making the death of Rhys Miller public knowledge following a few days of waiting. He wants to test Adee, it’s the newest obsession in his mind with the end of the school year approaching. She looks perfectly fine after the news of Rhys came out, barely mourning the loss of her dead hookup. Adee was capable of killing someone, even if it was accidental like she’d said, but he wondered if she was capable of more. 

He’d risked his entire future for her, and now Jake was feeling as though she owed him something. Her loyalty. He was wondering how far she would go for him, how much she really meant it when she was so thankful towards him a few weeks ago.

Jake was calculated in his decision. He sat at his desk just as the school day finished and pondered the two clear options. Surely, one would be easier. There were three of them, but Jake intended to see if he could be the one to break the trio, and eventually, take the remaining girl away too. As he thought about it again, leaning back in his chair, he nodded to himself, realizing he was right. Maya would be far easier. 

After a little waiting, and a little knock to the head after he’d followed her on her way home, Jake set the younger girl down on a chair, finding an abandoned shack just by the shore of Echo Beach, the smell of the sea and sound of the waves the only thing left to fill the silence of the night. He pulled out his phone, pulled up Adee’s number, and texted her.

JAKE: Come see me. I have a surprise for you.

He deleted the text and any following that, thinking that Kat was the kind of girlfriend to go through his phone when he was in the shower. She was a little crazy, a little more so since the news of Rhys, but he liked it. Jake liked the role he played with her, the loving boyfriend who had nothing to hide. Waiting around, he could only really sit with himself, not exactly able to make conversation with an unconscious Maya. Beyond being somewhat of a friend, Jake didn't particularly care for her and felt like the girl’s only personality trait was that she lived in Japan and knew how to use a camera. It was better that she couldn’t talk right now, that way he couldn’t grow annoyed and be vicious towards her. 

Jake can’t help but smile as he sees Adee, greeting her at the door and blocking the sight of Maya. He doesn’t bother asking her how she is, what she’d been doing, because none of it really matters to him. What did matter was watching the horror and shock cross over Adee’s face as she realized it was her best friend who was unconscious and tied up. She looks terrified of him, terrified of the possibilities right now, and it only makes him want to laugh. Her innocent act is almost realistic enough, if he hadn’t seen her violently murder a man a few weeks prior.

“Kill her, or I’ll kill you both,” he says sweetly after a few moments, caressing her cheek and looking into her eyes as if she was the one he adored. He takes a seat, handing her the knife that was in his hand, because in all his years of knowing Adee, Jake already knows what she’ll do. It’s a matter of seeing it for himself, gaining a sick sense of satisfaction and happiness watching her kill her own best friend, watching her break piece by piece all because of him. It’s unreal the way he feels at ease, comfortable and relaxed for once in his life. It’s so beyond refreshing that Jake doesn’t want to let go of the feeling, and he wonders if being this in control was the only way he could achieve it. 

With Maya’s corpse hunched over in the chair, Adee having taken a step back, he was reminded of how good it felt to tear Rhys apart, to remove the essence of who he was piece by piece. Why did everyone else get to be happy and normal besides him? Why did everyone else get to have something they loved and cherished and it be genuine? He looks down at Maya’s hands. Taking apart a body every time would be too hard, so maybe he can take what they love instead. Her and those stupid fucking pictures. The number of times Jake remembers the younger pointing a camera in his direction, forced to look poised and happy when he felt anything but. She doesn’t deserve to keep what she loves.

So he has his fun, chopping off her hands and discarding them to throw away later, taking his time with making sure his area is clean and free of any evidence. The police are incompetent, but he prefers to not take any chances. Jake doesn’t intend to keep anything that could possibly trace this back to him anyway. It’s late at night, pitch black surrounding the area with the exception of the faint moonlight, dropping Maya’s body by the water before going home unnoticed. 

He’ll take care of the other one next.

JUNE 5TH, 2023

Nobody ever liked Tucker Rivers.

At least, that’s what Jake thought. For as long as he’s known the older, Jake’s hated him, thinking that he was a two-faced douchebag, and that you’d have to be an idiot to like the guy. Mariana did attend an Ivy League just to get a degree in the arts, but Jake would’ve thought the girl he’d grown up with would've been a little smarter. He can’t even pretend to be surprised by their long-winded talk where he mostly found himself repeating himself for 20 minutes, but he’s already annoyed by the situation. Tucker was a name he only preferred to hear about once a year at most, and suddenly, he was the topic of far too many conversations. Really, he was doing everyone a favor tonight.

Just as he’s discarding the cigarette in his mouth, bud and ashes staining the concrete, a familiar face appears, not that it’s unexpected. “I’ve been hearing about you too much lately,” Jake lets out, leaning against the brick wall a block or so away from Salem Surf. “It’s pissing me off,” he adds. The other smirks and laughs in turn, and though Jake’s face remains unfazed, he remembers why he and the older fought so much growing up. He’s never bothered with a mask of happiness or sincerity around Tucker, because Jake is confident nobody would believe a word that comes out of the lowlife’s mouth. 

“Come on, Jakey. You and I have more in common than you’ll ever admit.” He hates that nickname, and he hates it even more coming from Tucker’s mouth. There’s a knife behind his back, concealed until he pushes himself off of the wall and steps in the older’s direction, the glint of the blade coming into view as he holds it to his side. “You’re right,” Jake remarks, looking into Tucker’s eyes before smiling, letting out a chuckle of his own. This is normally the part where he’d throw a punch, their common, juvenile routine coming into play. Except instead of a punch to the face, it’s a knife to the gut that Jake throws, a gentle smile remaining on his face as he spoke again. “But I’m better than you, Tuck. And I always have been.”

He watches as the other falls to the ground, taking the knife out before bending down and stabbing him again. It’s refreshing and though he hadn’t actually killed anyone yet, Adee doing all of his dirty work, Jake was starting to see the appeal. Every cry, every yell of pain that wouldn't be heard by anyone. It was all because of him. So he kept going, until the cries faded out and there was blood pouring out in excess, and Tucker no longer screamed out for help.

Jake reminds himself he’s in public, covering Tucker’s mouth halfway through so his muffled screams weren’t heard by a soul. He wanted to have more fun, but it was late, and he promised Kat he’d make dinner after he stopped at home and showered. There wouldn’t be any time for more, much to his own dismay.

Tucker’s body was discarded in the trash before he headed home, just where he belonged.

JUNE 10TH, 2023

It’s fortunate that nobody truly mourns the loss of the eldest River brother besides his best friend, but he doesn’t mind it. Jake knows what’s best for Toby, and he knows he’s the brother that the other truly deserved. It is a nuisance to see his life-long friend become a suspect and to have his girlfriend be the one to accuse him. If anything, both of them are the only true, non-blood attachments he could never give up. Jake doesn’t want to entertain the thought of taking one of their sides or losing either of them. It frustrates him a bit, so he decides that it’s time to get back to plan, something that would ensure him peace and happiness. 

It’s time to get rid of Julia Davis.

As fun as being partially responsible, and at times fully responsible, for the deaths that had the town shaken up, and as fun as being in control of whether someone lived or died was, Jake liked to think there was a worse reality than death. He likes to imagine what it would be like to ruin someone’s life, bend them to his will, and make them lose everything they’ve ever had. He wondered what it would feel like to leave someone hollow and broken, the way he’d felt his entire life. He wondered what it would feel to create the monster his mother had with him. 

He wondered if he could do that to Adee.

In the end, Jake was a simple person. He didn’t need an elaborate plan to ruin her, he just needed to take away the right pieces. It was fortunate that a girl like Adee didn’t have much of a brain, and that her loyalties, her true loyalties were obvious. He planned for her loyalties to only lie with him, which meant there were people that had to go. 

Jake had his car parked outside the Daily Dose, watching from afar his younger sister get off of work and leave the premises, and then he watched as the few remaining customers filtered out and it was just the girl he was looking for remaining. Julia wasn’t a tall person, nor was she very strong in his personal opinion, so knocking her out and carrying her to his car had been easy, barely even glancing at her face as he dropped her in his trunk. He’d specifically waited for everyone to leave, knowing better than to get caught. It’s why he could practically feel the eyes at the back of his head, the unsure ‘hello’ that’s spoken out, shutting his trunk and going into the driver's seat to grab a knife. It’s a bit dull, and it’s unfortunate that they’ve seen too much. But his plan isn’t finished, and he won’t be caught regardless.

Ruby Sullivan was someone Jake only knew in passing. They made music, not that he’d listened to half the crap any of the self-proclaimed artists in town made. He couldn’t say he felt anything as he twisted a knife into her back, maybe besides a little bit of pleasure. Jake finds it funny that they still fight, even when it’s clear he has the upper hand. He bends down as her body falls to the ground, sending the blade right back into her over and over again. He’s being thorough, taking out a little bit of his frustration on them. Jake is bent down over their body, glancing down to see his gray hoodie has splotches of red all over it, making him sigh. “Look what you did, Ruby. This was expensive,” he lets out, rolling his eyes at her unconscious body before picking them up, tossing her inside the trunk alongside Julia. He wishes they would’ve been a little quicker to pass out, maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning his car tomorrow too.

…

He doesn’t like when Adee cries. Because there isn’t a moment where he can bring himself to feel bad for her. Jake doesn’t care that she’s breaking over the idea of her unconscious best friend, because 20 seconds ago, she was happy to see Ruby dead right next to her. How is that fair? Maybe it was Julia who he was doing a favor, having her killed so she wouldn’t have to deal with a psychotic best friend. She pleads and says no, and lets those ugly tears stream down her face, and all Jake can do is admire the shiny knife in his hands, much sharper compared to the one he used on Ruby. He repeats those same words he did when it was Maya’s body next to them. And because he knows Adee, he knows she’ll do this.

For the second time, he sits back and watches as Adee kills another of her best friends, destroying her world because of him. He almost would’ve kissed her, knowing that she was dying for a sign that he cared beyond their sick and twisted secret. But honestly, she looked ugly with all that crying, and maybe it would be better to save it for another time. There was a high he got watching her kill, but for now, he’d save his afterthoughts of pleasure for Kat. Maybe on her kitchen counter this time.

As for his fun, what he would take this time, the fingers felt like an obvious choice. Ruby would never be able to play another chord on the bass, and Julia would never be able to type up an unfinished novel again. Left for the creative, musically-inclined one, and right for the do-gooder, book-smart one. 

JUNE 23RD, 2023

It doesn’t surprise him to see Adee cozying up to Dante at the festival a week ago. Jake remembers hearing something about them hooking up in the bathroom of Medusa, but it’s not all that surprising to see her latch onto a guy who’s clearly looking for a rebound. Jake doesn’t like the way she looks so happy at the festival, that the tears she shed over killing her best friend weeks ago have been replaced by a lovestruck look in her eyes. Maybe a part of him is glad that she’s so desperate, because it makes things easier for him.

Adee is someone he’s known for a good part of his life, and if there's one thing he knows for certain about her, it’s her desperation for love. Best friends would come and go, but love? It was something he’d watched her chase her entire life. Before her parents got arrested and her life went to hell. Truthfully, he’d been waiting for a sign. The final part of his plan to take away the things she loves. He almost considers letting Dante live a little longer, until he acknowledges that a murderer like Adee doesn’t deserve to be happy. She looked at Jake like he was everything, until some guy with a guitar and shitty rock music came along, and there was a big part of Jake that didn’t like that. After all he’d done for her, she was still looking for something better.

It was nice living in a small town, it was easy to find people and follow them without looking suspicious. Nobody was even looking when he’d taken Dante, knocked him over the head and thrown him in the backseat of his car. You’d think after the police were aware of a murderer being on the loose, they’d be a little more diligent. He grabbed Dante’s phone from his pocket, chuckling as a notification from Adee came up. 

On the drive over to Royal Cove beach, Jake wondered if he’d be able to make her do it. If it came down to it, would Adee really kill off her last hope at happiness? There was a part of him that doubted it, especially seeing her almost hesitate killing Julia. He decided he’d do them both a favor tonight, and kill Dante himself. Jake leans back in his driver’s seat, pulling out his own phone to text Adee.

JAKE: Want to come see his surprise?

He’d have an hour or so before security made their way around the beach, which gave him plenty of time to get in and out. Admittedly, he got bored waiting for Adee to show up, kicking Dante’s unconscious body around and thinking about the possible repercussions of killing a nice guy like him. Jake knew he was close with Kat, but maybe it could work to his advantage. She’d be upset, which gave him the opportunity to be there for him. Being her boyfriend was harder than he imagined, mostly because she was so headstrong and dominant in public. But with people dying around them, he got to be the strong one between the two of them. 

Watching Adee approach through the darkness made him feel excited, knowing her reaction was half the fun. He held the knife in his hand, rested right under the man’s chin as he propped up Dante’s unconscious and bloodied face for her to see. “Surprise,” he says, a light but wicked grin forming on his face. Jake lets go of Dante’s hair, letting his body fall to the group as he lets out a sigh. “I’m hurt, Adee. I thought we had something special,” Jake says, walking towards her. He paints his expression to be soft, almost as if he’s concerned about the state of the two of them. “Wasn’t it always supposed to be us in the end?” he asks, cupping her cheek gently. Jake smiles, and if there wasn’t an unconscious body between them, and if you ignored the fact that he had a girlfriend at home, you’d almost think his words were genuine. He sighs again, letting go of her and walking back to where Dante was, raising the knife that was in his hand before looking back at Adee. His eyes returned back to their normal state of coldness, looking at her even as he plunged a knife into Dante’s chest, ripping the knife out before stabbing him again. Jake didn’t like to take any chances, he wanted to make sure when he dropped his body down by the shore, that he’d really be dead.

His hands were a little bloody as he dropped Dante to the ground, walking back up to Adee and cupping her cheeks again, not caring that it was her now dead ex-boyfriend’s blood that stained both his hands and her face. Jake stepped closer to her, and he ignored her tears this time, ignored how pathetic she looked and how he’d rather be kissing the girl he loved right now. But plans weren’t about feelings, and he was a master at pretending. 

So after looking up and down her face, as if he was admiring her beauty, Jake brought his lips to hers, closing the distance between the two and embracing her frame. It was gentle, and tender, and sweet, and everything he truly wasn’t, taking his time to open up her mouth a bit before holding back a smirk as she kissed back. He could feel the change in her, satisfied at his own doing and because she’d been so good about following his plans, Jake gave her what he knew she wanted. Just as he’d been there for years to be her rebound, to be the one she sought comfort with after his best friend had broken up with her, he was here again. Lips heavy against hers just as they’d been years ago, and for a moment, Jake remembered why he was attracted to her again.