Piper walked across the landing to Stephen's room to find him partially dressed, and the contents of his room scattered on the floor. "Come on. Judy's here. Can you put some socks on?" She waited by the door.
~~~
Now the house was empty and silent, she felt like she could catch a breath. Quiet used to signal loneliness, but now, she craved it as much as she craved alcohol and Oxy. The washing still sat in the sink, and on the countertops, but she had all day for that.
She put the television on and perused the internet. Her defenses went up when she saw a flurry of activity in the group. A lot of exclamation marks and capital letters. The more she read, the worse it got. Danger, they could be in actual real-world danger. It wasn't just a game anymore.
Quicky_Mart: Anyone about. I really need someone to talk to.
Pipes1983: What's up. Can't believe Aadesh got a threat. Scary stuff.
Quicky_Mart: It gets worse.
The simple sentence made her hairs stand on end. Worse?
Pipes1983: What?
Quicky_Mart: My house. It's gone. Burnt down.
Pipes1983: Oh no. That's horrible.
Quicky_Mart: That's why I haven't been online for a while. I couldn't function. I was so low, still am. Just need someone to talk to.
Pipes1983: I'm here. If there's anything I can do.
Quicky_Mart: The thing is, the fire investigation people. They said it was a cigarette that wasn't put out.
Her stomach lurched. All the memories flooded back in an instant. The sound of her children calling out for her through the smoke. The absolute terror. The guilt. She couldn't relive it, but she had been through it. She had to be there for him.
Pipes1983: Things like this happen. I know it's hard but please don't beat yourself up. You need to be kind to yourself right now. It's a terrible loss.
She typed the words, and she believed them, for Martin, not for herself. She had people she should have been protecting. She was the one that almost killed the people most precious to her.
Quicky_Mart: I'm not beating myself up.
It took her a moment to process the words. How could he deal with what happened, yet years later, she still gave herself hell everyday? What purpose was it serving her? How could she be better if she couldn't let it go?
Pipes1983: That's good then.
Quicky_Mart: It wasn't me. I don't smoke. Never have. All I can think is that someone broke in or something. Some kids, or a drug addict looking for somewhere to crash.
The hits just kept coming. She couldn't work out his tone from the message, but she wondered if he despised people like her. Addicts. She never considered herself a drug addict before. It was prescribed, at first. Drug addicts were people hanging out on street corners or under bridges injecting themselves with heroin or taking crystal meth. She was not that. That's what she told herself anyway, and it made her feel better for a while, that was until she considered actually obtaining heroin.
They had stopped her medication and left her with nothing. She just hit the drink even harder to fill the gap that it left behind. It was the only thing that came close to relieving some of the anxiety and tension.
Quicky_Mart: You still there?
Pipes1983: I'm here.
Quicky_Mart: The only other thing I can think, and I know this is pretty out-there, but what if it was the killer sending me a message like he did Aadesh?
No. It couldn't be. If it was, then why did he pick that particular method? He'd clearly done his research on Aadesh to know where he was going to be. He could have all sorts of information on all of them. If that was the case, then this was all her fault. He could have found out about the fire, got access to the news articles, the police report even. He knew what she had done, and he had used that to send a message to Martin.
If it wasn't for what she had done, maybe he would have just called in a false bomb threat or something as innocuous. Maybe, he wouldn't have destroyed the life of this man. He used her for inspiration. Her breakfast threatened to come back up. She couldn't do this anymore.
Pipes1983: We need to stop this. I'm never messaging the forum, or this group ever again. No posts, no private chats, nothing. I'm sorry, but I just can't. Please be careful. Goodbye.
She got rid of the website and sat shaking for a minute until her phone buzzed. Someone had got back to her about the clock from the video. She had messaged the suspected seller advising them of the situation.
Dear Piper
Yes, this is one of mine. I remember it well.
Apologies, but I'm not allowed to give out customer details for security reasons. If it is very serious, then the police will be able to request this.
Kind regards
Of course. Just when she had vowed to drop the whole thing, an actual solid clue dropped into her lap. She would worry about that later. She needed to get a hold of herself and calm down a little.
Another beep. Another message, although this one was not from Martin.
Not.all.heroes.wear.capes: I'm glad you're all coming to your senses. I'm not playing. This is serious. www.pearsonselementaryschool.org
She didn't need to click on the link to know what was going on. It was their school. He was threatening her kids. "This can't be happening." She rocked back and forward, her hands clasped together. Please, please, please don't let anything happen to them. This was the last straw. Her recklessness
