“A lot,” he said. “I have been so lonely without her.”
“It’s alright, I am here now,” Robin said, stroking his hair.
“And you will always be here?” he asked. “You won’t leave me?”
“Of course, I won’t leave you,” she said. “When we get out of here, I will take you to all the places I keep telling you about. The candy shop, the parks, and all the other places!”
“Wow,” he whispered, his eyes bright with amazement.
Robin couldn’t help but smile as she looked at him. He had changed so much in the last five months. He had changed. Here was this broken kid who tortured animals for amusement. Now he was filled with love again. It surprised her how little it took to fight the evil born within him. In the end, all it took was love. She wondered what else would be right in the world if everyone was just kinder and loving.
Robin gasped, the memory flashing before her eyes. She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to remember.
The kid stood before her, covered in blood.
“I did this for you,” he whispered, his eyes wide with fear. “I did it for you, Robin. You have to see the birds outside.”
“What did you do?” Robin whispered, horrified.
“I did it for you,” he said. “Say Hi to Abby for me.”
Robin sat up, her head aching. What was that? A memory? What had happened down there? Why was there so much blood? Was that a memory, or just another nightmare?
She walked out of her room, heading to the kitchen downstairs to get a drink of water. She walked into the kitchen and then froze, noticing a dark silhouette lurking in the corner.
“Jim?” she whispered.
“It’s me,” he whispered. “I couldn’t sleep, so I just came for some milk.”
“Jim, are you okay?” she asked, slowly walking toward him.
He turned around to face her, his body shaking.
“I see him everywhere,” he gasped. “I hear his voice all the time. I don’t even know what he looks like, but I see him! A demon! A horrible monster! He has my Abby!”
“Jim, it’s okay,” Robin said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Everything will be okay. Don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to Abby!”
“He will never leave me!” Jim said.
“Jim, snap out of it!” Robin said, shaking him. “You can’t act like this. You need to pull yourself together! Abby needs you right now! You know how much she depends on you. And right now, you need to be there for her! And you can’t help her if you are like this! I know how traumatized you are. I know how much you worry about Abby and how hard all of this is for you! But you need to get a hold of yourself! For Abby! For your Baby!”
He looked at her, his face unreadable.
“But he is everywhere, Robin,” he whispered. “I see him outside our house every night.”
“What are you talking about?” Robin whispered.
Silence reigned between them as Jim just looked at her. The kitchen was dark, and the only source of light was the moonlight that entered through the window. She could only see half of Jim’s face, and he looked horrified. He just pointed toward the window, and Robin turned to look toward it.
“Jim, tell me what you mean,” she insisted.
“I can’t sleep,” he said. “So, I come down here, so I don’t disturb Abby. And every night when I look out of the window, I see him there, looking at me. That dark shadow of a monster is always there. Always watching us.”
“You’re seeing things,” Robin said. “Look, Jim, I am seeing a therapist. Maybe he can help you. Maybe he can make things better for you, okay? I will give you his details, but I really think you should get back to Abby now. Just try and get some sleep, okay?”
“How can I sleep when he is out there watching us all?” he whispered.
“Just do it for Abby,” Robin said. “She needs you, Jim. Abby really needs your support and love right now. After all, she has been through. She knows that you are suffering, and it’s worrying her. Why don’t you go get some rest, and we will discuss this in detail tomorrow?”
He sighed and then stood up shakily.
“He is there,” Jim said. “He is always watching us. We can’t escape him. Never.”
He scuffled away, and Robin stood there watching him walk away. She waited until he had climbed the stairs, and she heard his bedroom door closing before turning around. She slowly made her way toward the window and slightly parted the curtain.
There he was. A dark silhouette, standing at the other side of the street, staring at their house. Jim was right.
He was watching them.
Chapter Fifteen
“Detective Matthews,” Andrews said, quickly making his way toward her.
“Andrews, just call me Robin or Matthews,” she said. “I told you that ten times already.”
“Alright, so I did as you said and looked at the CCTV footage outside your sister’s house,” he said. “But I couldn’t find anything. The camera doesn’t work. It has been out of order for the last few weeks.”
“I see,” Robin said. “Alright, thank you. Just don’t tell anyone about this, okay?”
“Of course,” he said, smiling at her. “I understand.”
Robin got lost in her thoughts again when Andrews’ voice interrupted her again.
“Hey, isn’t this the Blackwell crest?” he asked.
“Sorry, what?” Robin asked.
“The necklace around your neck,” he said, pointing to the necklace the Executioner had sent to her. “That’s the Blackwell family crest.”
Robin took one look at it and then instantly sat up.
“Why don’t you tell me more about this crest?” she asked.
“I don’t know much about it,” he said. “All I know is that they are one of the ancient families belonging to the town of Ravensville. I only know about it because my grandmother lived in that town, and I would sometimes visit her. I didn’t know you were a Blackwell family member. I heard they all died.”
“I am not,” Robin said, forcing a
