“Time for what?” I look at Justin’s still body again.
“You should really eat something. You’ve been asleep for a while, and you skipped dinner last night.”
“How do you know that?”
“Like I said, if you wanted to keep me out of your house you would have done a better job of it.”
“You . . . you had a camera installed in my house?”
“Yes. Only this one, though. I prefer live footage, watching and filming as it’s happening. It was hard to do when I had to keep leaving for work and to run errands. But I don’t have anywhere to be for a while now.”
“You’re admitting it, then.” A coldness washes over me.
“Admitting what?” He cocks his head and leans down to sit Justin’s body up against one of the corners of the room.
“That you’ve been videoing me and stalking me since way before we met.”
“I mean . . . sure. I do think it’s best to be honest with each other going forward, as much as possible.” He stops moving and slowly turns to me. “You knew.” It’s not a question.
“Yeah.”
“How?” His forehead shifts.
“I took videos from your house, all the ones with our names on them, and when I was watching them, I realized there were some I’d never seen before. You were in my trailer.”
“Yes,” he says.
“And . . . and my apartment.”
He nods sharply.
“You’re no better than him.” I nod in Justin’s direction. “You’re the same.”
His expression goes cold. “No, baby. I’m not like him.”
“You touched me without me knowing. I was knocked out from my sleeping meds. You took advantage of me.”
His eyes are frantic. “No. I only did it because you were restless. You needed my help. You didn’t feel fear after what I did. You were relaxed and in the best mood you had been in days. I gave you something. He tried to take only for himself.”
“Hayden . . . you sound deranged. You aren’t seeing things for what they are.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I am, and I’m waiting for you to get there with me. Join me. Free yourself from the bonds of other people’s expectations. Playing by others’ rules has only done you more harm than good. You don’t have to worry about that here.”
“What do you mean?”
He kicks a black bag forward that he had on his shoulder when he first entered. Bending down, he unzips it and dumps its contents onto the ground.
I’m too shocked to speak, and alarm bells are sounding in my head as I stare at what’s in front of me. It’s all the props from the last movie and some from one I did before it. I touch the handle of the knife, and I’ve seen this before. I trace the brand name on the side, my insides twisting.
It’s the knife I was gifted. I took this to my trailer and then home. The machete is here too. Blood is covering it. Kathy’s blood. My chest quickly lifting and falling, I pick up the butcher’s knife, twirling it around in my fingers. The light up above catches in the metal. My throat is tight. So is my stomach.
“What is all this?” My skin prickles when he smiles at me.
“All for you. To use in our movies. To use on him.” He looks at Justin and a chill goes through me.
“Are you saying . . . no . . . no . . . let us go right now, Hayden. This . . . this isn’t right.”
“Let you go?” He frowns. “You’re not a prisoner. Justin isn’t either.” He glances back at him again. “He’s the co-star. He was chosen for the role right off the bat without a single audition. He should be so grateful.”