A Series of Eerie - Next Chapter

Do you remember what it felt like laying in the snow as a child?

Despite that bitter cold snow, something about it made us feel good. The snow was there to soften any fall. I don't know if I'll ever look at it the same now.

11 missing girls in 6 months. Our once safe, quiet town was suddenly eerie. Officer Wynn called me. I felt my stomach turn and my arms lit up with goosebumps.

A single strand of long black hair was found in our freezer, this belonged to one of the missing girls. The police were able to search Ethan's gym and so far they hadn't found anything else linking him to the other missing women.

It was best for me to stay at my mom's house but I feared Ethan could show up at any moment.

What made me feel even more unsettled was finding a tracker on my car.

Ethan explained to the police that one of the missing girls, Rebecca, recently signed up for a gym membership. He insisted that the hair must have somehow fallen into one of his gym bags and he trailed it into our home on accident. Seeing as there was no other evidence, they couldn't hold him but they would keep a close eye on him.

I left my phone off for most of the day but my heart couldn't take another moment of not hearing from him, the man I thought I knew better than I knew myself. I was able to record the call in case he confessed to anything, this was Officer Wynn's suggestion and it made me feel less guilty about desperately wanting to speak with Ethan.

When I finally answered the phone, the first thing he said was that he loved and missed me. He swore Rebecca was never in our home and it was a giant misunderstanding. I have to admit, I believed him...but then I thought back to the late nights and the blood drops I saw in our outdoor storage room.

"We have to get married. I don't know what'll happen next and I don't want to go another day without being married to you." He insisted. Something in his voice sounded different, darker...nervous...maybe even guilty.

"I can handle anything, Ethan. I love you. If you cheated or hurt someone..." I had to stop and take a deep breath, "I'm sure you had a good reason. What I can't take is hearing things from other people. We can be honest with each other...please just be honest with me." I urged, my heart felt so heavy, like an anchor in my chest.

He chuckled and it caught me off guard, a wicked chuckle. He hung up. I'm assuming he figured out I was recording the conversation.

I wanted to talk to Jack. I felt like he was struggling with this too. I couldn't get a hold of him.

Officer Wynn sent another officer to my mom's to collect the tracker I found on my car. I was positive it was placed by Ethan, but they wanted to check for fingerprints anyway.

The next day it was revealed that the fingerprints belonged to Jack.

Ethan met me at a park nearby.

"You need to tell me everything." I urged, "I need the truth and I'll know if you're lying."

The mid daylight reflecting off the snow revealed how tired and worn down he looked, but he was still the man I loved.

"It started off small...so it was easy enough to ignore, to play it off like it wasn't a big deal. I covered for him. I'd say he was with me, thinking maybe he was into drugs but not knowing he was hurting people. When I found out, it was too late. He said if I ever went to the cops I'd be deemed equally guilty, as an accomplice."

"What about the evidence they found in our home?"

"He stayed with us...he leveraged what he had on me, said he could go to the police and blame it on me. He told me he hid things in our house, but as soon as he started commenting about you, I kicked him out. I said it wasn't worth it, putting you in danger."

"He put a tracker on my car."

"When I was arrested he called me and said he'd find you. I was terrified. Turns out he was only messing with my head. I told the police everything, but there's still a chance I could serve time because this has been going on for years. Jack - he wants my life and he thought he could do it by making you think I'm a murderer."

"It worked Ethan, it really worked. I'm here with you and I still feel some sort of wall between us."

"I can't go back. I wish I could," He grabbed my hand, "I would've told you sooner but then you'd be a part of this mess."

I half believed him but was prone to doubt. This once shiny, seemingly perfect person was now damaged. Even if I put him back together he'd never look the same to me.

"Why did you protect Jack for so long?" I asked

"He was like a brother to me, he became my family. I wanted to believe the good side was always there. Honestly, I still want to help him somehow."

"No one can find him...you said he talked about me?"

"Yeah, at one point he was pretty obsessed."

"So...if I sent him a message...told him I knew you did it and I wanted to run off with him, do you think he'd believe it?"

"You can't get involved with him. It's too dangerous."

"You can hide in the house and I'll tell Officer Wynn." I suggested

"It might be crazy enough to work." He admitted.