Chapter 20: Finn - Pisces

Finn had paced the floor, watching Hannah beg for what seemed like an hour. After a look at his phone for the hundredth time, he realized it had been forty-five minutes. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he knew he didn’t have all night to decide.

“Please, just let me go,” Hannah said. “It’s that simple. Just open the door, and I’ll go out and get my own help. You don’t have to follow me. You don’t have to get anyone’s attention. I’ll never tell the police anything.”

“Would you shut the fuck up?” He ran up the stairs, knowing that Hannah wasn’t going to be able to follow. The amount of chain she had was not enough to reach, and she had already ripped her ankle up trying to test her boundaries.

He took out his phone, not sure that Bay was going to be okay with him calling again. He had thought about the situation for nearly an hour, and he needed to find out if what she was saying was true. He couldn’t believe that Bay had tortured Tad’s sister. It had to be because of what she knew and not because of the relation. He finally found the courage to call Bay, and once the phone was ringing, he knew there was no turning back.

“Did you do it?” Bay asked.

“No, I haven’t done it! Are you insane? This is Tad’s sister, Bay. I met her at his funeral. I sat and comforted her. She’s a nurse for fuck’s sake, a good person, and Logan’s in love with her.”

“So much that he told her everything about us. I have them on tape. She’s a useless slut, and she gave herself to him in order to coax him into telling.”

“You didn’t have to cut her up, Bay. She’s bled a lot, and her ankle is ripped open and bleeding.” He didn’t like to see another human being suffer. It was just like with that poor girl back at camp.

“Then end her suffering,” Bay said. “Make it quick, Finn. For fuck’s sake, her misery is in your hands. Show her the mercy and peace of death.”

“I can’t. I don’t know how I could possibly.”

“There’s a gun in the garage and knives in the kitchen. I know you can do this, Finn. Do it for us. Do it for love.”

“Stop it. Love isn’t like this.” He thought that Bay must be sick to think the way he did.

“How do you know? You never loved me? Is there anything you wouldn’t do for me?”

“Did you offer to keep her? To make her your lover?”

“Hell no,” Bay said. “She’s lying to you. Don’t let her beat you at a game of wits, Finn. You’re the smart one. She’s just playing you to get you to let her go. She knows that you’re having a hard time with it. Logan probably told her how weak you were. He told her everything else. Don’t let her see that weakness. Do it, Finn. Do it for us, for the others who have made their lives into something. They don’t deserve to go to prison because of one person running their mouth.”

“I can’t do it, Bay. I’m not as strong as you. You come and do it, please. Please come down here.”

“You sound like a fucking coward. Just like when you were a kid. Remember when I found you standing beside that tree, Finn. I told you then that I had your back. I have your back now; I’m here. I’m here trying to make you see that this is all you have to do to have me, and then we can be together.”

“I want it to be real this time, Bay.” He’d longed for it to be real, for his crush to see him the same way, but he had given up hope on that years ago.

“Then show me how much you fucking love me. She’s trying to ruin me, to ruin us. I tried to beg her not to turn us in, but she said she’d rather die than cut us a break. Do it, just make it fast. And when you’re done, come to me, Finn. Come to me and let me prove myself to you. We can have so much if you’d only believe in me the way I believe in you, the way I’ve always believed in you. When no one else did. You’re the most talented one of us, and the others couldn’t handle it.”

Finn wanted to believe in everything Bay was saying, and the fact that Bay could see into his soul, could know what he was thinking and feeling, showed that they were meant for one another. “You’ve always been my fantasy, Bay. Even before I knew what I wanted in life, I’ve always wanted to be everything to you. No one else understands you, just like no one else but you could understand me.”

“I know, Finn. Do you want to know why I was always so protective of you? Why I didn’t let the others come down on you, and why I didn’t let them tease you for your tears? It’s because you are the better half of me, Finn. You’re all the good I’ve always wanted to be. But now, now it’s time to find balance. Be as I am. Show me you have enough of me in you. You have the same courage I do. Go down there and do this for me. For our love.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Call me when it’s done, and I’ll handle the rest.”

The phone went dead, and Finn turned and looked at the basement door. He’d have to figure out a way to do it where she wouldn’t suffer. Some way where he wouldn’t have to look at her, some way where there’d be no blood, no struggle. He went to the kitchen and found a pair of gloves, and then he got a garbage bag from under the sink and carried it down.

Hannah looked at him with wide eyes. “What are you going to do with that stuff, Finn? What’s Bay making you do and why?”

“You shut your mouth about him.”

“You think he cares about you? He doesn’t. He doesn’t know what love is. He doesn’t have the ability to feel. He’s a sociopath, and he’s got you right where he wants you. Why hasn’t he come down here? Is he making you do the dirty work? Just like Lou. The big guy that was here. He had him playing the bitch. He told him all the same things.”

“Shut up!” He ran over, and with his gloved hand, he struck her. Her head turned nearly around, and she fell to the floor. “You don’t get to talk about him that way.”

Hannah spat blood, and then he realized he’d reopened the wound on her lip. “You’re just as crazy as he is.” She shook her head. “You’re all just as fucking crazy as him.”

Finn opened the trash bag and grabbed her as she tried to crawl away. He pinned her down as he lowered himself to straddle her back. He was glad he didn’t have to look her in the eyes, to see the pain of death and loss as he’d seen before at Tad’s funeral, and how that death and loss was now her own. He wrapped the plastic over her face, pulling it tight as she struggled, but as if she knew it was her time, she stopped struggling, and after what seemed like ten minutes, he moved off of her. But it wasn’t as long as it felt. It couldn’t have been because she jerked on the floor. He threw his knee into her back and pushed her down hard. Her neck made a sharp cracking sound, and then Hannah went limp.

It was done.

Finn didn’t move, this time taking a minute to make sure she wasn’t going to wake up. She was quiet. The screaming, the breathing and panting, it was all quiet now.

He rolled off her and backed away across the floor, scrambling to get as far from her as he possibly could.

He looked at Hannah who was lying still, her neck in a twisted position, and he felt the sting of bile at the back of his throat. He tried hard to hold it down, but he threw up in the corner against the wall. It took a minute to get his breath after.

Finn was suddenly aware that he was alone, and he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Bay’s number. When he heard the soft hello from him, Finn burst into tears. “It’s done.”

“Good job. I’m proud of you, Finn. You’ve shown me you really love me, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I really do.”

“I know. Listen to me, Finn. I need you to wait for Lou. And when he comes back, the two of you will take care of her. You’ll put her someplace where no one will ever find her, and if they do, don’t worry. They’ll think the killer did it, not you.”

“And we’ll be together, you and me?” Finn was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Bay to tell him it had all been a joke, and he’d fallen for it. But instead, Hannah had been wrong.

“Of course. You’re mine, Finn. You’ve always been mine, though.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you, Finn. I always have.” His voice was so soft and sincere that Finn believed every single word. He had no reason not to. Things were just as Bay had said they would be, and he’d never heard Bay use such sweet and tender tones with anyone, not even Mia or Lila.

More tears streamed down his cheeks, and he wiped them away. “I need to clean up a bit, but I’ll be ready for Lou.” He had to get himself together, and he tried to control his breathing so Bay wouldn’t know how hard he’d been crying. But Bay never said a word about tears.

“Good, I’m glad you’re okay, Finn. I was worried you wouldn’t do it for me, but I am so glad I was wrong. You’ve made me so proud.” Bay’s encouragement had been amazing, but his praise was better than anything in the world. Finn’s every fantasy was going to come true.

They ended the call, but Bay assured him he could call back if he needed to and that made Finn feel even better. He tried not to look at Hannah as he walked around her to get the cleaning supplies. Then he mopped up his vomit. He didn’t bother with Hannah and the mess of blood she’d left around the room in the past few days. That was to be expected, but he wouldn’t let Lou show up and see his weakness, for fear that he’d tell Bay.

He went to the bathroom to take a piss, and when he washed his hands, he saw himself in the mirror. He was a mess. His long blond hair had been drenched with sweat and tears, especially the one unruly strand that hung down in his eyes. His clothes were wrinkled, and there was a little stain of blood on his pants, which was barely visible.

He wasn’t worried about a thing, not getting caught, not going to prison. Bay would never let that happen. As for the crime, he couldn’t believe he’d done it, and the wild look in his eyes showed him that he was stronger than he’d expected. He took a deep breath and pushed aside any remaining tears, and he sought comfort in the fact that the grisly work was done. Now, he was going to get everything he wanted.