We’ve reached the final day. Will Cathy escape? Is Eric going to help her? Time to find out, but before that, I want to wish you all a very happy Christmas, and I hope 2021 brings everything you could wish for.

Grisham House Part 12

Eric led me towards the patio. There was no sign of Alice. Torches flashed – streams of light cutting through the darkness as the others searched for her. I prayed she’d made it to the forest. My prayers weren’t heard. A beam of light at the edge of the woods illuminated Alice’s slight figure as she hobbled towards the tree line. She’d been hurt.

“There,” Duffy shouted. Alice was lit up in an instant.

Eric tensed beside me.

“Run Alice!” I got it out before Eric clamped his hand over my mouth.

A beam of light shone in our direction.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Eric hissed him my ear. “They’ll come back for you now.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Surely not.

“Quickly,” he said, pulling me away from the patio and towards the door.

Eric thundered down the hallway and wrenched open the front door. He patted his pocket. “Damn. Wait outside. I need to get my keys.”

I stood on the front step. A sharp breeze bit my face. Run for it you fool. I ignored the voice screaming inside my head. Eric wasn’t a monster. He was going to save me.

The wind howled scattering bits of debris and leaves from the yellowing trees. I could have sworn I heard Alice scream and I was about to run in her direction when Eric appeared.

“Come on.”

He tugged me down the steps and across the gravel drive.

“Where’s the car?”

“In the garage. Hurry.”

His fingers pinched at my skin as he rushed across the yard. Something was wrong. He was too tense. I tried to pull my arm back, but his grip tightened.

“You’re hurting me.”

“Sorry, but we have to move quickly. There’s no telling how much time we have left and I’m not letting them ruin this.”

The word stuck in my throat. He wasn’t letting them ruin it. Ruin what? I recalled his conversation with Peckham. How she’d told him he couldn’t have me. He wasn’t trying to save me at all. The kiss, those soft lips on mine, poisoned.

I yanked my arm out of his grip and raced down the drive.

“Get back here, Cathy. You can’t escape. I will have you.”

His shouts grew nearer as I pushed my legs to their limit. The iron gates were within reach, only a little bit more.

His breath was on the back of my neck and my feet slipped on the uneven surface. I stumbled and my knees hit the gravel, stones burying themselves deep. I tried to scramble to my feet, but he was on top me.

“Got you now.” His eyes danced as he looked from left to right. A grin plastered across his face.

Bile churned in my stomach and I flinched.

“Realisation kicking in, is it?”

“Get away from me.”

“Don’t be like that, Cathy. We’re going to have a lot of fun, you and I.” He reached down and pulled me to my feet. “First things first though. We need to dress you more appropriately. You can’t play in that.”

Play, play! What on earth was he talking about? My chest ached. Perhaps my blood had stopped flowing. Fight you, idiot.

I scratched at his face, tore at his hair, anything to make him release me. It worked for all of five seconds. I didn’t see it coming, the fist that slammed into my stomach. I lurched forward, my screams smothered, as air was sucked from my body.

“Don’t try that again.” He fisted my hair and marched me back towards the house. I struggled but it was no use. His grip tightened and with it, clumps of hair dislodged from my scalp leaving traces of blood in its place.

Grisham House loomed before me. My death. And all because I believed his lies, his trickery, that stupid lopsided grin, and smouldering eyes. I calmed my breathing as much as possible and followed his footsteps. If I could lure him into a false sense, I might get a chance to break free. The door with its peeling red paint and lions head knocker spelt my demise. Another few feet.

Alice screamed and it jerked both of us. Eric’s hold on my hair lessened and I bolted free. I didn’t have time to think about the hair left behind in his hand or the blood dripping down my scalp. The gate was my only focus.

Once more I raced down the gravel, watching for the stone that tripped me. I didn’t notice the headlights until they were almost on top of me. Two bright beams cutting through the night. The car skidded to a halt, dust and gravel flying into the air. The door opened and a hand grabbed me.

“Cathy! It’s me. It’s Mom.”

I hadn’t even realized I’d been screaming, clawing at her arm.

“Cathy. Calm down. What’s wrong with you?”

I blinked repeatedly. She was really here. “We have to leave. He’s trying to kill me. He’s…” I turned back to the house. Eric had fled.

Mom bundled me into the passenger seat, stroking my hair, and talking softly to calm me. “You’re okay, love. You’re safe now.” She buckled my seatbelt and the car began to move.

“Alice!”

“What, love?”

“Alice. They have Alice. We have to get her. I promised her.” The floodgates opened and I sobbed uncontrollably.

We were in Braidsend before the shaking stopped and I could finally reveal the horrors of the last month. The police were more than interested to hear about the goings on at Grisham House. They’d had their suspicions that something sinister was going on, but with no evidence to back them up, there was nothing they could do.

Eric pleaded not guilty. Said he was coerced by his father and Peckham, recruited into the society at age twelve. His father had murdered his sister as some sort of satanic ritual and had continued to murder innocent girls right up until his death three years ago. Eric became president then. Peckham was responsible for recruiting the girls, orphans mostly so no one would miss them. Mom blamed herself and swore never to punish me again or trust an advertisement on the internet. “They promised disobedience training for young girls and housekeeping skills,” she’d said before sobbing for the hundredth time.

I saw him one last time as he stood in the docks. His eyes so sad, those of the Eric that I’d fallen in love with. The lost scared boy who hadn’t saved his sister. It was on that day I paid my last visit to Grisham house too. It looked different now. The windows boarded up and police tape across the gates.

The police acted swiftly and got to Alice before those monsters could finish the job. The mental damage, however, was something they couldn’t prevent, for either of us.

I took one last look at the house, Mom by my side trying her best not to cry. Bricks and mortar, it couldn’t hurt me anymore. At least that’s what I told myself.

“You ready, love?”

“Yeah.”

A speck of white moved in my peripheral vision. A girl dressed in white moved towards the trees. She stopped and waved at me before vanishing. The heaviness surrounding the place seemed to vanish with her, but it stayed with me.

The End

Below are the links to the previous instalments if you missed any of them. I hope you enjoyed reading Grisham House. I will be taking a well-earned break for Christmas but I hope to continue sharing stories via my blog in 2021. I am thinking of doing a weekly serial or something like that.

Grisham House Part 1
Grisham House Part 2
Grisham House Part 3
Grisham House Part 4
Grisham House Part 5
Grisham House Part 6
Grisham House Part 7
Grisham House Part 8
Grisham House Part 9
Grisham House Part 10
Grisham House Part 11

Buy Grisham House on Kindle:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QFVJC1S
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QFVJC1S

Until next time,

Keep reading and writing,

Amanda