Chasing the Beta Read online

  Chapter 1

  She was gone. That was definite.

  My mother, who raised me for eighteen years, is now dead.

  It didn’t matter how many times I prayed and begged for her to breathe, because she was already gone.

  Eighteen years she had raised me, and those eighteen years, were full of love, anguish, joy, and even loss, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  Looking back at all of the memories my mother and shared together, there isn’t a single person I’d rather have shared those memories with, but now that’s she’s gone, I feel completely lost.

  Where did I go from here?

  She never hurt anybody or created enemies, she wasn’t that kind of person. She saved lives for God sakes.

  I must’ve been lying on the dank and dirty ground for hours, but the only place I want to stay right now is in my mother’s arms. I want to cradle her to my chest until my arms give out from the exertion I have on her, but I refuse to let her go.

  How am I supposed to live without the one person

  who meant the whole world to me?

  From all the blood, sweat and tears I’ve had to go through this week, I don’t think I can endure more heartbreak and loss.

  How much more can I take, until my own heart gives out?

  The only question that keeps circling around my head is who would do something like this, and what reason did they have for it? But deep down, I know who did it. There’s only one name that I’m absolutely certain who’s responsible for this. Mr. Edmund.

  His intention was to kill me but instead murdered my mother, in cold blood. If he killed my mother to get at me, then my aim is to do exactly the same to him, because he won't get away with this. Not from me.

  Not after this.

  Mark my words, I’ll be coming for you. Whether it be a week, a month or a year from now, I’ll be coming for you.

  Another hour goes by, I still remain with my mother’s lifeless corpse. While the sky becomes darker, I get colder as the night goes on, but nothing, not even the cold can drag me away from the woman lying in my arms.

  I’ll never leave her side.

  “Alice!”

  A voice from the distance urgently shouts my name. The voice is deep and guttural, but it sounds panicked, and it definitely belonged to a man.

  I shrug it off thinking that I’m probably hearing things, but when I hear the faint familiar sound of the back door being pulled open in a haste, I now know that I wasn’t hearing things.

  Could it be Mr. Edmund? Has he come back to kill me too?

  I press my mother tightly to my chest when I see the figure approaching.

  Not once do I meet the eyes of whoever’s running towards us, I keep my focus entirely on my mother.

  “Alice!”

  He shouts my name again, and stops right in front of me. He breathes heavily as though he’s been running for quite some time, but who is this person, and for what reason is he here?

  “Alice.”

  Again, he calls my name but I can’t think of anything to say in response.

  He remains standing still, but when he realizes that I won’t answer him, he slowly crouches down in front

  of me, his face so close, I can feel his hot breath against my cheek.

  I still can’t bring myself to look at the person in front of me.

  How can I when I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that my mother’s just been murdered?

  “Alice, look at me.” His voice is gentle as though he doesn’t want to startle me, but as he speaks, a sort of recognition stirs, and I think to myself where I’ve heard this voice before.

  I ignore his words and continue to stare at my mother, but when his hand reaches outwards towards her, my head swings to the movement, and I start to growl.

  “Don’t touch her!” I hiss.

  His hand stops mid-air, but he doesn’t lower his arm, he instead brings his other arm forward and puts his palms facing forward, as if in surrender. “I wasn’t going to touch her.”

  I shake my head repeatedly, not believing a single word. “You’re here to take her from me! I won’t let you take my mother away!”

  He lowers his arms and rests them at his sides. “Alice, I promise I’m not here to take her away. I’m here to help you.” His voice becomes desperate. “Please look at me.”

  I take in his words, and with a long final look at my mother, I take in a deep breath and slowly meet the eyes of the person sitting in front of me. I release my breath and start to cry when I stare into the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen.

  What’s he doing here?

  I remember the words we exchanged just hours ago and flinch at the harsh words I’d said, but I still can’t understand why he’s here.

  I look at him through tear filled eyes and shake my head in disbelief. “Ryder..?”

  He smiles warmly at me and nods. “That’s right. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  I look down at my mother when more tears start to fall. “Why are you here?”

  He’s silent for a few seconds, then clears his throat. “I heard you scream and followed your voice.” He shakes his head in distress. “I’ve never been that scared before in my life. I didn’t know what to expect after finding you.”

  “What exactly did you expect to find?”

  He too looks down at my mother. “Not this. Never in my life did I expect to see this.”

  I remain silent too, because I can’t help but think the same.

  I’ll never be able to forget what I saw.

  Ryder inches closer and brings his arm forward again. “Alice.”

  I stop him by warningly shoving my hand in front of me. “Stay back, and don’t come any closer.”

  He stops again. “Alice, I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to help.” he points at my clothes. “You’re covered in blood. I just want to get you cleaned up, okay?”

  I look down at myself to see blood all over my clothes. I turn over my trembling hands and again see blood coating my fingers and under my nails. The more I look at the blood, the more I feel nauseas.

  Suddenly, a hand gently cups my cheek and lifts my attention from the blood on my hands. “Let me help you.”

  I shake my head. “What’s there to help with? My mother’s dead and there’s nothing I can do to make her come back!” I wail.

  Ryder looks at me compassionately while stroking his thumb softly against my cheek. “I know that there’s nothing I can do or say to make things better. I feel completely helpless right now.” He looks down at the floor. “I’m so sorry that I wasn’t here to protect you or your mum.”

  I repeat his words over in my head and gasp when I think of something that might actually work. “Then, turn her.”

  He looks at me questioningly. “What?” “Turn her.” I repeat.

  “It doesn’t work like that, Alice.”

  I can feel the hope of bringing back my mother disintegrate. “I can’t live without her Ryder. She’s all I have left.” I plead while staring deeply into his eyes.

  He shakes his head again. “I can’t turn her.” “Please!” I beg.

  “It’s too late. I’m so sorry.”

  And that’s when everything goes black.

  ********************

  Could it be possible that tonight was just a dream, or will I wake up to realize that nothing’s really changed?

  I don’t want to wake up.

  I’m too scared to know if the events of tonight actually happened, because if it may be true, then I’d

  rather keep my eyes closed.

  I know that I’m lying down on the living room couch, I can smell the strong familiar scent of the cinnamon candle my mother adores. At every Christmas
, I always made sure to buy her that candle, and it would last her the whole year. From all the gifts I would present her with, the cinnamon candle was always her favourite.

  I smile to myself while remembering her unwrapping the wrapping paper and holding a candle in the palm of her hands, her eyes filling with complete and utter joy, but the smile soon vanishes when I start remembering what happened here tonight.

  I soon find that even the memories of the past are too painful to think about.

  I slowly open my eyes, and the first thing I hear are two male voices talking in a hushed tone on the other side of the room.

  “I will have to interview her Ryder.” The voice is recognizable, it doesn’t take me long to figure out who that voice belongs to.

  “Tom, please understand. This is her mother, alright? Not a co-worker.”

  Even though Ryder’s talking in a hushed tone, he still talks with complete authority towards the police officer.

  Tom sighs. “I understand that it’s her mother, but it’s a murder investigation. I’m going to have to speak with her.”

  “I didn’t call you here to take her statement. She can barely think let alone speak right now.” Ryder’s tone rises.

  “Ryder, let me do my job. I’m going to need answers, and from her I’m going to get them.”

  I can sense the impatience coming from the officer, but one thing I know for sure is that he won’t get any answers from me.

  I’m just as confused as everyone else.

  “For fuck’s sakes Tom! Stop with the whole inquisition!” Ryder bellows.

  “How else am I supposed to do my job? Yes, her mother’s dead, but the killer’s still out there. I need to catch that person before somebody else gets killed.”

  “Can you please be a bit more sympathetic? I care about that girl, and I can’t begin to imagine what she’s thinking about right now. She’s going to need a lot of time to process this. Losing a family member is something you can’t relate to, so please leave the interrogation for another time.”

  Tom exhales. “I keep forgetting that you’ve gone through something like this before. With Anna.”

  Silence.

  “Don’t bring Anna into this. Her murder isn’t connected to these murders. Don't make assumptions.”

  I don’t hear Tom’s response because all I can hear is a deafening sound coming from outside. I quickly sit up to see the whole house engulfed in blue lights.

  No! They’ve come to take her away!

  I shove myself off the couch, race out the front door, and run across to the other side of the road to where the ambulance is. I start to cry when I see my mother being lifted into the back of the ambulance. In a black body bag. “Stop!”

  Before I can take another step, strong arms wrap around my waist and start to pull me further away from the vehicle. I claw with all the strength I have left at the hands keeping me from reaching my mother.

  Let go of me!

  When I see the double doors of the ambulance begin to close right before my eyes, I feel as though I might throw up.

  “No...” I shake my head in horror.

  This can’t be happening!

  I claw at the hands again but start to panic when I hear the engine of the ambulance starting.

  I scream in frustration, but give up the fight when the vehicle slowly takes off in the direction of the hospital, taking my mother along with them. “Come back!”’ I scream into the night.

  Unexpectedly, the person holding me, brings their face closer to mine, and the first thing I feel is his five o’clock shadow rubbing against my cheek.

  “Alice, stop.” I immediately recognize his voice, and feel a great amount of resentment towards him.

  “You promised!” I wail. “You said you weren’t going to take her away! How could you do this to me!?”

  He turns me around to face him and gently cups both of my cheeks. “I know what I said, and I hate myself for lying to you, but I only did what I thought was right. Please don’t take this the wrong way.”

  “How can I not take this the wrong way!?” Ryder only looks at me in despair.

  “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” I whisper as I lower my head in defeat.

  I let the tears fall to the ground but gasp in surprise when Ryder pulls me into his chest, and wraps his arms protectively around me.

  I forgot how comfortable and protected I feel when I’m in Ryder’s arms.

  In this moment, being in his arms is exactly where I need to be.

  “Alice?”

  Ryder groans. “Not now Tom, please.” I feel his whole body go completely rigid.

  He looks sternly at Ryder, then looks sadly at me. “I know speaking to me right now is probably the last thing you want to do. I’m so sorry for your loss, again. Losing a family member is such a horrible tragedy. I offer you my sincere condolences.”

  I numbly stare at him.

  A few minutes go by with awkward silence, then finally Tom clears his throat. “Do you think you could answer some questions?”

  “I said not tonight.” Ryder seethes. “Ryder.” Tom warns.

  “Not. Tonight.”

  I detach myself from Ryder’s hold and move to stand directly in front of the officer. “No. I don’t think I can answer your questions. I know that you want answers from me, but trust me officer there’s nothing you don’t know that’s already happened before.”

  More silence.

  Tom clears his throat, again. “Maybe tonight isn’t the right time to take your statement.”

  I turn to go into the house but stop when Tom calls my name.

  “One more thing, Alice. I’m sorry that I have to say this, but you can’t stay here tonight.”

  First they take my mother away and now they’re saying I can’t be in my own house!

  I stare at him motionless.

  Tom reaches for his phone and holds it out to me. “Is there somebody you can call to stay with tonight or…”

  Ryder interrupts. “She’s staying with me.”

  Tom glances briefly at me. “Did you ask her first?”

  Ryder crosses his arms over his chest. “Why would I need to ask her? She’s with me.”

  “I had to ask, but seeing as she’s with you then I guess her staying at your house is probably the better option.”

  I continue to stare at him.

  He looks at each of us individually then nods. “Alright then. I’ll leave you two to it.” He looks at me

  with sympathy. “We’ll catch this killer, I promise you that. She was a good woman, your mother, the strongest woman I knew.” He shakes his head in disbelief. “She didn’t deserve this.” And with that, he walks away, goes into his car and drives into the night.

  Ryder and I both stare in the same direction Tom’s car was last seen.

  “He can be such a pain in the ass when he wants to be.” Ryder puts his hands on his hips while shaking his head.

  “You ready to go?” I turn to look at Ryder to see him looking at me.

  Without a word, I turn around to look back at my house. “Where else am I supposed to go?”

  Ryder calls my name softly and places both of his hands on either side of my neck. “Wherever you go, I go.”

  I stare deeply into his eyes while thinking to myself who I’d want to stay with tonight.

  One of my options would’ve been to stay with Sam, but considering she’s in the hospital after being attacked, staying with her isn’t an option. So, I don’t hesitate to tell Ryder where I want to go. “I wanna go home.”

  He frowns. “Alice, you can’t stay here.” “Home. Your home. With you.”

  I want to be with him, only him.

  He doesn’t answer me with words, he instead places a gentle kiss on my forehead, takes my hand and settles me into the car parked in the drive.

  Chapter 2

  The drive to Ryder’s house gave me the chance to think over the events from this morning to tonight.

  The day began
with a promising start, I had a wonderful night with Ryder, spent the whole night by his side, woke up to a delicious breakfast, and even shared a kiss with him before class started. It was just a regular day at school, me and Sam had our little unusual conversation, which then later led to us confronting Max at lunchtime, but there were no signs indicating that the events following this morning would lead to something so horrific.

  It first started off with Sam’s attack after school. She had driven me home but went back to the school, when she unexpectedly got hit at the back of the head. The attacker’s intent was obviously not to kill her because if they wanted to kill Sam, they wouldn't have left her alive, but who would want to hurt her?

  It then went to Mr. Edmund’s classroom where I found the biggest revelation of all, as it turns out, he was the one that bit me on the night of the full moon just days ago.

  What really makes me angry is that I had absolutely no idea of his true identity.

  How could he stand in that classroom and mock me by hiding who he really is right in front of me?

  I can see him laughing at me after every lesson, but when I thought today couldn’t possibly get any worse, I came home to a sight I’ll never be able to forget.

  It’s just not something I would’ve expected to happen in my life.

  What kind of monster could kill somebody’s mother? Why did they target the one person I had left?

  I need to stop asking myself who would want to hurt anybody, because there’s not a plausible answer out there. It’s most likely somebody’s ideal way of having fun, but someone’s really crossed the line this time, and I’m not going to stop fighting until that person is ripped to shreds, by my own hands.

  “You okay?”

  I hadn’t noticed that the car had come to a stop. I look around to see that we’re parked outside the property, the lights still on inside.