Rebel Princess - Book 2 (The Hope Saga) (5 page)

Rachel pulled out the keys and unlocked the door. Nervously, we both slipped into the living room.

I shut the door and locked it and began to look around at the clothes strewn all over the floor. As I stood there, I had to gag at the stench of sweat and filth.

“Oh my gosh! I knew boys are usually messy, but this guy’s a slob,” Rachel said.

“Ya think, Einstein?” I asked, plugging my nose.

“I can’t believe they chose him as a diamond. Aren’t diamonds supposed to shine?”

Those chosen as diamonds didn’t have to go to the surface on their eighteenth birthday and were granted the opportunity to stay below for an extra five years. Since Daryl was twenty, he had three years left before he would go to the top with the others. 

“Yeah, but he’s a great guy…even if he does need to hire a maid.”

“A maid? This guy needs to rent a flame-thrower,” she said, scrunching up her nose as she glanced down at a pile of slimy, sweat-stained socks. “I don’t see any flowers,” she said.

“Yeah, well, nothing would grow in here but mold,” I said.

Rachel laughed. “Let’s check his room.”

“I can’t wait,” I said. “If his living room is this bad, I can only imagine what horrors we’ll find in there.” I walked down the short hallway to his room and opened the door. “No flowers in here either,” I said.

“Hmm. Well, since we’re here, let’s search for other clues.”

His bedroom was just as messy as the living room, only blankets were thrown into the mix of dirty laundry. Rachel opened his dresser drawers and rummaged through them, but we didn’t see any hints of foul play. I actually felt bad for breaking into my friend’s room. I searched through his desk for any red notecards, but there were none. We rifled through his closet, looking for a Polaroid camera, but all we found were a bunch of storage containers full of junk.

Rachel glanced around. “Okay, so I was wrong. I guess we can officially eliminate him as a suspect.”

“Ya know, he probably would have let us search the place if we’d just asked him,” I said. “He obviously has nothing to hide, other than this giant man-mess.”

“Well, we didn’t know that, and we have a long list to check out.”

Suddenly, the front door creaked open.

“He’s back!” Rachel said in a startled whisper. “He must’ve gotten his hands on the master keys since I have his.”

“Quick! Under the bed.”

She shook her head and pinched her nose between her fingers, then stuck one finger in her mouth as if she might vomit.

I gave her a gentle kick and nudged her under the box spring.

Footsteps echoed.

My heart began to thunder in my chest.
How will we explain what we’re doing here? It’s trespassing! If he reports this to Mr. Tams, I’m gonna be in a whole world of trouble—maybe solitary for a month! 

The footsteps drew closer. 

Please don’t let him see me!

“What the heck!?” he shouted.

I peeked out, and my heart dropped when I noticed that Rachel had absentmindedly left the top dresser drawer open.
Crap!

He flung open his closet, looked around for a moment, then headed to the living room.

Since I thought he was on his way out, I slowly extended my hand, accidently tipping a box over. The contents spilled out, and I tried to stuff everything quietly back in. As I did, I saw it: a Polaroid of me sleeping, dressed in the same clothes I’d been wearing when I’d found the Polaroids all over our place, when I’d found my underwear and clothes reorganized.
It was Daryl,
I thought, and a chill shot down my spine. It was frightening, but even more than that, I was furious. I’d considered Daryl a good friend, but now I just felt like pummeling him into the ground.

Footsteps approached again, and before I could scoot back under the bed, I found myself looking down the barrel of a gun. 

Chapter 7

“Get outta there!” he shouted.

I had to wonder if Daryl would kill me, now that I knew he was my psycho stalker.
Can I get out of this, sweet-talk him somehow? Will that work, or will he just kill me right on the spot?
A droplet of sweat rolled down my face as I contemplated what to do . “Don’t shoot!” I finally said.

“What the…? Sky?”

I crawled out and lifted my arms in the air. “Yeah…and Rachel too.”

She crawled out and stood next to me, her eyes wide. She shot me a terrified look, obviously wondering—like I was—if Daryl would actually hurt us.

He put the gun down. “What are you two doing here, and how’d you get in my room?”

“You’ve got some nerve, Daryl,” I spat. 

“Huh?
Me
? From the looks of it, you two are the ones snooping through
my
stuff.”

“Yeah, you!”

“I could arrest you for trespassing, for breaking and entering.”

“We didn’t break. We just sorta…entered. But anyway, what do you want for your silence?” I asked.

“Answers!”

“I just wanted to see what your room looks like,” Rachel fibbed, batting her eyes. “You never invite us over, and I wanted to see why.”

“You’re a horrible liar, Rachel. Now why the hell are you really in my room?”

I stepped forward. “Why don’t you first tell me why the hell were you in mine?”

“What? Oh, I get what this is all about. You put me on your little stalker list, didn’t you? You came here to check me out.”

“I thought you were clean,” I said.

“I am!”

I shook my head. “No, you’re not!” I said vehemently, then tossed the photograph at him. “If you’re such a saint, why do you have this?” He stared at it as I continued. “I think this picture explains everything very clearly. You’re my stalker.”

His jaw dropped. “I’m your what?”

“I found that in a box under your bed,” I snapped.

His eyes widened, and he seemed shocked and confused. “It’s not mine. I’ve never seen that before.”

“Then how did it get there?” Rachel asked.

He huffed. “I dunno, but I swear it’s not mine. Somebody must’ve planted it.”

“C’mon, Daryl. Why would anyone bother?” I asked. “How would anyone know I’d accidently find it? There was a one-in-a-million chance.”

He blew out a long breath. “Look, I know it looks bad. I get that, but it really wasn’t me.”

I swallowed hard, trying to calm my nerves. “Then how did the freaking picture get under your bed?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, but I’m sure gonna find out.”

“We’re sorry we broke in, but we had to know,” Rachel said.

“Just get out,” he said, staring at the floor, then looking back up at me with a hurt expression in his eyes.

I gazed back at him. “Daryl, if you have feelings for me, you coulda just told me. We were friends. How could you do this to me? Stalking me like that, scaring me to death, is just…inexcusable.”

“You know what’s really inexcusable, Sky? Not trusting me and breaking into my room.”

“Yeah, but look what we found. Evidence that you’re Sky’s stalker,” Rachel chimed in.

“Are you gonna report me to Mr. Tams? I’ll lose everything if you do. They’ll kick me off guard duty. I’ll probably lose my diamond status and have to go to the surface immediately. My mom needs me here. She’s got six kids to take care of, and she’s sick. What will she do without me?”

Rachel shifted her stance. “You shoulda thought about that before breaking into Sky’s room and playing around in her underwear drawer.”

“Her what?”

“Don’t play dumb, Daryl.”

“I’m not playing anything! They’re gonna can me, and meanwhile, the real stalker will be out there somewhere, getting away with it,” Daryl said, stepping closer. “Deep down, you gotta know I’d never do anything to scare or hurt you. I saw how freaked out you were about the flowers in lockup. I’d never do that to you.”

I felt bad for him, especially since he seemed to have an innocent crush on me that had simply gotten out of hand. I knew he needed to stay down there in the bubble, for his family’s sake; his mother was getting sicker every day, and she and her other children counted on him. “This ends now, Daryl. No more flowers, no more following me, stalking me, or digging through my clothes.”

“I can’t end it because I’m not the one who’s doing it!” he retorted.

“Quit denying it. If you promise me it’s over, I won’t call Mr. Tams. In fact, I won’t tell anybody. It’ll stay between us.”

“But, Sky…” Rachel began to protest. 

I turned to face her. “His mom and siblings need him,” I said.

“What if he’s the strangler?” she said under her breath.

Daryl laughed. “Great. So in thirteen seconds, I’ve gone from pathetic, obsessive crush to psychotic strangler? You two are so off basis that it’s not even funny. If I was the strangler, surely I’d be wringing your necks right now for breaking in here like this.”

Rachel blinked. “Well, if you are Sky’s stalker, you must love her. Your obsession is why you’re not killing us.”

“And where did I grow all those flowers she’s been getting?” he asked.

“Those keys give you access to anyplace down here. Who knows where your secret garden is?” Rachel said.

“While we’re on the subject of keys, can I have mine back? I about flipped when I thought I lost them. I figured I’d locked myself out.”

Rachel handed his keys back to him. “I’m sorry I took them. We just had to—”

“Oh, so
now
you’re apologizing? How nice that even a whack-job killer earns your common courtesy,” he snapped.

“So…tell me, Daryl, what are you saving me from?” I asked.

He cocked a brow in confusion. “Huh? Look, I don’t know what all this suspicion is coming from, but—”

“We’ve got proof now, buddy,” Rachel said, nodding toward the Polaroid. “You’re a couple miles past suspicion on this little guilt trip.”

I cleared my throat. “In the notes, you mentioned something about saving me from going over a cliff. You said Rachel, Brett, and I were doomed but that you’re gonna save me.”

He shot me a smug look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sky. I don’t fantasize about you like you think. In fact, right about now, you’re the last person I’d wanna save from a death fall. At the moment, given the choice, I’d probably save Brett. He seems to be the only sane one among you.”

Rachel crossed her arms. “My, my. Candid much, Mr. Stalker-Maybe-Strangler?”

He shifted his stance, then looked at me. “I’m like you. I don’t sugarcoat things, and I personally think you two are delusional, comin’ in here and accusing me of things like that. It hurts, because we were friends, but even more than that, it downright pisses me off!”

“You’re only mad because you got caught.”

“I’ve had enough of this bullshit. Get the hell outta here, both of you! If you report me, fine. I won’t beg you not to. You know what’s at stake, what’s on the line for me and my family. If you go flappin’ your lips to Tams with these ridiculous accusations, my mom and brothers and sisters are screwed, so think long and hard about your decision.” With that, he turned to walk out.

“Wait!” Rachel called out. “Aren’t you gonna lock your door?”

“Nah. Feel free to ransack my place. Have fun. Maybe you’ll find more planted evidence.” And with that, he stormed off.

“I can’t say I’m feelin’ the love from your stalker,” Rachel said. “If he does have feelings for you, he’s sure keeping a tight lid on them.” She let out a long sigh. “You’re a better judge of character than I am though. What kind of vibes are you getting?”

“I don’t really think it’s him, but how the heck did that picture get in that box under his bed…and why? If somebody wanted to frame him, it’d be pretty dumb to hide it that well, in his private living space, where I would likely never come across it. To frame somebody, you’ve gotta make sure they’re gonna get caught.”

“I don’t know. Maybe they thought Mr. Tams would find it in a room-to-room search. Daryl is a security guard, with keys to every lock in this place, and that makes him a prime suspect. It’s why I put him on my suspect list.”

“So do we rule him out or leave him at the top of the list?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I think we’re right back to square one. Maybe he’s just a really good liar, and he was putting on an act to weasel out of it. He’s got a brilliant, built-in excuse. And what if he really is the strangler? We can’t just ignore it and let a killer keep on killing.”

“I know, but what if he’s not the killer? If we blame him, he could get nailed for it and sent up top to serve a prison sentence.”

“But what if he
is
the killer and we do nothing and someone else dies?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think he’s got it in him, Rachel. I really don’t.”

“He’s our friend, and we’ve known him our entire lives. I don’t wanna label him like that either, but the evidence doesn’t lie. Think long and hard about this. Why would he have a picture of you sleeping? Nobody planted that. I mean, maybe, but it’s highly unlikely.”