Fear Games

5. Welcome Home

RACHEL

The rest of the week went by smoothly, and by the time the weekend came around, I realized that I had barely done a thing. Most of the days I spent worrying about what was coming, if Josh was telling the truth, and whether my kids were in danger. Unlike Eden, who had written a bestselling novel about our experiences with Fear Games, I was a lonely divorced housewife with one child still in high school and the other all the way on the other side of the country.

I felt like such a shitty human being.

That Saturday, Emerald left early in the afternoon to go hang out with her boyfriend and Cinder, leaving me all alone yet again. I sat at the kitchen table drinking my "morning" coffee, thinking of what a mess I must have looked like. I was in desperate need of a shower and it couldn't wait any longer. So I sucked down my coffee, put my mug on the counter, then made my way upstairs to get in the shower.

As I waited for the water to heat up, I stared at myself in the mirror and sighed. Was this what my life had really resorted to? After the Fear Games the first time around, I thought I was free. Then came the second round of Fear Games with Daisy, the psychopathic murderer who conceived the idea of the Games in the first place. Finally, a third round Fear Games included Brandon, a homophobe who wanted to target Josh specifically for being gay, and Damien, Josh's teenage love. Damien gave Josh the choice between continuing the Games and ending them, and Josh made the decision to end them, leaving the Games in the hands of Eden and me. Obviously we decided not to continue them. So that's where the murders ended and Fairview Falls had been a peaceful town ever since.

Eden and I both moved on. She married Jacob and I married Drake. We both had children. We thought our families would make us happy, but it seemed like nothing could ever truly satisfy us. We were insatiable. That's probably why my husband left me with no regrets. I could never fully give myself to him. Not after my trauma.

I climbed into the shower, washed my long hair, scrubbed my body, and tried not to let my mind wander to negative places. If Josh was right, a new set of Fear Games would be starting soon—or had already. I tried not to worry, but it was difficult not to, especially with Emerald involved.

Suddenly, I heard a bang from downstairs and I froze. What the hell was that? I thought for a second that maybe Emerald came home early, but she'd only left a half hour or so ago.

Someone was downstairs.

I turned off the water, climbed out of the shower, and threw on my robe. I wrapped my hair up in a towel to keep the water from dripping everywhere, then debated on opening the door. My heart pounded in my chest and felt like it was about to explode. Was it Josh? Was he here to tell me everything I needed to know?

Or maybe it was the new Player.

I opened the bathroom door quietly, stepped into the hall, and looked left, then right, then left again. No one else was there but me. I didn't hear anymore movement from downstairs, so for a moment, I thought I was alone. I stepped further into the hallway and walked toward the stairs, looking down at the living room. There wasn't a soul there.

"Huh," I said aloud, and for a moment, I thought I was losing my mind.

"Hey," a deep, male voice said behind me.

I screamed, spun around, and punched the intruder in the face. It only took me about three seconds to realize that I was staring at my own son, Calix. He was home!

"Oh my God!" I said. "I'm so sorry, hun!"

"You just punched me!" Calix said, covering his mouth with his hand. He was wearing black sweats, a "You Matter Very Much" shirt I bought for him about a year ago, and blue crocs.