BENEATH THE SKIN

Series Two: Letter In The Drawer (For your sake, stay away. I love you always)

After I heard their footsteps leaving, I went round to check Rose’s window, but it's locked. The only open way in is the kitchen door. I've seen it from our side before it’s unlocked. Inside, the air smells faintly metallic, almost like blood. The house is silent, but there’s a heaviness in it, the kind that presses against your skin.

I move quickly, memorising the halls from the few times I’ve been inside. Her room is upstairs, halfway up the staircase, and I hear a soft, stifled sob. It’s coming from behind a door at the end of the hallway. I go to it, press my ear against the wood. Rose’s voice was broken and trembling. She’s talking to someone. Please,” she whispers. “I told you, I’ll do what you want. Just… not him. Leave him out of this.

A man’s low laugh follows, That’s not your choice to make, The sound of a lock turning. Footsteps approaching the door, I don’t think. I bolt down the stairs and out into the garden, jumping the wall before they can open it. Back in my room, I sit in the dark, shaking. I've just realised Rose isn’t just in trouble; she's protecting me from it. I can’t sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I hear Rose’s voice trembling, begging, and that laugh low taunting laugh.

By morning, my mind is made up. I’m not staying away. Grandma’s driver thinks he’s dropping me at the club. I wait until we’re near the back streets, then slip out and take the long way to Rose’s compound. This time, I didn't jump the fence. I went through the old, unused side gate I once saw her gardener leave unlocked.

The house feels…wrong, too quiet. The curtains are drawn, the front door locked, but I circle to the back and find the kitchen window slightly ajar. One push, and I’m inside. It smells faintly of stale coffee and something bitter I can’t place. I keep my footsteps light as I move toward the stairs.

Rose’s room is my target. Maybe I can leave a note or something to let her know I’m here for her. The hallway feels colder than the rest of the house. I step carefully, listening, but hear nothing.

Her door is unlocked, and the first thing I notice is the mess. Her bed is unmade, clothes scattered on the floor, that’s not like her. Rose is always meticulous. I check her desk. The empty drawers are locked except for one; the bottom drawer slides open with a faint creak.

Inside is a single, yellowed envelope with my name on it. My throat tightens as I pull it out. The handwriting is hers. I open it slowly, trying not to tear the paper.

Kobby,
If you ever find this, it means something has happened to me. Don’t try to follow. Don’t try to save me. You don’t understand what they’re capable of. Please… for your sake, stay away. I love you always.

My hands shake so badly, the paper nearly slips from my fingers, and I hear a floorboard creak behind me. I turned into a stone-faced man. Only this time, he’s not just holding a pistol. He’s pointing it at me. I freeze, the gun is steady in his hand, his eyes cold, his expression unreadable. “Drop it,” he says, nodding at the letter in my grip. I hesitate. His finger tightens slightly on the trigger. The paper flutters to the ground. “Move.”He jerks the pistol toward the door. I obey, my pulse hammering in my ears.

Every step feels like I’m walking deeper into a pit I’ll never climb out of, as he leads me down the stairs, past the kitchen, and into a narrow corridor I’ve never noticed before. At the end is a steel door with a coded lock. He punches in a sequence without looking, and the door swings open to reveal… darkness. “In,” he orders.

I step inside my nose, wrinkles instantly damp, metallic, and something else. Something like rotting wood… or maybe not wood at all. The light flickers on, and my stomach turns. The walls are lined with chains. Rusted metal hooks. A stained table with straps and, in the far corner, a chair. Rose is sitting in it.

At least, I think it’s Rose. Her face is pale, lips cracked, eyes dull like she hasn’t slept in days. Her wrists are bound, ankles are tied to the chair legs. When she sees me, her eyes widen in horror. “Kobby no! I told you not to come!” I rush forward, but the man steps between us, gun still raised.

“You should’ve stayed away,” he says, voice calm, almost bored. “Now she’s not the only one with a debt to pay.” My mouth is dry. “What do you want from us?” He smirks. “From you? Nothing yet. From her? Everything.”

Rose shakes her head violently, tears streaming. “Please, let him go. He doesn’t know” Exactly,” the man interrupts, pressing the barrel of the gun against my chest. “Let’s keep it that way.”I heard footsteps approaching from somewhere beyond the basement, slower and heavier. The air feels thicker with every step.