Page 122 of Camera Stays On

“If I can’t have her, then you can’t either.”

He’d finished tying me up and went to the computer, where he shut off all the cameras. The cutting of the feeds unsettled me, as I’d grown accustomed to them watching us. What would happen when nothing was being recorded? My mind went through the list of things he’d allowed to be filmed here. Lux’s suffocation, Andi getting shot, Gavin also being shot, Darius’s fall. Those were just the things I knew had been caught on film. If he was okay with those being filmed, what exactly did he not want shown? The very idea made me sick to my stomach.

Sawyer had clicked on a few things, and then a large gray triangle appeared on every single screen. Stepping back, he reached for a remote and forced it into my hand before heading toward the door. Being tied at the wrists, if I dropped the remote I wouldn’t be able to retrieve it.

“When you’re ready to accept that Purdy has always been mine, push play. See you around, Ashhole.”

Ashhole was the nickname he’d given to me as a kid. He hadn’t said it in years. It would have been endearing if he hadn’t just tied me up and waved a gun in my face. He shut the door, but didn’t lock it.

Which left me to sit and watch whatever he wanted me to see.

It was obviously something upsetting. Whether it was soul-crushing or rage inducing, I wasn’t sure. Which one would be more palatable? He was baiting me, I decided. He knew my curiosity would eat at me until finally...I pressed play.

“Sawyer, what are you doing?” Andi’s distinct giggle erupted from the speakers, and I stiffened. The video flickered on, and I saw my brother, grinning wide and winking at the camera before stepping back. He was only in his boxers, and he was significantly younger.

“Nothing, babe. Just setting my phone down. Get back in bed.” He turned and walked to his bed at our parents’ house. Andi was curled up with his comforter covering her torso, but it was clear she wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Or a bra.

The blood drained from my face as I continued watching.

“You ready for your birthday present?” he asked her, grabbing a condom off his nightstand.

“This feels like a present for you, not me,” she said, not giving any attention to the camera facing them.

She didn’t know it was there.

“Oh, it’s a present for both of us.” He slipped his boxers down, and I looked away as his bare ass flashed me until he climbed onto the bed and under the blankets with her. They kissed, and he glanced back at the camera, grinning. “Happy eighteenth, Purdy Doll.”

I tried to press pause, but it wasn’t working. Frantically, I started pushing all the other buttons, but again, none of them worked. My heart sped up in panic, the volume seemed to get louder as the two of them fucked. I closed my eyes and waited for it to be over. This was cruel, even for him. I doubted Andi even knew this tape existed. When it finally ended, I breathed out in relief, but then...another video started.

Jesus Christ. I had to get out of this. Video after video, scene after scene, position after position, the two of them fucking in various places. While the scenery or dialogue changed from each video, two things stayed the same. Andi didn’t know she was being recorded, and Andi didn’t come.

I’d heard her sex noises. I’d felt her body shake and gush when she was having an orgasm. I knew the movements she made to reach climax, and the sounds that came from her throat when she’d reached the apex of her pleasure. Not once did I hear or see that in the videos.

And that’s what pissed him off when he caught us on camera that first night here.

The video finally stopped for good, and relief washed over me before a modern Sawyer came onto the screen.

“Hello, Ash. Didn’t think you’d be the one I’d be making this video for, but here we are.” I studied the background in which he’d filmed this. It was somewhere down here. He cleared his throat, as if knowing I wasn’t watching him. “So, why’d you do it?”

Was this a live feed?

“It doesn’t matter, I can’t hear your answer. It doesn’t change things, though. You should have corrected me when I accused Gavin of being the one to touch my Purdy Doll. I might not have shot him. Ah, what am I saying? I knew it wasn’t him, and I still shot him.” He laughed loudly and for too long before returning to the camera. “Anyway, sorry about your luck, I guess. Did you like my home movies? I’ve watched them over and over, and they never get old. She sure is beautiful, ain’t she? Well, you know,” he said bitterly.

While he did his evil monologue, I began looking around. He’d tied me pretty sturdily. My ankles were attached to the legs, and my hands to the arms. I raised my hand as high as I could and threw the remote. It hit the floor with a clang and changed nothing.

“I wouldn’t try so hard to get out of here. The video was a distraction, and if you’re watching this, Purdy and I have already eloped. For real this time. I’m doing it right. No more trying to force things by making a movie or trying to convince her to love me with you still hanging around. I’m tired of this game.”

Twisting my body, I began to rock side to side, scooting the chair an inch. This chair wasn’t the sturdiest. I began rocking harder, faster, and finally, I tipped. I braced myself for the collision as I fell to the left, hitting the floor with a smash! Wood flew everywhere, pieces of it stabbing me in the back. I let out a cry of pain upon impact with the floor. The chair legs slid across the room, leaving me only attached at the arms of the chair. It was easy enough then to yank my wrists free of the restraints and stand. After picking out the splintered pieces from my back, I grabbed the fire extinguisher I’d dropped when I came back down. Promptly, I pivoted and walked out the door, with Sawyer still talking to me through the prerecorded video.

“Wish you could be there, but just imagine it—Purdy and me, the sun setting behind us as we recite our vows...”

I returned to the bunker and looked around. Once this was done, I didn’t want anyone to see these videos. Andi didn’t deserve this. Spotting his laptop on the kitchen table, I opened it and found it still unlocked. The video on the computer screens was playing here. I closed it down and deleted it. No sooner had that one been totally wiped did the video of me killing Ray pop up, as if taunting me. How much blackmail did he have on here?

Knowing time was not on my side, I deleted that one, too, then deleted the trash and went about putting every video of his in the trash, clearing it again. I couldn’t wipe it all, but the big ones were gone.

I flew up the stairs and ran through the house. My legs were going as fast as they could when I tripped on something in the kitchen and fell face forward, hitting my head on the hardwood floor. I bounced back up, tossing the broomstick I’d tripped on. Looking around, my gaze found Juliet slumped over the sink, and I froze.