Page 124 of Camera Stays On

What a manipulative little shit.

I inhaled deeply and answered truthfully.

“You proposed in the middle of campus, surrounded by all your friends. If I’d said no, I would have been the bad guy.” I stepped forward, and he stepped back. “You were always doing that, publicly humiliating me, forcing yourself into my life. I never wanted you there, and yet, I knew if I told you no, then my already hard life would be made infinitely harder. You knew it, too, and used it to your advantage. It’s pathetic, Sawyer.”

With each new truth I spoke, his eyes grew colder, harder, meaner. Sawyer dug into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. He popped it open, and I swallowed hard. My sudden surge of confidence and bravery doused in an instant.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing. Purdy Doll, we’re finally getting married. I’m sorry you still can’t see things my way, but in time, you’ll grow to appreciate all I’ve done.”

“Why do you have a knife?” I accused.

He raised it and chuckled. “This? I was going to shave a bit off your dress. It’s heavy now. I thought it would help.” He dropped to his knees and grabbed my skirt. At about my knees, he began to cut through the fabric. He managed to cut and rip the front, but the material was thick, and it had so many layers he grew frustrated and stood. Only the front of my dress was gone, leaving a train in the back.

“That’s probably like twenty pounds,” he said proudly, wiping the rain from his face. Under the trees, the rain wasn’t coming in thick, more of a slight drizzle. I turned my head to look toward the house. It was too dark and stormy to see that far, but I could see just how heavy the rain was beyond the trees.

“Why did you bring me here, Sawyer?” I asked again, my voice quivering. I remembered some things, like Mick, and Juliet, and my head. But the in-between had been lost when he knocked me out cold.

“I keep telling you. I don’t know why you’re confused. We’re getting married. See those cameras?” He pointed upward, and I saw the tiniest red light coming from a tree. He continued to point them out. We were surrounded by cameras. The blood drained from my face as he snatched my hand and squeezed.

“They’ve been on this whole time. I’ve captured all of it, from start to finish. Our love story, our journey to lovers, to exes, to lovers again. We tried the public wedding, and then the semi-private, but none of them were right. It needs to be intimate. It needs to happen right here.” He dropped to his knees and offered me a ring made of...twine?

“Purdy—Andi, be my wife? Third time’s the charm, right?” He laughed, his eyes wide and desperate as he begged me to say yes. I stared at him. He had a knife. And even if he didn’t, he could easily kill me with his bare hands. But...could I just lie down and take this?

“No.” I pulled back. “No, Sawyer. Please stop this.”

He stood slowly, his smile slipping from his face. “Fine. I gave you the choice. Now, you don’t have an option.”

I turned to face the house. Could I make a run for it?

“I wouldn’t,” he warned, reading my mind. Instead, I pivoted and ran the other way, pushing past him. I fell, my freshly uncovered knees getting skinned instantly, but I scurried back up and kept running through the darkness, praying I didn’t land in a bear trap. I took a step and felt nothing under my foot, causing my arms to come out. A scream escaped my throat as I tried to catch myself, waving my arms wildly to try to stop from falling, but it was too late. In an instant, the tarp wrapped around me, and I fell into the hole, hitting the bottom so hard I cried out upon impact as pain shot up my thigh and down my foot simultaneously. I’d landed on my gunshot wound. My ankle had also twisted when I’d fallen, and while I didn’t think it was broken, I wasn’t sure I could walk at all now. I stared up from inside the hole, breathing heavily and trying not to cry from the pain. A moment later, Sawyer looked down at me and laughed.

“You done?”

“What is this?” I snarled, holding my foot.

“It’s your grave, Purdy. I wasn’t sure if I was going to let you and your lover live, so I dug these the night we got rid of Lux. Looks like you kinda made the choice for me.”

“You’re going to let me die here?” I demanded, struggling to my feet. My ankle was in tremendous pain, so I shifted my weight to the other side.

“No. I’m going to marry you. I’m going to fuck you. And then I’m going to bury you.”

“Why kill me after all of this?” I called up to him. “You’ll finally have what you wanted. Doesn’t it seem silly to throw it all away?”

He shook his head and squatted, jumping into the grave beside me. Suddenly, the world felt so small. There was nowhere to go. No doors to run through, no furniture to duck under or windows to break. I couldn’t climb up the hole. I was at Sawyer’s mercy. I backed up as close to the other wall as I could, but it was pointless. Fear slid slowly down my spine, settling deep into my body. I began to tremble, my teeth chattering as I tried and failed to not panic. What was he going to do to me in here?

“For the movie, Purdy. It’s not a found footage unless one person lives to tell the tale.”

That wasn’t true. In fact, in most found footage, everyone died. It was a lame excuse at self-preservation.

He pulled me into his embrace. “You know, what if we both died here? Think of how beautifully depressing that would look to an audience. We finally were able to find our way back to each other and then boom!” He shook me and I startled. “Dead.”

“I don’t want to make a movie anymore, Sawyer.” Tears slid down my cheeks. I had no clue how to get out of this mess. I was literally in my own grave right now, injured, cold, and exhausted. “Can’t we just live our lives out somewhere private?”

“You’d want that? You said no to my proposal.” His brows furrowed. For a brief moment, I wondered what exactly was going on in his mind. Sure, he’d been a narcissist, but he was sane before. Now, it felt like he had one idea, and then it was gone the very next breath. None of his plans made any sense. In one moment he wanted to marry me and have a future, and in the very next I was as good as buried.

“I’ve changed my mind,” I lied, swallowing my pride. “Let’s do it. Under the cameras, for proof. Just...” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.