Chapter 11

His Second Chance... Her Badluck

GuiGui was so much like his sister.

Or at least the way he remembered her.

You were the lucky one, jie jie, he thought. You went with Mom.

You didn't get the drunken beatings night after night. You didn't live in a horror show you couldn't escape from.

You and Mom had it nice. YOu ran away and left me. You didn't tell me where you were going.

You didn't write to me. You didn't call.

You and Mom had such a good life.

And you never even thought about me.

Well, I've been thinking about you, jie jie. I've been thinking about you and Mom a lot.

A lot of girls deserve to die because of you.

A lot of girls are going to die.

And then someday I'm going to find you two.

And you're both going to die.

Just as I died every night. Every night.

Just as I wished I were dead.

He opened his mouth and sucked in a cold lungful of air.

Holding his breath, he stepped up behind GuiGui and raised the length of the cord, ready to lower it around her neck.

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The twin lights startled them both. Wang Zi had just enough time to jam the cord back into his pocket as GuiGUi spun around. "What's that?" she cried, her voice a whisper.

Car headlights.

Another car was pulling in beside theirs.

"The lights--- they scared me," GuiGui said, holding on to his arm. "We were so alone and---"

"It's getting too crowded up here," he said, laughing a bit too loudly. "Let's go." He took her hand, leading the way quickly back to the car.

His heart was pounding. When he saw the headlights, his first thought was that it was a patrol car out searching for the old car he had stolen earlier that afternoon.

But it wasn't the police. It was just two teenagers looking for a place to make out.

They had ruined his plans, ruined his night.

He'd have to take her home and then dump the car.

He'd have to kill her another night.

Be patient, he told himself, holding open the passenger door for her, forcing a warm, reassuring smile on his face.

Be patient. There will be other nights.

This girl's time will come.

Soon.

He started up the car and backed onto the road. Then he switched on the headlights, the thick woods lighting up in front of them.

GuiGui shivered, putting her hands into her coat pockets. "That was nice," she said dreamily, sliding down low, resting her head against the back of the seat. "It's so beautiful up here."

"Yeah," Wang Zi agreed, eyes straight ahead on the road.

She realized she'd never felt this happy. Even at her old school, she had been an outsider, always the lonely girl, the one who stayed home watching TV on Saturday nights while her friends went to parties and out on dates.

"Why don't you do something with your hair?" her friends would insist.

Or: "Why don't you loose a little weight?"

Or: "Why don't you wear something a little sexier, a little more daring?"

Everyone always had plenty of advice for GuiGui.

But now she didn't need their advice. Now she was out on a date with a boy who really liked her. With a boy who kissed her and took her on a romantic walk high above the river, high above the town.

Feeling so happy, feeling so comfortable, she leaned against him and whispered. "Why don't we go to my house?"

He didn't react immediately. He seemed to be lost in thought, far away somewhere.

For a moment, GuiGui thought that maybe he handn't heard her. But finally he said, "Your house?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him. "There's no one there. My mom's at work and my dad's in the hospital."

He kept his eyes on the windshield, but GuiGui could see a smile cross his face.

The smile made her feel warm all over.

He likes the idea, she thought.

He likes me.

I'm going to be alone in the house with a boy I like.

She felt excited and nervous and happy and worried all at the same time.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, surrounding herself in silent darkness. When she opened them, she felt a little calmer.

She directed Wang Zi to her house.

He didn't make any comments or jokes about their street, the way other Taipei kids did when she told them where she lived. He probably doesn't know about this street, she thought. He's too new in town. He hadn't heard about any of the terrifying things that supposedly happened here.

GuiGui practically leapt out of the car. She loved their street! It was the happiest street she had ever lived on. And this was the happiest night of her life!

He followed her up the walk. The front stoop was dark. She had forgotten to turn the porch light on.

She searched in her bag for the keys but dropped them on the step. They both bent down to retrieve them.

He grabbed them first. She hoped he didn't notice how her hand was shaking as she struggled to unlock the door.

This is crazy, she thought. I have no reason to be this nervous.

She clicked on the hall light. She tossed her coat onto the front stairway. He removed something from his jacket pocket, then tossed his coat down beside hers. Then she led the way into the dark living room.

When she reached to turn on the lamp beside the couch, his hand gently took hers and pulled it away.

Before she had a chance to take a breath, he had wrapped his arms around her and was kissing her hard, kissing her until she could barely breathe.

"Wang Zi---" she whispered, pulling her face away, her heart pounding, her head spinning.

But he didn't let go of her.

He held her, tenderly but in a firm embrace, and guided her down beside him on the couch.

He kissed her again, long and hard.

She shivered.

She closed her eyes, then opened them wide. She wanted to see him, wanted to see everything. She wanted to see it all clearly, even in the dim light filtering in from the hallway, wanted to see it so she'd remember it. Remember it for always and always.

She shivered again.

And realized she was cold. Still cold from their walk. Still cold from the drive back.

How can I be thinking about anything at all?

He kissed her again, kissed her until they were both breathless.

The light from the hall seemed to shimmer. The whole room seemed to tilt and whirl, as if they were flying, flying on a magic carpet, high over the ground, looking down on the shifting, whirling, spinning darkness below.

GuiGui drew away, trying to catch her breath. As she closed her eyes and rested the back of her head comfortably against his shoulder, Wang Zi removed the length of cord from the back pocket of his jeans.

Silently he fingered it and prepared to strangle her.