Free Follow the Leader by Mel Sherratt

rather be at work than here with you, don’t you? He doesn’t want to come home to your nagging and your self-absorbed ways. He doesn’t want to be left looking after your kids while you swan off here, there and every fucking where. Does he know about your extra fun at the gym?’
    ‘How do you –?’ Suzi began to cry. ‘Have you been following me?’
    ‘Don’t flatter yourself.’ Patrick stepped back. ‘I was only doing it to suss out your routine. I needed to learn your moves so I could figure out the best time to do this.’
    ‘Do what?’
    ‘Whatever I want, really. Such fun!’
    ‘Please, let me go. I’ll do anything, give you anything. I can –’
    ‘My name – it isn’t Matthew Thompson,’ he interrupted. ‘You really don’t remember me, do you?’
    Suzi shook her head manically.
    ‘The years of torment you and your gang of friends put me through. You’ll never know the anguish of being the odd one out, will you? What did you just call me back then, when you were going out with Mickey Taylor or whoever else you were slagging it about with? The class punch bag – of course I remembered. I know because I’ve retained every fucking WORD! And you’re going to pay for what you did to me. You and Whitty and Johnno and all the gang – you’re all going to pay for it.’
    Suzi began to thrash around in the chair. ‘Please, let me –’
    ‘We’re playing a game, you see. You started it way back in the playground when we were ten. Follow the Leader – you remember? You ran off with my homework and I chased after you, behind the sheds where I couldn’t see who was waiting for me. But you knew who was there, didn’t you? And you knew that no one could see what they’d do to me. No one would be able to stop them, unless it was too late.’
    ‘We were just kids! We weren’t aware of how it would affect you.’
    ‘Liar.’
    ‘I do remember. We were always on to you.’ Suzi was crying hysterically now. ‘It must have hurt you so much. I’m truly sorry!’
    ‘LIAR!’
    ‘It was just games!’ She sobbed. ‘Stupid, childish games.’
    Patrick clenched his fists. ‘You think I was playing games when I rammed a knife in Mickey Taylor’s stomach two days ago?’
    Tears fell from her eyes again.
    ‘I made sure Mickey knew who I was before I killed him too.’
    ‘What . . . It was . . .’ She screamed again.
    Patrick moved forward and straddled her. He grabbed her chin. ‘Shut the fuck up or I will make things much, much worse.’ From his pocket, he pulled out his knife and flicked it open. As she whimpered again, he pressed the blade across her throat, barely touching her skin but enough to make her understand that the threat was real.
    Suzi sobbed uncontrollably, struggling to catch her breath.
    It was then he felt her body given in. He glanced down, saw a puddle forming and laughed.
    ‘You’ve pissed yourself, just like I used to do when I was scared. Tut tut – such a naughty girl. You’ll have to be punished for that.’
    ‘What do you want with me?’ she sobbed.
    ‘I want . . .’ He placed the knife down on the floor. Then he moved his free hand slowly down her neck, over her chest, lingering to squeeze her breast before ripping open her blouse.
    ‘No, please,’ she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment.
    ‘Open your eyes.’
    ‘No! Please, I’ll do anything.’ She began to wriggle again. ‘Anything you want. Please, not that.’
    ‘Look at me!’
    She opened her eyes. He smiled: finally, he had her full attention . She wasn’t going to scream; she wasn’t going to struggle . She was going to let him do whatever he wanted because she thought that he would leave and she could then get on with her life.
    Oh dear. She was in for a surprise.
    He picked up the knife again, ran the blade down her chest and held the tip against her stomach.
    ‘I don’t want you,’ he told her. ‘I just wanted you to know that I could have you.’
    He plunged the knife