The purpose of the experiment was to explain the psychology of genocide. That the Nazis did terrible things just because they were told to do so. But I have a different interpretation.
I believe that any human being is capable of terrible things if you push them hard enough.
So is Luke.
“Please do this for me, Luke.” My eyes fill with tears—I’m not sure if they’re real or not. “You’re the only one who can help me. He’s a terrible person. He’s going to destroy me if I don’t get this video off his computer.”
He shakes his head. “Whatever is on that video… Maybe you should just deal with it.”
“I can’t.”
“Well, I don’t think I can do this.”
I take a step back. “So that’s it. You’re going to let this man destroy my entire life when you have a chance to stop him.”
“Adrienne…”
The tears are running down my cheeks now. “You don’t trust me. Even after all this time.”
“I trust you…”
“Then why won’t you help me?”
Luke stares down at the set of keys in his hand. He exhales slowly. “Okay. I’ll do my best. But no promises.”
“Thank you, Luke.”
I throw my arms around him in an uncharacteristically affectionate gesture. Usually, he’s the affectionate one. But this time he just stands there stiffly under my embrace.
Luke plugs the address I gave him for EJ’s house into his GPS and then he takes off, with a promise to text me when he’s on his way back. I don’t know what I’m going to do if he says he can’t get into that computer. As of now, I don’t have a Plan B. But I believe in Luke. He can do this.
_____
It’s been well over an hour since Luke has been gone.
I’ve been babysitting EJ this whole time while he sleeps on my sofa. When he gets too quiet, I come over to make sure he is still breathing. He’s fine though. I had been concerned about him waking up too soon, but I’m not worried about that anymore. He’s really conked out. My biggest concern right now is how I’m going to get him home. Luke is not going to be thrilled about helping me, but I don’t think I can do it on my own.
Luke. What’s taking him so long?
I chew on my thumbnail as I contemplate things that could have gone wrong. Maybe Luke couldn’t get into the computer, which is undoubtedly password-protected. Maybe a neighbor saw him entering the house and called the cops. Or possibly most likely, he decided not to go through with it after all and I’m never going to see him again.
Then my phone buzzes. Luke’s name flashes on the screen.
I scoop it up and press the green button. “Hello? Luke?”
“It’s done.”
All the anxiety drains out of my body, and I feel like I’m going to pass out. “Really? You deleted it from his computer?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my God,” I breathe. “Thank you. Thank you so much. Was… was it difficult?”
There’s a long silence on the other line. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay…” I clear my throat. “You’re coming back to my house?”
His voice is a monotone. “Yes.”
“Okay.” I squeeze the phone until my fingers tingle. “Thank you for doing this, Luke.”
“Yeah.”
“I… I love you.”
“I’ll see you later,” he says. And he hangs up on me.
I lower the phone and stare at the blank screen, a sick feeling in my stomach. Luke is pissed off at me. He’s lost respect for me. I’m not sure if he watched the video or not, but I don’t know if it matters. He’s angry that I made him do this.
I did this to get EJ out of my life. But I may have inadvertently eliminated Luke from my life as well.
My eyes fill with very real tears. I don’t want to lose Luke. I’m not sorry I asked him to do this, because I didn’t have a choice. I don’t want to stop seeing him. I don’t want him to empty the drawer I gave him in my bedroom. I want to give him more drawers.
I want him to move in with me. I’ve never felt this way before, but I realize it now. I want him here every night. For the rest of my life.
I can’t lose him over this. I can’t.
Chapter 35
TRICIA
Present Day
The final EJ tape comes to a close. Soon after lunch, I retrieved the rest of the EJ tapes from the hidden room, and now I’ve finished all of them. This last tape is labeled in black, not red like all the other final sessions, but there are no other tapes after this one. And it only goes on for about twenty minutes.