“Mom, I just want to tell you where I am in case something happens…” and the phone was taken from her grasp and was thrown against the wall. Carmela Walter, who is an 18 year old, quiet, beautiful girl, works at Paul’s Pizza Palace. She has been working there for two years. Carmela keeps to herself during school. Outside of school, she spends her time with her family. She has one brother who is 13, a sister who is 17, and her parents, who are both successful business owners. Her life is uneventful and she is okay with it. If Carmela is not at work or with her family, she is either drawing, reading, or studying. She gets all A’s and is planning on attending Columbia University in the fall.
It is a frigid Friday night, on January 17, in New York. Carmela and her family were planning on going into the city to see a play, but she got called into work. The boy who was supposed to be working called in sick. She wanted to tell her boss she could not come in, but her parents would not let her. Even though her parents are wealthy, they believe their kids have to work for their money, and they do not hand them anything. She put on her red work shirt, her khaki pants, and her apron. As she was heading out of the house, her mom told her not to forget to lock the door when she gets back. She would not get home until 12 A.M., so she knew her parents would already be sleeping. As she drove through town, she did not see any other car on the road. She expected more people to be out since it was only 7 P.M. Carmela tends to freak herself out, so she definitely thought something bad was going to happen. She walked into Paul’s, and it was completely dead. It must have been because of the bad weather. Her boss came out of the back room and asked Carmela if she could deliver tonight. She agreed, even though she hated delivering.
Three hours have gone by, and the only delivery she had to make was right down the road. They were going to close early, but then the phone rang. It was a delivery. A man who would not give his name ordered two trays of pepperoni pizza. The street name sounded unfamiliar, but she would just plug it into her GPS and be on her way. Her boss told her after she makes this delivery she can just go home.
The unknown man’s house was ten minutes away. She could not figure out why he would not give his name, but it freaked her right out. When the GPS told her to turn right onto Hollow Street she could not even see where the turn was. It was the oddest, darkest, and dreariest street she ever saw. Carmela wanted to turn back, but she had to deliver these pizzas. She pulled up to 328 Hollow Street, and got ready to walk up to the door. Her heart was racing. She loathed freaky situations like this one.
She rang the doorbell. The doorbell was one of those strange ones that were attached to the door. You have to pick it up and hit the door with it. She stood on the porch for a couple seconds before she heard footsteps. Her heart started to race faster and faster. Finally, the door started to creak open. This unknown man stood right in front of her waiting for her to tell him the price. He was a different looking guy. She had never seen him before but she wishes she did. To her, this man was flawless. His hair was perfectly cut, his beard shaved immaculately, his choice of clothing was superb, and his face looked like he belonged in a movie. She was speechless. At last, he spoke.
“Hi, how are you?” Dean asked.
“I am doing well, how about you?” She said, after struggling to get any thoughts together.
“Great, would you like to come in while I grab some money?” He replied.
Once he asked her that, she snapped back into reality. She had forgotten about all the suspicious activity going on tonight. She freaked herself out again, so she told him she would just wait on the porch while he got the money. She could tell he seemed a little thrown off when she said that. As soon as he left, she hurriedly got her phone and dialed her mother’s number. She was praying she would answer, but was sure she would not because it was around the time her mother would be asleep. The call went to voicemail. She left her a message saying, “Mom, I just want to tell you where I am in case something happens…” Suddenly, the phone was taken from her, and thrown against the wall. She was in utter shock. She tried to run away but the man grabbed her arm and dragged her into his house. He locked the door behind him, turned to Carmela and knocked her out cold. The last thought she had was how will anyone find me?
When she woke up, she was tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth. She was petrified. The man was nowhere in sight. She tried to break the chair so she could escape but he came into the room. The man she once thought was perfect was now a monster.
Dean, now scared at what he had done said, “I know you must be freaking out right now, but I did not mean for you to get scared. I just want to talk to you, but then you called someone and I panicked. If I take the tape off, will you promise not to scream?”
Carmela nodded. He took the tape carefully off of her face and she stayed silent. She was too nervous to see what he would do if she screamed.
“My name is Dean Jones, and I know a lot about you. I have watched you for many years and I am finally meeting you face to face.” Dean told her with excitement.
Carmela was speechless once again, but not for the same reason as before. She asked him, “Why are you doing this?”
He said, “I am very close to my sister, and you remind me of her.” He motioned to a picture on the table next to her.
She looked and there was a picture of his sister and him. The only thing she noticed was his sister. She was identical to Carmela. He smirked at her. He asked her if she was starting to figure it out yet. She did not understand. A million thoughts raced through her mind. She asked him where his sister is. His smirk faded, and he looked like he was about to hurt her. He started to speak but did not know what to say.
Finally, Dean said, "My sister died four years ago, and ever since I have a feeling in me that is telling me I need to replace her. You are the perfect replacement and I need you. I need you to be my new sister. Every day I watched you, you reminded me more and more of her."
Carmela's face was as white as snow. She wanted to throw up. She thought to herself, Maybe my mom will come find me, or maybe my boss will worry, but then she was reminded that her mom is sleeping and her boss told her she can go right home after this delivery. She knew she had to get out of his house.
As she was trying to get a plan, he was mumbling about his sister. She had an idea. She thought, Maybe if I play along with his game he will untie me and I can escape. She got his attention.
Carmela being serious told him, "I have been thinking, and I will do it,"
He seemed confused.
She continued, "I will be your sister. I am so stressed about the future and if I am your new sister we can go wherever we want, and I will not have to worry about college or impressing my parents."
"Are you serious? Do you want to leave right now? I have a house in Connecticut we can go to right now." He told her.
She said she would leave right now. He started to untie her and he was ecstatic. She was untied! She knew she had to play along until the right moment.
He was getting a suitcase to put all his stuff into. She was helping him but thinking of a way to escape too. While they were getting everything ready, he kept asking where she wanted to travel, and how he will do anything she wants to do. He told her how happy he was that he is going to have a sister again.
She was now in the kitchen gathering his belongings and she saw the knives. Dean was in his bedroom so she had a chance. She took one of the biggest knives and hid behind a wall so she can stab him when he comes around the corner. She heard him coming.
He called out, "Carmela? Come here and see if you like this shirt."
She called back, "I am in the kitchen, come here." She was preparing herself. She knew if she messed up that it would be the end.
He turned the corner and saw her with the knife. He went to grab her, but she cut his leg. He looked down, saw the cut and just smiled. She could tell he wanted to hurt her. Before he was able to get her, she drove the knife right into his stomach. He fell to the ground, and slowly closed his eyes. She knew he was only unconscious, so she took the ropes he used to tie her to the chair and she used them to tie his arms and legs to the table next to him. She sprinted out of his house, got into her car with blood dripping down her shaky arms, and drove as fast as she can to her house. On her way home she called 911. She told them his address and what happened. They told her they would take care of it.
She got home in five minutes. She rushed through the door and raced up the steps into her parent’s room. She got in their room and broke down into tears. Her mom and dad woke up in a panic to see their 18 year old daughter covered in blood and tears. They asked her what happened and she told them the whole story. They had no idea what they can possibly do so they just held her in their bed. Carmela needed the comfort of her parents and that is what they gave her.
Twenty minutes after she arrived home her cell phone rang. She jumped and so did her parents. It was the police. The first thought that came to mind was that Dean escaped. She answered and with a trembling voice, asked what happened. They explained to her that he was still tied up when they got there but when they untied him he tried stabbing one of the police men. They had no choice but to shoot him. They told her that he is dead and she does not have to worry about him ever again. She explained it to her parents and they were very relieved. They told her she can stay in their room tonight. She knew she would not get an ounce of sleep, but she was still comforted by her parents and felt safe again.