"So tell me Corey, what are you?" the man leaned back on the couch, he hated the way it felt against his skin as he inhaled slightly. He would've thought after everything he's dealt with, he'd be used to the questions. He's seen so many books and articles with his face plaster on them, everyone was the same.

They wanted answers to his so-called life, they wanted to crack open his skull and weave apart the parts that made him Corey Becker. He had so many questions himself, why was he the one who suffered?

He licked his lips nervously as he thought hard on the question, what was he? He couldn't have been anything if it weren't for the hardships he's dealt with. He wasn't special and he definitely didn't deserve the fame and glory he gained throughout the years.

"A survivor?" He hated the way he said it but it slipped out of his like before he could stop himself. He wasn't a survivor, he was broken if anything.

"Why do you think you're a survivor Corey? Because you've managed to withstand the pressure of death multiple times? Your loved ones watched you suffer far too many times in the past and each time you claim it was for the greater good. Why do you think those people put on that mask and went after you? Why were you the star of their obsessions".

Corey had never thought of them in a long time, he remembered the faces and the names but all he could picture was the mask. He felt the urge to scream as he picked at the couch with his fingers, "I ask myself that everyday, and I don't think it'll ever be enough".

He chuckled slightly as he rubbed at his face "that's the thing about it all, it'll never be enough. No matter how many times I tell myself it's over and that I'm safe from some psycho in a mask, it happens again and the loop just resets and I'm trapped".

The woman smiled slightly and Corey hated the pity she was giving him. "Well it's possible you have doubts about this chapter of your life being over, maybe it's time you let yourself forget ghostface and start being more yourself. Do something Corey Becker would do if he had never faced these challenges when he was young, be yourself as if you were completely free of this trauma. I want you to go home and do something with your children, make a night of it if you can and forget your past. For the entire day you're just a normal guy and no one else".

Corey nodded as he stood up off the couch "I can try, but I can't imagine it'll be easy convincing my kids to hang out with me for the entire day. They have life's of their own and I'm barely a part of it".

"Then you make them understand, today is about you healing Corey and if they truly care about your wellbeing they will help you find yourself again".

—

Corey felt a sense of nostalgia when he watched his children gather around the living room floor, they kept shouting every few seconds when the movie would get more intense. "I can't believe they had this guy play dad in this movie, he doesn't even look like that!" he cringed at the sight of stab.

He's never seen the films but his children insisted he'd actually try for once, they were just movies and nothing more. He turned towards the stove looking dt the popcorn as it slowly started to form, the loud pops made his mind wandered off.

Casey was always the one who'd make the popcorn for movie nights, Steven would steal every single piece out of Corey's hands and they'd all laugh. Now all he felt was a sense of dread as he turned the stove off and ripped open the foil with a knife.

"Hey dad! How come you're not in the last stab movie? Didn't you let the studio have the rights to your character for like ten films? They made ten movies and you're not in the last one at all".

Corey looked away from the popcorn and at his daughter who was smiling at him as she leaned against the edge of the couch. "Well I don't know honestly, they mentioned a script to me once with my character being involved but I guess they went a different route. No one really likes the stab movies anymore so it's not a big deal to anyone".

"But I'm dying to know what happened to your character dad! You were badass in stab nine and then they ended it with you driving away and you're just never mentioned in the tenth film, where did you go! I mean you can call the studio and ask right?".

Corey smiled "sweetie those movies are false information, I mean I'm clearly right here alive and breathing and not driving off into the sunset. They stopped telling the truth in those movies after the fourth one, it got weird and involved time travel and then in the new one it doesn't even have ghostface, just a copycat killer who wears a lame hockey mask, which is clearly a Jason rip off".

He grabbed the bowl of popcorn off the counter and walked towards the living room. "Why did they stop telling the truth anyways? I mean they had the opportunity to just stop with the forth stab, but they kept making more". Corey sighed softly "well likely wanted money for it, no one cares about the truth anymore, it's all about true crime podcasts and movies that aren't even scary to watch. I mean the new exorcist sucked and it wasn't even scary".

He sat down and looked at the tv screen with a soft huff "these movies are far more scary" he ate a pile of popcorn. "Dad, don't hog all the popcorn!" He pushed the bowl against his chest "I worked pretty hard in the kitchen to make this, you can get off your ass and make some for you and your sister. Steven was smart enough to make himself a bag, you girls are never prepared for movie night".

The girl groaned in annoyance "Hallie! Tell dad to make us popcorn, he'll listen to you since you're younger". Hallie huffed as she looked at Maureen "no way, popcorn makes my stomach hurt. Besides, mom said she'd bring home pizza after work so you can just wait for that if you're really hungry".

Maureen glared at Hallie before she turned and looked at her father. He shrugged as he took another bite of popcorn "ugh! I'm living with wild animals" she smiled softly as Corey handed her the bowl of popcorn. "Share with your sister, we all know she secretly loves popcorn" he took one last handful before he smiled slightly and looked at the screen.

His phone dinged and he grabbed it from his pocket. "Who is it?" he sighed softly "just my doctor telling me my medication is ready, thought it would've been your mother asking for help with the pizza".

He put his phone back into his pocket and then it dinged again and he looked at it "okay this time it's actually your mother, she needs help carrying in the pizza. Keep watching the movie "I'll be right back".

He stood up off the couch and ran towards the door and opened it. He frowned deeply at the sight of no car being in the driveway, he walked outside and then looked down at his phone.

He grew tense when a drop of blood hit his phone screen, he inhaled sharply as he slowly looked upwards. He felt his breath leave his lungs as his body froze on the spot, his phone collided with the driveway as he screamed.

"Sid..." he groaned as he gripped her body and lifted her off the tree. She gasped for air as blood ran down her face, he let out a shaky breath as he set her down on the ground and looked around in panic.

"No no... this can't be happening... we're safe, we're supposed to be safe..." he cried softly as he gripped her face desperately. "Sid I need you to stay awake, don't go, you can't leave me here".

He pushed her into his arms as he grabbed his phone in a panic "I need to call the police.. I..." he felt numb as he felt Sidney's hold on him loosen. He looked down at her in panic as he gripped her face "Sid, Sidney please don't do this to me...".

He let out a heavy breath as he shook her face "Sidney! Come on! This can't be real... this isn't real... I'm dreaming... it's just a dream...". He sobbed as he closed his eyes and pushed his face into Sidney's neck "please wake up, I can't do this again...". He flinched when his phone began ringing, he looked at the screen as he held onto Sidney.

He ignored the fear he felt as he grabbed his phone and pressed it against his ear. "What do you want this time? You're not getting away with this, they never do because at the end of this all, you'll be dead".

"I don't want you to die Corey, you know I find myself in quite a perfect situation, gutting Sidney was the easiest thing I've done. I imagine your children will be just as easy, do you think they'll scream for you? That they'll get even an ounce of your attention for once! You're a really hard guy to impress, so I thought my gift was the best way to gain it. Sidney had loose ends and you needed to cut them off! I'm showing the world just how important you still are Corey, you're a star! You can't escape your fate without me!".

Corey let out a heavy breath as he forced himself to stand up "you think you'll scare me? That I'll let you take away everything I've built? My kids are a lot smarter than you think asshole and we'll be ready".

He hung up the call and then he gasped when he was grabbed from behind "screw hiding! I'll gut you myself!" Corey screamed when the knife slammed into his chest. His eyes widened as the figure threw him towards the pavement.

He groaned as he pressed his hand against his chest, he felt the blood seeping into his skin as he crawled backwards. The figure laughed as they walked towards him slowly "not so brave are you? Seems what they said about you was true, you're a coward and I bet you'll cry like a baby when I finish you off".

Corey let out heavy breaths as he looked at the figure with sadness "I never said I'd fight back, you'd be doing me a favor by killing me. So go ahead, just fucking kill me and get it over with. You won't get the satisfaction of watching me suffer, I'm tired".

He let out a weak chuckle "no more fighting, it's my time and I won't fight it anymore. I should've known I'd never escape this ending. The good guys never win in the final film, they fail and try again and again, but I'm not the good guy and I'm definitely not the bad guy either. I'm just someone trying to survive by any means possible, but that's faded, I don't care if I die and I don't care if you win".

He closed his eyes as he let himself lay on the pavement, he felt the blood leaving his body and he heard the footsteps get closer. He didn't flinch when he felt the coldness of the blade entering his flesh, and he didn't flinch when the gun went off.

"Dad!" he inhaled sharply when his eyes burst open Maureen looked down at him as she let out a shaky breath. "Dad please get up, I don't know what to do" he let out a weak breath "I... it's okay".

He coughed and could taste the blood that coated his tongue as Maureen cried. "Dad I can't protect them alone, I can't do this alone, you taught me how to fight but I can't do it without you. You're supposed to be the one who always gets back up at the end, you always survive. You told me you always make it to the end of the movie, you always come back...".

Corey let out a weak cry as he pressed his hand into his daughter's grasp "not this time..." he groaned as he inhaled sharply "I don't... I don't get a happy ending... I never will". He pushed his head into the pavement as he tried to keep his eyes open.

"Dad, please don't leave us! We need you! Moms gone... we can't lose you too, you're the only one who's not scared to fight back. You can stop ghostface, you always stop them so we can be safe, don't give up, please don't give up....".

Corey felt warm, for the first time in a really long time he felt like he had rested. He felt at peace as he smiled weakly his body felt so relaxed as he held onto his daughter's hand weakly.

"I love you all...." he blinked slowly "I always will" his eyes faded away into the abyss as his heart stopped beating. "Dad!" Maureen looked down at her father in panic, she sobbed as the sirens grew closer.

She could hear the loudness of her sister and brother sobbing behind her. She inhaled sharply as he looked down at Corey "I'll protect them... I promise".

She felt the rage, felt the betrayal as she looked down at the masked figure that laid dead on the pavement. She heard the ding of her phone and she grabbed it out of her pocket with a shaky hand.

"What's your favorite scary movie?".

—

The night was cold, harsh breezes tugged along the windows of Corey Becker's bedroom. He laid along his bed, his eyes feeling heavy as he turned on his side. "Corey!" his sister's voice bounced off the walls as he looked at his door.

He let out an annoyed breath as he stood up "what!" he heard the soft footsteps of his sister. She pushed open his door glaring at him as she pressed her hand against her hip.

"Don't even think about sneaking out tonight, mom and dad would kill you". He rolled his eyes as he leaned into his desk. "Casey don't you want the house to yourself? I mean your lame ass boyfriend is coming over, I'd just be in the way".

She walked inside his bedroom "as the older twin, I'm saying you should really just stay home, I can make you some popcorn, you can gloat in your room for all I care".

He looked annoyed by her words "you're older by like five minutes, besides I was named first!". She smiled "I'm the favorite" as she walked into the hallway. Her eyes looked at him "don't go anywhere, you'll get in trouble".

She disappeared out of his sight and he sat down on his bed. He could hear the soft hum of Casey in the kitchen as she made popcorn. The strong scent of it wavered into his nostrils when he walked down the stairs. "Corey, there's some creep on the phone!".

She sounded so scared as he approached her and grabbed the phone from her shaking hands. A huge sense of Deja vu entered his body as he looked down at the phone in his grasp. "Corey seriously they're freaking me out, they said they were watching me".

Corey sighed softly as he pushed the phone against his ear "who is this? Why the hell are you messing with my sister asshole!". "Put Casey back on the phone!".

Corey rolled his eyes as he hung up the phone "screw that! I'm calling the cops and they can handle whoever the fuck keeps messing with you".

He gasped at the sudden sound of glass breaking in the kitchen "Corey... what was that?". Casey gripped his arm as they moved back slowly "I don't know but I don't wanna find out, come on".

He grabbed her arm and quickly pushed her into his room and shut the door. "What do we do? Mom and dad aren't gonna be back for another hour and what if the cops don't show up? They'll think we're crazy".

He screamed when a knife slammed through his door and nearly cut his face. He grabbed Casey's hand and pushed her towards his window "I'd rather take my chances falling off the roof than dealing with this asshole trying to kill us!". Casey cried as she climbed out the window "I don't like this Corey, I'm scared".

Corey groaned when his leg was grabbed, he kicked at the figure and laughed when they stumbled back, "that was sick!". He moved towards Casey and lowered her towards the grass "Case we gotta make a run for it, this creep can't catch a hint".

Casey screamed when the figure appeared in front of her and stabbed her shoulder. Corey let out a loud shout as he jumped off the roof and tackled the figure into the grass. He yelled out in agony when the knife stabbed his arm "what the fuck!".

He pushed himself off the ground and groaned as he grabbed a hold of Casey "come on.. we gotta go". They both winced as they stumbled along the grass and moved towards the road "Corey, they're behind us... what if they catch us!".

Corey felt a sudden wave of emotion hit him as he looked at Casey "they won't". She looked so scared as she leaned into him more "I'm so scared... why is this happening? Oh god we're gonna die...".

Corey let out a heavy breath as he smiled to himself "not this time" he looked up at the sky and chuckled "we're going to make it Case, I promise".

He held onto her tightly as they stumbled down the road. He could hear the loud shouts of rage behind him but he didn't turn around because he knew this time, he'd get his happy ending so he smiled.

—
authors notes:
deadass this is the end....
like deadass.... I'm being so serious when I say this is it for this book. My baby Corey's story is completed and he can finally rest and not deal with ghostface, it was a wonderful experience writing for his character and making this story. I might make a sequel one day with his daughter but honestly not sure yet. Ending this story will be my best achievement of the year and it sucks parting ways with Corey, I'll upload separate chapters of any bonus content at the end of the week, hopefully you all enjoyed this book! Thank you for all the amazing comments and support.

THE END OF BITTERSWEET TRAGEDY!

imagine if there was one more chapter.....
(there is ;)