“Everyone out!” Principal Wire roars, almost rupturing my eardrums. “Now!”
People flock to the exits. A few are close to fainting and green-faced, while others linger, watching to see how things play out.
I look for a masked figure, or maybe a man laughing at his handiwork, but no one sticks out.
“Who would do something like this?” Mia shakes her head in disbelief as we’re carried away in the crowds. “Everyone loves Nate!”
Well, not everyone…
It was them.
It had to be.
“Maybe it was someone from Rydell Prep?” Mia theorizes. “There’s a game coming up soon. If Nate’s injured, he won’t be able to play. Wire said it was an anonymous donor. It fits, right?”
It was Nate’s right hand. The same hand he touched me with outside. They must have seen it. It’s the only explanation. Rydell Prep players would never do something so twisted. Nate touched their toy, and if people touch their things, they get broken…
“Possibly,” I say.
“What is this school coming to?” a parent says. “First, rats at the music concert. Now, this! It’s going downhill. Where are our fees going?”
“It’s the children I worry about,” another says earnestly. “How can Stonybridge ensure their safety?”
Principal Wire will have a mutiny on his hands, and the police will have to launch an investigation.
“Earth to Erin?” Mia waves her hand in front of my face. “Are you listening?”
“Huh?” I shake my head. “Sorry, I guess the blood has made me a little dizzy.”
The truth is, no one is safe while my stalkers are roaming Pasturesville. Everyone who comes into contact with me is at risk. If a jealous act ends in a slashed hand, where will it end? What if Mia does something they don’t like? Will they hurt her too? What about Mom?
“I think I need to lie down,” I groan.
“Come on, darling,” Mom says. “Let’s go home.”
But home isn’t safe anymore.
Nowhere is.
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
ERIN
“Oliver says Nate’s recovering well,”Mia informs me as we stroll through the school halls. “It’s a good thing the surgeon was there right away. If they didn’t act so fast, he’d have lost two fingers.”
Two weeks have passed since Nate’s ‘accident’, and it’s still all everyone’s talking about. Nate returned to school yesterday and doesn’t go anywhere without an entourage fawning over him like lovesick puppies. I’ve tried to keep my distance, which hasn’t been difficult when he’s constantly encircled by adoring fans. The police investigation has brought up no leads, and unsurprisingly, the anonymous donor is proving impossible to track down. The entire Rydell football team was interrogated, but they all had an alibi. Sheriff Brady will be tearing what little hair he has out.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” Mia asks. “You’ve been acting kinda weird and distant since the Harvest Ball. I know you said that you and Nate are just friends, but I get it if you’re upset about what happened.”
She’s right. I have been pulling away from her. Throwing myself into schoolwork is the best way for me to protect her. I don’t want her getting hurt.
Although my stalkers haven’t contacted me again, I sense their presence everywhere. I seem to have developed a sixth sense for knowing when they’re close. They taint the air and leave small traces behind. For example, little things around my bedroom look different. A picture frame moved a finger’s width to the left, my toothbrush turned the other way, my pillow angled differently. Even my locker smells of them: smoke mingled with danger, secrets, and desire. Or maybe I’m losing my mind…
I’ve started looking for them everywhere I go, gazing through store windows, checking behind me in mirrors, and expecting them to be around every corner. Yet they haven’t shown themselves again. Somehow, I can’t help being disappointed.
There was a shift after my encounter with Eli. Instead of wanting to avoid them, I find myself seeking them out. Where do you start looking for men when there’s no record of their existence? After running through different scenarios, I’ve decided it’s up to me to make the next move. I have to do something that’ll draw them to me, like moths to a flame. They’re watching, and it’s time to put them to the test, starting with the family golf competition tomorrow.
