“I think that’s everything I need,” said Marty eventually. “As soon as I have conclusive evidence, you’ll be the first to know.”He grabbed his TOP SECRET folder and left as quickly as he’d come.
I let out a deep sigh. Reliving all that had been so draining.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that,” said Tanner.
“Marty wasn’tthatbad. I’d go through his questioning a million times over if it will help him find Rosalie.”
Tanner laughed. “I meant Rosalie disappearing. But yeah, Marty can definitely be a little insensitive.” He handed me another tissue. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help make tomorrow a little less painful for you?”
I shook my head. Having him see me ugly-cry for the past hour had been horrifying enough. I couldn’t deal with him seeing how much of a mess I’d be tomorrow.
“Okay. Well if you change your mind, just…”
“Actually,” I said. “There is one thing you could do.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Anything.”
All my instincts were telling me not to ask. I’d already pushed my luck enough by making out with him. But he’d offered… “I wouldn’t mind going out to dinner tomorrow night.”
He stared at me.
Oh shit.Was he about to freak out? I couldn’t handle that on top of everything else. “You know…to work on the launch party,” Iadded. “We need to take advantage of every second we can get if we’re gonna pull this thing off. And I could use the distraction.”Of you. I could use the distraction of you.
“You got it,” said Tanner. “I’ll pick you up at your place at 8?”
“Sure. My address is…”
“I know your address.”
“Of course you do. Stalker.”
“I mean…what do you expect when I have Marty working for me? He’s very thorough.”
“I’d like to change my answer. Going to dinner tomorrow will be nice, but it would really cheer me up if you admitted that you were the one stalking me.”
“So you want me to lie to you?”
I slapped his arm. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe. But at least I’m not a stalker.”
I laughed. Even though he hadn’t admitted his stalkery ways, he’d still managed to cheer me up. And he’d agreed to go on a date! This was freaking huge. It was going to be our first real date outside of the Society.
Tomorrow was going to be rough. But tomorrow night was going to be everything.
Stalker Problems - Chapter 43 - Son of a Dick
Thursday – May 25, 2023
This year I didn’t bring the cupcakes. But I still went to the lake. The grass was slick with dew so I laid out a beach towel and plopped myself down.
I stared at the castle for a while, thinking about when Rosalie had tried to convince me to sneak in after dark and sleep there as if it were our house. I pulled my knees into my chest. I’d been too lame to do it. Now I really wished I had.
I rested my chin on one of my knees and I blinked, trying not to cry.
I felt like I should be telling a story about her, but there was no one to talk to. So instead I decided to talk to her.
“Hey Ros,” I said to the air. “I miss you.” I paused, choking back the tears. “I miss you so much.”
