by Nina Lincoln
“Hey now,” Dirk drawls behind me, pretending offense at my insult. I flip him off but don’t bother to look, not surprised to hear him chuckle in reaction.
Colt’s face grows darker with each word, his jaw ticking with rage, but he’s not given a chance to respond when Sarah barges up.
Shoving her hands on her hips, she tosses her dark glossy hair over her shoulder, and says, “Colt, what's going on?”
Raising my brow at him, because the fucker is skating on thin ice with his proclamations while his bitch stands over him, he smiles, the ice around his eyes thawing. The look, the promise, makes me shiver, and his eyes light up with satisfaction.
“Colt!” Sarah demands again, and without looking at her, not even a quick fucking glance, he says harshly, “Fuck off, Sarah.”
She gasps behind him, “What? What's going on? You’ve been a total dick since prom! You can’t mean to go back to her,” she says, her tone implying I’m lower than dirt.
I’d say I’m insulted, but coming from bitch it’s almost a compliment.
“Did you really think I would take you back after you fucked my friends? Are you really that fucking delusional?” he asks silkily, still drilling me with his eyes.
“Colt, you know I didn’t mean it. You were just so mean to me, you know? Remember what you said, Colt? Remember? We were meant to come together.”
My heart drops in my chest, reminded of the conversation I’d overheard between her and Dirk at Colt’s surprise birthday party, where she said the very same thing. I should’ve known then and walked away - it would’ve saved me the heartache that same evening.
For those were the very same words he said to me, right before he started his seduction. Fucking psychopath.
Breaking his gaze, I turn to Nate and mutter, “Can we get out of here?”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Sarah. I’ve never said - I would never say something like that to you,” Colt says fiercely.
Ignoring him, I stand with Nate when he agrees but stop dead in my tracks when Sarah whines, “Really? I guess you’re going to deny giving me the damn crane too? Was nothing we did special to you?”
My hate-filled gaze flies to Colt before turning away quickly. Is there no end to the cruelty from him?
With a pained heart, I damn myself for being surprised and follow Nate from the diner, vaguely hearing Colt say as I do, “You’re a lying fucking bitch.”
Rushing to Nate’s car, I get inside as soon as he pops the lock and shut the door behind me, locking it as soon as Nate slides behind the wheel and none too soon when Colt comes barreling out the door seconds later.
He skids to a stop when Nate pulls away, and I stare at the grim look on his face until we pass, watching his face fall.
I thought there was nothing more Colt could do to hurt me, but the aching pulse in my chest tells me I’m dead wrong.
“You okay?” Nate says softly beside me.
Avoiding his gaze, I look out the window and nod. When our relationship was brand new, achingly new, Colt gave me a crane carefully folded into perfection for Christmas. It was a weird but sweet gift - he proclaimed the only thing he could give someone who had it all.
In return for his birthday, I painstakingly created a dragon, my fiftieth attempt to get it right. All wasted when I found him back together with Sarah.
Colt’s assumption I have it all is laughable. I don't have it all. Actually, I have nothing. Something Colt never could seem to understand. It's one more piece of our time together that’s been ripped away from me as no longer special because apparently nothing was.
Chapter Four
Unfortunately, I spent the evening brooding, and no amount of pep talk could get me out of my mood. So, the following morning I pull up to school with a sour expression and brace myself for whatever comes next.
Luckily, I make it to class unscathed, settling in and readying for the school day. Truthfully, I haven’t spent much time on my studies, what with all the drama going on. Good thing I wasn’t banking on a future at university anytime soon.
Students start strolling in after the first bell, but Colt is not among them, which is for the best but heightens my curiosity, and morosely I playback all the lies he’s told me, knowing it’s entirely possible he’s with that bitch right now.
And I have to admit to myself, even after everything, I’ve still held out hope. When will the seed of hope die because it sure as shit isn’t getting any water? Ugh.
In second period I receive a text from my fan. I’m so caught up in agonizing over Colt’s betrayal that I’m caught by surprise when I open the message.
My dear Finn, now that the asshole is out of the way, it’s time for us to be together. I knew you’d see the light, Finn. After all, you’re mine
Shivering, I shove the phone in my bag and hunch into myself. Is it coincidence? Was he throwing Colt’s words in my face? Is this really a woman? Is it fucking Sarah?
I go through the motions of my classes with an aching head, but I don’t hear the words. No, I only hear my fan’s threats circling my brain on autopilot. I feel weighted down by it all, and I’m so very tired of it.
There are times when I lay awake at night and just worry, because eventually whoever this is, they’re going to follow through on their threats. And what does that mean for me?
Is he or she going to hurt me? Can it end any other way?
There is no way out for me until this creep is revealed, but that only decreases my chances of making it through this alive. My life is in danger, and nothing I’ve been doing is solving the damn problem.
Colt shows up halfway through the day with a fresh set of bruises and a grim expression. He looks particularly gruesome, and I wonder who he squared off with that actually inflicted this much damage.
He gives me a mercurial stare but keeps his distance, and I go home relieved but curious. Since I shouldn’t care, I force myself to get some homework done, refreshingly mindless to the task before me until the intense blare of the alarm goes off unexpectedly.
“Shit,” I shriek, jumping right out of my skin.
Grabbing my phone, I open the security app to see that the fucking back door has been breached, which means whoever entered is just feet from where I stand. Trembling, I wait for my fan to round the corner.
It sounds corny, I know, but my life truly does flash before my eyes. Colt and how much I care for him, broken as he is. Maggie, who’s been the surrogate mother I needed these last few months. The friends I’ve made, who I grow closer to with each passing day, knowing they like me for me and not the shell I was before.
I’m still standing frozen in the living room when the police arrive, only breaking from my panicked trance when they pound on the front door.
Opening it quickly, I stand to the side as they search the interior with weapons drawn, and it’s all so surreal as I watch grimly from my front lawn.
Finally, they emerge, a grim-faced officer holding a box in his hands. Carefully he shows me what’s inside, and I step back, covering my gasp with a trembling hand.
Another gift, a warning, I suppose...an alarm system isn’t going to stop whoever this is.
Inside is a picture of me, undressing in my room. I have my bra on and a pair of pants, but the view is close enough to show, this jerk has been spying on me closer than I thought.
It’s through the blinds of my window but for fucks sake, did he climb a tree?
The box is taken to check for prints and Maggie, and I remain, sitting on the couch in a daze. When it’s time for bed, I crawl in beside her in her room, and she says nothing as I lay awake all night and stare at the ceiling.
*****
Since Maggie doesn’t want me to be alone, I grudgingly asked Hayden to pick me up this morning for school. I’m still unsure where I stand with Colt, and I’m afraid to open myself up only to be shot down. I’m depressed enough as it is.
Besides, he’s in danger because of me - the more distanc
e I put between us, the better. Clearly, my fan is getting bolder, and I don’t want to tip him over the edge.
“Okay, kid. I’ll work on replacing the doors,” she says as Hayden pulls up in front of the house in his muscle car.
“He can still get in the windows,” I whisper.
“Then I’ll get bars,” she says grimly.
Giving her an incredulous look, I slowly nod at her determined face and smile. If anyone can figure out how to fortify the house, it’s got to be Maggie.
“Have a good day, kid. Call if you need a ride,” she says in her raspy voice.
“Okay.”
Traipsing to the car, I slide in, and Hayden takes off, glancing at me curiously. “What’s going on? You look like shit.”
“Thanks,” I say dryly.
“So?”
Hesitating, I give in. If Hayden is my damn stalker, he already knows what happened, and I’m fucked anyway because I’m sitting in his damn car.
“My fan left me a gift last night,” I murmur, watching his face closely.
At first, all I see is confusion, which fades to concern when he remembers our conversation. It feels like a lifetime ago now, but I confessed to a group of virtual strangers and Melissa about my fan when pressed about why I moved to South.
Apparently, Hayden forgot until now.
“What did he leave?” he asks gruffly.
“A picture of um me.”
“A picture?”
“Yes, it’s of me. In my room.”
“Fuck, that’s bad news, Finn. Did you tell Colt?”
“What? No, why would I tell him?”
“Finn, Colt’s got it bad for you. Yes, he’s a dick, but he cares. You need to tell him.”
“I don’t even know when he’s telling me the truth! For all I know, he’s my stalker,” I seethe.
He laughs out loud, “He’s not your fucking stalker. Do you really believe that?”
“I did,” I admit.
“Well, that’s fucked up. Yes, Colt’s done some weird shit, hell we all have. That doesn’t make him a complete psychopath.”
“Weird shit?” I ask, exiting the car and following him through the lot. “What weird shit?”
“Look,” he says, spinning toward me, “this all started wrong. We made a mistake, but Colt, the fucking dick loves you. God help him, and now might be a good fucking time for him to be around.”
Shrinking under his intensity, I’m reminded of my desperation last night when I thought I was going to die, but I push it away to analyze later.
“What do you mean, you made a mistake?”
I’m surprised Colt isn’t lying in wait as we square off in our heated discussion, but I see no sign of him. Fighting both relief and disappointment, I wait for Hayden to give me the answers he’s alluding to.
“It doesn’t matter. Look, there’s a party Friday night. I think you should be there,” he says, looking down at me with a smirk.
“What? That’s it? I don’t care about a fucking party!”
“You want your fucking answers?” he demands.
“I don’t trust you,” I mutter.
He laughs, and it sends a shiver down my spine. Despite his efforts to help me get back at Colt, it would be best for me to remember he’s a cold, dangerous son of a bitch.
“And you probably shouldn’t. I’ll pick you up at your house around nine,” he says, dismissing me and turning to the girl waiting patiently on his right, proceeding to suck her tonsils out of her face.
With a grimace, I turn away, into the cold grey eyes of Colt walking toward me with purpose. With a thrill I ignore, I square my shoulders and brace for his attack, sucking in a breath when he stops before me and gives Hayden a heated look, “What the fuck is going on?”
Hayden pulls away from the girl with a slurp, and I shudder, gross.
“What man?” he asks lazily, giving the girl’s ass a good squeeze.
“What the fuck are you doing with Finn? I told you fucker. This isn’t like Sarah, back the fuck off!” Colt snarls.
At Sarah’s name, I cringe and move to walk around him. There’s so much unspoken between us, and I’m not sure there’s a way past it, assuming Hayden isn’t fucking with me anyway.
Colt grabs my arm, still glaring holes through Hayden, who shrugs lazily and smiles. “I know what this is Theroux, that’s why I’m doing it.”
“Is this still about eighth fucking grade?” Colt asks, tightening his grip on my arm when I try to shake him off.
Gritting my teeth, I say, “Let me go.”
“No,” Colt says, glancing down at me with a hard stare before turning back to Hayden.
Hayden just laughs, “Bro, I don’t give a fuck about eighth grade. I don’t give a fuck about Sarah, but I have taken a shine to Finn.”
He looks at me with a pretty smile, and I blink, stunned. Huh?
Colt snarls, shaking me off, and goes at Hayden like gangbusters. Stepping away, I turn to watch them square off. The last time they went at it like this, it was after Colt jumped Nate for trying to kiss me and then Hayden for pushing Sarah to the ground. Confusing that. This time, I suspect Colt’s got rage on his side. What I don't understand is why.
He dumped me, cruelly. He ended this, not me. What the fuck is going on in his pretty damn head - another game to get even?
With a sigh, I turn away, leaving them to their stupidity, and make my way into the school, where it's still quiet, most of the students milling around outside.
I head to first period with supreme confusion, my mind still on the hot but icy cold jerk squaring off with Hayden in the parking lot.
I’m halfway to my desk when I spy the creamy white note sitting on the top and stop in my tracks. Surely not, wasn’t his gift last night enough for now?
Pulling it up, I open it with trembling fingers and read the nasty words.
Finn, did you think you could transfer and escape me? Did you think it would be that easy? Make no mistake, when the time is right, nothing you can do will stop me. It’s almost time. I’m almost ready. Are you ready, Finn? Did you enjoy my gift? I thought about you as I put it together. We were destined to be together. You and I, we’re soulmates, Finn. Just remember, I can see you. Stay the fuck away from Colt, or you’ll regret it. R
Why does it feel like this jerk is always two steps ahead of me?
Colt enters when the bell rings and sits in his seat with a huff. Glancing at him from the corner of my eye, I wonder if he truly is in danger? Or is this the most diabolical game yet?
Rubbing my aching forehead, I sag in my seat, heat sparking along my skin when Colt turns to me with an angry expression. Ignoring him, I stare into nothing, hoping that something about this whole fucked up situation will come to light soon.
“Finn?”
“So, you’re what, going to ignore me again? Not gonna happen. Finn?” he says.
“Goddamn it, Finn! Look at me!”
Turning my gaze his way, I say absently, “I’m not ignoring you.”
“We need to have a conversation. Wait for me after class,” he insists, dropping into silence as the teacher begins her lesson.
Through it all, I contemplate the note. It’s fucking sick but convincing myself it was Colt meant it was safe because the end game was making me look a fool and scaring me. But knowing it’s not him means something far more dangerous is at play, and letting go of that small bit of doubt makes me fucking terrified.
I still don't know who’s out there watching me, who broke into my house and left a gift, who left me a note on my pillow while I lay sleeping, who may have even been there while Colt and I made love.
With a shiver, I pull my sweatshirt around me and look at Colt. I desperately want to share all this with him because he makes me feel safe for whatever fucked up reason. But to what end? I still can’t trust him, and he’s still in danger. I don’t know what my fan might do if he thought we were together, and I’m not sure it’s a good idea to find out.
; Thankfully, Colt gets pulled from class before the bell, and I leave on the students' tide shortly after. I have a pounding headache, and nausea swishes in my belly.
Heading straight to my car, I stop in my tracks when I realize I didn’t drive myself. Instead, I slink down the street and order an Uber, glancing around completely paranoid the whole time.
I’m on pins and fucking needles by the time the Uber pulls up in the driveway, and regretting my rash decision to leave the relative safety of the school as I pull my house keys from my bag.
“Thanks,” I mutter, stepping from the car and spying Sarah Bitch Fremont standing on my damn front porch.
What now, God? Seriously?
She straightens her back as I approach and sneers, her pretty eyes hard jewels of hate, the expression a departure from her usual attempts to kill me with fake kindness.
With a deep breath, I prepare myself for whatever she’s got in mind, prepared to throw down if it comes to that, but she merely crosses her arms over her chest and says, icily, “You’re making a big mistake.”
“Which is what?”
Looking her over suspiciously, I see nothing out of the ordinary, but I still wonder if it’s a coincidence she’s standing in the very spot where my stalker likes to leave their gifts.
Could it be a girl? But why? What could Sarah possibly want from me? She hardly admires me unless it’s all a bid to scare the shit out of me.
“Colt’s just angry with me, but we’re soul mates, and you’re nothing but a distraction.”
“Sarah,” I say, looking her over.
All at once, she seems sad, smaller, and pathetic in her desperation. Is this how I look? Desperate for a boy who probably doesn’t want either of us.
“What?” she snarls.
“If you really thought he was your soulmate, would you be here warning me off?”
“Fuck off!” she shrieks, swinging her hand toward my head.
I rear back, which means her fist hits my cheek instead of the side of my head, but I have no time to contemplate it because she’s holding a knife. A knife! I never thought the bitch had it in her.
Waving it around in my face with a wicked grin, she seethes, “What makes you so fucking special anyway? You’re nothing!”
