Haunting-Adeline
My phone buzzes as soon as my ass hits the so leather. No cing thatDaya has been immediately sucked into a conversa on with Max, and Archis filling up a glass of expensive bourbon, I sneak a peek at the text.UNKNOWN: Sneaking off with random men, little mouse? If I catchhis hands anywhere near you, they’ll end up in your mailbox bymorning.My heart s lls in my chest. This is the first me he has actuallycommunicated with me outside of an ominous note.My eyes snap up towards the balcony. No one can see us from here.We’re too far back from the railing. But yet, someone is clearly watchingme.But how?And how the hell did he get my number? Scratch that, that was a stupidques on. He’s a fucking stalker, for god’s sake. Of course, he has mynumber.Arch walks over and hands me a drink, a smile on his face. He thinks he’sge ng laid tonight.Normally, he might have. But it looks like I might have to save his lifeinstead and get the hell away from him.An hour passes, and I grow more nervous as each minute cks by. Ihaven’t received another text, but it’s si ng there, weighing down theback of my brain. I fear my brain stem will snap from the tension.Arch’s hands definitely touch me. One currently rests on my thigh,dangerously close to my center. I stare down at the star ta ooed on histhumb, my mind conjuring images of holding it—without his bodya ached.Yet, I let it happen, even though I shouldn’t. And because I shouldn’t, Ican’t stop staring at them, imagining them chopped off at the wrist andbloody. Si ng in my mailbox.I don’t even have a mailbox.
My house is too far back from the road, so my mail is just le on myfront step.Shouldn’t a stalker know that?What a shi y li le shadow.“You having fun?” Arch asks, nudging me with his shoulders. I nodabsently as I con nue to abuse my lip trapped beneath my teeth.I should run. I should tell this man to get his hand off of me if only itmeans it’ll never be severed from his body and le in my nonexistentmailbox.“You’re tense,” Arch observes quietly. I clear my throat and open mymouth, but another buzz from my back pocket interrupts me.I can feel the color leech from my face. Arch’s brows dip with concern,and it reminds me of the poor man that I nearly gave a heart a ack by thecliff’s edge.He glances down towards the sound. “Are you okay?” he asks, his voiceonly seeming to quieten further.I’m growing red of the concerned looks, but yet, they feel like lifelines.Like there’s people out there that will no ce my strange behavior andspeak out if something ever happens to me.A news reporter will interview Arch, and he’ll speak of how I seemedspooked by a text message. The construc on worker who built my porch—his story will be broadcasted and talked about for weeks. A girl standing atthe edge of a cliff, seeming to contemplate jumping and then nearly fallingoff.It all connects to the fact that I had a stalker. And the police brushed itoff when I made my reports of random roses. But it won’t change anythingfor the next girl that’s being stalked.It never does.In the end, I’ll be another sta s c but will fade away as just that. Abeau ful girl stalked by an unhinged man. And no one bothered to helpher un l it was too late.“I’m fine,” I force out through a s lted smile. It feels wooden anddisingenuous, but it does the trick nonetheless. His face relaxes, and theconcern bleeds away.Or rather, Arch is just le ng it go because he doesn’t actually care.
- Page 23: the rest of his clothes are s ll th
- Page 26 and 27: loca ons that won’t allow the fuc
- Page 28 and 29: Par cularly about computer science
- Page 30: everybody if I were short.A tall, w
- Page 33 and 34: I wince from the feel of the hair-l
- Page 35 and 36: If Genevieve Parsons is as wild as
- Page 37 and 38: Le ng out a shaky breath, I pluck t
- Page 39: my front door. And I mean, like har
- Page 42 and 43: “Make it extra strong. I’m goin
- Page 44 and 45: rented a dumpster, and we loaded th
- Page 46: “I will,” I lie. She leaves wit
- Page 49 and 50: When I was younger, Nana refused to
- Page 51 and 52: “You need me to call anyone?”I
- Page 53 and 54: painted on her thin lips, and icy b
- Page 55 and 56: Being a real estate agent pays well
- Page 57: The bed is no more, having bought m
- Page 60 and 61: But I couldn’t be both a hacker a
- Page 62 and 63: Right as I ready up again, one guy
- Page 64 and 65: that pisses him off more.I sigh. Wi
- Page 66 and 67: While Jay kept tabs, I allowed myse
- Page 68 and 69: I help Sicily navigate through the
- Page 70 and 71: The walls and floor are smooth blac
- Page 72 and 73: But not before I shoot Daya a narro
- Page 76: “Do you want to leave?” he murm
- Page 79 and 80: But the most notable part is direct
- Page 81 and 82: “Fuck, baby, that’s it. Let me
- Page 83 and 84: close to pissing my pants from the
- Page 85 and 86: Red and blue lights brighten the wo
- Page 87 and 88: look into you, but when they don’
- Page 90 and 91: Chapter 9The Shadow’ve commi ed h
- Page 92 and 93: Come get me, Archie.He hesitates on
- Page 94 and 95: I pull into the driveway leading in
- Page 96 and 97: looks as if he went five rounds in
- Page 98 and 99: Cracking my neck, I take another de
- Page 101 and 102: Chapter 10The Manipulatorave you he
- Page 103 and 104: He waves a hand in acknowledgment b
- Page 105 and 106: “I don’t know what to do, Daya,
- Page 107 and 108: “Honestly, Daya, I’m a li le re
- Page 109 and 110: I aim for it, sliding the door open
- Page 111 and 112: due to insufficient evidence.A lot
- Page 113 and 114: This was undoubtedly a crime of pas
- Page 115: I find myself curling deeper into t
- Page 118 and 119: Another flash of movement causes me
- Page 120 and 121: fear. But also from something else.
- Page 122 and 123: My strangled scream pierces the air
My phone buzzes as soon as my ass hits the so leather. No cing that
Daya has been immediately sucked into a conversa on with Max, and Arch
is filling up a glass of expensive bourbon, I sneak a peek at the text.
UNKNOWN: Sneaking off with random men, little mouse? If I catch
his hands anywhere near you, they’ll end up in your mailbox by
morning.
My heart s lls in my chest. This is the first me he has actually
communicated with me outside of an ominous note.
My eyes snap up towards the balcony. No one can see us from here.
We’re too far back from the railing. But yet, someone is clearly watching
me.
But how?
And how the hell did he get my number? Scratch that, that was a stupid
ques on. He’s a fucking stalker, for god’s sake. Of course, he has my
number.
Arch walks over and hands me a drink, a smile on his face. He thinks he’s
ge ng laid tonight.
Normally, he might have. But it looks like I might have to save his life
instead and get the hell away from him.
An hour passes, and I grow more nervous as each minute cks by. I
haven’t received another text, but it’s si ng there, weighing down the
back of my brain. I fear my brain stem will snap from the tension.
Arch’s hands definitely touch me. One currently rests on my thigh,
dangerously close to my center. I stare down at the star ta ooed on his
thumb, my mind conjuring images of holding it—without his body
a ached.
Yet, I let it happen, even though I shouldn’t. And because I shouldn’t, I
can’t stop staring at them, imagining them chopped off at the wrist and
bloody. Si ng in my mailbox.
I don’t even have a mailbox.
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