Page 99 of Game Plan

“Girl, it’s not just a crush. He really fancies you. He’s head over heels gone for you. If you didn’t know, now you do.”

“Wait. You haven’t heard the entire story yet.”

“There’s more? Please continue.”

I rubbed my hand over my dress. “Where was I? Oh yes. The surgery. It is what brought us closer but also fucked up everything.”

“How so?”

“Remember when I told you I relapsed last year?”

He nodded.

“Well, it was—” My phone rang, and for a second, I thought about ignoring it, until I saw it was Cassidy. I lifted a finger. “Gimme a sec, I need to take this.” I pressed the green button to answer. “Cassie?”

“Oh, Mel. Thank God you answered. I know you have class right now, but I really need you. Like, right now.” She sounded out of breath.

I scanned the space around me. “Where are you? I thought you had a shift starting soon.”

Her voice cracked. “I-I’m in our room.”

I sat up straight at the urgency in her voice. “Are you okay? What happened? Are you sick?”

“No. I’m all right. I just… Mel, someone was following me earlier, and I just received a package. I’m scared.”

“What the hell? Someone is stalking you?”

“I’m not sure. Please come here, and I’ll explain everything.”

I stood. “On my way.”

She hung up before I could add anything.

Donovan studied me with a frown. “What was that?”

“No idea. Some lunatic could be stalking Cassie. I gotta go.”

He stood. “Need me to tag along?”

“Nah. Thanks, though. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Jesus, Mel, your life is never boring. We’ll reschedule this little meeting another day. We’re not finished. Now go.”

Only one name flashed in my mind as I rushed to the dorms. Was Evan Nichols responsible for stalking my roommate? After all, he’d mentioned hurting Cassidy the other night if he believed I'd ratted him out. Should I tell the cops? If I went to them, would he follow through on his threat to hurt my friends and Mason?

I used my key card to let myself in and realized my hands were shaking. I inhaled and exhaled, trying to keep my composure and avoid panicking as I sprinted up the staircase.

Nah, it had to be Carl. That would explain everything. He had been following her for a while and had displayed a rather stalkerish attitude toward her. There were the phone calls. They had started weeks before I caught Nichols in the library, so it couldn’t be him. Nothing pointed toward the football player. I relaxed a bit at the thought we were dealing with someone else.

Cassidy ran into my arms the moment I set foot in our room.

I leaned back to study her. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“Did you go to campus security?”

“Not yet. I doubt I’ll be at the top of their priority list. Some girl got drugged and raped last night in the woods by the path on the west side of campus. I didn’t spot the guy who followed me. I’m sure he was a he, though. He was wearing a dark hoodie with the hood on over a baseball cap, sunglasses, and dark pants.”