Page 31 of Shadowed With Fear

Gag.

“That’s fine. I think you’ll change your mind soon enough. I’d hate to be the one that has to pick up the pieces, but I’ll be here.”

Issac glances between the two of us, his brow raised in question. I shake my head.

“I’ll talk to you later Issac, I’m going to math.” I ignore Ethan as I walk past him, bumping his shoulder as I go.

* * *

Liz paces the small corner of my bedroom by my balcony. Her mouth is going a hundred million miles a minute, ranting about the pros and cons of Issac and if she’s an idiot, and whether we should order tacos or subs, and how she is thinking of dying her hair red.

The usual.

I’m half listening. I know. I’m a terrible friend. It’s not that I mean to, honest. But my eyes keep finding their way outside, staring beyond the shadow of the tree house, hoping to see a semblance of movement.

I’ve seen glances of him. The man in the white mask. Why does he keep coming back?

He has captivated my attention fully. Am I worried? I mean, yeah. A little bit. He’s a random guy that has apparently been following me at least since the Founder’s Fest. Maybe even longer. He doesn’t approach though. Really, he doesn’t even come close to me or the house. The glimpses of him I have seen were between branches in the tree, the faint glow of streetlights illuminating the mask.

I’m just not sure how I am supposed to react to this. Is he a stalker? Aren’t they usually like crazy and try to kill you? He hasn’t tried to hurt me though. The fact that he could if he wanted to does something to me. It’s a wild sort of feeling that simmers beneath my skin, begging to crawl to the surface. Dancing with the devil they say. Maybe for other scenarios, but for this. It’s more like teasing the boogeyman.

“I think I’m going to pack up my bags and move to Venezuela. I heard it’s nice there this time of year. Maybe I can buy a duck and keep it in my bathtub. I’d call him Carl.”

Liz is standing, arms crossed, entirely unimpressed with me.

“Carl isn’t the right vibe for a bathtub duck, hun.” I deadpan.

She scoffs, shaking her head. “You’re such a bitch, D. What’s going on? You got that weird faraway dreaming expression on your face. Like the one you get when you see dudes in uniform.” Liz raises her brow in question.

Huffing, I glared at her. “Listen. I have you know that was one time, and it was weird seeing Alex wearing something other than cut up T-shirts and basketball shorts, okay? I was fourteen.”

She laughs. “You still did it though. Drooled everywhere.”

“And you call me the bitch,” I mutter under my breath.

“Seriously, thought. What’s going on? Give me the details, I need the brain break from this little breakdown. Who is it? What’s his name? So, he in one of your classes?” Her eyes search me frantically and I’m not sure how to respond.

“Uh, it was the first week of school.”

“Ohhh, go on, go on.” She sits next to me on my bed, scooting closer, excited.

“Really, it’s nothing. I haven’t really spoken to him. I don’t even know his name.”

Liz kind of deflates. “Oh. Okay. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal.”

She’s quiet for a moment.

“You know. If you want him to talk to you, you should make the first move. If you wait until he approaches you first, you could miss a big opportunity. Some guys like it when you take charge and stuff.” Liz shrugs, and a devilish smile starts to form.

“Maybe you could go all like femme fatale on his ass. Mysterious and sexy, and” her voice drops into a throaty whisper, “sexy.”

We both burst out laughing.

I wipe the tears from my eyes, grinning at her. “Yeah, I just might.” It could work. At least I could get some answers. Like why me? And how did it happen twice? What are the odds of that happening? East End isn’t the biggest town in the world, but it’s not the smallest either. There’s about fifteen thousand people who live here. So, it’s not like multiple run ins with him would be normal.

“Okay, enough with me. Back to you. Do you think Issac was being honest?” I asked her, sincerity lacing each word.