Page 54 of Shadowface

I shove the emotion down before it has a chance to embed itself into me. I can’t help but wonder where it originates from, and if I have another alter I must silence.

Fragments are the easiest to mute, but I must do so fast, before it has time to grow.

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

SUMMER

Istep out of Lincoln’s office and can’t contain my heart rate, which spiked the moment I walked in, and escalated in those final seconds when I saw the monster in Lincoln’s eyes right before I left. I press my back up against the hallway just to breathe, slapping my hand over my mouth.

A couple of students walk by and stare at me curiously as they disappear into the shadowed hallway, leaving me alone with a psychopath in the psychology department of all places. Does this school not realize what he is? How has Lincoln been able to hide what’s inside him?

It’s him—I know it in my heart. Those near-translucent eyes came back. The same ones I saw at the rave. Watching. Waiting. Whispering. It invigorates me.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t there when I first walked in. It showed itself at the very end. The insidiousness was inside of Lincoln.

That memory, once lost and forgotten, now plays out in my mind. His creepy teenage gaze fixated on my body and he looked sad. I tried to smile at him but his eyes grew dark and heavy. All I could see was darkness inside his soul, pure evil. I refused to look at him the rest of dinner.

A prickling discomfort ran up my spine and I wished he would leave. The boy at the dinner table was Lincoln—they are the same person. His eyes flickered the same way.

My dreams began the night he spent in our guest room. My father wasn’t helping an orphan; he invited in a monster.

I remember him so clearly now, and I’m kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. I can’t find anything about Lincoln Kennedy online, because Lincoln Kennedy doesn’t exist.

My heart rate slows, and I make my way down the darkened hall and take the stairwell down to the main floor. Even though his presence in this building is all-consuming, I need to get away from him. I need to regroup and think about my next move, especially if I want to stay alive.

I stop mid-step and sit down, my heart in my throat. My phone dings in my purse and I take it out, secretly hoping it’s him.

It’s Dani, wondering what the hell is taking me so long, and that she’ll wait another ten minutes before she’s going home.

I ignore it, my thoughts entirely consumed by the man in the ivory tower.

Lincoln was not at all what I was expecting. His cool indifference in class must be a mask, because the man I met was smart, kind, and seemed to know my inner thoughts. He’s even sexier up close, his skin pale and soft.

I can’t imagine he was the same awkward boy I met all those years ago, but there is no denying it. I’m so attracted to him, I could burst. Lincoln Kennedy is everything.

I close my eyes, remembering the rave. His soft hand when he held mine through the crowd, the way he took care of me, and the clear shift in him when he started cutting my clothes and burning my skin.

The references to we and him, like there are two of them inside his mind.

My scar starts to pulse, shifting from pain to desire. My phone buzzes again, pulling me from those dark thoughts.

Dani: Okay. Where the fuck are you? I saw Lincoln leave already, and I’m not leaving you with some psycho on the loose. Meet me now.

Once I’m out of the sandstone building, Dani and Misty are both waiting for me, leaning against a gargoyle statue, the sun low in the sky, giving off a doomsday glow.

Misty perks up when she sees me, her blonde hair peeking out of a wool hat. Dani frowns, and I can tell she is annoyed with me. The two of them seem inseparable lately. Their friendship is growing while I seem to be fading away—much too absorbed with studying with a certain someone while they are matching their outfits.

“So what did he say?” Misty asks, and Dani barely spares me a glance.

I keep walking past both of them, making them catch up to me. “He’s keeping my F, but he’s letting me make it up with a new essay.”

“Okay…that’s good, right?” Misty offers.

“It’s good,” I say dryly.

I make eye contact with Dani as she steps in beside me in her knee-high boots. She narrows her eyes. “You were in there for a long time. What were you doing?”