Page 46 of Don't Scare Me, My Love

I looked over my shoulder from time to time to make sure Jason was okay while I pretended to be looking for Jack, aka the Leather Mask Killer. He didn’t even follow us anymore because we had planned the spot where he was supposed to appear out of nowhere. “Let’s hurry,” I yelled to make it seem like he was still behind us.

We ran for another five minutes until we reached the designated spot.

A small clearing behind a large rock provided cover while the spot was open enough for the moonlight to reach it. This part of the scare wouldn’t work if Jason couldn’t see.

I pulled him behind the rock and pressed him against it, holding my index finger in front of my mouth to show him how to keep quiet. We both panted but tried to calm down as quickly as possible, listening to our surroundings.

“I think we might have gotten away from him,” I whispered.

I crept over to the side of the rock. Jack was already hiding behind it, giving me a thumbs-up that I pretended not to see. I secretly reached into my pocket for the fake blood pill and put it in my mouth.

Turning back to Jason, I froze for a second. He was shaking, his gaze lingering on the ground. I reached for his shoulders, and when he looked up, his eyes darted past me and went wide.

The rubber knife pressed against my back.

I bit into the capsule, feeling the fake blood flood my mouth as I arched my back. I forced my lips apart and let the fake blood drip out onto my white shirt. Jack pushed the rubber knife in deeper and wrapped his hand around my jacket to secretly guide me to the floor. The plan was for me to end up on one knee,but no matter how hard I tried during rehearsal, I couldn’t do it myself. On the third try, we came up with the idea that Jack could also hold me to keep me stable. So, I took a step forward with my right foot, and thanks to Jack guiding me from behind, I ended up kneeling on my left knee, right in front of Jason.

“Jason…” I wheezed. “I love you…”

His eyes darted between me and the fake killer. When Jack finally pulled off his mask as planned, Jason's mouth fell open.

Jason’s mouth fell open.

I stopped acting and took his hand. “…and as much as I like to scare you, I want to make sure that nothing but me will ever scare you again.” I reached into my jacket and pulled out a black ring box. “That’s why I want to ask you…” With a deep breath, I opened it and presented a silver ring to Jason. “Will you marry me?”

NINE

JACK, THE RIPPED (THE DATE, PART TWO)

JASON

Fake blood dripped from Nicholas’smile as he knelt before me. Some caught on his beard, forming a drop that only missed the ring box by an inch.

My eyes darted from the ring box to the tired but warm face behind him. Jack sniffled.Why didn’t he tell me this was also part of the plan?I wouldn’t have suggested scaring Nicholas back if I had knownthatwas the intention behind it.

My whole body tingled. The cold autumn air filled my lungs as I tried to catch my breath after running here. I stared at the ring and tried to put on a smile. Not only because I had to improvise with it if I wanted to keep up my surprise for Nicholas but also because I knew this question deserved an answer.

“Nicholas, I?—”

A brutal blow shook the ground, followed by a bloodcurdling scream from Jack. My head snapped up. Following my gaze, Nicholas turned.

A deep red mark appeared on Jack’s orange jumpsuit in the center of his stomach. His lower lip quivered as he looked down at the blood and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what was happening. His hands trembled as they searched for thefake wound. He lifted his gaze, his eyes wide and tearful as he muttered a silent “Is this part of the plan?”

If I hadn’t known this was an act, I would have believed every second of this performance.

Jack coughed, and some blood trickled from his mouth. He collapsed to his knees, his back arched over the wound. A knife stuck in his chest, and it looked freaking real.

Nicholas’ smile faded, his eyes widening as he probably only now realized that something was wrong.

This was my last chance to play my part or call it off. I wanted to answer Nicholas’ question. At the same time, I wanted to give him the experience of a lifetime. We had cameras hidden all over the place so Nicholas could use the footage for his channel. We’d planned so much to make the second part of the night seem even more real. And damn it, I just knew he would love to be fooled. In the past, every time I turned the tables and played a prank on him, he laughed so exuberantly in the end. I couldn’t call it off. No, going through with the plan was the move to show him how muchhemeant tome.

I made my eyes as wide as I could. “Could we please stop the charade for a second?” I said, pretending to take this as part ofhisprank.

Nicholas’ mouth opened, closed, and opened again. “This isn’t…” He glanced at the knife. “Oh, shit.” His feet moved so fast that he couldn’t get on them. He stumbled forward into my arms, his legs kicking the ground.

The faint outline of a wrinkled face appeared in the forest's darkness. Thin white hair stood in stark contrast to the black clothing that made the man almost invisible. His wrinkles deepened as he pulled the corners of his mouth into the creepiest smile.

My chest fluttered. If I hadn’t known that this was Alex in a mask, I would probably freak out a lot more right now. I didn’tthink the mask we had borrowed from a theater company in Ashbourne would look so real.

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