Page 24 of Like A Moth To A Flame

It was him.

“No,” he chuckled again. “Guess again.”

“Who is this?” I groaned, feeling the words fall flat in the air around me.

“You know who this is. Think about it, Little Moth. You know exactly who I am.”

I thought back to all those years ago, to the shadows and the dank, dripping darkness of that basement. I could feel the cuffs around my wrists and ankles, and the aching throb in my lower back. I heard a voice above me, singing to me and telling me not to scream. That was not this voice. This voice sent a different kind of shiver through me that I had never felt before.

“Tell me your name,” I said, the words falling from my lips before I could bite them back.

He chuckled again, deeper, and I felt myself shiver somewhere deeper this time.

“Not yet,” he said. He was testing me, and it was infuriating. My fear was melting away, and leaving me with anger.

“How’d you get this number?” I said. “My dad was a cop, and therefore was friends with cops.”

“Oh, I know. I worked with your dad.”

“So you’re a cop?!” I spat, a little more forcefully than I’d meant to.

“No, not like that. Think, come on. You’re a smart girl.”

The anger in me flared, and my hands clenched into fists.

“If I find out who you are, I will bring this whole county down on you so fast you won’t have time to turn around and kiss your ass goodbye!”

He chuckled again, deeper and longer. He was fucking with me.

This motherfucker wasfuckingwith me!

“Testy, baby, testy. You’re a fighter, I like that.”

“What are you gonna do?!” I was screaming now, my fingers shaking as I shifted the phone from my shoulder to my hand. My breath came in short, frantic puffs. “Are you gonna kill me, huh? Is that it?! What the fuck are you—”

“I would never hurt you, Vanessa. Not until you ask me to… and you will. You’ll beg for it.”

I slammed the phone down so hard that the shock wave reverberated into my hand and up my wrist. I didn’t care. No sooner had the phone fallen still did it ring again.

I picked it up, not speaking or daring even to breathe, as I lifted it to my ear.

“Don’t fly away, Little Moth. I’ll have to catch you.”

Before I could reply or even suck in a breath, the line went dead.

7

Swear she might kill me, but at least I’ll die with a smile

Moth

Somehow, I slept that night, though I don’t know how. Maybe it was because I locked every door, even the door to the guest room, and pushed the dresser in front of it.

I woke with a start, sitting up in bed and looking around the room, my heart fluttering in my chest, but it was for nothing. Everything was exactly how I’d left it, down to my crumpled sundress on the floor. My breathing slowed and my heart fell back into a normal rhythm.

I flopped down onto the pillow and lay there, staring at the ceiling as thoughts circled in my head. I was safe, but was that because of something I’d done or what someone elsehadn’tdone?

I sighed. There was no denying it now, not after that phone call. I had a stalker. I wasn’t safe here, and yet I couldn’t leave. I was willingly staying in the wolf’s den, eyes closed and throat exposed.

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