Page 19 of Stalker Daddy

It’s very handy now as I snuggle into the pillow that he stuffs under my head, the blanket caging me in securely, and a sweet kiss to my forehead as he stands.

“Where are you going?”I ask, closing my eyes, and tiredness is deep in my bones.

I don’t have the energy to follow him around to see whatever he’s doing.He could be fixing the generator again or chopping some wood, and I would love to see his muscles flex in glistening sweat under the unforgiving sunlight.

“I’m checking the security system.I’ll be back soon.”He brushes a stray chunk of hair behind my ear until I fall asleep.

It was a short nap, and I had woken up exactly thirty minutes later when I peer groggily at the clock on the wall.Vito is nowhere to be seen, and the cabin is equally quiet with an unnerving atmosphere.

I kick my legs from the blanket and let the cool air run over my bare legs.The smell of fresh flowers whiffs past my nose.

I look around the living room for the source, and I find it at the kitchen table that’s connected to where I’m sitting.

My heart hammers erratically at the sweet gesture from Vito.The arrangements of the flowers don’t admit defeat to some of the bouquets that I have gotten from fans, but this one is from Vito, so it’s special to me.

I pick up the stack of loose flowers and hiss when a thorn pricks the inner part of my wrist.Dropping the scattered flowers with separated petals, I squint my eyes at the small drip of blood pooling above my skin.

Then something small and black crawls out of the bundle of flowers.

It’s a spider, and I freeze in terror at the speed at which it is crawling towards me.I yelp loudly, and it echoes in my eardrums, but my voice gets Vito’s attention from wherever he was.

He threw a book at it, and it never made it out from under the heavy cover.I would have asked him to use something else because books are valuable learning material, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

And I am right.

“Don’t touch it, darling girl.It’s poisonous.”

His warning has my bottom lip quivering.These consecutive incidents are having a toll on my mental state.I just want this to end so I can get back to only focusing on my music.

“What’s happening?”I ask, and the broad question goes unanswered.

Vito picks me up with his arm under my knees and arm supporting my back.I throw my arms around his neck, lips on the scarred skin as he carries me.I hold him close when he sits down on the sofa.The indented blanket tickles the bottom of my feet as I focus on finding my balance with a couple of deep inhales.

“Did you leave the flowers?”I ask before I know what I want to know.

It’s a question that I didn’t know why I wanted to ask.Vito would never gift me something without checking first because he’s very detail-oriented and very knowledgeable.If he knew the spider was poisonous when he killed it, then he must have known when he left the spider in the flowers.

I pinch my eyes shut.It can’t be him.However, he’s the only person that has access to this cabin other than me, and he knows how to get around without being detected.

“No,” he says.“I didn’t.”

I want to believe him, but I don’t know how when I don’t even believe myself for questioning him.No one has taught me how to deal with a situation like this, even though many people with fame get stalked.

I wish someone would give a talk show to educate people about the general and basic steps to deal with this situation.

My mind says to get away from Vito until I know what exactly is happening, but my body doesn’t want to leave the safety of his arms.

My music instructor has always told me that the brain can do tricks, but muscle memories never lie.For me, Vito is and will forever be the only one I can trust with my life.

He can’t be my stalker.Hecan’t.

It’s possible, it can, and it makes sense.My mind repeats that phrase over and over again.All of them can be explained by coincidence, and I’m not willing to jeopardize my relationship with Vito based on speculation driven by fear.

My mind is doing everything it can to stray from the unknown, so it’s making up things and going with what’s the most convenient.

“Darling girl,” he murmurs, the rumbling in his chest switches to a purr.“Hurting you hurts me more.I have sworn to protect you on my honor, and I will never break that vow.”

What other choice do I have but to believe him?

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