Page 37 of Griffin

The stalker’s messages had unsettled me more than I wanted to admit, but the worst part was the lingering fear they’d send me more disturbing private messages—or worse, show up right here in Pecan Pines.

“I’m good,” I said quickly. “Better, actually.” And I wasn’t lying, not entirely. “Griffin came over right after the stream.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Griffin came over?”

“Yeah. He just… showed up.” I paused, letting the words hang there. The rest, I kept to myself.

It wasn’t that Griffin had made a big deal of anything. If anything, it was the opposite.

When he came over again last night in the middle of another stream, he simply grabbed a book off one of Casey’s shelves, plopped onto the couch, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He hadn’t been watching me stream, not really. But every so often, I’d catch him glancing over, like he was quietly checking in on me.

His presence had anchored me in a way I didn’t expect, like a quiet reminder that I wasn’t dealing with this alone anymore.

Not that I’d admit that aloud to Casey.

“Sounds like he’s been keeping an eye on you,” Casey said, his tone careful.

“Not in a weird way,” I added quickly, though I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to defend it. “It’s just… the company’s nice.”

Casey hummed in that loaded way that begged me to fill the silence, but I didn’t bite.

“We can head back tomorrow at the earliest,” he said after a moment. “Is that okay?”

“What?” I straightened, shaking off the wall. “No, no, don’t cut your trip short.”

“Michael—”

“Really,” I interrupted. “Like I said, I’m fine here with him. You and Sawyer should enjoy yourselves.”

“Hmm.”

There it was again. I pressed my lips together, silently willing Casey not to push further.

“I guess it’s lucky Griffin came over then,” Casey said finally, though it sounded more like he was fishing for something more.

My stomach twisted. I didn’t know what to say to that—or maybe I did, but I wasn’t ready to go there yet.

My breath puffed in the cold air as I worked to keep my tone steady.

“Anyway, nothing’s happened since then. No creepy DMs since I started streaming again. And if anything does, Griffin’s here. And Noah, too.” I tacked on Noah’s name almost as an afterthought, like it would somehow even things out.

There was a long pause. “Alright,” Casey said eventually. “But if anything happens, call me immediately. Promise?”

“I will.”

The back door of the bar creaked open, and I turned to see Noah poking his head out. “Oh, there you are. Griffin asked me to check on you.”

“Right,” I said, pushing off the wall and slipping my phone into my pocket.

I followed Noah through the kitchen, the warmth of the bar seeping into my skin as we passed through the back hall and into the main area.

My eyes immediately found Griffin. He was behind the counter, brow furrowed in obvious concern.

His gaze tracked me as I walked around the bar to join him, only relaxing slightly when I picked up a bag of peanuts and started helping him refill the bowls scattered across the counter.

“That was Casey,” I said, watching for his reaction.

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