Page 58 of The Obsession

Fuck you.

“Is that what you told yourself when you stalked me? That it’s only natural to be curious?” The words slipped out before I could catch them. If I could only cram them back in my mouth. But he’d said it with such confidence, such smugness like,See, stalking is natural. Stalking happens.

He didn’t seem to notice, anyway. He practically bounced into his seat, his eyes shining with a sick light. The drugs were working. He was well on his way to another high. “How’s the reading going?” His mouth visibly trembled as he spoke, then broke into a manic grin.

“It’s great,” I said, and damn if I wasn’t being honest. His essay really was good. “I think it’s ready to turn in. I’m jealous.”

“Are you serious?” He bounced again.

“Yeah. I mean, aside from the grammar stuff, but those were easy to fix.”

Logan laughed and rubbed his face hard, leaving pink blotches on his cheeks, and let his head fall backward. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. I’m so fucking sick of this essay.” He jerked forward, swung his laptop to face him, and skimmed the document. The entire time his fingernails drummed a maddening beat on the tabletop. He gave a couple of clicks and then slammed the laptop shut. “Perfect. I accepted your changes. I’m gonna send it in tonight.”

“That’s fast,” I said.

“Gotta move fast, babe.” He beat out a rhythm on the table with his palms until I reached out and caught his hands.

“We’re in the library,” I whispered with a strained smile. “I think it’s probably time for us to go, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I stole glances at him as he packed his stuff. His behavior was definitely off. Erratic, manic, with an intense look in his eyes and a greasy sheen to his whole…self. I wondered if anyone else noticed. I thought again of the rat freezing as the snake approached, one paw raised in vain. What would Logan be like if he were faced with a snake? Would he freeze as well or try to scramble up the smooth walls of the snake tank? Not that it mattered, of course. Either way, the snake always wins.

Halfway to the front door, I stopped and said, “I forgot I still have to update some stuff at work. You go on ahead.”

Logan frowned. “But it’s late.”

“Yeah, I’ve kind of let things slide around here. You go back to your room, you look like you could use the rest.”

“I’ll stay and drive you home,” he said.

Like hell I’d let him drive me after three pieces of my brownies. He’d probably end up killing both of us. I made my voice firm as steel and said, “Logan, go.”

He started, confusion flashing across his features, then he gave me a toddler’s trusting grin and said, “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I watched him bounce off like Tigger before I turned around and went down to the stacks. I sighed as I unlocked the office and settled behind my desk. It felt great to finally be free of Logan, if only for the moment.

“Good study session?” Lisa asked. I jumped and dropped my folder and books. She had the softest footsteps.

“It was okay.”

“He seems like a sweet kid,” she said, helping me gather all the papers that had spilled from my folder.

I snorted. Yeah, he sureseemslike a sweet kid.

Heavy footsteps clopped down the stairs. Lisa glanced up at me, looking as bemused as I felt. Before we could say anything, someone called out, “Hello? Excuse me?”

My stomach tipped sideways. Mendez.

“Yes?” Lisa said in her high-pitched librarian voice. She straightened up, brushing herself off and adjusting her glasses before unlocking the door.

The old anger resurfaced. First, Logan came bumbling down here. And now here was Mendez. Why couldn’t people just leave my workplace alone?

“I’m Detective Mendez. You must be Lisa Smith.”

“That’s me, Lisa the librarian,” Lisa said, shaking Mendez’s hand. “This is Delilah, my assistant. She’s also a student here.”

I forced a smile.

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