Page 62 of Ruin Me Gently

Putting a face to him would definitely kill these thoughts for good. Then we could go back to lunch, being walked home, and whatever the hell else was going on in this bizarre dynamic I’d somehow stumbled into.

Lilith

You know so much about me, and I don’t even know what you look like.

Mr Stalker

Does that bother you?

Yes, you idiot. It bothers me that you know what I look like when I laugh, when I’m pissed off, when I’m—hell, whatever other states you’ve seen me in—and I don’t even know what your damn mouth looks like.

Lilith

Yes.

Mr Stalker

You’ve survived this long without it.

Lilith

I just want to see you.

Mr Stalker

No. youthinkyou want to see me. Big difference.

Lilith

Just show me your face. One time. One photo.

Mr Stalker

No.

Lilith

Why not?

Mr Stalker

Go to bed, Lilith.

Lilith

Coward.

The little dots appeared, then disappeared. Then appeared again. But no response came. I buried myself deeper into the pillows, phone clutched in my hands, pulse thrumming.

Fuck. He wassoinfuriating.

I clenched my jaw, glaring at the screen like I could will him into submission. Like sheer, stubborn determination would make him give me what I wanted.

What was so hard about it? Why was it such a huge secret? Who the hell was he?

Andwhywouldn’t these decrepit thoughts about him leave my damn mind?

A cold shower. That’s what I needed. One so cold it would shock my system back into reality, and maybe, if I stayed under long enough, I’d finally get a grasp on why the hell I was entertaining any of this in the first place.

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