Page 53 of Under the Bed

That he’s out here. That he doesn’t take a single precaution.

That he might get caught.

They wouldn’t hesitate to lock him up and throw away the key.

This is too much. Staying here. Staring at him.

Anticipating this agent of chaos’s next move. Expecting the sirens. The cuffs.

I narrow my eyes at him. He makes no move to either hide or attack me.

Maybe if I ignore him, he’ll get bored. The thought sends a million knives slashing through me. The idea of being rejected by him is a painful one. But imagining him locked up will be the end of me.

Regretfully, I return to the conversation. “Listen, thank you for your concern. I just need to get home. Please. We’ll have coffee another day.”

They exchange a look.

At the end of it, Val squeezes my arm. “Sure about that?”

“Yes.” The pressure at the back of my head is gone. The ice has thawed. When I glance behind me, Kaleb’s nowhere to be found. I can’t believe I miss him already. “I just want to go home.”

“Okay, okay.” Marina gestures toward her black Porsche across the street. “I promised I’d give you a ride, and I will.”

“Thank you.” One last hug for Val, and I follow Marina to her car.

When she starts talking again, it’s about her date tonight. She’s done talking about Kaleb, or prying into my life,thankfully. I nod and smile at her. I offer her my attention and encouragement, even though I don’t hear a single word she says.

I’m glad when she drops me off. I run up to my apartment, double-checking each and every lock.

He wants me.

I need him.

But the way he goes about it is all wrong.

“You were a part of my life once, and you’ll learn to be that person again. Or, at the very least, be something less terrible. Less of a boogeyman that was put on this Earth to haunt me,” I whisper to the empty apartment. I beg. I close my fists, slamming my eyes shut. “You have to learn to treat me right, or I’d rather you just kill me. Otherwise, I won’t let you in my life. You aren’t allowed in here until you do that. Until I’m sure you won’t get caught again. I won’t.”

9

KALEB

The syringe that was delivered to my door before I left the house today is in the pocket of my hoodie. The street I walk into is dark, yet not empty.

People walk past me, ignoring my mask.

They’re as inconsequential as the bloodstain I couldn’t remove from the Davis’s queen-size bed.

Only Shiloh.

The face-off we held earlier had my muscles straining. My teeth ground to the point they might crack.

She looked so beautiful out there. My stepsister. My prey.

Her lips were parted. Her eyes glistened before she squinted them in anger.

I could swear I heard her heart beating. Could feel it as if I had it in my palm.

Impossibly loud. Deafening.

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