Page 52 of Tag

Or Ashton.

The group chat was quiet, but it wasn’t unusual for them to simply be caught up in their own stuff. They did have lives too, like I’d tried and failed to remind Ryder. I decided not to stress too much. I knew that whenever it became common knowledge me and the girls were locked into The Hunt, we’d never know peace and quiet until after it was done. My phone went off with a new text alert just as I finished brushing my hair. I turned and picked up my phone, seeing Ashton had finally replied.

Ash

I’m so damn sorry, angel. My dad needed my help after class. Cell died on the way back. You know I’m an idiot and have no car charger.

Okay, not entirely suspicious.

The charger part was true. He couldn’t leave a charging cable in his car to save his life. His dad lived closer to my family’s side of town, but further inland, which would still be a decent drive. That explained why he couldn’t respond if his phone lost power. Now, where the heck did this angel endearment come from?

Angel?

As I waited for a response, I mentally replayed the timeline of the latter half of my day, starting with my last class, then meeting up with Layla, and then the drive to the store and back with Ryder. It was nearly 9 PM now, and the sky outside was pitch black. Then I thought about it again. Why would his dad call him to help with something when he was well aware of how far a drive it was from their home to Crowsfell? I wasn’t the brightest girl on the block, but I wasn’t entirely dumb either.

Something wasn’t adding up.

Lucky for him, I had bigger things to worry about.

I returned to my bedroom to help clean it up, but the mess had already been dealt with. The glass was gone, the ominous crow removed, and someone had taped a black trash bag over the busted window. Leave it to the girls to tidy up like a crime scene crew on autopilot. It wasn't hard to imagine Roxxi going into full drill sergeant mode to make it happen.

I turned around and headed downstairs. Cloe glanced over her shoulder when she heard me coming. “The bird is double bagged and outside the patio door. I’ll toss it in the trash bin in the morning.”

“I still think we should bury it,” Layla murmured.

“You are more than welcome to take it with you and do that,” Roxxi replied sweetly.

“Thanks for cleaning up,” I cut in brightly, hoping to avoid another potential argument. We needed a distraction, something else to focus on, and the smell of Arianna’s cooking was already making my mouth water. Being scared out of my mind and saddled with a stalker wasn’t enough to curb my appetite.

“Smells delicious,” I complimented, moving to join them.

“So do you,” Roxxi teased as she plated another dish with garlic bread. “The post-traumatic shower glow suits you.”

I laughed lightly. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

Cloe turned and passed me a fresh glass of iced tea. “You’re okay, though?”

I nodded, accepting the drink and taking a slow sip. “As okay as I can be, considering.”

“That was seriously messed up. What if it had hit you?” Layla asked, sitting down a pile of napkins on the table.

Cloe cringed. “I don’t even want to think about that. It’s bad enough that someone did this in the first place. When we know who it was, I got something for their sadistic ass.”

“Period,” Roxxi gestured.

I began gathering silverware for each of us. “Has anyone posted about being Marked yet?”

Cloe skirted around me. “Some have, and all I’m going to say is, these Huntsmen got creative with it.”

Roxxi nudged her with her hip as they passed each other. “Well, don’t hold out. Tell her so she can feel better about her situation.”

“Yeah, Cici. Let me revel in the despair of strangers,” I joked.

She picked up her phone off the counter and tilted it toward us after unlocking it. “Aaron Winchester, he’s a point guard on the basketball team, found a noose made out of barbed wire hanging in his dorm closet. His Marked note was stitched into the lining of his jersey.”

Ari stirred the pasta once more before turning the burner to warm. “From what I’ve gathered so far, there’ll be another couple of Hunt announcements and a few more pieces coming together. Then it kicks off full swing next week. No official start date has been announced yet. Only that initial statement has gone up. A text from the school should be coming next.”

“Is there any way to know who our Huntsmen are?” Roxxi asked.

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