Page 86 of Tag

“As far as I know, they all say something different,” she divulged.

I turned onto the main road, the street quieter now as students either went home or prepared for night classes. The drive was short and quiet. I pulled into the driveway seconds before Cloe did. I knew something was wrong right away. She should have beaten me back. All four of us stepped out at nearly the same time.

“What happened?”

Roxxi glanced around our street before answering. “Let’s get inside first.”

We filed in, and the moment the door clicked shut behind us, she pulled a folded piece of thick paper from her jacket pocket, identical to the ones going around campus. “This was tucked under Cloe’s windshield wiper.”

“I went out to grab a textbook between classes after lunch, and it wasn’t there then,” Cloe explained, taking her shoes off and placing them neatly beside ours.

I took my flowers from Ari and set the vase on our table before reaching for the note, unfolding it slowly. Blood-red ink. Sharp, slanted handwriting. The message was short, but personal.

You’re smart.

But not smart enough to see who’s coming for you.

I read it out loud.

Cloe crossed her arms and gave a small shake of her head. “That doesn’t bother me. I was low-key expecting a pig’s head on my bed or something more dramatic. The boundary crossing is what I’m not feeling. Someone was in what I consider my personal space.” Her voice stayed cool and collected. “Some college guy or girl left that note overly excited to play dress-up and scare us, people we’d probably never speak to in real life if not for The Hunt. I still plan on ignoring them.”

Roxxi’s laugh was short and sharp. “I think it’s safe to assume whoever is hunting us this year is going to go all out to fuck with us for that exact reason. They know we wouldn’t look twice at them outside of this twisted ass tradition, and since we don’t know them from Adam, it makes things that much easier on their end.” She paused for a second. “Layla might’ve been onto something after all. Speaking of, have you seen her today?”

“No, actually. I think she’s avoiding me,” I admitted, shifting slightly. “She’s going through something right now.”

I now knew Roxxi had a vague idea about Layla’s issues somehow. She had all but confirmed that this morning during our call, but I wasn’t about to spill her darkest secrets because things between us were strained. This silent treatment and avoidance tactic wasn’t unusual for her to do, but it got to a point where it was exhausting.

Cloe’s tone sharpened. “We’re busting our asses to get through the semester, and now we’ve got strangers preparing to hunt us like dogs in the street. Let’s not forget the stalking. jump scares, and psychological workout that’s about to go down until they can attempt to snatch us up like a prize.” She laughed dryly.

“We’re all going through stuff, Sanj. We still wouldn’t have woken up and left you.”

Roxxi made a sound of agreement. “Couldn’t have worded it better myself. Now, before I say something I can’t take back, what were you trying to send us earlier, Sanj?”

I sat at the table and pulled out my phone. “This is what I got this morning.” I showed them the messages and then went into detail about the guy who had been waiting under the tree.

“What the fuck?” Roxxi snapped, pacing a step back once I finished. “We already knew we were Marked after the rock and the bird. So why are they still screwing with us before this thing even starts? It doesn’t count toward the actual Hunt.”

Ari shifted where she’d sat beside me, playing with the ends of her hair. “I think… all of this? It’s a lead-up for them. Conditioning, in a sense. A way to get under our skin, make us paranoid before the actual Hunt.”

“Stretch out the fear,” I murmured.

“That’s right. Draw it out slowly. The more they chip away, the harder we’ll crack and be easier to catch when it comes time to finish things up.”

Roxxi walked away. “I need to start cooking.” She disappeared into the kitchen area, washing her hands before pulling ingredients out of the fridge. “When are we going to tell the guys whatweall know,they’rewell aware of our fun new status?”

I sighed, chewing on the inside of my cheek. My voice came out quieter than I intended as I sorted out my thoughts. “I don’t like keeping things from them, especially Ryder. If he finds out about the bathroom incident and what happened this morning from someone else, it’s going to create a problem between us.”

I stood from the table and moved toward the sink, washing my hands too. “I think I’m going to tell him after practice tonight. If not, then tomorrow. We’ve got almost 4 days before things start.”

“Once he knows, the rest will too,” Ari said.

“You mean the rest will acknowledge it? I’m in full agreement they know already,” Cloe quipped.

Ari laughed lightly. “That’s what I meant.”

Cloe gave me a questioning look. “What about Ashton?”

“That’s complicated,” I sighed.

---