Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
Berlyn
It finally feels like Fall, just in time for Halloween.
Just in time to fully embrace my favorite holiday.
I shiver as I climb out of the shower, the coolness hitting my skin all at once.
There’s a crispness to the air outside while the sun still shines bright through the colorful leaves falling to the ground.
It isn’t the harsh cold of the winter, nor the dry heat of summer, but somewhere refreshingly in between.
The best parts of both seasons in a kaleidoscope of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns.
Instantly putting me in the best mood.
Wrapping one towel around my body, I grab another to wrap my hair in and throw it back. There’s something soothing in the process of getting ready.
Comfort in the familiar routine of rubbing my body oil into my skin, massaging serum on my face, and running product through my damp hair. An everything shower always feels like a reset. I know I’m going to have a good hair day and a good makeup day because everything has been prepped just so.
A familiarity that I can’t mess up.
I turn my music up, singing to one of my favorite songs as I check my messages. Still nothing from Weston or the other guys and now Summer is running late to get ready together for the carnival. I have to fight not to let my mood dip again.
It’s been an odd Halloween, starting with no note today.
Every day this week, I’ve woken up to a new note on my bedside table. Almost to the point that I wake up excited, looking for it. I feel as if I’m being conditioned like Pavlov’s dog.
Wake up, find a note, get turned on.
Especially after the last two. I can’t believe they admitted to watching me. Told me how to touch myself.
I can’t believe I did it.
Even more baffling that I loved it.
I’ve always admired Summer’s confidence in herself, her ability to stand ten toes down on whatever she’s feeling. Even if it’s absurd. Even if it’s borderline insane. Or criminal. She lives her life unapologetically exactly the way she wants to live it.
Why can’t I be a little more like that?
I want to let go of the doubts, of the constant questioning, and what is or isn’t right. What’s supposed to be proper. I want to do what Ezra said, just fell. Let them take care of everything. But how can they when they don’t know everything?
I grew up in a strict household, where how other people perceived me decided my value. But I broke free from the cage years ago, it’s about time I shed the chains as well. And can’t I? Haven’t I been doing exactly that?
Memories of the kisses last night make my cheeks flush. Ezra, Jude, and West stole my breath again and again. Every chance they could.
All night my dreams flickered between the three of them and my masked stalkers. Being watched while I touched myself. Being watched while the guys were here, while they stole kiss after kiss every chance they got. They should be enough for me.
And yet, here we are, my mind constantly drifting back to hot masked men. Feeling disappointed our theory over the notes all week being a countdown of sorts, leading back to today ended up being for nothing. Changing my costume in my own little move to play this game they’ve set up for me.
My playlist keeps me company as I do my makeup. Can’t say I’ve ever done it in such a way. The pink heart on the tip of my nose is the best part, though the whiskers turned out pretty cute too.
I was worried when I first started because Summer normally ends up helping me with more complicated makeup looks and I never want my Halloween makeup to be boring, but it turned out pretty good.
Scrunching my nose makes the whiskers above my lips wiggle with the motion and I grin.
It really does look like a little rabbit.
Is taunting my stalkers the smartest of moves?
Probably not. But we abandoned making smart decisions the second I started hiding things from the cops. Now it’s time to lean into the fantasy like they’ve been asking me to all this time.
Just in time for them to change up the game on me again.
Maybe I will end up at the party with Summer tonight after the carnival. After what happened last weekend and how awful I felt, I didn’t really want to go. I thought my evening would go in a different direction, but now without a note… I don’t know what to think anymore.
Then there’s the guys. How perfect everything was. How special they made me feel.
They said they had a job tonight, but I had been hoping to see them again today. Hoping we could talk more. Hoping to maybe let them in a little more. Hoping to see just how much they meant their promises yesterday. Even if giving me everything I want comes with some hot masked stalkers.
None of my hopes for Halloween seem to be happening.
Summer and I normally spend the entire day together after she spends the night Halloween Eve, but she left last night at the same time as the guys. No explanation but a wink. We had both thought there was a good chance I would have a visitor last night. A new game to play today.
The disappointment wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying my day though. It’s been quiet so far, but I still haven’t been able to drop my guard either. Especially knowing I’m taunting them now.
After blowdrying and styling my hair it falls in loose waves around my face, framing it in a way that makes my eye makeup pop. I slip the floppy ear headband on and grin. It’s cuter than I thought it would be.
Giving Playboy, but cute.
There’s no way to do a rabbit costume and not at least be reminded of the Bunnies. The small white satin dress I bought is closer to lingerie than an actual dress, which isn’t going to help. I did decide to dress it down with my white sneakers though and not do the heels.
Summer and I spent too long last night arguing about it, but we’re going to be walking all around town for the carnival and I’m not trying to break an ankle. She finally caved and even agreed she was going to wear her black boots with her magician costume.
We maybe had too much fun planning this costume out. We couldn’t not match, just because we also wanted to taunt someone new. She’s still the person I always spend Halloween with.
I leave my bathroom in my robe and go into my bedroom and notice how dark it is outside. Summer really is late. Hopefully, she at least is ready to go once she gets here. Grabbing the underwear I laid out on my bed before my shower, I start pulling them on when I do a double take.
Are these the ones I laid out?
I pause, looking behind my shoulder and listening for any sounds but don’t hear anything.
Both pairs are white and a similar material to what my dress is made of.
I grabbed a bikini pair though, definitely not a thong.
Normally I would dismiss something like this as my being forgetful or having not paid attention to what I was grabbing.
Not anymore. Not when my stalkers would do something like this.
I move quickly, getting dressed so as to not stand here in my room nearly naked as I’m trying to figure out if someone is in my closet or hiding under my bed. Clothes first, then we investigate.
If there’s anything I’ve learned from horror movies it’s that. Don’t let yourself be caught unaware.
Once I’m fully dressed, including shoes, I move around my room slowly, looking for anything else that’s different. My heart beats loudly in my chest, a mix of fear and excitement making the blood rush in my ears.
Nothing else looks disturbed, no sign of anyone coming in here while I was in the shower. Until I get to my bedside table. I should have known better. That’s exactly where I should have started.
A note rests in the same place as all of the notes have been left. The familiar red ink stark against the white page. I hold my breath, picking the note up and reading slowly.
Three lines. Three different handwritings.
One stanza.
There’s no possible way.
My phone chimes and I nearly drop the note when I flinch at the sound.
I don’t check my phone right away, too caught on the three lines. Three very different strokes of pen against paper. As different as the three men I can’t help but picture behind the Ghostface masks.
They never denied Summer’s questions.
Isn’t it odd that my stalker went after Richard’s but seemingly had no problem watching my guys absolutely ravish me at the party? Even if he did come back to have his own taste? Was it really jealousy or finishing what they started?
My phone goes off again and I shake my head from the ridiculous thoughts. I’ve gone over it a hundred times in my head all week, but always come back to the sleepover. They couldn’t have hurt Professor Richards. They were here.
When I check my phone though it isn’t Summer texting me back at all. Nor is it Weston.
Unlocking my phone I open the message from an unknown number to find a video. My heart beat picks back up and my hands begin to sweat. I hold my breath, opening the video I see my room.
My hands shake and I’m unable to breathe as three masked men surround my sleeping form on the bed. I can’t tear my eyes away from the way they undress me, wash the paint and makeup from my body, coax my body into a fever pitch.
Each touch is reverent, worshipping me as their goddess.
And me?
I’m completely oblivious to being on their altar. My body responsive to everything they’re doing to me while my mind stays blissfully unaware.
A shiver races down my spine and goosebumps rise on my arms. My breathing is rough and jagged, even to my own ears. Yet despite all the logic in the world, warmth grows low in my belly and pure heat makes me squeeze my legs together tighter.
When did fear become my aphrodisiac?