Chapter 11
ELEVEN
“When I used to read fairy tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one!”
—Alice, Alice in Wonderland
Acreeper.
Alice referred to me as a stalker, and I tend to agree with her since I am openly pursuing her.
Would it still be considered stalking if I’m being totally blatant about it?
I’m not exactly hiding behind this tree in Brakel Green, watching her stroll along the cobblestone path.
I wish I could say I’ll stop shadowing her, but I like the thrill I get from seeing her see me.
And she does look right at me…
…while flipping me the finger as she rushes to class.
She’s adorable.
The afternoon breeze catches her blonde waves, billowing them behind her as she hurries toward Juniper Hall.
Those chunky black knee-high boots swallow her little feet, and when I trail my gaze up those lean legs, I want to haul her into a dark alcove, hitch up that black-and-white striped skirt, and slide my cock deep inside her.
I should have fucked her the other night at Folly House, but instead, I watched her walk away. Again. Walk away and leave me empty and aching for the girl I once knew, and when I step out from behind the tree, I follow her toward Juniper Hall.
“Good morning, Malice.”
“Eat a bag of dicks, Maddox.”
I place a hand on my stomach. “Thanks, but no thanks. I already had breakfast.”
Her eyes slide closed for a beat too long before she opens them with an exasperated shake of her head. “You are so annoying.”
“True, but you love me,” I counter, causing Alice to miss a step. She lurches forward, but I catch her, setting her back on her feet. “Was it something I said?”
She keeps walking, ticking off each sentence with her fingers.
“It’s everything you say. It’s you sneaking into my house, and you will tell me how you got in.
You leaving me coffee. You following me into your bathroom.
You telling me you’re going to…to”—she lowers her voice at this part—“kiss me someplace other than my lips. You’re being a stalker, Maddox, and I won’t have it. ”
I hop in front of her, walking backward. “Tell me you hate me, Alice. Tell me, right now, that you want nothing to do with me, and I’ll never bother you again. It’ll fucking kill me, but I’ll do it. I’ll let you walk out of my life twice, and this time, for good.”
“You’re infuriating,” she says. “Please let me pass. I’m already late.”
I step aside, keeping pace with her. Damn, she’s a speedy little thing. “That’s not a ‘you hate me and want nothing to do with me.’”
When we reach the end of the path, we’re at the entrance to the building, where she says, “I don’t hate you. Take that however you will.”
“I didn’t think so.” Grinning like a fool, I open the door for her. “See you later, Malice.”
I stand in the doorway watching her stroll away, and right when I’m about to turn and leave, I see it…
the tiny grin she throws me from over her shoulder.
The itty-bitty smile hits me like an arrow directly in the heart, and when I finally move my ass so other students can enter the building, I saunter off toward Briar Rose’s business department in Bremen Hall.
A tug on my watch frees it from the pocket of my jeans.
I check the time. Alice isn’t the only one who’s late.
I should have been in Managerial Best Practices five minutes ago.
Pardon me while I don’t care. I’m enrolled at Briar Rose because Roman insisted that March and I follow in the footsteps of his other wards and get a ‘proper’ education.
Whatever. It’s a waste of his time. I’m a mercenary, plain and simple, not the future CEO of some bullshit corporation.
Roman’s tainted throne and tarnished crown will pass to Scarlett after he’s dead.
She should be the one taking these boring-ass classes instead of majoring in art, not me.
I’m content to live in the shadows, doing what I do best. And one day, when I’m too old to torture someone or can’t curl my finger around a trigger, I’ll retire with Alice at my side.
Or some asshole will put a bullet between my eyes because, as the saying goes, live by the gun, die by the gun.
Either way is fine with me as long as I can live whatever life I have with Alice.
I do like math, though. Numbers fascinate me, and that’s why I enjoy Ms. Winterberry’s International Finance class. But pesky intrusive thoughts always come rushing back, even when I’m paying attention to other things.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep the voices in my head quiet.
I’m almost at Bremen Hall when Scarlett intercepts me. How one little person can demolish a person’s good mood is beyond me, but here I am, suddenly furious. “What do you want, Scar?”
“To say hello.”
“Fine, hello. Now, goodbye.”
I try to sidestep her, but she’s a wily one. The scrape of her red talon down the front of my shirt is like a nail skidding across a chalkboard. It sets my nerves on end. “Why the rush?”
Now? To get the hell away from you.
I shrug at her absurd question. “Dunno, Scar, probably because we’re at school, and I need to get to class.”
Correction, her touch isn’t nails on a chalkboard. It’s her fucking cackle that grates across my nerves. “As if you care about class,” she scoffs. “This is me you’re talking to, Maddox. You can pretend to other people, but not to me. We both know you’d rather be anywhere else than here.”
“Move,” I growl.
Pouting, she steps aside but slaps her hand on my chest when I go to storm off. The girl always wears Victorian-inspired outfits. Today’s…ensemble…is a dramatic red number that’s absolutely ridiculous. “I don’t understand why you dislike me when I’ve always been good to you.”
“Yeah, to me,” I spit. “To everyone else, you’re a bitch.”
Again, she trails that fucking finger down my chest. However, this time I surprise her by grabbing her wrist. She yanks out of my grasp. “You mean I’m a bitch to Alice?”
That name in her nasty mouth is gasoline poured on a fire.
But I control the burn because she’s a woman.
It’d be a different story if it were a man who menaced Wonderland.
I’d have ended his reign of terror years ago.
“Alice,” I confirm, adding, “Ivory, March, Adam, Bella, Cherry. Hell, you’re even a bitch to your mother, and that lady is a damn saint.
Oh, yeah, and let’s not forget to add everyone else in Wonderland to the list. Did I leave anyone out? ”
“You should thank me for holding you in higher regard than I do the rest of these losers in this miserable little town,” she hisses. “God only knows what might have befallen your precious Alice if you and I didn’t get along.”
See, now this is why I’m tempted to unravel her red curls and strangle her with them. “Are you threatening Alice? Because if you are, God only knows what will happen to you if that’s the case.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she singsongs.
“Good, keep it that way.”
I walk away because if I don’t, I’m afraid I might give in to the urge to murder Roman’s daughter right here on campus, surrounded by witnesses.
“You don’t scare me,” Scarlett calls out.
“Yes, I do,” I retort, without breaking my stride.
“By the way, how is Alice doing? Dealing with that stalker must have been terrifying.” Scarlett’s shout stops me dead. It also draws the attention of the handful of students peppered around the green. “She did tell you, right? After all, you two are best friends.”
The fuck is she blabbering about?
I turn around to see her standing where I left her, hands on her hips and a vile grin lifting the corners of her mouth.
“Oh, Alice didn’t tell you, did she? Oops, my wayward mouth is getting away from me again.
” For a brief moment, I forget she’s a woman.
Blinded by rage, all I want to do is slap that fucking sneer clean off her smug face.
“Guess you don’t know your precious Alice had a full-blown stalker. ”
“The fuck?” I race back to her, grab her by her shirt, and yank her in close. “What did you say?”
“Oh, you didn’t know.” She has the audacity to throw that fucking smirk at me. “Alice came home because her stalker scared her right out of Riverton.”
“Who told you this?”
I give her a punishing shake when she doesn’t answer, hard enough to knock those frizzy curls free. “Who, Scarlett?”
“Ow, Maddox! Fine.” She rolls her eyes, then tugs free, brushing her palm down her shirt to smooth the bunched material.
“The art community is small. People talk. I listen. Instead of directing all that anger at me, you should ask yourself why Alice didn’t trust you enough to tell you about it herself. ”
As if on cue, a violent clap of thunder rocks the air. Thick clouds have rolled in, blotting out the sun. Gloom blankets Briar Rose as I take a sharp turn, heading to the parking lot rather than Bremen Hall. I pull out my phone, and once I’m in the Dodge, I fire off a furious text to Alice.
Me: We need 2 talk
Impatiently, I wait for her reply, which takes an eternity to come.
Alice: Sure
Alice: About?
Me: U
Alice: Me??
Alice: What about??
Me: Heard some shit
Me: Meet me in the maze after class
There’s a pause. A long fucking pause, and I don’t like it.
Alice: ok
Okay.
I speed away, sick to fucking death. Not wanting to believe the bullshit Scarlett spewed. Alice had a stalker? No fucking way. She was attacked? Bruised? No, no, fucking no. Why didn’t she tell me? Why the hell would she hide that from me?
Me?
Her best fucking friend.
The one person who always, always protected her.
I can’t tell what’s worse, what kills me more—that someone hurt her or that she didn’t tell me. I think they both hit the same, and as I drive away, I shove that pain deep down to make room for rage. Searing, blinding rage because the piece of shit who put his hands on her…?
His fucking hands are mine.