Chapter 8
Jayce
Alana was sitting cross-legged in the passenger seat and every time I looked over, she was deep in thought. She seemed fine now. I wished I felt the same way.
I was fucking livid. That guy, Mike, needed a few more hits to the skull. I wanted to shatter the bones in his face and hit him hard enough to pop the blood vessels in his eyes. Maybe I could make him go blind. Then he wouldn’t be able to look at Alana again.
His lips had been on hers. I swear to god, I saw red. Not only did I want to kill that motherfucker right there on that porch, but I wanted to claim Alana in front of him. I thought about bending her over the railing and stuffing her full of my cock. He couldn’t have stopped me and neither could she. Once I was inside of her, she wouldn’t even try.
But, again, there would eventually come a moment when she saw Jake, just like she did when I knelt in front of her. Every time, it pissed me the fuck off. There was a second when I thought I might be able to kiss her and I wouldn’t have to worry about all of the other shit anymore, but I saw the change in her eyes. So, we still had a game to play.
Operation Kill Jake 2.0. His very existence needed to be erased so that I could live my happily ever after with Alana, which meant I was going to be doing things I’d never done. Many would call me a monster for them but if it worked out in the end, what the fuck did it matter if I threw my morals away? If vile acts were going to be committed, they should be done in the name of love.
I pulled into a parking lot and shut off the truck. Alana looked at me curiously, but I just winked and headed around to her side. She looked annoyed when I took her hand to help her down and it was an effort not to roll my eyes. My brother failed this woman in so many ways. Who had someone this fucking perfect and didn’t treat her like she was their top priority?
Settling my mask over my face, I jerked my chin and started walking. After we made it a few blocks, the music around us got louder and the street became brighter. We turned the corner and I saw her eyes go wide.
“I haven’t been to the parade in years,” she shouted over the music.
“I know.”
We’d missed half of it, but there were still quite a few floats. The one closest to us was full of zombies acting like they were eating some humans. One of them jumped down and pretended to go for someone in the crowd, which drew a few screams and laughs.
Above us, there were some giant balloons of popular Halloween icons. There was a bat, a Chucky doll, Pennywise, a pumpkin, spiders, and skulls. The way they loomed in the sky helped set the mood.
After the zombie display passed, I grabbed Alana’s hand and pulled her closer. There was a gap in the crowd, which allowed us to make it right up to the gate. A woman selling black roses came up to us and I bought one, then passed it to Alana. She grinned as she gently stroked one of the silky petals.
“Oh, that’s our cheer team,” she announced, pointing at an oncoming float. The girls were dressed as broken dolls and performed a dance that made it seem like their arms hung limply.
“Weren’t you a cheerleader?”
She snorted a laugh. “For one season. I was always two steps behind everyone else. The coach very politely suggested I choose another extracurricular activity.”
“I can’t see you as a cheerleader anyway.”
“It was only because Jake was on the football team. Both of you, actually.”
“You did just fine watching from the stands.”
I looked over at her, taking in the tight set to her lips. After a moment, she cleared the expression.
“Vicky Hart always flirted with Jake. One time, she made a joke that a football player should be with a cheerleader. She was talking to her friends, but she looked directly at me when she said it. I thought he would like it if I was on the team.”
It was an effort not to scowl. “Vicky flirted with everyone,” I said dismissively.
“Did you ever fuck her?”
At that, I laughed. “No. I left that to others.”
“I know you slept around in high school. If you weren’t into cheerleaders, who was your type?”
I eyed her for a moment, letting my gaze travel down her body until she shifted to her other foot. “Swimmers were always fun. They can hold their breath for a while.”
She burst into laughter, drawing a few stares. “Maybe I should’ve experimented more when I was younger.”
“You’re still young.”
“Yeah, but it feels different now. I was fourteen when Jake and I got together. He’s the only one I’ve… Fuck, that’s sad.”
“Does it matter? Sex is sex, regardless of how many people you’ve tried it with. It’s not like you were being a prude or are inexperienced.”
“I guess you have a point. Does that mean I get to enter my hoe phase later in life?”
Again, I felt a surge of possessiveness. “Maybe you should wait and see what happens. Don’t rush.”
She made a noncommittal sound. I stole a glance at her while she watched the parade. If anyone so much as touched her, they’d get worse than what I did to Mike. Speaking of that fucker, I had to figure out what they were supposed to be doing at seven tomorrow. Then, I had to convince her to back out. Otherwise, this angry thing inside of me was going to rise to the surface and demand blood.
*****
Alana’s light shut off a few minutes ago, which I knew meant that she was lying in bed with her phone. I navigated to my app that was connected to it and saw that she was reading. Horror. How fitting.
The good thing about having her phone earlier was that it gave me a chance to program a new number into it. I’d gone back and forth on what to set the name as. Eventually, I decided on Erebus, the personification of darkness in mythology. She was a history teacher and her favorite subject was ancient civilizations, particularly religion and culture. She would recognize the name and it would unnerve her.
Erebus: Good book?
The message showed as read immediately. I wished I could see her face. The fear on it must’ve been beautiful. Finally, after ten minutes, my phone buzzed.
Alana: Who is this?
Erebus: Let’s play a game. You guess and if you get it right, I’ll reward you.
Alana: Seriously, who is this?
Erebus: Come on. You’re a clever fox.
While I waited, I leaned against her car. Mine was parked a few blocks away so that she wouldn’t spot it. I was donning my new mask with the neon lights turned on. It was Halloween, so if anyone saw me, it shouldn’t look too strange, but I didn’t really care either way.
Erebus: You shouldn’t read on your phone. It’s bad for your eyes.
And they’re such pretty eyes.
After a few minutes, she appeared in the window, just as I expected she would. She scanned the parking lot, then her gaze landed on me. Immediately, she took a small step back. I cocked my head, never looking away from her.
Through the window, I could see the tops of her thighs where the shorts ended. She had on a thin tank top that would do nothing to conceal her breasts if I was close enough. I wanted to take her nipple between my teeth through the shirt. If I bit down on one, she’d make such a beautiful sound.
Her lips parted and her chest expanded with her heavy breaths. She was no doubt wondering if I was the one who’d texted her. It could be a coincidence. There were bound to be people in masks still meandering about tonight.
I glanced down at my phone to type out a message.
Erebus: If you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to get self-conscious.
She checked her phone, then closed the curtains. I could still see her silhouette but after a minute, she rushed away from the window.
Well, we’d officially been introduced. I guess it was about time after twelve years doing this exact thing in the shadows. It was funny when I thought about it. Plenty of people had been stalked in their life, but there must be more who never found out that they were on someone’s radar. How many went to sleep with eyes on them or got into their car completely unaware that someone tracked their every step? Right now, anyone in existence could have their own shadow and they may never know.
I pulled a window marker out of my pocket and started to write on the driver’s side window of her car. When I finished, I stared at the red letters for a moment. I glanced up at her room one more time before I began walking down the street.
My sweet, beautiful Alana. I was going to turn her mind upside down until all that remained inside were the things I wanted her to keep.