Page 74 of Dare To Break

When I reach the bench where Arabella stripped the night before, I stop. Her clothes are still there in a neat little pile, her sneakers tucked beneath it.

I glance around and tap the pause button on my music. I’d been certain she would head out early to grab her things before anyone saw them. I guess I’m out earlier than her. A slow smile pulls my lips up. That suits me just fine. I tuck the bundle of clothes under one arm and pick up the sneakers.

Maybe this is the sign I needed. A reminder of why I started this.

I’m half-tempted to lurk and wait for her to arrive just so I can see her reaction to the missing clothes, but I don’t want to risk being caught. So, instead, I set off for the tomb, where I tuck her clothes and sneakers behind Churchill’s coffin and then continue my run.

The cell in my pocket vibrates against my leg just as I reach the end of the cemetery, and I slow to a walk so I can pull it out to read the text.

Prey: I’m sorry. I forgot to check messages last night.

I scroll up to the message I left her and read it over. I sent her a link to a cloud storage, with a password and asked her to take a photograph of the bites we’d left on her breasts and upload it. She didn’t.

I pocket my cell without replying, only for it to buzz again seconds later.

Prey: I’ve uploaded a photograph.

I still don’t respond, but I do take out my other cell and navigate to the folder to check it out. And sure enough, there’s a photograph waiting for me. She’s standing in her bathroom, topless, her breasts on display with the two bite marks clear against her skin. She’s carefully angled the camera so her head isn’t showing and the bathroom behind her could be any one of the dorms.

It almost tempts me into replying, but I resist, closing the app and turning off the burner cell. She can send all the messages she likes, but she won’t be hearing from me today.

Chapter 49

Arabella

Stomach churning with doubt, my finger hovers over the delete button. The need to appease him stops me from deleting the photo. I’ve been careful. No one can see my face. Still, the thought of an image of my breasts out there for anyone to see makes me sick with anxiety.

I check the phone again, but there’s no answer to my texts.

Is he angry with me?

I forgot to look for a message last night. After I’d made myself come, I curled up in bed and fell asleep. My dreams were filled with shadowy images of the cemetery and masked figures chasing me through the trees.

I glance at the screen of the cell again.

Still nothing.

Me: I’m sorry. I can do better next time.

Minutes tick by, and there’s still no reply. I need to go and get my clothes before anyone else finds them. I leave the phone on my bed, and dress quickly. Thankfully I have a second pair of sneakers, so I push my feet into them, pull on my pink hoodie, and stuff both phones and my keys into my pocket.

Dew is beading the grass when I step outside. I flip up my hood and set off toward the trees in a fast walk. Fingers curled tightly around the cell in my pocket, I take another look at it, but there’s still nothing from my darer.

Why isn’t he answering? Maybe he’s still asleep?

Worry plagues me as I hit the woods and follow the path. The tension inside me grows. I make sure I’m alone before I approach the bench. My clothes aren’t where I left them. I check behind the nearest trees but find no sign of them.

Did someone take them?

A sense of unease shrouds me.

Me: My clothes are missing. Did you take them? Is this a punishment?

No reply.

Unsure what to do next, I run into the cemetery and hunt for my things but come up empty. My thumb caresses the metal of the butterfly charm on my bracelet in a soothing rhythm.

I can’t stay out here all day. He’s either taken them, or someone else found them. If they have, they’ll turn them in to a teacher or a member of security. There are no tags or anything to indicate they are mine. The thought of their loss ramps my anxiety higher.

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