Page 45 of Forbidden Hearts

Frustrated, I toss the cutting board to the floor and dig my face into my hands. Hot tears stream down my face.

???

My hands feel heavy on the steering wheel. It’s Sunday afternoon, but my body still feels heavy. Not as much as yesterday, but heavy enough to feel weird. This isn’t a hangover. Liam clearly drugged me.

I shake my head and concentrate on the highway ahead. I just dropped off my mom’s food and groceries, and now I’m on my way back to San Marquez.

It was hard keeping a straight face around Mom, especially when my body kept reminding me that something was wrong.Luckily, Mom was feeling well today, so we spent my entire visit talking about the latest TV show she’s been watching. It was enough to keep my mind busy.

There’s no way I can tell her what happened Friday night. She would just spend every day wondering if I was okay, and right now she needs to focus on her own health.

I take a deep breath and look at the rearview mirror.

Please don’t be there.

The hairs on the back of my neck rise. It’s still there. The gray truck is still behind me.

I hadn’t noticed the truck following me until we were the only two vehicles on the highway. But once I noticed it, it was hard to miss when the traffic picked up again. I’m not sure how long it’s been following me.

Every time I look at the rearview mirror, I hope it won’t be there, that it got off at one of the exits I just passed. But it’s always there.

I’m just imagining things again. It’s a highway. People use it to travel long distances. You’ve been extra paranoid since Friday night.

“Maybe it’s Alonzo,” I whisper to myself.

I stare at the mirror again to get a better look at the truck driver. But it’s no use. The late afternoon sun casts strong cloud reflections on the truck’s windshield, making it impossible to see inside the truck.

It can’t be Alonzo. I was at his place yesterday. There were multiple cars on his property, but all were very slick and sporty cars. No trucks, especially one with sun-worn paint.

“Fuck it,” I say. “Let’s see if you’re really following me or if I’m just being paranoid.”

At the last possible second, I exit the highway and merge into the access road. My blood turns cold when the truck follows me off the highway.

I pull into the first gas station I see and park right by the store entrance, in clear view of everybody there. Looking through the side mirror, I check to see if the truck is going to pull into the gas station.

It does.

It slowly drives behind my truck and circles around the gas pumps. I try to catch a glimpse of the driver again, but I can’t get a good angle.

The truck rolls to a corner of the gas station and idles there for a minute. When it sees that I’m not getting out of my car, it drives away.

What the hell is going on?

Chapter 22

Alex

“Excuse me, is Professor Alvarez in his office?” I ask the student receptionist behind the desk. It’s Monday morning and I’m in the lobby of the art department, speaking with a girl at the reception desk. I guess Josh isn’t working today.

“He is,” she says. “But I think his office hours are on Thursday. Do you have an appointment to see him today?”

“No, I just wanted to drop by real quick before my first class. I want to give him an overdue assignment,” I lie. I actually have his class later in the morning. I just wanted to stop by and see him privately.

“Oh, gotcha,” she says. “Let me go check if he’s available.”

She leaves to the hallway that leads to Alonzo and the other art professors’s offices. A few minutes later, she returns with a smile and waves me in.

“You can come in,” she says. She walks me into his office and leaves when Alonzo thanks her.

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