Page 115 of Obsession

We went in together and went upstairs, where I felt the need to throw myself on the bed and stare at the ceiling for a while. They were quiet now, unusually quiet, and I had no idea how to explain to them what had happened. Should I have told them the truth or lied?

I sat up.

“It was about the boy who died on Saturday. I was there just before he… fell off the building.”

They both seemed quiet as they sat down next to me.

“And what did he want from you?”

“Nothing, he just asked if I’d seen anything suspicious, but I didn’t even know the boy’s name.”

Apparently, I was getting better at lying because none of them seemed to suspect anything.

My doll started crying again.

“Ah, I’ve had it with this thing,” I shouted and threw it down on the bed.

My fingerprint didn’t help this time, so it either wanted something to eat or a new diaper. I seriously considered wrapping it in a blanket and throwing it in the basement.

“But you weren’t right when you said it looked like Harris. He doesn’t talk that much, he… acts,” Kristen said as she punched the air a few times.

I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, this project is illogical. I think our teacher is trying to make fun of us. I should have been more insistent about him being paired with that idiot,” I said as I shoved the bottle in the doll’s mouth to get it to shut up.

“Have you seen the tattoo on Amber’s neck?” Kristen asked suddenly.

“Yes.”

I wasn’t sure what her tattoo had to do with our conversation. Anything to do with Amber pissed me off, and I still couldn’t figure out how that bitch knew about my mom.

“He gave her that tattoo. It’s Stone’s mark so everyone knows she’s his girl and they should stay away. I’d say he’s a bit crazy, but you have probably already figured that out. He never gets involved with a girl who has belonged to someone else before or at least been in a serious relationship, especially if she’s not a virgin. He wants to be the first and apparently the last, because no one gets close to a girl who has the S on her neck, even if Harris has dumped her.”

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor, unsure if she was joking or if she was serious.

“You’re kidding, right?”

Kristen didn’t sketch anything.

“So now you understand why Amber is so desperate. Not only does she risk losing Harris, who she’s obviously crazy about, but she also risks no guy ever getting close to her, especially since their relationship lasted quite a while. It wasn’t anything serious because it’s not his style, but he cares about what’s his.”

I couldn’t believe it. I’d seen her tattoo countless times before, but I hadn’t even considered that it was Harris’ mark.

“That’s why I always tell you to stay away from him. The guy’s a maniac, and most importantly, he’s dangerous. He gets angry out of the blue, he loses control and reason. You saw what he did to Zac just because he tried totake you awayfrom him. He’s clearly out to get you, Kath, so try to stay away from him before it’s too late.”

What he did to Zac… that was rather minor, I wondered how she would have reacted if I’d told her what Harris was suspected of.

“What’s the deal with this Joshua guy? Are Harris and him in a competition or something?” I asked, trying to get more information out of her since Harris hadn’t told me anything.

Kristen shrugged her shoulders.

“No clue. I know they belong to the same track, but I don’t think they’re friends. They’re part of different groups and Joshua can’t take on Harris. He probably liked you, and that didn’t sit well with Harris.”

I bit my lip and thought. The way he said he’dtake mewhether Harris was at school or not proved exactly which way Joshua liked me. It had nothing to do with a crush. Maybe he was an asshole, but Harris never talked to me the way Joshua did, not to mention how many opportunities he had to fool around with me but stopped.

“He knows what he’s doing, Kath, he likes to play. He will confuse you in ways you can’t even imagine. He will lay the world at your feet and then cut them off when you’re not looking. You’re not the first. You’re his priority now, but someone else will come along later and you will be just like Amber. He’s not the type to sleep with a different girl every night, but what he does to the ones he chooses is much worse, because they hope to get his love and end up in shambles when they realize they willnever get it. He picks one, molds her to his liking, teaches her everything he likes, and plays with her until he gets bored, then moves on. That demon nickname of suits him in many ways.”

I looked to the ground as I analyzed the new information. I had already pieced some of it together myself, but Kristen offered me a much scarier version of things. I still couldn’t believe that Harris was so insane that he was marking his girlfriend like an animal. And how crazy could they be to get marked like that? But something told me that Amber liked it, that she wanted it, and that everything was fine in her life until I showed up and became Stone’s latest obsession.

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