Page 9 of Not Your Hero

I drop my head into my hands and think. Who the hell would do that? Why would they need cameras? Is it Brandon? But why would he do this?

Instead of thinking about too much I text him and ask him to come over. It only takes six tries before he agrees and says he’s on the way.

While I wait, I grab the knife off the counter and cut the box open. I ordered a few things, and I’m wondering if that’s what this is.

Once the box is open, I pull out the contents and quickly drop them onto the table.

“What the fuck?” I mumble as I pick up the tiny shirt that has a … is that a bullseye on the back? I hold it up and turn it around, looking at the front. My name is across the chest, and that is definitely a bullseye on the back.

Someone knocking startles me and I drop the shirt onto the table before rushing to the door. When I pull it open, I grab Brandon and drag him inside before slamming the door and locking it. He looks around and then at me like I’m crazy.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Listen, something weird is happening. The card, the credit card, the shirt, the cameras.” Brandon puts his hands up as I completely lose my shit.

“Okay. Okay, just calm down. What’s going on? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says.

I run my hand through my hair as we walk over and take a seat on the couch.

“Okay. So, I’ve been getting these cards in the mail. They don’t say anything but a number counting back from thirty. I don’t know what the hell they are or what they mean.”

“Cards with numbers? Maybe someone is playing a prank?”

“I don’t know. Then you know my cards and accounts were frozen? I got a credit card in the mail with a note stating they are looking into it and to use this card while they do,” I explain, watching the way his brows furrow together because it makes no fucking sense.

“That … yeah, that is weird. What else?”

“Cameras. Someone had cameras put up outside, and they sent me a note saying to leave them alone because someone has been watching me.”

“You have the letter?” I nod and stand, grabbing it off the table before passing it to him. He looks at it and flips it in his hands, shaking his head.

“This is crazy,” he mumbles under his breath.

“And then this? What the hell does this mean?” I ask as I lift the shirt and show him the front and back.

“Is that a bullseye?”

“Yeah. See what I’m saying here, Brandon? Something is wrong.”

“Did you call the police?”

“No. I didn’t want to sound crazy because all of this is literally crazy,” I tell him.

“Let’s do that then. Let’s get them out here to look at this stuff.”

“You think it’ll help?”

“I think it’s worth a shot. They have to be able to do something or look into it. This is all really strange, Emerson.”

“I know, and I hate to bother you with it, but I didn’t have anyone else to call,” I tell him.

“It’s fine. Let’s call the police and see what they say.” I nod my head and sit on the edge of the couch until the cops show up. They make a report, but because there’s no real threat or any return address on anything, there isn’t much they can do. They said I could take the cameras down myself and discard them, but it seems like someone is just messing with me.

I’ve been pacing the room since they left. Brandon walks over and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

“We don’t even know who’s doing it! I don’t even feel safe in my house, Brandon. What if they’re crazy?” Tears begin to roll down my cheeks as he spins me and pulls me into his arms. I wrap my arms around him and let him hold onto me while I cry. Brandon and I don’t always see eye to eye on things, but he is mostly a good man.

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