Page 25 of Stalking Christmas

I get up from the floor, walk over to the bed, sit myself down, and start eating. I’m going to need my strength to pummel him, so I might as well not let any of this go to waste after all.

Chapter 32

Santa

Stalking is an art form, or at least it used to be to me, before I found myself in this mess with Chrissy. I squat down behind a group of trash bins on their neighbor’s side, and a huge, ugly rat crosses in front of me, utterly unfazed by the large, menacing human standing not two feet from him. Fuck, I’m really getting tired of not being seen as a predator anymore. Have I lost my mojo? Do I need to go on a killing spree, so people and animals take me seriously again? I feel like I’m losing more of myself, and my swagger, every moment I don’t slice someone open and take their life. It reminds me that bathing in someone’sblood is also an art form, and I haven’t done that in a while either.Time to remedy that shit.

Instead of being back in my cabin, fucking the shit out of Chrissy, and filling all of her holes with my cum, or going to murder my spoiled shit of a brother, I’m hiding here in frigid temperatures, risking being found by law enforcement, and waiting for that oversized slobber fest to take the bait, and eat the peanut-butter-covered sedative I left him on Chrissy’s back porch. “Come on, asshole, just fucking eat it,” I groan. The damn rat stares at me, as if I’m disturbing his peace and quiet. “Fuck off, cunt, or I’ll feed you to a cat.”

I hear a growl through the warped wooden fence, and I know the demon beast has located where I’m hiding. I peer through the boards, ensuring to keep him away from my limbs, and his sharp teeth, and glowing eyes greet me. Fuck, the things I’m willing to do for this girl. It’s Christmas Eve, and I shouldn’t be here. I should be somewhere having top-shelf scotch, and drowning my sorrows, or covered in blood, celebrating the holidays in the way I do every year, with murder and mayhem. A groan escapes me, and the fiend next door lets out a vicious growl. I swear to fuck, if this thing bites me, I am going to tan Chrissy’s delectable ass with my flogger, hang her from my chains, and use every one of her holes as I see fit. “Here, nice demon, go and eat the yummy treat Santa left for you.”

Because I’m not taking any fucking chances, I throw another laced treat over the fence at Toothless, and pray I don’t end up overdosing the huge thing. Think Chrissy might forgive me if I do, it was the thought that counts, right? I was trying to bring her oversized baby to her in one piece, even though I think this thing is not really a canine at all, but some alien creature from the beyond.

He runs for the treat, and I release the pent-up breath I’m holding. I pull out my phone and bring up the cameras,expecting to see Chrissy still huddled on the floor and looking distraught. I don’t find her immediately on the bedroom camera, and my heart rate skyrockets before I reason with myself. How far can she have gotten? The door is locked, and her collar chains her to the wall. I think I really need a stiff drink right now, or maybe ten. The last couple of days have made me a frazzled, pathetic mess, with emotions and feelings that I don’t understand how to process.

Honestly, I don’t fucking get it. Someone could take a gun and point it at my father’s head right now and pull the trigger, and I would shrug and walk away without a care in the world, or a backward glance, and that asshole raised me from birth. Yet everything about Chrissy causes a reaction. She’s sad,I lose it.She doesn’t eat,I become unhinged.She’s in pain and doesn’t tell me,I want to rip out my own hair.She’s crying,and I want to level the whole world.Where the hell is all of this coming from? Is this what they describe as love? Am I in love with this girl? I’ve never loved anything, to my knowledge. The closest I have ever come was to tolerate something with slight affection, and that’s my brother, Micah. Even on a good day, I would probably shoot him without the slightest hint of remorse.

My head begins to spin, and my hands go clammy with the possibility that I am in love with Chrissy Cranbrook. It’s not possible. I’m not capable of processing those emotions, and yet everything about her makes me feel. What if she tries to leave me? What if I end up murdering her in one of my blind rages? The very thought has me stumbling, and I have to grasp onto the fence to keep myself upright. I can’t lose her, not even to myself.

I force myself to stand and take deep breaths, as I focus on the here and now. I can put steps in place to protect her from me when I’m losing my mind, while still keeping her by my side. In time, she may grow to have those same feelings for me. We can be happy together, just the two of us, and fuck, I guess thehellhound can come too, as long as he doesn’t try to eat or hump me. I can get us far away from here, and my father’s malicious and power-hungry grasp. We can disappear. I have more than enough money to support us lavishly for the rest of our lives. She would never have to work again, or put up with slimeballs wanting to touch her. Our lives will be perfect as long as no one attempts to separate us, and they won’t, because I will painfully murder anyone who tries.

With my little pep talk complete, I realize I no longer hear Toothless in the yard, and Daisy must have come home and let him in. Daisy is going to be a problem. I don’t think Chrissy will take it too well if I murder her roommate, but I can’t allow her to stop me from taking Toothless, or recognizing me and reporting me to the police. The little pest already went and made a missing persons report on Chrissy, despite being wanted on charges herself. That was both brave and stupid of her. Luckily for her, I made that disappear the minute Micah made me aware of it.

I climb over the fence stealthily and make my way to their back door, hoping the sedative is already working on Toothless. She’s left the door carelessly open, and I can hear her talking to the beast. “It’s okay, sweet baby, your momma will be home soon. Santa wouldn’t let her be away from you on Christmas night. You’ll see; she’ll show up, she never lets us down.” Toothless whines at her words, and I watch from the shadows as she gives him another treat.Spoiled shit.

“I’m just going to run to the corner store, Toothless, to get us a frozen pizza, so when your momma comes back, we have something to eat. Be a good boy, and don’t destroy anything. I mean it, Toothless, leave my shoes alone!” I hear her moving towards the front door, and then it opens and closes, and I release my anxious breath. This is perfect. I’ll be able to get the monster out the back door, and to the van I have on the next street, while she’s gone. I don’t look forward to having tocarry him, but I won’t let anything stop me from making Chrissy happy.

I hear a groan and then a thud, and peek inside to see Toothless down on his side, his big mouth open and his pink tongue exposed. Thank fuck, I was starting to think I was going to have to tranq the fucker again. I slip inside the house and stand over his snoring body. How am I going to carry this fucker out of here without being noticed? It’s not like it’s a regular everyday thing to see a large man holding a massive cane corso over his shoulder. Fuck, I’ll need to wrap him in a blanket or something. I make my way out of the kitchen and towards Chrissy’s haphazard bedroom, grab the worn comforter off the bed, and return to the kitchen. I bend down, laying the blanket on the floor next to Toothless, and prepare to roll the demon like a burrito, when I feel something hard press against the back of my skull and a very distinct clicking sound, letting me know someone has a gun pressed to my head.

“Where the fuck is Chrissy, asshole, don’t bother lying. I know you took her, and are trying to steal Toothless too!”Ah fuck, Daisy.How did I not see this coming?

Chapter 33

The Gift

It’s been hours since I last saw Nic, and my anger has turned from a small blaze to an inferno of rage. Has the fucker forgotten about me and left me here to die? This psychopath kidnapped me from my life, and then left me here to rot? Well, I’ll show him. The minute I figure out how to get this collar off of me, it’s game over for him, and I’m going to make him wish he never laid eyes on me.

I’m just about to wrap my fist in a towel and break the bathroom mirror, when I hear the electronic lock being disarmed. I race back out of the bathroom, the annoying metalchain rustling behind me like a damn leash. If there is nothing else about this situation that conveys how unhinged Nic really is, the damn chain and collar around my neck speak volumes. I could almost look past all the rest of the shit he’s done, but not that. I’m not his fucking pet to keep chained, shit, I would never allow an animal to endure this type of callous treatment.

I’m ready and waiting to give him a tongue lashing, and throw hands at him, when he stomps into the room, his fists at his sides and a scowl across his handsome and fearsome face. Then my jaw hits the floor as Daisy appears in the doorway right behind him, wearing a bright red, ugly Christmas sweater and reindeer ears, and holding a gun to the back of his head. “Hey, babe! I missed you!” She grins and winks at me.

Have I entered the twilight zone?Maybe I hit my head somewhere, because this can’t really be happening. I can’t actually be seeing my bubbly spaz of a best friend holding my stalker hostage. “How? Where? Shit, how the hell is this possible?”

My eyes soar between Daisy’s and Nic’s, and that’s when I realize that there is a third person, this one hiding in the shadows, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s got a gun pointed at Daisy. “Hey ya, gorgeous. Long time no see,” he calls out, and forces both Daisy and Nic to move further into the room.Micah. What the hell is he doing here, and why is he pointing a weapon at my best friend? This is getting stranger and more bizarre by the moment.

“I can explain,” Nic growls, as he side-eyes Daisy and his brother with menace. Daisy’s smile just gets broader and more devious at his remark, and even Micah looks ridiculously happy with whatever fuckery is happening here. “Girl, why are you chained up? Ah, he’s akinky fucker, isn’t he?“ Daisy wags her eyebrows at me as I stare at her with disbelief.

Oh my God,hole in the ground, please open up and swallow me whole. Of course, she would think this was fun, and part of some sexual escapade. I feel my body flush with heat and embarrassment, as Micah’s eyes slide over me, from my bare feet to the top of my head, and everywhere in between, that the thin t-shirt I’m wearing doesn’t hide. I can tell exactly what he’s thinking, based on his lascivious grin. “Stop fucking looking at her, Micah, or I’ll rip your eyes out!” Nic growls and steps towards his brother, his fist raised, and an unhinged look in his eye.

“Hey, I’m in charge here!” Daisy yells and attempts to grab Nic’s arm to restrain him, and all the while, she’s pointing a gun that I hope is not loaded, and perched on her stupid skyscraper heels. Nic releases a fearsome snarl, that has the hairs on my arms standing on end. “Don’t touch me. I’ve humored you so far, but nobody gets to do that except her.” He nods in my direction, and my eyebrows shoot up at his admission.Me? Why the hell do I get to touch him?Not that I don’t want to, well, at this precise moment, I’d like to touch him with a tire iron.

“Why is that exactly,huh, Nic? What makesLittle Red Riding Hoodover there special?“ Micah inquires, his gun held precariously in his hand, as if he doesn’t care if he shoots someone or not. All three of these idiots are going to get themselves killed in an accidental shoot-out with each other. I would like to point out that I take offense to him describing me as a fictional character who lacked common sense, and got herself almost eaten by a wolf, but I’m too tired to argue with all the crazies in the room. My head ping pongs back and forth between them, and I’m starting to get dizzy from all the insanity.

“BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE HER, AND SHE’S MINE, CUNT!” Nic howls, all the veins in his neck protruding, and he swings his fist toward his brother, regardless of whether one of their weapons could be discharged at any moment. His fist landswith a crack against Micah’s cheek, who in turn releases his hold on his gun, and it goes bouncing across the carpet toward me. Daisy gets pushed out of the way, and falls against the dresser with a scream, and the two male gorillas start throwing punches at each other, and breaking what’s left of the furniture.Sweet baby Jesus, what the fuck!

I dive for the gun, grasping it tightly and rising unsteadily to my feet, and pointing it at both of them, but there is no way to get a clear shot as they grapple, and honestly, I don’t know which one of them to shoot. “STOP, FUCKERS!” I fire into the air, hoping to get their attention, and both of them freeze in place, as pieces of the ceiling plaster land on my head. Two sets of large gray eyes turn to stare at me, and for a moment, I forget what the hell I’m doing, as I get overwhelmed by their attractiveness. “You show ’em, babe!” Daisy cackles, and moves closer to me and away from the two psychos, who are giving off nothing but toxic masculinity.

I’m about to start questioning all of them, but a loud barking gets my attention, and I turn my gaze towards Daisy with horror. “Toothless?” She nods her head, as if it’s no big deal that my massive cane corso has also found his way to my stalker’s house. “Yeah, I made that asshole carry him inside. It was too cold in the car to leave him.” Yup, ’cause that makes perfect sense right now.

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