Page 108 of Texting Dr. Stalker

No scream.

No cries.

Where is she?

My legs ached to chase through every room and find her, but I couldn’t leave Peng outside. Replacing the key back under the pot, I grabbed the kitten and dumped him on the floor in the dining room. The kitchen window was open, hinting that was his escape route.

Closing it, I spied a saucer with some leftover food and shoved it under his nose. “Eat. I’ll come check on you once I know your mistress is okay.”

Leaving him to munch, I marched through the house, as familiar with this floorplan as I was with my own.

I didn’t find her on the bottom level.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I charged down the corridor and into Melody’s old bedroom. I’d almost slipped the last time I was here and praised Sailor’s wallpaper choice. It’d modernised the room a lot from the pale lemon lace that Melody had favoured.

But the door was open.

The bed empty.

My heart went berserk.

“Sailor?”

Where the hell is she?

Striding back the way I came, I arrowed to the bathroom across the hall.

Just as empty.

“Sai—”

Fuck.

X knows her as Lori, you idiot!

“Lori?”

No reply.

“Answer me. It’s Z—eh, X.”

Wow, you’re on a roll tonight.

Swinging open the study door, I peered through the shadows of stacked furniture looking like abandoned soldiers in the dark. The only other door was Sailor’s old bedroom.

With my heart in my mouth, I swung the door open and peered into the blackness.

A sniffle made my chest clench.

Shoving my way past a dresser and almost tripping over a tower of boxes, I managed to navigate the room enough to reach the bed tucked up against the wall. The window where I used to watch her let in just enough light to find her buried beneath a mountain of covers.

She stiffened into a tight ball as I slowly sat on the edge of the mattress.

She trembled so hard the entire framework shuddered as I tugged part of the sheets away, revealing her sodden, tear-streaked face.

A dagger cut right through my vital organs.

“Hey…it’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe.”

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