Page 42 of Haunted Prey

And so began my hunting time. I’d have my baby, my Eve, back no matter the cost.

CHAPTER TEN

He was here.

I knew he wouldn’t stick to Severfalls. I tried to keep him at bay, but the phantom followed me. He watched from the shadows, roamed the halls, stalked me.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

He came into my room one night and put his boney hand around my neck, squeezing.

“Oh, Eve, baby, I could just eat you up.” He laughed. I struggled in his grip, but he wouldn’t let go.

“Mine, all mine,” he whispered in a sing-song voice, skull-face smiling as always. “Come join me, Eve.” Black blood gushed from his mouth as he leaned in.

I tried to scream, but then I woke up and realized it was just another bad dream.

I shouldn’t have acknowledged him that first time. Should have known he’d slip into my mind even further, warp my senses.

Somehow, the mornings were worse. Waking up and reaching out, hoping to feel a large, warm body next to me—tobelieve the past few weeks had been nothing more than a bad dream and that he was still there beside me. But there was no one. I was all alone. No heat to comfort me, only the empty chill.

Marcus’s house always seemed to be empty, especially in the day. As much as a part of me wanted to be alone because of my paranoia, there were times I just wanted to be surrounded by people so I didn’t feel this crushing loneliness. Sometimes, I wished I could return to my classes too, find a cafe and go through the last edits of my thesis, soak in the sounds of people’s voices and laughter, try not to freak out and think Severfalls would capture me again.

I didn’t leave the house. But I didn’t allow myself to waste another day roaming the hallways like a damn ghost. Now that I had my laptop back, I tried to aim my focus once again on my thesis.

I sat at the dining table, facing the back sliding door, starting where I left off with my revisions and edits.

Rereading mine and Emery’s story was harder than I cared to admit. A few times, I had to take a break—by taking a walk around the house or sobbing in my seat. I spent hours rewriting parts, cutting out, or adding others. Not an easy thing to do with one hand, though I eventually took my bad arm out of the sling to rest it on the table and set my computer in a way so that I could use both. As long as I didn’t move my arm, I could still type.

Even with the new edits I stayed true to his story, to ours. I added some of what had happened at the house, and left out others. I did my best to incorporate every emotion, every thought that mattered. Even as deeply personal as everything had been, I knew in a scientific sense, a relationship like ours— victim and killer—had never been studied like this, never been shared. Ours was like nothing anyone had ever experienced. And it wasn’t just about our bond. It was about the things that ledto our fate. What had been done, what had broken him and ultimately what had broken me.

By the time the sun had begun to set, I’d gotten through more than half of my paper. And for the first time in weeks, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I might actually be able to get through this.

When Lena and Marcus returned, I sprang to meet them.

“Dang, girl, you’re more energized than usual.” Lena smiled. I told her I was already through half my edits and her eyes lit up. “Wow, you’re a powerhouse! You could finish tonight!”

I shifted on my feet, feeling like a child looking for attention. “I was actually wondering what you had going on tonight?”

Smirking, she said, “We're actually going out tonight. Some of Marcus’s friends are having a little hangout at their place.” She wheeled past the living area into the kitchen while Marcus went over to his room. “You should come! There won't be too many people. At least not like a block party or anything.”

“Is this a frat thing?”

Lena shrugged. “Sorta. But they’re chill guys, I promise.”

“I’ll pass,” I said.

“Suit yourself.”

I wrung my hands, then winced when I felt a sharp pain in my arm, reminding me I needed to ice it. “How late until you’ll be back?”

Now it was her turn to grimace. “You mean tonight?”

I nodded.

---