Page 22 of Lovers Fate

Simon doesn’t look older than me, and I’m guessing he might be around my age. In a way, I’m glad I didn’t stay long in school before I was arrested, or he would have figured out who I was when I showed up, blowing up my chance in finding answers.

When I moved here, I had just started high school. I didn’t have friends and I don’t remember anyone except the boy I saw in English class on my second day of school. I haven’t thought about him since it all happened. But I could never forget his obsidian eyes or the way he looked at me when the teacher paired us up for our first writing assignment.

He stared at me like he knew me, like he was waiting for me to show up, and I stared right back. His skin was fair. His hair was so dark it looked like he had it dyed black. He wore black combat boots, a black long-sleeve shirt, and black jeans. If I close my eyes, I can still hear the chain on his jeans scrape the chair every time he moved. He was so tall, his knees barely fit under the desk, but he never said a word if he didn’t have to.

“Is that all?” he drawls, pulling me back to the present.

“Jocks?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I wouldn’t say they’re jocks. Sure, they play sports, but they…” He trails off anxiously.

“They what?”

“They have money. Their parents, I mean, but it’s the same thing. They get away with everything. If you see them at the church, stay away. They don’t treat girls like you nicely, if you know what I mean.” He shakes his head. “What you saw earlier with Zack—that was nothing. A free pass because they don’t know you.”

“They’re the town bullies?” I ask to find out more.”And what do you mean, girls like me?”

Because of their parents and the money they bring to town, those assholes get away with everything. And I didn’t mean girls like you to offend you personally, but what you do for money.”

“I’m not a prostitute. I needed a job, and you sent me there. So don’t go judging me.”

He sighs in defeat. No, I didn’t mean that. It’s not my business what you do for money. I’m just warning you. Stay away from Zack and his friends. Most of the football team are just like him.”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever,” I mutter and turn around.

“Except for around Halloween,” he calls out, causing me to pause. “That’s when the circus comes to town.” I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but girls go missing around Halloween, and no one can find out who did it.”

I whirl around. “Huh?” A sense of fear rushes in my stomach. He’s the second person to warn me. The man from the stairs comes back to mind.

“You haven’t heard?”

I shake my head. How would I? I’ve spent my entire teenage life in a psychiatric ward, but I can’t tell him that.

Suddenly, the office grows silent, like he is about to tell me a ghost story around a campfire, and I find myself asking, “What do you mean?”

“Every fall around Halloween, girls go missing,” he says, staring at the wall. The room suddenly gets cold. It reminds me of the night I spent in my mother’s bedroom, where blood adorned the walls and her screams were like white noise coming from a TV. “In Stockbridge, there is a tradition that dates back decades, if not longer. The disappearance of teenage girls later found raped and mutilated. Some were found beside the road.Others were discovered in the woods. Most of them were school-aged. No younger than eleven.”

My stomach churns, and I hold the towels and soap tight to my chest. “Let me guess; no one found out who did it.”

He shakes his head. “No. It’s why you should be careful walking out alone around this time—or anytime.”

“Why is it always around Halloween? Why not in the summer, or the winter?”

Perhaps it’s because school doesn’t start until the fall? He shrugs. “In small towns like this, it’s normal for young women to walk home alone compared to the city where there are more people. All I know is, since they opened the university, it’s gotten worse.”

“The disappearances?”

He nods. “Some turn up dead, while others are never found.” Zack and his friends usually back off around that time. They’re less aggressive. Especially around girls. Girls are skittish when they know they’re being targeted or—scared, you know?” He lowers his voice, as if fearing that someone might overhear what he is about to say. “The last thing girls in school want is to go on a date with a creep, and the last thing Zack and his friends would want is for anyone to think they’re the creeps capable of doing it. I’m not saying they’re the ones behind it all, but…”

“They’re the type of guys that don’t care if a girl says no,” I finish for him.

“I would imagine so.”

“Is it always like this for you when they’re around?”I don’t mean to be a bitch and keep pointing it out. I don’t have friends. Hell, I don’t have family. I’m not adept at making conversation with people, and Simon isn’t terrible once you get him to talk. He did tell me where I could find a job.

“You mean people picking on me all the time?” he says ungraciously.

“I didn’t mean it like that. Honestly, what I meant is, ‘Why don’t you stand up for yourself?’”

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