Page 20 of Haunt Me

I just stare at him, waiting for him to spit out whatever delusional apology he has in mind. “I’m sorry, Star,” he finally says. “The way everything ended between us was horrible, to say the least. I hope you can forgive me.”

To be honest, there's no way I can forgive anything he has done to me, no apology can fix the damage he did, but at least for now, I'll say whatever it takes to get him to leave me the hell alone.

“Let’s just forget about it, Zavier,” I reply, trying to end this entire ordeal and get out of here. However, he insists that I have another cup of coffee, and with great regret, I reluctantly agree. He rants on and on about how great he’s doing, but then he drops a bombshell that makes me choke on my coffee.

“I’m actually back for some not-so-great business,” he begins. “My brother has been missing for almost two weeks now, and apparently, this was the last place he was seen.”

My eyes widen and my mouth goes dry, trying to act casual, “Oh, that’s horrible, I’m so sorry. I remember you mentioned you had a brother, but who is your brother?” I reluctantly ask.

“Caden”

I stiffen. That's why Caden felt so familiar.

I knew he had a brother, but I never met him because he lived in another state. Zavier being back makes much more sense now but if he has to find out thathis brother was with me the night he disappeared—I’m dead.

I don’t answer instead I just nod, staring into the empty cup in front of me. He doesn’t say anything else, but I notice he’s staring at me. His eyes roamed over me—from my face, all the way down to my feet.

God, I’ve never felt more uncomfortable in my life.

“Well, I have–”

“Did I mention how good you look?” He interrupts me and I’m not sure how to respond so I just stay quiet as he continues, “You’ve always looked amazing in jeans—and green is definitely your color, especially with your copper-brown hair,” He says, gesturing to my olive green top, “Your hair was always my favorite feature.” he smiles at me. His dark, dead holes for eyes staring at me.

“Um, thank you, but I have to get going.” I quickly get up and hurry out of the coffee shop.

Shit. I want to inform Argent about what I just found out, but then he’s gonna want to know where I heard it and if I tell him that I met Zavier for coffee—he’ll reunite him with his brother without a doubt.

I’ll keep this from him for now.

With disbelief, Chloe gazes at me as if she’s about to burst, evident from the bulging vein on her forehead.

“Are you fucking kidding, Star?“ Frustrated, she remarks, "Firstly, you’ve been dealing with a stalker for weeks without letting me know or taking any action, not even contacting the police. And secondly, you went on a date with a man who nearly took your life!”

It would be an understatement to describe her as anything less than furious, but I couldn’t continue hiding it from Chloe any longer, so I decided to be honest and confess about the stalking. I made sure not to include Argent’s name so she wouldn’t start playing detective.

“It wasn’t a date and I’m sorry for not telling you about what was going on,” I say, looking down at my feet, I feel too ashamed to even look at her.

“Starlet, you can tell me anything, you know that,” she says sincerely, lifting my chin to make me look at her.

“I know, Chlo, no more secrets. I promise.”

“Good, now, let me get this straight, Caden is Zavier’s brother, and he is back to help look for him and then Mr. Stalker saw Caden with you and what,killedhim?”

“That’s pretty much it, yes,” I say, falling back on Chloe’s bed. After that horrible experience with Zavier, I called her to pick me up and that’s when I decided to confess about everything.

"And you haven't called the police yet, because?" I stare at her, an exaggerated sigh escaping my lips, "I don't know." I whine, covering my face with my hands.

Sighing, she flops down next to me, "Okay, but how sure are you that he killed Caden?" she asks, turning to face me.

"Trust me, I'm pretty sure," I state with a dry chuckle. She frowns and sits up, staring down at me, "How sure, Star?"

"Well, he brought me a gym bag that had Caden's insides in it," I say casually like it wasn't the most psychotic thing ever. Her eyes go wide and her jaw drops open, "Jesus…you got yourself in some serious shit, Star. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Jerking up, I shake my head, “No, I don’t want you to get involved in all this, but I would appreciate it if you did some digging on Zavier.”

“Done, but what exactly?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Like, where the hell did he go after he got bail, what’s he been up to? After we broke up, it was like he disappeared into thin air.”

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