Page 80 of The Stalker

She checked her watch. It was well past midnight, but she could do with the distraction, so she nodded her head. “Sure.”

“Cool. There’s a television near the sofa we can watch it on.”

“Okay, let me get changed and I’ll see you there.”

She walked back toward her room and saw that the main area of the bus was semi-dark because most of the lights were off, and Jesse was laid out on the sofa, having already made his makeshift bed.

“Oh, are you going to sleep?” she asked him.

He smiled at her, then indicated to the blanket on top of himself. “That was kind of the plan. Why?”

“No reason. It’s fine.” She smiled at him, then turned and walked back to Hayden’s room.

He was walking into the room from the bathroom and he smiled at her. “You haven’t changed yet?”

“No dice on the movie. Jesse wants to go to sleep,” Tatiana told him.

Hayden’s face fell, and he looked disappointed. “Damn. It’s my fault we can’t watch it, too.”

“I could offer him the bed, but I’d feel like a complete dick telling him that we want to watch a film. It would also mean asking him to sleep in my room when that’s the whole reason he’s on the sofa to begin with,” Tatiana cringed.

He gave her a cheeky grin and said, “I do have a TV right here if you want to spend some time in my bed.”

“I think you know what I’m going to say to that,” she laughed.

“That you’ll slip into something a little more comfortable and be right back?”

“That’s what I like about you, Hayden Vega—you’re an optimist at heart. But no, that’s not what I was going to say.”

“Ah, well. It was worth a try. Goodnight, Tati.” He smiled at her, picked up his book, and laid back down on the bed.

“Night, Hayden.”

She was surprised by how disappointed she was that she couldn’t watch the movie with him. She walked quietly back through the bus and saw that Jesse had turned off the last of the lights, but she doubted he was asleep yet.

“Night, Jesse,” she said quietly, in case he was.

“Night, Tati.”

She opened the door to her room and used her phone to find the light switch. She pulled off her jeans and t-shirt, then got into a nightgown and laid down in bed. Her mind was full of everything that had happened today, well, yesterday now.

She should be tired. It had been a long day, but she was wired, and she couldn’t relax. Against her better judgment, she picked up her phone and opened a text to Hayden.

Don’t do this, Tatiana. I know you want to watch the movie with him, but that’s a dangerous path.

She knew she shouldn’t do it, but she went ahead with sending him a text.

Are you still awake?

He didn’t reply, and she sighed. She’d thought he was going to read for a bit, but maybe he’d ended up going straight to sleep. Her heart leaped to her throat when her phone buzzed and lit up next to her.

Yes. Why?

Why, indeed, Tatiana? You have no need to know if he’s still awake. No reason for texting him. Go to sleep, woman!

You didn’t send me the pics of April and me.

It was about a minute before a message came through with a selection of pics of her and April, as well as the ones with Hayden in them, too.

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