Page 188 of Hayden's Stalker

“I’ve never been happier to see your face, Hayden Vega,” he says with a smile. “Are you okay?”

The question cuts surprisingly deep and tears well in my eyes. “Honestly? No, I’m not.” I sigh and blink away the tears as I indicate to the bed nearby. “You guys should take a seat. I have something that I need to tell you.”

The mood in the room changes at once. Their bodies get tense, and once they’re seated, Heather clutches Harrison’s hand tightly again while I drag the singular armchair in the room over to sit in front of them.

Unsurprisingly, Heather’s the first to speak. “What’s going on, Hayden?”

I don’t want to have this conversation. I don’t want to slash open their old wounds and leave them bleeding and broken again. I don’t want to admit to them that I’m the reason Harrison was drugged. I know he struggled with being collateral damage when it was supposedly just to get a scandal. The truth of it is just so much worse.

“I don’t know how to say this.”

I sigh deeply because there are no words for it. Nothing I say can change the truth of it, so nothing I say can make this okay for them. I take a few deep breaths and try to find the strength to tell them what I need to tell them.

“So, I’m not sure how much you know about my stalker. Her name was Sarah.”

“Was?” Heather asks immediately, and Sarah’s dead body flashes before my eyes.

“She was shot by the FBI right in front of me,” I tell her, and Heather gasps.

“Holy fuck. Are you okay?” she asks.

I shrug and look away from them when I admit, “I won’t lie to you guys. I’m glad she’s dead.”

Her sickening, high-pitched laugh rings in my head, and I retch involuntarily. Heather’s arms are around me, and she hugs me tightly.

“I’m sorry, Hayden,” she whispers in a choked-up voice.

“Me, too,” I say, even though she doesn’t know yet what I’m sorry for.

She holds me for a long time before I pull away from her. I don’t want to make this about me, and I’ve put off telling them what I need to tell them long enough.

Heather takes her place back next to Harrison, who says, “We did know her name. We were with Tati when she found out.”

I want to ask them more about that because I’m curious about what happened here in my absence, but I force myself to stay focused.

“Okay. Well, she did a lot of things to try and get to me. Some we knew about, like the accident. Others we didn’t, like the fact that she followed me out to Galena multiple times. She talked about it like it was us going on a Sunday drive together.” I retch again.

“God, that’s fucking awful,” Heather spits out.

“It was pretty bad.” I swallow heavily and heave a deep sigh before I look at them. “One of the things we knew about, but not that she was involved.”

I can see it in their faces, and I don’t want to say it. Saying it will hurt them both so badly, and I don’t want to be the person who has to do it.

Harrison takes the burden off my shoulders when he says in a deadened voice, “The drugging.”

“Yes,” I admit with so much shame and guilt for being the root cause of it that I can barely manage to speak the word.

“How? Why?” Heather asks.

“She planned to sleep with me when I was high. She manipulated the staff into doing it by convincing them theycould make a fortune selling a scandal. She was too good at it, and they kept her out of the event, so she wasn’t able to get to me in the end.”

Like when I told the FBI during my statement last night, my admission is met with stunned silence. It’s laced with regret and guilt and shame. I hate that the look on Harrison’s face is so similar to the one he wore during those months after the drugging. I can tell that he’s remembering the worst night of his life, but now with the added knowledge of why it truly happened.

Heather looks equal parts horrified and furious. She looks between Harrison and me repeatedly before she stares into my eyes.

“Do you mean that she wanted to rape you so badly that she fuckedusover in the process?” Her voice has a strange tone to it that I’ve never heard before, and I can’t manage a response other than to nod. “I’m fucking glad she’s dead, too, then.”

She stands and strides over to the side of the room, where she throws the curtains open and stares out of the window. Her breathing is heavy and loud until it turns into sobs. Harrison is crying as well as he stands to walk over to her. He pulls her into his arms and holds her while they both cry.

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