Page 186 of Hayden's Stalker

“Tati?” I ask into the darkness.

“Yes. I’m here.”

Her familiar scent is comforting, and I pull her to me so I can hold her tight as I tell her, “I was having a nightmare.”

“I figured,” she says quietly.

I squeeze her tightly, and a sharp pain in my stomach causes me to jump. “Ow.”

Tati moves back away from me quickly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Actually, I hurt myself,” I joke before I find her lips in the darkness and kiss her softly. “I’m glad you’re here with me. The nightmare was bad, but I feel better knowing you’re here.”

“I’m glad.”

The nightmare is fresh in my mind, and it makes it hard to get back to sleep. I ground myself, and eventually, my exhaustion gets to me, so I finally fall asleep again with Tati safe and secure in my arms.

I wake alonein the bed, with the sound of Tati having a phone conversation with someone. She’s standing a few feet away, facing the closed curtains in the room.

“Hayden wasn’t in the best shape, mentally, after giving his statement. I was in there with him when he did it, and it was rough. When we got back here, he had a bit of a breakdown, and I thought it was better for him to get some sleep and come see you guys this morning.”

She’s silent for a few moments, and guilt that I didn’t see my friends last night washes over me. I feel terrible that they would’ve been waiting to see me.

“You’re right, and I’m sorry. I was so focused on Hayden that I didn’t think about the fact that you guys would be worried about not hearing from him.”

My guilt doubles during her next silence while she listens to whatever is being said, and my stomach drops when I realize that I’ll have to tell them everything. I know that I’ll need to tell Harrison and Heather in private, and I’m dreading doing that as well.

“Yeah, of course. I’ve still got the keycard to the room, so we’ll come up as soon as Hayden’s feeling up to it.”

She ends the call, and I sigh, knowing that the conversation I’m dreading will need to happen soon. Tati jolts and then turns to look at me.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I should’ve called Sebastian from the hallway.”

“It’s okay. I assume they want to see me.”

A ball of anxiety forms in the pit of my stomach. I’ve never been nervous to see my friends before, but the thought of reliving everything yet again is horrible. I know that I’ll need to tell them, even if it’s going to be difficult.

“Yes, they do. He’s going to get the others to meet us in Gabriel’s suite whenever you’re ready to go see them.”

Which means that now is the time for me to call Harrison. It needs to be before he goes to Gabriel’s suite. I remember that my phone was a brick last night when the FBI gave it back to me, and I never ended up putting it on charge when we got here.

“I’m ready now, but I forgot to charge my phone last night, so I need to borrow yours to call Harrison and Heather.”

I can barely say their names, and I hate what I’m going to have to tell them. This will bring up so many painful memories and hurt them both so much. The dread of what I’m going to have to tell them hits me in full force as Tatiana walks over to me and hands me her phone.

I type in Harrison’s number and stare at it on the screen. I know that I need to catch them before they leave for Gabriel’s suite, but I also want to prolong this moment as long as possible.

I press the button to make the call, and I’m on edge while it rings in my ear. His concerned voice comes through the line way too quickly for my liking.

“Tatiana, hi.”

“It’s not Tatiana, it’s Hayden,” I say, unable to say anything else as the guilt crashes back over me.

“Hayden, oh my god. I’m so glad you’re safe. We were so worried about you. Sebastian said you’re going to come to meet us in Gabriel’s suite?”

I smile at his words, and I’m so grateful to have people who care about me so much in my life, but it certainly doesn’t make the guilt I’m feeling any better.

“Yeah, I will be, but could you guys possibly come down to room 715 first? I need to talk to you before we go see the others.”

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