Page 124 of Stalker's Toy

I need her so bad I can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t fucking function.

She’s now on the other side of the room, but I feel her like she’s wrapped around me.

Like she’s got a grip on my heart, my body, my goddamn soul.

Every second without her is an eternity, a stretch of time I can’t bear.

The knock is a jolt, a sudden break in the tension. "It’ll be time to open the doors soon, Mr. Lindberg," calls a voice from the other side, and it takes me a second to realize there’s a world beyond her.

Beyond us.

The words linger, foreign and unwanted.

They remind me of the opening, the event, the chaos I should care about but don’t.

They remind me that life continues outside of this room, outside of her.

But it doesn’t, not really.

We stand on opposite ends of the room, still caught in the electric storm we’ve created, and I wonder if she hears the interruption the way I do.

I wonder if she feels it, gnawing and insistent.

"Thank you," I manage to say, though my mind’s not with the gallery worker or the opening or anything beyond this. "We’ll be right there.”

"Looks like we’re out of time," Mia says, her voice cutting through the heavy silence.

Her smile is small but genuine, and it pulls me right back, drags me under.

I snort. "Let them wait. They’re good at it."

But she just smiles.

Silent.

Deadly.

We step into the hallway, into the expectation, into the noise that grows with every step.

We step out together, and that’s all that matters.

I’ve got my world beside me, and I’m never letting go.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Mia

The noise of the crowd swells and ebbs like waves crashing against a rocky shore.

I stand before my charcoal drawing of a woman engulfed in flames, her mouth stretched wide in a silent scream.

The piece seems to pulse with its own dark energy, drawing people in despite—or perhaps because of—its haunting imagery.

I adjust the black lace choker at my throat, the silver skull charm cool against my skin.

My fingers tremble slightly as I smooth down the front of my flowing crimson dress.

The color reminds me of blood, of fire.

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