Page 40 of Lights Out

I whipped my phone out of my robe pocket the second I got inside.

Have you ever heard of the word boundaries?I texted the Faceless Man.

Doesn’t sound familiar,he wrote back.Can you use it in a sentence?

Goddamn it, this wasn’t funny. Not at all. My cheeks hurt because they were cold, not because of how wide I was grinning.

Did you do any other nefarious things besides shovel and stock my fridge that I should know about?I asked.Watched me while I slept? Placed more hidden cameras?

He sent a thinking emoji.Nothing comes to mind. But you do snore real cute.

My eyes flashed wide.I do NOT snore.

Like a chipmunk with a cold. Wheeze, wheeze, siiiiigh.

Keep making fun of me, and I might stab you again. And do not say “kinky”!

Kink- uh, I mean…

You’re lucky I didn’t find some sneaky way to get my neighbors to describe you and make it easier for me to track you down.

And risk having them look at you sideways after I told them I was your beau? I knew you wouldn’t do it. Or make it easier on yourself. Don’t lie. You’re having as much fun as I am, Aly.

I shook my head. He was incorrigible. And I was having fun, but I wasn’t ready to admit that to him yet. His ego seemed big enough without me inflating it.

Thank you, by the way,I said. For breakfast and shoveling. You shouldn’t have. I mean that literally, but I’m grateful anyway.

I expected a sarcastic response, but he wrote back,I like taking care of you.

Shit. No, hormones. We’re not going to be set all aflutter when the strange man stalking us does something nice.

How are your stitches?I asked, unsure of how to respond to his loaded comment. I’d been actively avoiding the memory of stabbing and then stitching him up, but I could only suppress the healthcare worker inside me for so long. I’d done everything I could to prevent infection, but the reality was my house wasn’t a sterile environment, and the risk of something going wrong was real.

Red and itchy,he replied.And are black lines leading up my arm from the wound normal?

Oh, fuck.

No! You need to go to the ER. Now. I am not-I typed out before his next text came through, and I paused to read it.

Just kidding. It’s fine. You totally freaked out, didn’t you?

I braced my hands on the kitchen counter and leaned forward, wheezing in a breath as I fought to get my heart rate under control.

I was absolutely going to find him and figure out some way to get even. Maybe I’d break into his house and move all his furniture slightly out of place. Not enough to be super obvious, but just enough that his brain got stuck on it, knowingsomething was off, and he went crazy trying to figure it out. Or maybe I’d film a thirst trap inhisbedroom and see howheliked it.

Ugh. Scratch that. He’d probably like it a little too much, and I was aiming for punishment, not reward.

My phone pinged again.

Aly? You still there? Or are you off somewhere plotting my demise?

How did he know me so well already?

Oh, right. The stalking.

You will never see me coming,I told him, hitting send before I noticed the double-entendre in the words.

Welp. There go my plans for you tonight, he wrote back.

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