Page 118 of The Invite
I have read the note over and over but I can’t form a conclusion. I’ve stared at it so much that it’s forever imprinted into my brain.
If I try to distract myself from Anonymous, my thoughts drift to Augustus. His last threatening text has left me feeling paranoid. He sounded so confident he would find me. But it’s not possible, is it?
Had he caught me leaving the house, I would not be sitting on Ace’s couch right now and eating dinner.
“Was I right?” asks Ace, pulling me from my thoughts.
“You tell me,” I tease, and tilt the plate toward him. “I’ve licked the plate clean. The food was delicious, Ace. I would hire you as my personal chef.”
Ace wasn’t bragging when he told me he’s an excellent cook. The moment I took the first bite, I became a fan. I believe he’s a total foodie. He knows the best restaurants in town and is a exceptional chef himself.
“Well, it’s always best to have an alternate job waiting just in case,” he jokes.
The side of Ace at home is the opposite of his professional one. He looks more relaxed and younger. His shaggy hair flops onto his forehead, making him look charming. Like a sexy guy next door.
The simple tee he’s changed into is loose but thin and clings to his muscular stature while below he’s wearing light gray sweatpants.
He’s undeniably handsome, so I’m perplexed how he’s still single. He’s a catch, plain and simple.
Too bad, my heart doesn’t skip a beat the way it does from just a single glance from Augustus. He’s sunk into my skin, my soul so deep and poisonous that no other man is affecting me.
I’ve become a slave to my masked devil’s darkness.
With another stalker after me, Augustus is beginning to feel like a blessing. Better the devil you know than the one you don’t.
Ace and I chitchat for a bit while doing the dishes together in his kitchen. Exhaustion starts to weigh heavy. So, when he offers to watch a movie together, I politely decline and go to the guest room after saying good night.
After a quick trip to the bathroom, I lie down on the superbly comfortable bed. Amber’s maimed body flashes the second I close my eyes. Shuddering, I wrench them open and sit up against the headboard.
I’m unable to get the scene out of my head. Her lifeless body hanging, bloodied and slashed. Except for her beautiful face, every square inch of her was ripped apart. Around her wrist, the colorful bracelet she always wore shimmered. At one time, it looked so cute but on her dead body, it was out of place and mocking.
As I sit alone in the dark while sleep evades me, I strangely miss Augustus. He has the power to chase away the voices inside my head until he’s my entire universe.
It invigorates me when I fight him and he bends me to his will, breaking me but never completely. With him, I can be selfish and ruled by my body’s demands.
When he touches me possessively and aggressively, he exorcises my demons.
I need those moments of tranquility the most right now.
One only he is capable of giving.
Even though I hate him with every fiber of my being, I’m longing for him, and it tells me I’ve fallen deeper down the slippery slope. No matter how fast and far I crawl, I trip back down until he’s the anchor.
Did he mean it when he said he will find me?
Do I want him to?
The answer is both yes and no.
Shoving aside the blanket, I rise from the bed and stroll to the attached tiny balcony. Chilly night air stirs the short hairs loose from my loose bun. I stare at the beautiful starry sky, themoon hidden behind the clouds, and inhale deeply.
I think about my meeting with the detective.
They are on a wild-goose chase. That much is obvious, especially since they have half of the information. They’ll chalk up her death to bullying taken too far and close the case once it leads to nothing.
I know full well how the world of the elite and the influential works. I witnessed it firsthand. I’m living the consequences of it. With Amber being from the wrong side of thetracks and a fraud, bringing her justice won’t be anyone’s priority.
The principal is determined to bury the news to save the school’s reputation. The parents of the rich kids will be ringing and demanding him to fix it.
