Page 33 of Look My Way
What will it be like wearing it while I make another one of his possessions come so hard he fucking sees stars? I’d say Liam is something else I plan on taking from him, but there’s no need to when he keeps coming to me. He knows what he needs, and I’ll have to keep showing him why.
Sixteen
Liam
Daniel:Try not to stay out too late today and lock all the doors when you get home. Another body was found this morning. You can never be too careful.
My stomach sinks. That’s four this month, isn’t it? They’re piling up at this rate, and the whole case has been weighing heavily on Daniel with him having to watch from the sidelines since it’s not his jurisdiction. Turning on the TV, I flip over to one of the local news channels, and my mug clashes with my teeth as an unwanted chill runs through me.
It’s getting closer too. It won’t be long before Daniel and his team will have to be involved. Or it might go higher than him before it can. That’s if they can’t catch this monster soon. My cup drops a little too hard onto the counter when they show a picture of the latest victim, who was found in a lake.
Red hair and blue eyes.
They all have those features in common. This person has a type he goes after, and Daniel wants me to be extra carefulbecause I match it. They’re younger than me and don’t have glasses, but that doesn’t put me any more at ease.
There’s a serial killer out there. This is real life and not a movie or one of my books. I’ve been so fucking careless, going outside at night and . . . what if the man watching me wasn’t who I was hoping he was, but is actually—no. That wasn’t real.
But it was, and I can’t play pretend when people are being murdered and the person hasn’t been caught yet. He’s out there somewhere, but it doesn’t mean he’s been here. Oh, please say he hasn’t. My stomach tightens and I shut the TV off, needing to look somewhere else.
My attention flicks to the window and I close my eyes. I need to stop searching for him. Especially because I don’t know who “him” is. Except my heart practically beats his name.
Zavier. Zavier. Zavier.
It’s all in how he watches me. In the way he looks my way. Is it crazy that I invited my assumed stalker to the farmer’s market with me?
Probably, but I need him to be there. I don’t know why, but I do. It’s also nice to have someone who wants to be with me. And did I mention I need him. It doesn’t make sense, but it feels better that it doesn’t.
Daniel:I hope your silence is you napping and not that you’re ignoring me.
It’s been maybe a minute that I’ve gone without responding. He’s so impatient for a man who constantly keeps me waiting.
The ceramic clinks against the metal sink when I set my mug down, and grabbing a bowl, I fill it with Fruity Pebbles and milk. Lacking the energy to clean any more dirty dishes than I need to, I chose something easy that doesn’t require pans or a spatula.
I move around the kitchen slowly and with my muscles aching, then I sit back on the couch to eat instead of the uncomfortable hard chairs Daniel talked me into buying for my table out back.It was supposed to be mine, but as I look around my house, so much of it is starting to look like someone else’s.
My movies still cover the shelves by the TV, and I have stones in random places like on the coffee table and entertainment center, though.
After I finish off what Daniel would argue is not breakfast, I hand wash the very few items in the sink, dry them, and put them back in the cabinet. My eyes keep going to the window. A blue bird flies by but nothing hides behind the shed.
It’s silly, but I go outside and check inside my plant’s pots. I need to water the plants anyway. He’ll be here in two hours. Why do I need to see his words when I can wait and hear them later?
I guess because it’d be nice to have the encouragement they give me to keep moving. To be myself and what I want.
My phone buzzes, and when I lift it from one of the end tables, the corners of my lips shift upward.
Unknown number:Looking forward to having you drag me around in the heat later.
Me:Ice cream is always an option for afterwards. A treat to help us both cool down.
Unknown number: Pack lots of cloth napkins so we can make sure you don’t leave with too much on your face.
I chuckle.
Me:You mean you want to be seen with me and my cloth napkins.
Unknown number:I want to be seen with you in whatever way I can, and I specifically prefer for others to see me use the ones with the ducks.
Another laugh slips from my lips. This is why I searched for those notes this morning. It’s like he knew I needed them.
