Page 5 of Behind the Masks
“Stalker much?” I huffed, and he rolled his eyes as he grabbed my bicep, pulling me towards a quiet corner.
“You need to stay with Maisie. There’s creeps everywhere tonight, Rose. How drunk are you?” he demanded, grabbing my chin to look in my eyes.
“I’ve had one drink, I’m sober,” I scoffed, grabbing his wrist to pull him off me. “I don’t need babysitting.”
“Anyone could be behind the masks in here tonight.”
“What do you think will happen? I’m in a crowded room with you assholes glaring at me.”
“I don’t know, that’s the problem,” he growled, looking frustrated.
“What are you two doing in a dark corner?” Warren grunted as he appeared beside us, leaning back on the wall as he surveyed the room.
“She’s wandering around alone,” he answered, a light laugh leaving me.
“I went to the bathroom and I’m sober. Jesus, Alec. You’re acting like there’s a mass murderer in here. Excuse me.”
I pushed past him and headed back through the crowd to look for Maisie, finding her with her tongue down the guy’s throat. Her hands were in his hair as they felt each other up, so I decided not to interrupt and grabbed a fresh drink instead.
They’d vanished by the time I got back, and I did a double-take when I noticed someone watching me.
There was a man in all black with a mask on, the red neon lights that were crossed over his eyes casting the rest of the mask in shadows. He was staring at me, I could feel it.
He lifted a hand in a little wave, making me frown as I glanced around the room to try and spot Alec, thinking he was pranking me by trying to prove a point about people being creepy, but I spotted him talking to a group of people across the room, Kaye and Warren with him.
When I looked back at the man, he was gone, a trickle of fear skating down my spine.
Was I imagining things? Had he even been there?
Mind made up, I walked in the direction I’d seen him, scanning the crowded room in the dim light to try and find proof of his existence, but he was nowhere to be seen.
I put my drink down, deciding I’d had enough if I was fucking hallucinating, but then I spotted him again out the window. He was staring again, standing outside in the yard surrounded by people partying, and I quickly walked to the door to look outside.
Again, he’d vanished.
Frustration clawed at my insides as I walked out and wove through the crowd, spotting him once more.
“Hey! Stop!” I called out, but he took off towards the trees, a huff of annoyance leaving me. “This motherfucker.”
I pulled my heels off and followed with them clutched in my hand, checking behind trees as I moved further away from the party.
I winced as a stick snapped under my foot and dug into my skin, suddenly very aware that the only sound around me was the distant music, my own breathing, and crickets.
How long had I been wandering out here?
“Hello? Look, asshole, I don’t know who you think you are, but—” A shriek left me as I turned around and bumped into someone, my eyes lifting to find the masked man looking down at me. “Who the fuck?—”
My voice was cut off as he lifted a finger to where his mouth would be under the mask, the movement only visible due to the neon lights on the mask that covered his whole face.
“Run.” It was the only word he said, fear flickering inside me.
I tried to reach out to grab the mask, but a knife appeared in his hand and I took a step back, a sinister chuckle leaving him.
I spun around and took off, his heavy footsteps thumping behind me and making my heart almost beat straight out of my chest.
Darting past trees, I tried to figure out which way led me back to the party, but it was dark as fuck and I’d come so deep into the woods that even the music seemed to just be all around us in the distance.
I tripped and ran straight into a solid chest, confusing me slightly.
