Page 234 of The Night Shift
“Jesus, Hol,” she says with a laugh. “You look like you’re going to throw up. Want some water?”
I glare at her through the blur of my tears. “Wh-what are you getting from all this? You were the one stalking me from the start?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You’re really stupid for a doctor. No. It wasn’t me from the beginning. It was some guy called Sid.”
I blink. Hard.
My head spins. “That’s not possible. I…we met him. He didn’t even know I lived here.”
“Yeah, babe. Because he was a good liar. Took me a minute to piece it together. After you told me about Nate, I figured — great. It’s done. Your stalker’s dead. And then I thought…oh fuck.You’re gonna stop needing me now. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to keep you close, Hol. For your own good. I had to come up with something fast, before you slipped away. So I staged the break-in. Bashed my own face into the mirror, wrote that cute little message on the wall, all for you. And then you justleft. Went off to that stupid wedding like I didn’t even exist. Like I wasn’t the only one who’s ever really loved you. Real bitch move, by the way, considering I’m supposed to be your best fucking friend.”
My stomach churns.
Cami keeps going.
“So I swung by your place the next day to plant a few cameras. Bedroom, shower, the essentials. That’s when I saw him. Sid. He was already inside. In your room. Took ten minutes and a steak knife to his throat before he confessed. Something about getting revenge for his sister? Said she was dead because of you. I was like, yeah right, Holly doesn’t kill women. But then again, I also thought you didn’t fuck your stalkers.” She leans closer, her eyes wide and thrilled. “Maybe I didn’t know you as well as I thought.”
My brain shuts down. Everything she’s saying feels like it’s being broadcast from another planet.
“He was going to kill you, Hol. He was going to kill you and frame Nate for your murder. Two birds with one stone and all that. Poor thing didn’t know that Nate was already dead. His plan obviously sucked.” Cami laughs. “So, I killed him. Took his phone. Took his place.”
“You killed Sid?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” I choke, barely audible. Because as twisted as this whole story about Sid sounds, I have no way of knowing if any of it’s true. And I never will.
“Because she’s fucking psychotic,” Theo snarls.
Cami’s head snaps to him. She crosses the room, yanks a scalpel from her pocket, and slices his cheek open. Theo hisses, his head jerking, blood streaming down his jaw.
“Stop! Cami, please —” I’m full-on sobbing now. “Why? What do you want from me?! Why are you telling me all thisnow?!”
Cami smears his blood across his face with her fingers. “Because he almost figured it out. The capital letters. The slang. He’s smarter than he looks, huh?”
Theo’s laugh is low and broken. He lifts his head just enough to meet her eyes, that ever-present glint of arrogance gleaming beneath the pain.
“Well, Iama genius.” He spits red to the floor. “Maybe next time, I can ask one of the kids in the pediatric ward to teach you how to work on your typos, yeah?”
Cami’s face darkens.
Theo keeps smiling with blood on his teeth.
She backhands him. His head snaps to the side. Blood beads and drips from the corner of his mouth, sliding down the line of his jaw. He doesn’t make a sound.
“Cami,” I say, and it comes out strangled. “I’ll listen to you. I’ll hear everything you have to say. But I swear to God, if you touch him again —”
“You’ll hurt me?”
“I’ll fucking kill you.”
Her mouth curls. “Oooh,” she purrs. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt him again. You are.”
My wrists are still tied. My heart is breaking. I can’t think fast enough, can’t process anything except the way her hand wraps around the back of my chair and dragsme across the concrete floor. The legs scrape. My knees knock against the side of Theo’s thigh. His heat is like a jolt straight to my spine.
Theo turns his head slowly, blood streaking down his cheek. Our eyes lock.
“I’m gonna get you out of here,” I whisper, leaning forward like I can somehow touch him. My forehead barely grazes his arm. I want to scream.
