Page 20 of Stalked

Yes, Lily believed in witchcraft, but not like this. She used herbs and crystals, not hocus pocus bullshit.

I tried to ignore that I had been feelingsomethinggoing on in my hands these last few months. It was a different sensation than that of my panic attacks. It was not numb and cold; it was warm and felt like energy waiting to be released from the surface of my skin.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lily asked. “How could you keep the fact someone had been stalking you? Mercy, I could have helped you!”

“How?” I asked. “How could you have helped me?”

Lily pulled one of my throw pillows up against her chest and bore her eyes into mine. I could see the fear she tried to mask under her anger.

“You’re not to be alone, understand?” she said instead. “I’ll find someone to run the café this week.” Lily placed the pillow beside her and stood on her feet, reaching out to take my hand.

“I’ll be alright, Lily. You don’t have to change your entire schedule for me,” I said. “If anything, I can sleep at Shannon’s or Riley’s while you’re working.”

“Are you kidding me? You might have been living alone these last few years, but it’s my job to protect you.” She sucked in a heavy breath, and I could tell it was helping her calm her nerves. “Listen, Mercy. Whoever this creep is, the police will find him.”

I nodded, but I knew the truth. Most stalkers go undetected until the day the girl goes missing, and she becomes one more unsolved mystery.

“I’ll open the shop at ten, but plan to be up at eight, just in case the officers have more questions about what happened.”

I gave her a weak smile. “Alright. We should both try to get some rest if we can.”

Lily squeezed my hand and turned on her heel, leaving me alone in my room with my thoughts.

I plugged my phone into the charger, set it on my nightstand, and pulled out my nightgown from my drawer.

AfterI pulled off my clothes, I tossed them into the hamper in the corner of my room. God, I smelled terrible after today—a much-needed shower was in order.

Entering the bathroom, I reached up to unclasp my necklace, but froze at seeing myself in the mirror. That couldn’t be me. There was no way I got away unscathed from everything that’s happened this past week, but looking at myself, I must have. Some twigs and smudged dirt covered my skin, but that was it. My skin looked flawless.

I turned around to view my backside, and still nothing, just as I had seen at the hospital. There wasn’t a scrape or gash to show I’d been hurt. Nothing—not even scrapes when I fell in the forest by the parking lot.

After rubbing my eyes, I leaned forward.

“That isn’t possible,” I said aloud, still not believing what I saw in the mirror. “How the hell is that possible?”

“In normal circumstances, it isn’t,” a familiar voice calmly spoke from behind me.

I screeched and jumped back, banging my back against the towel rack.

“Easy,” Caleb calmly spoke. “It’s just magic, Mercy.Yourmagic.”

I winced at the stabbing pain from the metal edge of the rack, but kept my eyes locked on his. It washim, standing in my bathroom doorway. I quickly covered my bare breasts, standing there in all my nakedness. My stalker sized me up, taking in my figure with an overconfident smile painted over his lips.

Fucking asshole!

Grabbing the towel next to me, I quickly covered up my chest.

“Lily!” I winced at my own scream, my ears ringing from the noise.

“You can scream until your face turns red, Mercy. She won’t be able to hear you,” he said, his gaze turning up to meet my eyes. “I put a shield around your room to ensure that doesn’t happen.” His face was unreadable. Caleb simply pressed his lips together, watching me frozen in complete horror.

Why is he doing this?

“A shield?” I gasped. “What are you talking about, you psycho?!”

I backed up a foot closer to the shower and swiftly looked around for anything I could use as a weapon. I spotted the soap dispenser, gripping it tightly in my hand before I threw it toward his head, but he shifted to the side, letting it land on the floor behind him.

He drew in a breath. “Really, Mercy?”

---