Page 13 of Twisted Obsession

Thank God that’s over.

The people around me are quiet. A guy four rows back has been yelling jeers at the Guardians for most of the game, although even he eventually stopped as the clock ticked down. I don’t know what it means, their loss. All I know is that they’re in the playoffs. Thomas tried to explain it to me.

It’s just another forgotten thing.

My hands are shaking. It seems worse than the other game I went to, because this time I watched Jacob act like a violent beast. Something in me doesn’t like that. Doesn’t want anything to do with the manic glee I saw in his eyes as he side-checked another player, or when he smiled with bloodstained teeth. There was no missing that.

I follow the crowd up the steps and down the hallway, sort of a mindless shuffle all the way to the exit. It isn’t until I’ve made it to the end of the street that I recall Jacob telling me to stay in my seat.

This behavior seems so bold for me. For two months, I’ve lived with Thomas and Natalie and tried to piece my mind back together. After nothing, of course I latched on to something crazy.

But maybe Jacob Rhodes is just that—crazy. Maybe he’s taking advantage of someone he only knew for a brief span of time, preying on my lack of memory?

I touch the scar on my throat. It’s low enough to go unnoticed by most, and Thomas’s wife bought me creams and ointments to rub into it in an effort to get it to fade. I do it, although I’m not ashamed of the scar. It’s proof that someone wanted me dead.

Sorry, I don’t think hockey is for me.

I’ve come a long way since I woke up in that hospital bed. Tried a thousand new things, even if nine hundred of them didn’t stick. I don’t think I ever watched Jacob play hockey. Before, I mean. It doesn’t feel familiar, like when I finally found the perfect combination of cream and sugar in my coffee.

Jacob

It never was.

Something deep in my chest flutters.

Then why make me go?

Jacob

Because I wanted you to.

Where are you?

I suck my lower lip between my teeth.

Heading for the train

Jacob

You didn’t wait for me?

I thought I was going to pass out.

His little typing dots emerge, then disappear. I lean against the wall of a building and touch the back of my hand to my cheek. I’m still shaky, the adrenaline overwhelming my system.

Finally, my phone chimes with his response.

Jacob

Well, you shouldn’t travel alone. Let me.

I stare at the words. At his… offer?

I’m already halfway there, so…

Jacob

I’m already walking toward you. Stay where you are.

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