Page 39 of Forget Me Not

“Oh, Tyler!” she gushes. “He’s such a nice boy.”

“Yeah, he is.” I shoot a thumb over my shoulder. “I’m gonna go lie down for a bit. Let me know if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll find you before I leave in a couple hours and you can introduce me to this mystery person.”

Gladys returns to her crocheting. “Okay, dear. You go relax. Rest well.”

Dragging my feet down the hall, my mouth opens and a big yawn comes out. Once I get settled in this town and back on my feet, I need to search for an office job where I can sit all day.

I push open the door to my room, ready to plop down on my bed for a good two hours, but I stop in the doorway, stunned by the sight in front of me.

“What the hell?” I mumble as I cross the room to my shattered window. The whole center is missing and all that’s left are frayed, pointed edges along the trim. I poke my head out and look around the area, but see nothing out of the ordinary.

“Gladys!” I holler as I turn back toward the door, but just as I go to leave, a note on my bed catches my eye. I backstep, picking it up quickly.

Flipping the page open, I read the handwritten message.

You can keep what you stole, but I get you in return.

I gasp at the words in front of me. There’s no signature, nothing else. Just those twelve words.

It takes me less than a second to realize this note is from Alaric. It has to be. I haven’t duped, conned, or slept with any men in this town. I haven’t been using the Siren’s Call app. I barely know anyone. The only person I’ve stolen from who knows where I am is Alaric.

Pinching the note between my fingers, I sit down on the bed, reading it over and over again as the masked man from last night comes to mind.

I knew I wasn’t losing it. That man was definitely watching me, and this note along with the broken window proves that Alaric hasn’t left town.

He’s still very much here. And he’s after me.

ChapterFourteen

RHEA

I toldGladys about the window and she was very understanding. She called the hardware store and was able to get the owner’s son to come out and put some plastic over the broken glass. A replacement should be delivered in a couple days. According to Gladys, this is the second time they’ve had to replace a window due to the kids playing football on Main Street. If only I could tell her this definitely wasn’t a case of careless child’s play.

My nap still hasn’t come. I’ve been lying in bed, tossing and turning, for the last hour, but my thoughts are intrusive. It’s obvious what needs to be done—I have to leave Lockhaven.

I grab my phone with a sigh. I was just starting to like this place. Just starting to make friends and settle down. For the first time in forever, I don’t reallywantto leave.

“It’s me,” I say to Dex when he picks up after the third ring.

“Long time no talk. How ya doing, Doll?”

“You were right,” I say, tone loaded with remorse. “A small town was a bad choice.”

Dex sighs. “Damn, Rhea. Sorry it didn’t work out. Why don’t you just come to Atlanta? You can have a nice life here.”

“It’s not the town, or the people. It’s me, Dex. I’m broken. I’ll never change.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Doll. You just…don’t know any better.”

“But I do.” I laugh mockingly. “I’m twenty-one years old. I know right from wrong. So why do I continuously make the wrong choices?”

“Well, if you think you’re always making the wrong choices, maybe running again is one of them. Do youhaveto leave?”

I don’t want to tell him what I did. We agreed that if I started new here, I was going to stop the stealing thing. But, I had no choice. I throw my arm over my eyes as I tell him, as if I could hide from the words as they leave my mouth. “I fucked up. I stole from a rich asshole and he’s making threats now. He’s gonna blow me out of the water if I don’t get out of here fast.”

He chuckles dryly. “Sounds to me like you’re giving him the power.”

I scoff. “What the hell am I supposed to do? He’s probably some big name I don’t know about, and I’m just…a nobody.”

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