“What the hell, Kai?” Rachel shouts, and from her reaction I can tell she did not, in fact, tell Kai about my book. She types frantically on her phone, mumbling to herself something about murdering the man, and right now I might agree with her.How the hell did Leo know about my book? Are they stalking us?
A few texts between them later and a very awkward phone call followed by silence, Rachel finally speaks. “Kai says he told Leo about the book when he was here earlier. He saw it on the living room table.” I don’t tell her he is lying, even though he is.
Because it’s not possible for Kai to have seen my book earlier since this particular book was with me at work, but I decide not to say anything. Rachel sinks back into her armchair and picks up her book. She starts reading while I quietly check the room with my eyes for cameras. Kai has definitely done something stupid. Blame the dark romance books I love so much, or my natural tendency not to trust people. Hell, blame the true crime documentaries I like to binge-watch. This man is stalking us. There’s no other explanation. I choose not to alert my friend as I calmly try to spot the cameras, because she won’t react in such a polite way and call me crazy, but I would love to see how this is going to play out.
Finally, after a careful eye scan of the room while pretending I am totally not checking the space for stalking equipment, I spot two cameras hiding in plain sight. I look up and smirk. Cheeky boys, stalking us while we read. That’s cute. I pick up my phone and type a reply to Leo.
Me: So, Kai saw my book while he was here earlier.
I lay the bait and Leo bites it so fast like a fish with dementia who accidentally forgot to protect itself.
Leo: Yes, that’s totally how I know about the cover. I read sometimes. He snapped a picture and sent it to me.
Me: Interesting can I see the picture? I am curious how the book photographed.
Leo: I didn’t keep it and Kai is still at the bar.
So, Kai is still at the bar, huh? Let’s see how far this man is going to go to cover his first lie.
“Rachel, where’s Kai?” I ask Rachel, who’s too deep in her book to realize I am even still here. “Rach.”I say again firmly, snapping my fingers in the air to get her attention. “Rachel wake up.” She looks at me in confusion. “Kai.” I repeat the name again, and it clicks as she tilts her head to the side, still confused as a pit bull puppy that hasn’t had its chance with the collectively shared brain cell yet. “Where is he?” I repeat my question.
“At his place with Leo.” She replies finally and I type another message.
Me: At least we know you can lie. Goodnight Leo.
I rest my phone, screen down, onto the couch and pick up my book again and my wine glass. I take a long sip before I start reading again. Smiling to myself, because you have to admit, having a man like Leo stalk you is kind of hot.
Leo
Fuck me! We are fucked. He knows. Definitely knows. It’s clear he knows Kai is stalking Rachel. Well I am also stalking Rachel... and Noah... I am an accomplice at this point.Fuck!I knew Kai and his stupid decisions will land us back in legal trouble at some point I just didn’t think I would be included in the crime. God, this is bad. Who am I? Stalking is wrong. So wrong. I should not be stalking a guy. I am not even interested in him. He is not my type!
“I think Noah knows.” I say as I take a sip from my beer while looking at the TV, totally not stalking the guy, just watching him read like the creep I am. Empty boxes of Chinese takeout are on our living-room table, and the TV displays the feed from the cameras in Rachel’s living room in a movie-screening style.
I am totally against this, obviously, but somehow in Kai’s stupid plan to stalk Rachel I got roped in and now I am also a stalker. I am not sure how I feel about it. I guess it could be worse. I could be a murderer, oh wait... I am one. But that’s not important. The important part is that I have become as insane as Kai. Who the hell stalks a man who he just met? Not to mention he is not my type. Did I say he is not my type? Well he isn’t.
“What do you mean Noah knows?” Kai questions and I show him the messages. He reads them briefly but he doesn’t seem concerned. He doesn’t seem concerned at all. He is definitely not registering how bad this is for him.For us. For everyone.We could go to prison. He could get another restraining order on his name, this time from Rachel. I might even be included this time, or get a matching one from Noah.
She could report the fact that he broke into her house to the cops. I am sure someone saw him. It was bright daylight, and at least he should have waited until dark. He should be more careful.What the hell am I even thinking?As if ‘being careful’ is the problem here, not the fact that we are stalking innocent people who did not consent to be stalked. Did she consent to be stalked? Maybe she did? But from the phone call they just had minutes ago, I would say with confidence she didn’t. Can you even consent to being stalked? Is this a thing? It could be. Some people have weird kinks.
“Maybe he is baiting you. If he knew, I am sure the little criminal would probably have taken the cameras down by now.” He points out. It’s not a bad a logic. I am sure this woman would react somehow if she knew. No reaction means she doesn’t know. Not knowing is a good thing.
“Yeah, or she would have tried to kill your ass.” I say as I put my phone down and push the volume up button on the remote. They are not mentioning any cameras, and the conversation between them is strictly about the books they are reading. It’s probably safe to assume Kai is right. Noah was baiting me. Maybe he was suspicious, but he can’t know for a fact.He doesn’t know I lied.How could he? I am overthinking this. My therapist has said multiple times that I have the tendency to overthink. I am sure that’s it.
I pick up my phone and type another message.
Me: Let me prove to you I am not a liar. How about I take you out on a date? I will show you the picture then.
I lie, because I don’t have a picture. Kai doesn’t have a picture and I am definitely a bad liar. I wait for his response, hoping he will focus on the date portion of the message and not the providing-facts portion. I watch him read the message. And then I watch him ignore the message.
Twenty minutes pass, and still no response.Fuck. Why do I even care? It’s not like I am truly interested in this guy. I don’t do relationships. I don’t get attached. Especially with strangers who aren’t even my type. For fuck’s sake, Kai’s personality is starting to rub off on me. I need to get some space, find new friends, move to an island in Greece and start fresh, dipped in Greek pussy while getting a tan under the Mediterranean sun. I should be enjoying some good weather with a drink in my hand, not pining over a guy I met yesterday because his insane friend kidnapped my psychotic friend.I rub my temples with my fingers; a migraine is starting slowly, and honestly, I am not surprised by everything that has happened over the last twenty-four hours. I am surprised I haven’t had a stroke, too.
“Kai, your stupid ideas will get us both in trouble.” I sigh and take a long sip of the last contents of my beer.
“Well, it’s not my fault you decided to join in.” Kai says, with this unbothered tone. The world might end, and Kai will still be this happy dude with blue hair, vibing while roasting marshmallows in the apocalypse.And why would he care?I have always been the one to figure out a solution. He knows I’ll get him out of trouble no matter what, and maybe that’s the problem. Or maybe the problem is that as much as I complain, I am not much different from him. I am also the problem. I could have stopped this at any point; instead, what did I do? I joined in and started stalking a man I’m not interested in. I deserve to be punished for my actions as much as the demon next to me is.
Chapter 6
Noah
