Hypothetically, if your friend had found the hidden cameras her ‘not boyfriend’ hid in her house. And also hypothetically had she smashed them before he appeared to get revenge for it. Totally not a true scenario said friend isn’t currently being fucked senseless in her bedroom by said no boyfriend as a punishment.Would you intervene? No? Me neither.
Which is why I am currently standing right on the other side of her door, contemplating if she is actually enjoying it or whether I might need to figure out how to help her hide his dead body afterwards. As I am trying to decide, a loud knock comes from downstairs, and I am forced to go and open her door because apparently now I am also a butler in addition to being her best friend. Have friends they say. It will be fun, they say. Until you have to open the door for their date when another guy is fucking them. That will be fun. I take a deep breath before I open the door.
“Hey Alex.” I greet the poor fool who thought taking her out on a date would be a good idea. It’s about to be a very bad one. This guy is standing here playing the act of being a nice guy. Taking her out on a date and all that, when he clearly met Kai yesterday who introduced himself as her boyfriend. I might be overthinking it but this guy gives me a creepy feeling. He doesn’t seem like a better option than Kai and that alone should say alot. Because Kai is clearly unhinged and he should be in a mental hospital.
“Hey. Noah, is it?” He confirms my name as if he doesn’t know it. He does. We have been introduced three times already, but who’s counting. Like I said, this guy is a little too weird for my liking.
I force myself to nod. Because as much as I would like to be polite and nice to this man, I truly don’t have the patience for pretend politeness. “Rachel will come down in a minute.” I say instead, but he ignores me and pushes past me. It’s not a lie. She is going to come, if I judge from the sounds I was hearing, standing behind her door.
“Is she still getting ready?” He questions as he looks around the house, inspecting it as if I am hiding the damn woman from him. Sure, sir, I have decided to sabotage your date by hiding her.
“Yes, she is upstairs in her bedroom. Poor girl was a nervous mess, trying to figure out what to wear. She wanted to impress you so badly that she changed at least five times before you knocked on the door, and I had to come down here to open it for you.” I lie, because Rachel’s problem wasn’t what would impress Alex, but what would make Kai mad with jealousy. With how loud she was moaning just moments ago, I will bet that it definitely worked. Kai was furious when he broke into the house, when he entered the house using his key. A key he made without telling her. I would be concerned, but at this point, I think we’ve adopted this guy and we need to come to terms with the fact he isn’t going anywhere.
Alex ignores me completely and heads for Rachel’s bedroom. It’s kind of concerning that he knows where it’s located to begin with but it’s not my problem. At least that’s what I am going to say to myself so I don’t have a stroke trying to protect the little psycho I call my best friend from her own dumb choices.Still, I do run after him, because I might be trying to ignore the situations she gets in, but that doesn’t mean I will let her get hurt. I am a good friend after all. I will protect her, or at least witness her being murdered. It will save the cops sometime from solving the case.
“Maybe we should wait downstairs.” I say as he knocks on her bedroom door. Before I can say anything else, the door opens, and Rachel steps out clearly, by force. Kai shoves her onto Alex in a way that he still shields himself behind the door. Rachel's hands fall on Alex’s chest and she smiles as if it was totally an accident. She was just heading out, clearly, and stepped right in front of him. She was totally not shoved into his arms by her boyfriend. Yes, the very same boyfriend she claims it’s not her boyfriend.Jesus Christ.
“He insisted on coming upstairs. I tried to stop him.” I say, throwing both hands in the air, in a surrender-type protest. I could have tried harder, but still, I did try.
“It’s fine.” She barks under her breath, and we both know it’s far from fine. She is not mad with me, though; that much is clear. She is furious with the man hiding in her bedroom, and with a good reason.
“What do you want me to do with...” I start, but cut my sentence before I say too much.
“With the cat?” She questions, with a tone that is more of a threat than a question.
“Yes. The cat.” I repeat the excuse. The stray blue-coated cat that keeps creeping into the house like an unwanted parasite.
“He will find his way out; don’t worry.” She smiles at Alex. “Should we leave?”
“Yes, we should. I have made reservations in an Italian restaurant. I think you will like.” Rachel hates fancy restaurants. She likes more casual dates. He could have planned anything else, and she would be happy, but taking this woman in a fancyrestaurant is one way to not get a second date. This man is completely in his own little world. Not to mention, he is totally ignorant of the situation, but who am I to tell this man he is being played? Especially when my best friend is the one playing him. I am a girl’s girl. I am with her no matter what. Ride or die bitch. I will take her secrets to my grave, or hers whatever comes first the way she is going lately.
I follow the happy couple on their way to their first date as they go down the stairs and out of the front door, making sure to leave the door unlocked so Kai can get the fuck off when the coast is clear. In case Rachel took his key.This is a fucking mess.
Chapter 7
Leo
When I return from my morning run, the apartment is empty; Kai is nowhere to be found, and the TV is broken, along with what used to be our glass living room table. I left the apartment right after Kai watched Rachel discover the security system he installed in her house, or, to be more accurate, right as Rachel was taking down said security system with a sledgehammer. I guess he didn’t take it well, judging from the state of our living room. What did he expect? A thank-you note? Talk about delusion. This man needs therapy the way humans need water. It’s needed for his survival. At this rate, he will soon get his ass locked up in a cell, and I will have to figure out how to support the bar on my own.
I am about to pull up his contact on my phone and call him when a text arrives instead.
Problem#1: Hey, Handsome. You should use the shared location app to track my other phone. I planted it on Noah. You are welcome.
I read the message twice because what the hell? I type a response. What he means ‘you are welcome’ who would thank him for that? Who would track someone without their consent? I take a deep breath and type a response while thinking every possible scenario of this situation going south, which is every possible scenario in general. I can’t think of one possibility of this ending in a good way. Kai’s impulsive ass will be the reasonof my death before I even reach thirty. They will roll my ass to the morgue with a note ‘Kai is responsible’.
Me: Did I ask for Noah’s location, and I don’t remember it? What the hell happened while I was on a run?
It’s official. Kai has lost it. Apparently it’s not enough he has gone full stalker mode on Rachel; he needs me to follow his footsteps. He is like a disturbed psychotic Yoda.I am not doing it Kai. I am not going to become part of the problem. I am not a fucking stalker. I am a good man. I respect people.
Problem#1: Everything is good, don’t you worry about it. Have fun stalking Noah. I have a dinner date to attend.
He sure doesn’t mean Rachel’s dinner date, right? Rachel apparently thought it was a good idea to go on a date with a guy. Something she arranged in front of the hidden cameras in her kitchen right after she figured out their existence. Honestly, at this point, I am convinced this woman is my friend’s other half. A female version of his unhinged self. In a moment of delusion, I choose to believe that’s not what he's talking about because I am not going to be an accomplice to his stupid plan. I refuse. I remove my running shoes and shed my clothes as I walk to my bathroom. I turn the shower on and hop in. I let the hot stream of water relax my body as I contemplate the information I received. I am obviously not going to use the app to track Noah. I am not like Kai. I don’t stalk people.
“I am not going to stalk Noah; that’s not me. I am not a stalker.” I say it to nobody but myself loud enough in hopes the words creep into my subconscious. Kai is the stalker in our friendship. I would never do something like that. Stalking is wrong. It’s a crime. I don’t do crimes, anymore. I am a law-abiding citizen. I won’t fall into Kai’s trap because he wantscompany in his delusion. I am not dropping to his level of insanity.
“I am not a stalker.” I say louder as I finish my shower and step out. I wrap a towel around myself and head for my bedroom.
“I am not a stalker.” I repeat as I put on my boxers, pants, and a t-shirt. “Not a damn stalker.” I put on my shoes and tie the laces. “This is not me.” I repeat each sentence, sounding more ridiculous than the previous one. I don’t even believe myself.What happened to me? How did I become this person? Am I actually considering this? No. No, I am not. I am not going to stalk him.
