Page 9 of Pretty Prey

Then something unexpected happens. Annie reaches over from the passenger seat and kisses her on the cheek before hopping out of the moving vehicle. That’s not what shocks me the most. It’s the way my little prey longs for her friend. The way she runs her fingers over the skin Annie's lips just landed on. The way her cheeks flash a crimson shade, and she squirms in her seat, all while keeping one hand on the steering wheel.

Maybe my little prey isn’t as innocent as I thought she was.

How didn’t I see this before?

His Prey

CHAPTER 11

After we finish the parade, we all decide to come to the beach, to get some much needed sun.

“Eww, don’t eat that,” Dove cries out from the picnic blanket where she’s sunbathing next to us.

She finally woke up in the middle of the parade and said she watched it from our site as she drank her morning coffee and Baileys.

“Why can’t I eat this?” Shay pushes a slice of steak in her mouth.

“It's murder. You’re a murderer,” Dove cries out for probably the millionth time since I’ve known her.

She’s a vegetarian and has been since she was three and found out her chicken nuggets, she loved, came from her pet chickens her parents raised.

“Fight nice children,” Annie quips back as her nose is buried in a different book than she had this morning.

Willow rolls her eyes at the whole ordeal, as if she can’t be bothered by the same conversation. She’s nose deep in her phone, probably doing something for her internship.

“Just eat your trail mix and be quiet,” Shay gets up off her blanket and stomps away towards the water.

“I got her.” Willow darts up and runs after Shay, leaving the three of us there to soak up the awkward silence and sun.

That familiar feeling of being watched returns, sending goosebumps from head to toe, spreading rapidly over my body. My heart races as I glance around at everyone as they celebrate the holiday in their own ways. None of them seem to be looking over here or paying attention to us three at all.Why can’t I stop thinking someone is lurking in the shadows tracking my movements like I’m prey, and they’re a predator.

“I’m going for a swim,” Dove sprints off towards the water in her little yellow and white polka-dot bikini.

Annie puts her book down onto her blanket, then shifts to face me as I lay next to her. She gives me a skeptical look as she props her head up on her elbow, her long brown hair flowing down her back. With the sun beating down, I can spot the hints of cherry red that layer through her strands.

“What are you staring at?” She says, her cheeks flush red and not from the overhead sun.

I tuck stray hairs behind her ear with a wink.

“The most beautiful girl here.” She gasps loudly, drawing the attention of an elderly couple sunbathing next to us in lounge chairs. They smile and automatically return to paying no mind to us. “We should go back to the site.”

“Why?”

She looks over her shoulder, probably wondering if there’s a reason. The reason is I want to get her alone, all to myself for a little while. Tonight, there are a bunch of group activities they all want to do, so there’s no chance the two of us will spend time together then.

My mind races for some reason that will convince her to go with me and leave Dove alone.

“I need your help with my essay,” I don’t really because I got a good amount done last night, but she doesn’t know that yet. “Please, I could really use your big brain.”

Annie was an honor student who poured everything she had into getting good grades so she could get good scholarships for college. She has an end goal: make it through this summer, leave for college, and never look back. That’s probably one of the many reasons she won’t take whatever this is between us farther. She needs distance, this way the heartbreak when she leaves won’t be nearly as bad. But there’s a flawed logic in her reasoning, and no matter how or when she leaves, my heart will shatter and never be the same again.

I love her and always will.

Her Shadow

CHAPTER 12

Iwas so blind. I don’t know how I didn’t see this before. Annie heats up under my little prey’s gaze but doesn’t reciprocate the sign of affection when Scarlett tucks stray hair behind her ear. It’s clear to anyone watching that the two have feelings for each other, but they only show it when they think no one is watching. Well, newsflash ladies, I’m going to be watching from here on out more closely than ever before. They won’t be able to hide from me, not anymore.