Page 170 of Tell No Lies

I went to my classes as normal, each day feeling better than the one before. If he was watching, I wanted them to know that they couldn’t get to me. I was going to outsmart a stalker. I would go through my daily routine as I always had, but this time I was going to be aware.

The next time I received pictures or notes, maybe I could figure out whether the stalker was on the school campus, but that would mean it was somebody I knew, probably one of my classmates. That thought was almost enough for me to crumble and give up, but I wouldn’t.

Brandon might be the computer genius, but I was smart too. I made a plan last night. I was going to trace my patterns and see where I was vulnerable. Although, knowing when I slept he’d been able to get to me wasn’t a comfortable place to start.

I asked the guys to install a different alarm, but they already started work on a new security system for the house. The guards for the buildings had been notified, and we were taking extra precautions to track who was going to the apartment.

I felt like we were a step ahead, finally. It was easier to act as if I was being normal and to fake that this wasn’t really happening. If I was pretending to live my normal life, this could be like a movie, and it was easier to pretend than face the truth—the truth that, even though Morgan might be locked up, there was someone else. Someone else wanted to get to me and hurt me, but this time I wasn’t alone.

I had Brandon and Carter and Mckayla and Talia and Alexis and, if it got worse, everyone from the football team, rugby team, and basketball team. Despite the breakup and Mike not speaking to me, the rest of them hadn’t backed off. Most of them were aware to some degree of what had been happening since Mike had told them, and they’d seen my car in the parking lot. They didn’t feel right leaving me alone until we caught whoever was behind all of this.

The only place the boys couldn’t go to was my dance studio because of their own schedules. Cassie would drive with me whenever she could, and it helped knowing she had my back. I never saw anything out of the ordinary at the studio, but it was still a challenge to focus on what teachers and coaches were saying when I had the urge to check the room windows every few seconds to see if anyone was watching. They probably knew something was wrong, but never pressed for information.

The dance studio had always been my sanctuary, my safe place, and I didn't want to lose that. I couldn’t.

I had even convinced Brandon to let me stay later Thursday night so I could practice my solos. I wasn’t going to let the drama going on in my life affect my dancing, and I promised him someone would be with me until I locked up. He felt comfortable with it as long as I had my phone near me.

We hadn’t received any notes or pictures lately. Things seemed to have quieted down on that front. I didn’t want to get into a false sense of security, but I thought that maybe the detectives were right: maybe this had just been a sick joke.

As I ended my practice on Thursday, one of the teachers waved to me through the window and signaled that she was locking up and leaving.

I sat on the floor and began stretching to cool down. A few minutes later, I was done and packed up my bag. I walked to the front of the room and turned off the music just before I went to turn off the lights.

Suddenly, the lights in the hallway flicked off, but no one else was here. I grabbed my phone and my pepper spray.

Silently, I stepped into the hall with one hand on my phone. I pressed on the icon to call Brandon. Maybe I was freaking myself out. Maybe the lights were on a timer and not set to turn off for another hour.

I took a few steps farther when something dropped from the ceiling. I stared at photographs as they fell to the ground. They were of me at school, at home, at the studio … Some looked like they had been taken tonight.

How did these get here? Who was doing this? The studio was locked up. How did anyone get inside without me noticing?

I could hear Brandon’s voice yelling at me from my phone. Slowly, I lifted it to my ear. “Brandon, I think someone is here.”

I heard him curse. “Aubrey, where are you? I want you to get to your car as fast as you can!”

“I’m in the hallway. I’m just leaving the studio now. Someone turned the lights off, and there are these pictures of me on the ground. Brandon, I don’t know what to do.”

“Keep calm, Aubrey. Just get to your car. I’m going to stay on the line with you.” There was silence for a few beats. “I just texted Carter, so he knows where you are. He’s hurrying.”

The hair on the back of my neck sprang up. I spun around, coming face to face with a masked man. I had nowhere to run and no one to help me. I was stuck. My phone and the pepper spray, my only weapon, slid into the darkness.

“Hi, Aubrey. Did you miss me?”

This couldn’t be happening. The need to get away from him took over. I stepped back, shaking my head. My back hit the wall.

He took another step forward as I told myself to fight. One kick to his knee caught him off guard. He fell forward at me, but I dodged to the right and ran.

I heard his pounding steps following me. Ten steps from the door, my foot was pulled out from under me. I crashed to the floor and felt him move on top of me.

Thrashing out, I made contact. Warm liquid gushed onto my hands. Feeling his pause, I pounced to my feet. Limping over him to the door, I prayed I would make it.

All I could hear was the sound of my own breathing.

I gripped the doorframe for a second before pulling on the handle. It was locked.

Before I could blink, I was being thrown to the ground again. My head made contact first, then my shoulder, which let out an alarming pop. Pain swept over my body, paralyzing me.

“You should have listened to me.” I didn’t know what he meant, but I didn’t have a moment to consider it before another blow came to my temple. “You ruined everything. Now it’s my turn.”