Page 81 of Tell No Lies

“You’ll never hurt her or pressure her or be anything less than a perfect gentleman?”

“Yes, Brandon.”

Brandon sighed and nodded. “Okay. I’m trusting you with the most important thing in my life. Do you understand?”

Carter nodded.

“If I see even one tear from her that was caused by you, I will kill you.”

“I know, but you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Maybe, but I want us to be clear.”

Carter nodded once more and finally looked over to me. “Are you okay with that?”

“Yes.” I rushed to Brandon and flung my arms tightly around him. “Thank you.”

He squeezed me back and kissed my hair. “I love you, Aubrey. I will do everything I can to protect you, always.”

“I love you too.”

I wanted to live in this moment for as long as possible. Things were perfect, but I knew better than to believe it could last.

Twenty-Five

My days found a new routine of normal. The girls were all excited to hear that things had gone well with Carter, and that we survived the wrath of Brandon. I still tried to talk to Mike at school, but he ignored me in class and avoided me when he could.

I hadn’t received a note recently, which had me on edge. Did my stalker know about me and Carter? Were they still watching me right now? I wanted him to know that they were not winning. I wasn’t going to let this break me.

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.