Page 62 of Make No Mistake

Sixteen

Days passed without a new attack.

I wanted to credit the blog, but I knew there was more to it than that. Maybe the attacker had moved on. Maybe he knew the police were close so he took off. I didn’t care what the reason was, I was just thankful no one else had been hurt.

Nothing had happened at my apartment either. Jay stayed over that night to keep watch, but other than scaring Aubrey when she got home, it was uneventful.

Maybe it was a figment of my imagination, but I knew I couldn’t forget it. Aubrey and I had been meticulous about locking the door, so hopefully it was just a confused kid that walked into the wrong apartment.

The one thing I knew for sure was that I needed to relax, and I knew the perfect way to do it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Austin, it’s Mac. From the …”

“Hey, Mac. How’s it going?” I let out the breath I’d been holding. He remembered me.

“I’m okay, how are you?”

“Well, you never called me, so I guess our friendship didn’t mean as much to you as it did to me.”

I could hear the laughter in his voice.

“Sorry, things have been … intense lately.”

“I completely understand. Senior year was tough.”

“Exactly. That’s actually why I was calling.”

“You need help with homework? I’m flattered. I mean, it’s been a few years, but I’m sure I can remember most of it.”

“You were a business major.”

“Yeah, so?”

“I’m journalism.”

“Eh, it’s all the same once you’re out in the real world.”

I couldn’t really argue that.

“So if it’s not homework problems, what can I do for you?”

“I was just wondering if you’ve checked the surf recently.”

There was a pause. “As a matter of fact, I have.”

“And it really can’t be ignored.”

“Six footers in this area are something that should be celebrated.”

“Can you take a lunch break?”

“My board’s in my truck. I’ll meet you at the same spot in thirty?”

“Perfect.”

We hung up, and I hurried to change into a bikini and grabbed a towel on my way out the door. I could catch up on homework and my newspaper assignments later.