Page 133 of XO Karma

With a guttural scream, I throw the phone at the wall, and it dents the paint, then falls to the ground with a light thud.

“Whoa, baby, what the hell is going on?” Aster asks, walking into the room. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, placing a hand on my head, trying to rein in the tears from my volcanic level anger.

“Where’s the head?” he asks, and I gesture to the bed, body trembling. Aster’s attention flies to it, face turning to a grimace.

“Is that⁠—”

“Yep.”

“What did you mean, another gift?” he asks, and I sigh. Guess the keeping secrets part of our relationship is officially over.

“I’ve gotten them before… one was before the art auction,” I admit, walking over to my desk. “That’s how I ended up at the Westerfords.”

“What did it say?” Opening the top drawer, I pull out the invitation and hand it to him. “That’s why you were at the party?” I nod. “Why?” I shrug, still so unsure how I fit into all this. “Maybe you being around when Karolyn was murdered wasn’t an accident.”

The caller made it clear to me it wasn’t. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

He flips it around, finding no more clues than I did the day I got it, and tosses it on the desk. “And the head? Did it come with anything?” I gesture to the note lying on the bed, and he snatches it up.

“I assumed it was you since it says XO, A.”

“Well, I would’ve signed it Grim,” he points out, and while the logical part of my brain knows that, it’s still so difficult to untangle what the hell is happening. “Do you recognize the handwriting?”

I shake my head.

“Fuck!” His frustration echoes around the room. “Is there anything else I should know?” I bite my cheek. “Lily?”

It all tumbles out in a single breath. “They sent me a copy of a Goosebumps book for my birthday and gave me Jude’s schedule once, and I’ve gotten a few anonymous calls.”

His face reddens, eyes flickering with anger, and I realize I may have made a massive mistake in keeping these things from him. “That’s who called you last night? The ‘spam’ call?!”

Biting my lower lip, I nod.

“Who is calling you?”

“If I knew, it wouldn’t be anonymous now, would it?”

He releases a calming breath, walking to me, and takes my chin between his fingers. “Usually I love your sassy mouth, but I need you to be real with me for a second. Who do you think it was?”

I press my lips together. “Well, to be honest, for a while I thought it was you.”

“Me?” His head rears back. “Why?”

“Well, you were stalking me,” I say as if it’s obvious. “Being all mysterious and creepy and shit.”

“I like to think it was endearing,” he interjects, and I roll my eyes.

“I got the invite, and then you were at the party.”

“And the other calls?”

I fold my arms over my chest. “You were never around, so it still could’ve been you.”

He blows out a frustrated breath. “So you’ve had another secret psycho stalker, and you didn’t think it was important to let me know?”

“Aww, are you jealous?” I tease with a pout, desperate for a reprieve from this insane situation. “There’s room enough for the both of you.”