Page 144 of Trick or Stalk

I stare at them from beneath the trees.

My pulse still hasn’t slowed. Neither has my breathing.

I should leave.

Presley knows someone is watching her now.

There’s no explaining me away as an animal moving through the woods.

No blaming shadows. The wind. Tree branches. An overactive imagination.

She saw me. Really saw me.

And she was fucking terrified.

A slow smile pulls at my mouth beneath the mask.

Jesus Christ.

I liked it.

More than liked it.

The moment she saw me, her entire body froze.

Then she screamed.

Even from where I stood, I saw the panic in her movements.

The way she grabbed Penny.

The way she backed away from the window.

The way she closed her eyes as though opening them again would somehow make me disappear.

But she kept looking.

That’s the part that gets me.

She could’ve run.

Could’ve dropped to the floor.

Could’ve closed the curtains immediately.

Instead, Presley just stared at me like she needed to make sure I was real.

As though she needed to know if I was there.

Something dark inside me fucking thrives on that.

I reach up and pull the mask off.

Cold air hits my damp skin.

I look down at the distorted white face in my hand.

Maybe I should be disturbed by how much I enjoyed frightening her.