Page 64 of The Addict

“You should thank me, honestly. We wouldn’t want something else to happen to that pretty little face again, would we?”

I shuddered, taking a long look at myself in the mirror. The scratches were beginning to fade, but my eye was still swollen, healing slowly and painfully. I remembered the punch clearly in my mind as I touched the sensitive bruising.

“Heh. How is that eye feeling?”

My skin grew cold and my heart sank into my stomach.

He could see me.

A sudden burst of adrenaline surged through my veins and I tripped over my own feet to get to the window. I ripped the blinds shut. Was he out there? Was that the prickling feeling I felt slither up my spine?

“Are you scared?”

My chest swelled with each breath I took. I searched around once again, the silence screaming at me. I was alone here. There was no one for me to lean on for support. Scared was an understatement.

“A poor, defenseless woman like you? You must be terrified.”

He said he wasn’t coming after me, but there was no way I would ever trust him.

He’s trying to scare you away from Noah, my mind whispered. But why?

“I wonder...are you alone?” A throaty chuckle came from the small speakers.

That’s it.

I grabbed the phone off of its hand set, placing it to my ear.

It was quiet except for the calm breathing on the other end. I knew he was still there. Probably smiling.

“How–” I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. “How did you get this number?”

The line went dead.

Chapter sixteen

On the Line

NOAH

Iexpected a war zone.

However, the halls were eerily still when I turned down the hallway leading to Algebra, which was my first course of the day. There wasn’t even a sound to indicate that there were thousands of students present in the building.

I checked my schedule twice, found the door labeled 45B, and waited. It’s not like I wanted to go inside. Truthfully, I didn’t even want to be here at all, but I didn’t have the energy to argue with Damian’s threats. I sucked in a deep breath and readied myself to open the door. Any longer, and I’d look like an idiot out there, waiting.

I opened the door before I had a chance to change my mind.

And once I did, I instantly regretted my decision.

As soon as the door opened, I was thrown into that same dead quiet, except along with it I received about thirty pairs of eyes that turned in my direction, staring at me. I was frozen in the open doorway, my hand clutched tightly onto the handle. Suddenly, standing outside seemed like the more appealing option.

“Good morning, son. You’re late.”

I turned my eyes away from all of the unknown faces to the voice that came from a man seated in the front of the room.

He rose, crossing the tiled floor to shake my hand. “My name is Professor Rad. Who might you be?”

I swallowed, walking forward and taking the man’s hand for a firm shake before folding up my schedule and placing it in my back pocket, embarrassed that my mom print it out and made me carry it. “Uh, my name is Noah. I’m new here.”