Page 80 of When Darkness Calls

“Maybe I do.”

“Good. Then you should know,” she pauses, and I can hear rustling in the background, as if she is moving from where she is.

“I like the monsters. I like the killers. I like the thrill. And above all,” she sighs, “I like to be scared of the man behind the mask.”

All I can think about is the sight of my mask, the bright white, smeared inky black around the eyes, looking back at me through the reflection of her teary hazel eyes, my hard cock pushing between her plush lips, drool spilling from the sides.

I groan, readjusting my dick in my sweats and she giggles like she knows exactly what I’m doing. “I think you like that too, don’t you?”

I chuckle too, deep, throaty. “Maybe I do. A little too much, sweet girl. Do you always like to be scared?”

And she pauses. She’s quiet, and I’m worried I said something wrong.

“No, not always. The kind of fear I like is red hot, burning through your veins, reminding you you’re alive, and that life is vulnerable. The kind of fear you get from trying something crazy or being a little reckless. Living. The fear I get from seeing you, feeling you there.” Dani’s breath hitches, and I can hear the change in her. The teasing, flirty tone shifting into something quiet and timid—anxiety and…terror?

Something happened. Something is happening. I know it.

“What I don’t like is the cold. The bone chilling, icy fear of inevitability. It’s death, or something worse. I’ve experienced it too much. Both times you were there. It’s like giving up, and I don’t want to give up.”

Like a punch to the gut, I stop breathing.

“Have…have you felt that fear outside of those nights?”

She audibly swallows. “Yeah, a lot. When my mom died…”

A sharp pain takes hold of my chest.

I know the feeling, Doll.

“But recently…” she trails off, and instantly my skin itches.

“Dani,” I demand.

“This house. Sometimes it’s like there’s ghosts or demons that haunt this house and they are waiting, watching. A million eyes freezing my blood. And the feeling follows me. At my dad’s house when I would stay there, around town when I’m with my friends, or on campus. It seems much worse on campus. Constantly, there are eyes, so many eyes boring into me. And then,” she sighs.

“This class I am in. The assistant...I went out with him—” she laughs incredulously. “But you probably already knew that.”

“Maybe. But go on. The assistant. What’s his name?”

“Will you hurt him?” she asks me softly.

“Not unless I have a reason to.” Which is true. I never hurt someone just for the sake of causing them pain. It’s either because they aren’t good people and deserve it, or because they have willingly stepped into Bruiser’s ring.

She huffs. “That’s very promising.”

“Will I have a reason to?”

“I…I don’t know. The whole night, I just had a really bad feeling. Like something was trying to tell me something was wrong. Then…it was like he became a completely different person. The way he spoke, the things he said, the way he kept grabbing me. It’s not how he usually acts at all. Everything felt layered…like there was a different meaning behind his words. I was uncomfortable and anxious.”

My stomach twists. I know what she’s saying without ever needing the words.

She swallows hard. “The eyes were everywhere. That cold, million eyed stare boring into the back of my head. Like I was floating aimlessly in an icy river. But then I ran into my brother’s friends and it was gone…and so was he. I don’t know what could have or would have happened. Frankly, I don’t want to. But he didn’t actually do anything.”

I don’t know what to say.

“Tell me his name, Dani.” Not like she needs to. I already know, but for her sake, and also mine.

“His name is Ethan,” she mutters.