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Chapter Twenty
Phoenix
I’m walking an extremely dangerous path. After last night’s kiss, I couldn’t think of anything else but Stryker’s lips on mine. It was nothing but raw passion and desire. I was beginning to see that what Stryker and I started wasn’t likely to burn out fast. This thing going on between us is going to be a slow burn. I wanted nothing more than to do it over and over and over again. It was nothing less than toe-curling, leaving me wanton and longing for more.
I floated through this morning’s classes with our bathroom encounter replaying on loop in my head most of the day. What did it mean? Had it meant the same for him as it did for me? See what I mean when I said I was in trouble here?
Sitting in the booth at the diner across from the studio, my friends and I are grabbing some food before we head to the cinemas for the night.
“So, you excited for tonight, Phe?” Jonah asks as he swipes some fries from my plate.
“Kinda, yeah. I mean, we have these types of things back in Australia,” I roll my eyes playfully. The truth is, I was looking forward to going tonight. I need a night of fun to relax. Plus, I’m with my crew, and nothing can ruin that, not even the devil himself.
“You hear about the party next week?” Cami pipes up. At the mention of a party, I automatically cringe. There have been a few this year already, but the thought of actually going to one makes me a little uncomfortable.
“Yeah, Dean invited me yesterday at school, he said I could bring you all with me, but I don’t know if I really want to go.” I sigh. I know sooner or later, they are going to push this idea with me. I just don’t do parties.
“Come on, chicka. You have to go. Plus, you’ll have us with you—what could possibly go wrong?” Ethan chimed in.
Shaking my head and scoffing, “Those are famous last words, Ethan. Have you ever seen a horror movie where the person that says, ‘what could possibly go wrong’ actually survives till the end?”
Ethan chuckles as he blows the paper to his straw across the table into my plate. “Alright, so Phe clearly doesn’t need to see any more horror movies. Any other suggestions?”
“I want to see the new Avengers movie, actually. I could use some Chris Evans action on screen tonight,” I announce, pulling the gross straw wrapper from my ketchup and throwing a scathing glare at Ethan.
I’m more excited to hit the arcade afterward, to be honest. I haven’t had a good Dance Revolution session in a long time, plus it would be great for us all to let our hair down before the competition season really ramps up.
The table erupts into laughter as we start discussing the different movies we want to see while we finish eating.
When we walk into the movies, the line for snacks is wrapped around the lobby. After getting our tickets, I hand Cami some cash. “I can’t wait in this line, I’m gonna find the bathrooms. Will you get me some popcorn and a box of Milk Duds?”
“Yeah, but hurry, I don’t want to get stuck in the crappy front row seats like LAST TIME.” She turns a vengeful glare on Nate.
“It was once, Cami, just once. I didn’t even pick that stupid movie, that’s on Ethan.”
I leave my friends bickering in the snack line, racing to the bathroom down the hall. As I’m finishing up in the stall, I’m suddenly plunged into darkness.
“Uh, hello is anyone there?” I fiddle with my phone to get the flashlight to work. I’m still in the cubical, but my anxiety levels are rising. I hate the dark, and it’s eerily quiet, except for the sound of something sharp scraping along the tiled walls of the bathroom.
“Is anyone there?” this time, I’m a little louder. I can hear someone on the other side of the door, but whoever is there doesn’t answer me. Something isn’t right. I quickly send a text to the girls asking them to come and find me.
My heart is racing now, and it’s getting harder to breathe. This can’t be happening to me. Whoever is on the other side of this door knows I’m in here alone, and I have a feeling they are here for me.
“Whoever you are, you’re not scaring me.” It’s a lie, I know, and it’s one met with a maniacal laugh. Whoever that laugh belongs to is enjoying this right now. I’m trapped and have nowhere to go. It wouldn’t take much for them to kick the door in if that’s what they want.
“There are people on their way here to meet me,” I screamed, trying to calm down my nerves. It seems like ages have passed when I hear the door to the bathroom open, and moments later, the lights switch on. Flinging the door to the cubical open, I all but barrel into Cami as she stands there in horror, looking at the mirrors.
There, written across them in red, was a message—a message directed to me.
“You can’t avoid me forever. I’m coming for my turn real soon.”
Shaking with both fear and anger, I race from the bathroom. In fact, I’m leaving the cinema. My nerves are shot, and I need to be far away from this place right now. I don’t feel safe, and I can’t be around all of these people. In fact, right now, I wanted to be at home in bed, curled up with my mom. Damn, it was hard without her.
Logan
I’ve been staring at the monitors now for about two hours. I’m not sure exactly when she got home. After the events from last night, my body is sore. Coach is gonna have my ass when he finds out that I’ve been getting into fights at clubs. But it’s worth it.
Her phone went off like crazy when she first got home, and I have no idea why. I’d spent the day at Stryker’s recovering, only arriving home when the alert came to my phone that her cameras were active.
She appeared to be sleeping, although it was a fitful sleep. Every now and then she screams out the words ‘no’ ‘stop’ and ‘don’t touch me.’ I don’t know what she’s dreaming about but whatever it is, she’s not enjoying it.
What is she hiding? Deciding it was as good a time as any, I slip into her room and head straight for the place I saw her hiding her diaries. It was time to see what went on in that pretty little head of hers.
