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Colton shook his head, his face bleaching with the same fear I felt gnaw at my ribs. “It’s so fucked-up. But you’ve got us, and you’ve got Gabriel. It’s going to be okay. In fact, Eric and I are going to lock ourselves inside the house and spend all weekend researching serial killers. I feel like all I know about them is shit from the movies, but maybe if we’re able to get inside this person’s head, then we can figure out their next move and catch them.”
“You guys really don’t have to do that.” My heart swelled with warmth for my friends. This group had been through a ton of shit together; I didn’t want to put them through any more. “Seriously, I don’t want anyone else getting involved. Having you all at my house when that video came on was bad enough.”
“Tristan, you helped me figure out who was behind my mom’s death. I owe you.” Colton’s light brown hair caught the sun and spun it like golden threads shining through. He had a kind face, one that looked even kinder now that he was extending such a gracious gift: his help.
“Thanks, Colt.” It was all I could say before I started to feel choked up. Eric was a lucky guy to reunite with Colton. Their lives could have easily splintered off into a thousand different directions, never crossing again. But here they were, fresh off a honeymoon trip to Disney World, eyes full of love for each other.
It made me happy for my best friend and also wishful for myself. I tried to imagine the same happy ending for me, but all I could see ahead was a fog of heavy gray blotting out the horizon of my life. I had no idea if I was even going to be around in a few months, as morbid a thought as that was, but unfortunately, it was a reality I had to face when I had a bright red bullseye painted across my chest.
Thankfully, I didn’t have much time to simmer on that thought. We crossed over a concrete bridge and pulled up to a row of parked scooters right outside the entrance to the market. Jess, Tia, and Steven were already waiting for us at the steps, Steven sucking on a bright yellow Popsicle.
“The gang’s all here,” Jess said as hugs were exchanged. She matched with Tia, wearing a blue T-shirt with black shorts. “We didn’t plan this,” she was quick to point out.
“Happens to us all the time,” Noah said with a wave of his hand. Today was one of those times: both Noah and Jake wore green shirts, although Noah wore khaki shorts, and Jake wore black. “Guys ready to go eat?”
“Let’s go,” Eddy said, rubbing his stomach before putting a hand across Yvette’s shoulders. He seemed to be warming up to us. I was surprised he hadn’t been scared off after yesterday’s debacle.
We walked through a covered area full of tables and chairs; someone playing the piano at the very end of the walkway added a lively soundtrack. “What’s everyone in the mood for?” I asked the group.
“I can do Cuban,” Noah said.
“Same,” Jake and Jess both piped in.
“I’ll probably grab something at that chicken spot,” Eric said. I was about to tell him I’d join when my phone buzzed in the pocket of my jeans. I pulled it out, expecting some text about a late bill or an email about a forgotten deadline, but instead, what I received was something plucked directly out of my worst nightmare.
It was an unknown number, but the text told me all I needed to know about who was contacting me.
I hadn’t realized I’d stopped walking. Gabriel was saying something, but I couldn’t hear over the pounding of blood that echoed in between my ears. My hand started to shake. Gabriel took the phone from me as I stumbled backward, moving to one of the open benches and slumping down as soon as my knees gave way.
Gabriel read the message and immediately went into defense mode, his eyes raking through the crowd. I watched the twitch in his jaw, the tightening fist around my phone. But I knew he wouldn’t spot him. Even though the Midnight Chemist clearly knew where I was.
The message had read:Tristan, you have become my obsession beyond obsessions. I want to keep you in a tank, watching you float. Instead, I’ll settle for watching you spend quality time with your friends. Enjoy Ponce. Order something good for me.
We were surrounded by people, and now all of them felt like suspects. I looked to the couple walking down the path, hand in hand, the girl smiling and the guy mean-mugging me. A group of guys behind them caught my attention next, one of them looking like a Jeffrey Dahmer cosplayer. His beady black eyes were trained directly on me. To his left, a woman wearing a hat low on her head stared at me.
Two men, walking straight toward me.
A woman wearing a dark red shirt that looked to be soaked in blood was being pulled in my direction by the massive Rottweiler on a flimsy leash.
Panic started to rise like bile in my chest, bubbling up toward my mouth. I had never felt this kind of raw fear before. I squeezed my hands together as Eric and Yvette came to sit on either side of me. Noah, Jake, Steven, and Tia fanned out through the crowd, looking for anyone suspicious that might be lurking in the swarm of anonymous faces.
This was all my fault. I had brought this attention into my life, and now I was dragging my friends directly into the eye of the storm. If anything happened to any of them…
“We have to go,” Gabriel said, a firm hand on my shoulder. His tone snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. I looked up to see his sturdy frame look shaken. This was the second time in as many days that the Midnight Chemist got past him, and that fact was enough to scare us both.
He was much better at holding it together than I was. I could barely stand. Part of me wanted to run until the horizon dropped from underneath me, and the other part wanted to stay right where I was until this sick fucker was lured out into the open. End it once and for all.
I didn’t do either of those things. “I’m taking us back,” Gabriel said, speaking to me but his gaze turned to the crowd. “Everyone needs to split up and take a long way home.”
“I’m going with you guys.” It was Eric. Colton was by his side, nodding.
“Us too,” Jake said, his hand holding tight to Noah’s. “We aren’t leaving you alone, Tristan. We’re going to help figure this out.”
Jess and Tia came up right as the tears started to flow. I dabbed at my cheeks and got them under control before I started bawling as the piano performer crescendoed in her song. They agreed—they wanted to stick together.
But when Yvette said she was doing the same, Eddy turned into a clammy mess. He clearly was freaked-out by what was happening, and I couldn’t blame him. He wanted to be as far from the situation as possible. It would likely be the smartest thing for any of them to do.
“If you need anything, please call me,” she said as she hugged me tight, her curls tickling the side of my face, the coconut scent of her lotion filling my nose. She left with Eric and Steven on either side of her, disappearing down the walkway. I tried not to imagine someone breaking off from the cluster of strangers, following them all the way to their cars, chasing them quietly until they made it to their apartments, where he’d slither in through a cracked open window and—
