Haunting-Adeline

“But knowing that Z is your stalker oddly reassures me. I never knew him
personally, obviously. I didn’t even know what he looked like, but what he
does… it’s incredibly admirable. He puts his life on the line every day, walks
into the lion’s den himself and saves a lot of innocent souls. He’s helped
countless people and taken down so many rings already. And I don’t have
to see what’s in the videos to know that Z takes them to heart.”
She sighs, and a sardonic smile flashes on her face. “He stalks people for
a living, so I suppose it’s no surprise that tendency has bled into his love
life.”
I make a face, showing her how unimpressed I am with him not keeping
his work habits where they belong.
“And I get why you didn’t tell me,” she admits so ly. “Mark put you in a
pre y shi y situa on to begin with, and I understand more than most how
delicately that situa on needs to be handled. I would’ve understood if you
had said so from the beginning.” She shoots me a look. “But I get it. You’re
not used to this dark corner of the world, so I can’t expect you to know
how to deal with it all.”
My body relaxes with her acceptance, relieving me of some of the
weight res ng on my shoulders.
I can’t stand when Daya’s mad at me. I’d take Zade poin ng a gun in my
face over my best friend’s anger any day.
“Daya, I just want you to know it wasn’t because I didn’t trust you. And
I’m so sorry I lied. Ge ng involved with Zade really tests my morals, and I
s ll don’t know what to think of everything. I mean, falling in lo—” I cut
myself off, my teeth clicking from the force. I feel the blood drain from my
face as I swallow the words back down.
“Do you—”
“No,” I cut in, the response too rushed and snappy to ring true.
Daya blinks, an array of emo ons in her sage eyes, but she takes pity on
me and doesn’t push.
“Well, whatever the case, I guess I can’t blame you for not being able to
resist him.” She flashes a toothy smile. “He is really hot, and you really
needed to get laid.” I find a random envelope si ng on the island and whip
it at her in response.
She cackles, dodging the envelope.