30.01.2023 Views

Haunting-Adeline

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

I turn and stare out at the window as my thoughts turn to Zade. Really,

they never le . He's been si ng in the back of my brain all day, weighing

down on my shoulders.

Is he safe? Alive?

When did I start worrying about his safety?

I need my head checked. But I will never make the ini a ve to do so. In a

roundabout way, I'm star ng to accept my new reality.

I'm falling in love with my stalker. The shadow that haunts me in the

night. The man that hunts me down and completely wrecks my en re

world.

And not only do I have to come to terms with that, but the fact that my

life will now be consumed with worry. He's dangerous, but the situa ons

he puts himself in are just as terrifying. One day, he could go out and never

come back home.

How do I deal with that?

Standing, I make my way into the kitchen to make myself a mixed drink. I

flip on the light but pause immediately.

Res ng on the counter is a red rose, with the thorns clipped. For the life

of me, I can't figure out why tears spring to my eyes. Maybe because now

that I care about the stupid asshole, I don't know if this is the last me I'll

get a rose or not.

Sniffing, I walk over to the rose and pick it up, twirling the stem in my

fingers.

"Goddammit, Zade," I mu er aloud. "I'll never forgive you if you die."

A loud buzzing from my phone wakes me out of a dead sleep. Drool

leaks down my cheek, and I absently swipe at it with one hand while I grab

my phone with the other.

The bright light draws out an immediate headache as I squint at the

screen. It’s only eleven o’clock at night. I couldn’t have been asleep for

more than an hour.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!