SCREAM FOR ME- PART TWO
CHAPTER THREE
Every step I took in the school hallway was strategically placed. I had stared at every possible person who might've been the one who texted me, but I came up blank. No one seemed interested in me. Maybe envying, or admiring looks, but nobody had acted like they had some secret agenda on me.
I slammed my locker shut, and headed to the bustling cafeteria. I nodded a greeting to the jocks table, where Jamie Huang, the boy I paired up with for my chemistry project, was flipping water bottles. He smiled a toothy grin, and the water bottle landed on his foot.
I rolled my eyes, and made my way to my friends.
It was us- always us. Nothing could replace us.
Camille was trying to play Jenga with Cheeto puffs, and Tokie was bobbing his head to the music in his headphones.
Tokie, who's name actually was Antonio, had been Camille's boyfriend on and off for years. Everyone called him "Tokie," even though most people had no idea where the nickname came from.
Camille and Tokie's relationship is nothing more than ridiculous. They remained faithful as friends, but have withstood so many toxic arguments and petty fights, that it seemed better for the two of them to never become official. Of course, every now and then, Camille would race to my house and describe the way he had ran his hand through her hair, or kissed her so passionately she was sure it was the beginning of a true romance.
Tokie was always tapping on tables with his fingers, humming indistinct tunes. He wore sweatpants a size too big, and graphic tees so faded the words are invisible. Most of the time, though, Antonio was high. Pretty much his default mood- on cannabis.
Tokie's eyes lit up when he saw me. "Loca!"
I rolled my eyes, and settled between Tokie and Camille. "You are not Jacob Black. And that's a good thing."
Camille waved a Cheeto in my face. "Team Jacob forever!"
I swatted the orange chip out of my vision. "Ew. He's literally a dog."
The one thing I will never fail to argue about with Camille is Edward Cullen.
She laughed, and a joking glint appeared in her eyes. "Then I'm sure he's very good a certain sex position."
Tokie smirked, and playfully pushed her shoulder behind my back. She giggled, and threw another Cheeto at his face.
I feel uncomfortable-it's like being a physical third wheel. I stood up quickly, changing to the other side of the table.
"You guys need to figure out your relationship problems at least 3 feet away from me."
Tokie laughed. "No problems here." With that, Camille raised her eyebrows.
A sudden ding appeared from Camille's phone. She furrowed her brows a little, and picked up the device, the white light shining on her face.
And then she gasped, dropping the phone in her lap.
Tokie's eyes flashed with worry. "What's wrong, Cam? Is everyone okay?"
She distantly nodded, and opened the screen again, her voice shaking on each syllable.
"Yeah. I'm okay. But the deputy of the police department..."
I sat up straighter. "What?" The deputy, Hardin West, was the boss of Camille's mom, and a world- renounced asshole. I was waiting for his downfall after he had flagged me down, when I driving one mile more than the speed limit.
She breathed in, her chest rising quickly.
"He just died. The police department is in shambles, my mom said."
I squinted, and opened a can of Pepsi, taking a thoughtful sip before answering. "Yeah, well. Sucks to suck. That guy was a jerk, anyway. He totally gave me a speeding ticket when I was going, like, 20 miles an hour."
Camille shook her head. "No. No, that's not why I'm scared."
She raised her eyes to me, an unusual fear placed in the black pits below her eyelashes.
"Hardin was killed. Laura...Ghostface is back."
𒅒𒈔𒅒𒇫𒄆 𒅒𒈔𒅒𒇫𒄆 𒅒𒈔
Ghostface had came to Elk River back in the 90s. The psycho was caught by West, but only after killing 12 people.
We thought we were safe.
I struggled to grasp sentence structure. "Ghostface...back?"
Tokie cursed, slamming his hands down. "Shit. This is fucked up."
My silence was a sign of agreement.
A pattern formed in my head. The moment Ghostface is back, I get those stalking texts.
No. No, I can't put those two together. It will terrify me even more.
The thought that Ghostface was stalking me...I had to go to the police. But who would conduct the search of Ghostface if the deputy was gone?
I could hear the low whispers of the matter spreading around the cafeteria. Most kids had already been staring at their phones, fear buried in their hushed whispers.
The secret I was harboring about the stalker was bubbling in my throat, and I forced it down. The sounds of kids yelling, whispering, tapping on lunch trays had suddenly become too much for me to handle.
"I think...I need to go." I grabbed my backpack and hurled my body to the entrance of the school, hearing Camille's protest as a distant cry behind me.
The sound of my feet hitting the floor echoed through the hallways. I turned a right, and settled in a small crevice near my locker. I know it was pathetic, but I needed a break. If only for a second.
I settled my head on my knees, recounting everything that had happened in the last 48 hours. I didn't get time to feel sorry for myself, because the low stomp of shoes came from the other side of the hallway. I jerked my head up, to see a tall figure with messy dark hair walking towards me.
Oh.
Fuck.
My ex boyfriend of 2 years, Nikolai Adler. We were desperately obsessed with each other in 8th to 9th grade, but things change, right? His plain gray t-shirt hung loosely over his lean frame, and in his pale hand a hall pass dangled, the lanyard skimming the floor.
When Niko recognized my face, he halted, gazing over my body. My face flushed, and I stood up, repositioning my skirt over my legs.
"Oh. Hi." My voice uncertain, and I forced myself to look up.
Niko smiled shyly, and dropped his eyes down. "Hey, Lore."
That nickname used to drug me, drive me crazy.
But now the letters seem foreign in his mouth, like a ghost of my past.
"You..." I trailed off, looking at the hall pass in his hand. "What class are you in right now?"
He furrowed his brows slightly. "I'm in...uh- geometry right now."
Confusion jumped to my facial features. "Geometry? Last I remembered, you're a junior."
Niko blushed, and tucked a curl behind his ear. "Yeah, you're right. That was a stupid lie. I just didn't want to tell you, because you were always mad when I mentioned it."
With a friendly gesture, I pushed his shoulder. "Oh, c'mon. We aren't like that anymore."
I could've swore a twinge of pain flickered in his eyes, but he smoothed it out. "Fine. I'm in theatre again." He did jazz hands to emphasize the word.
I laughed. "Niko, I don't care. Good for you, pursuing your dreams and whatever. You do have a very beautiful singing voice."
Niko blushed harder, and tapped the hall pass on his thigh.
"Thank you, Lore. You have a very beautiful...um..."
"Face?" I asked, hoping to spare his embarrassment, even if slightly.
"Yeah. Yeah, definitely."
I choked on what was half a laugh, and half a grunt of surprise. I didn’t know if he was actually complimenting me, or being sarcastic.
Niko flashed a smile, and looked down again. His voice sounded deeper than before, a throaty undertone reverberating under his smooth tone.
“Well, I have to go, Laura.”
I nodded, and settled in my corner, more comfortable than before. "Bye, Niko."
Niko smiled, and waved, his pale fingers dancing with the movement. Something shifted in his eyes, a dark unusual glint to his eyes. As if he knew something I didn't.
"I will." A sly smile formed on his lips, and a sudden spike of uncomfortableness made its way to my brain. But I waved it off as he sauntered away, swinging the pass with his pace.
After Niko was completely gone, I sighed, and clicked open my phone. I scanned all the crazy messages Camille sent me, asking if I threw up, or got a hard-on because of the way I ran away so fast.
I looked down at the messages that weren't pinned. An unknown number had texted me something.
And during those seconds of carelessness, I had completely forgot about the stalker, and the real possibility he could text me anywhere else other than Mi2.
UNKNOWN: You can't hide, Laura. I'll find you anywhere. It's hard to miss that beautiful face, after all. I fantasize thinking of you screaming my name. Not only from fear, or your sweet blood on my palms, but the pleasure all of this gives you.
And, pretty girl, I promise, I'll have your blood on my hands soon enough.
Just wait, Lore.
You're mine.
My phone clattered on the white tile floor.
CHAPTER FOUR
I paced in my room, the soles of my feet almost stripped red from the constant stomp on my carpeted floor.
I had accepted I had a stalker. I had accepted that that stalker has murderous intentions.
But I hadn't accepted the arrival of Ghostface.
The fear is blurring everything I think I know about my life and my town, and my heart is ripping into pieces, every time I remember the death in the town. Who knows what will come next? Who could die next?
And the worst realization of all is realizing that my stalker is most probably, definitely Ghostface. I can't ignore the fact he came to town at the same time the mysterious user begun messaging me. And speaking of that...
I grabbed a blanket, and pulled it over my thighs as I sat in my desk chair. School was drowning me in homework, but there was no way I could focus on biology or equations right now.
This was probably, most definitely a bad idea.
But taking the route of ignorance seemed worse in my book.
That egotistic part of me, unwilling to get help from anyone, unable to leave things as it is, forced me to open my laptop again in the dark of the October night.
Mi2 flickered bats over the screen. Black speeding things, toying with my cursor as I swiped the previous anonymous chat.
The "user373737373737". The only thing I think I could do, to establish some sort of barrier of the threat of the stalker, was by clicking the friend request on the screen.
I opened my textbook, scanning the math problems with a renounced lack of attention. In less than a minute of me flipping through the pages nervously, a message dinged on my screen.
ᕯ user373737373737 accepted your friend request!
I breathed deeply, preparing myself for the interaction. A strange sort of adrenaline was pumping in my stomach, and I reminded myself that this was a potential murderer on the other end of the computer. I dragged my hands up to the keyboard and began to type.
✸ angelaura999: | why do you keep tormenting me?
I bit my lip, and deleted the message. If he gets a rise out of me, I'm sure this psycho would enjoy it even more. I guess attempting a more casual approach will be better on my end.
Because even though I know I should call the police, or tell somebody- something inside of me is forcing me to send these messages. And I hate myself for it.
✸ angelaura999: Ghostface.
His message almost came immediately, jolting a spike of fear in my gut.
✸ user373737373737: I suppose.
✸ angelaura999: you killed west.
✸ user373737373737: Maybe I did, maybe I didn't.
✸ angelaura999: you did. how could you be so sick?
✸ user373737373737: I'm perfectly healthy. what could you possibly mean?
✸ angelaura999: why do you keep reaching out to me? i already asked for you to leave me alone.
✸ user373737373737: Tell me, Laura. Why are you still answering? Why haven't you called the authorities yet?
I breathed in sharply, my heart hammering in my ribcage. I didn't know. Would the police even care? This is just an online interaction.
✸ user373737373737: Oh, you're smarter than this, Laura. I guess I have to answer the question myself, since you're too nervous to reply, right?
✸ user373737373737: you act like such a good girl. Really, very pathetic, my dove. Everything you do to maintain that pretty appearance. Fucking yourself over for grades? It's masochistic. I can't say I don't enjoy seeing you wet with fear, though. When you use that wide smile to sweet talk those touch deprived teachers. But in that sad, dark mind of yours, you like this.
✸ user373737373737: crave this.
✸ user373737373737: You like the fear.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to control my rapid breathing.
✸ angelaura999: no.
✸ user373737373737: oh, yes, my dove. Don't lie to me.
✸ user373737373737: I turn you on.
I slammed the computer shut, failing to protect my fingers from the screen. The rims of my nails were red from the impact, and I cursed, holding my shaking hands.
This was too much. Why was I so stupid to contact a sociopath? All he wanted to do was scare me. And he succeeded.
I tore away from the desk, and gulped down the bubble of terror in my throat. My hand instinctively grabbed for my phone, and I dialed the police, something I should've done days before.
"The number you are calling is not available right now. Please check your internet connection and try again."
I gasped, evaluating the number I called again, but it was still 911. I hung up, and quickly tapped the three digits again.
"The number you are calling is not available right now. Please check your internet connection and try again."
"Please!" I whispered, sitting on my bed to stop the shaking of my thighs. I had internet connection; my Wi-Fi wasn't the problem.
Somehow, Ghostface hacked into my phone.
My mind frozen with terror, I hurled my phone onto my bed, and backed out of my room.
All I can do now is walk away, take a shower. Breathe in a way that calms me down instead of driving me insane. Wait for my parents to come home, and tell them what's going on. And hopefully, end Ghostface once and for all.
I made sure my doors were locked, and curtains closed. After securing my entire house, I locked the bathroom door, and turned on the shower.
My brain racked ideas of who Ghostface could be, or why they decided to prey on me. Everything he had said was blaring in the back of my mind- because it was true. As much as I hated to admit it, I was sick.
And so was he.
God, am I just like a serial killer?
The warm water soothed my skin, and I brushed cinnamon scented bubbles off my bare body with the shower head.
"I turn you on."
I could feel my body turning hot with the words repeating in my mind. Who was he?
My hand gravitated towards the inner of my thighs, the shower head burning pressure into my body. I dropped my hand over the shower tile, gripping the wall as I shifted the shower head. My eyes rolled back, and I rocked my hips on the water streaming on me.
My mind flashed with those words-
"I turn you on."
"I can't wait to taste your blood."
Somehow, that had me gripping the shower head harder, and pleasure began to ripple throughout my body.
Who could he be?
I drove the metal harder in the area between my legs, waves of hot euphoria rolling in my stomach. I moaned softly, clenching the soap-soaked walls in front of me. I bit my lip as I orgasmed, clutching the head with shaking fingers. My body was limp, weak even, and it dawned on me that I just masterbated to the thought of my stalker.
Okay. I definitely need therapy.
I stepped out of the shower, wiping my body and covering myself with plush black towels. After brushing my teeth, and feeling altogether fresh, I walked back to my room, soft slippers warming my feet.
On my bed, a strange lump laid on my blanket, unfamiliar to my eyes. I furrowed my brows, and tightened a robe over my body. As I got closer, the shape formed-
A bouquet.
A various arrangement of different flowers- small leaves, large petals, all colored in red, oranges, or brown hues.
It was beautiful.
Black and white paper surrounded the flowers, and inside of the wrapping, a small, delicately golden card said my name. I tentatively opened it, seeing red cursive handwriting bleeding over the fine paper.
𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑢𝑝 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑦.
𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠?
𝐼 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑟𝑒𝑑.
𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑. 𝑆𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙.
𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡, 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡?
𝐾𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒, 𝐿𝑎𝑢𝑟𝑎. 𝑆𝑜𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑜𝑛'𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑡.
~ 𝐺ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒
My eyes darted around the room. My window was closed, my room was locked...
I jerked open the closet door. Nothing.
Attempting to steady my breathing, I sat down near the flowers, and the paper rolled out of the bouquet. On the back, a small black engraved paragraph shone in the light of my room. I picked it up, examining the words.
𝙃𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙊𝙣𝙚:
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚.
𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙄'𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.
Try to find me, Laura.
I'm waiting.
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