Don't Look Back(86)

From the darkness, someone appeared, reaching out to the gray version of me. I turned, horror and disbelief etched into my face. My face contorted as I stood, taking a step back.

The other person was taller, broader. Frustration boiled in me. I couldn’t see his face!

He reached for me, and I could taste the panic pulsating off both of us. My foot slipped on the rock; my arms flailed as I tried to keep my balance, to grab for something—for him. A silent scream parted my lips as my body bent in half.

And then I tumbled over backward—gone, falling as the dark void reached up and pulled me down. Gone.

I jerked out of the vision when a body bumped into mine. Dazed, I twisted around.

A face leered into mine. “What are you doing? Move out of the way, freak.”

Barely hearing the words, I stumbled toward the doors. Horrible as it sounded, excitement pulsed through me. It hadn’t been just Cassie and me. Someone else had been there with us.

And then a different scenario crept into my thoughts. The other person might not have pushed Cassie. I’d been the one on the edge of the cliff, screaming her name. He could’ve been there, witnessed it all. But that didn’t make sense. If there had been a third person and he had seen me, why hadn’t he gone to the police?

He would’ve, unless he had something to hide. I had to talk to Carson.

Pulling my cell out of the clutch, I sent Carson a quick text, telling him I was going outside for some air just in case he started looking for me. Leaving the ballroom behind, I stepped into the dimly lit hallway that led to the back parking lot. My heels clicked on the floor, a steady echo that kept me company. I placed my hand on the cooled glass of the door, stopping when goose bumps spread across my flesh. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck rose.

I looked over my shoulder, scanning the empty hall. No one was there, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. It swirled inside me, like dark ink spilled into water. Pushing open the door, I stepped out into the night air and refused to look behind me.

Ignore the feelings—they aren’t real. The memories were, but everything else was just me freaking myself out ... or trying to communicate with myself, which was odd and downright insane-sounding.

I clicked across the parking lot while every nerve seemed to be firing at once. Look back. You’ll see him. He’s there. Waiting and watching. My heart started racing as fast as it had when Carson had come so very close to kissing me while we danced. Only not as pleasant.

My cell phone chirped loudly from inside my clutch, causing me to jump and almost eat asphalt. Placing my hand over my slamming heart, I let out a shaky laugh. Scared to death by a text message. Jeez. Stopping beside a large tree, I dug out my cell. Carson’s name flashed across my screen.

Then I heard it, the equal, measured steps—heavy and foreboding, sending my pulse racing. Ice formed tight balls inside my stomach. It’s not real. It’s not real. One. Two. Three. The footsteps were closer. The back of my neck burned with awareness.

I couldn’t breathe.

Fingers shaking, I ran them across the screen of my cell, opening Carson’s text. b there in a sec. My lungs spasmed, working again. Carson was coming. I was okay. I would be—

The loose strands of hair on the back of my neck stirred. Warmth moved over my skin.

A hand circled my bare arm, and my heart lurched into my throat. I started to scream, but another hand clamped down on my mouth, smothering the sound.

“Don’t scream,” he said.





Chapter twenty-five





The second I recognized the voice, anger replaced

the terror. I slammed my elbow back into Del’s stomach with everything I had in me. Pain radiated down my arm, but with a startled grunt, he let go.

I whirled around, ready to use my clutch as a deadly weapon. “What is wrong with you?”

He clutched his stomach, eyes wide. “Jesus, Sammy, that wasn’t necessary.”

I wanted to hit him again. “It wasn’t? You snuck up on me and put your hand over my mouth! Jesus, I thought you were going to...”

Straightening, he met my stare. “Do what? You had to have heard me walk up behind you. I wasn’t being exactly stealth about it.”

“But...” But I thought he hadn’t been real, just another auditory hallucination. Now I wanted to hit Dr. O’Connell. What if Del had been some kind of psycho? And I just stood there, telling myself he wasn’t real? I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. What

do you want?”

He looked wounded. “I just wanted to talk with you. You

did promise, by the way.”

I slipped my phone back into the clutch. “I didn’t promise

anything, and you’re here with Veronica—”

“I don’t care about Veronica!” A vein pulsed along his temple, and I took a weary step back. “I only came with her because

you’ve been avoiding me, not giving me a chance to talk to you.” Weeks later and he still wanted to fix things? Sad ... and

even a bit disturbing. I searched over his shoulder for Carson, but

the parking lot appeared empty.

“Did you really come here with Carson?” Del asked. “Like,

as a date?”

My eyes shot back to him. Upon closer inspection, I saw

that his cheeks were ruddy. Temper or alcohol? “Yes. He asked