I’m not scared, but I am angry that Daniel is pushing again. Boundary after boundary, like he’s daring me to snap. He won’t like it when I do.
I slide out of bed, socked feet soundless on the floor. The rest of the apartment is dark, and I leave it like that. I want the shadows on my side.
The room I go into first is the bathroom, straight to the sink on autopilot. Bottom drawer. Lift towel. Check cartridge.
If Daniel breaks in, I have a plan… And that includes cornering myself in the bathroom so I can kill him without the actual murder being on camera. Then I’ll clean myself, trash the cameras, and dispose of the body. It’s pretty simple, but there’s plenty of wiggle room should shit go wrong.
Like a knife tucked under my nightstand…
Or three men watching me through cameras they installed in my apartment without consent who will see if I’m knocked out and abducted.
I reach the living room threshold and pause to peek around the corner. Not hearing the door open and knowing the door didn’t open are two very different things… Now, the door needs an alarm.
My attention turns toward the balcony. And my entire body goes rigid.
White flowers sit on the tiny table. It’s been moved to block the path through the sliding door, like he wants to make sure there’s no way I’ll miss the bouquet.
He didn’t leave it at my front door or in the hall where my neighbors might see.
My second. Floor. Balcony.
More than a dozen fresh, white roses.
My jaw clenches so hard my teeth ache, but I stealthily move forward, caution keeping me light on my feet as I survey the shadows beyond the floor to ceiling windows.
With slow and measured intentions, I tug on the cord that attaches to the massive blinds covering the rest of my view, daring him to jump out at me. My pulse thunders in my ears as each inch of my balcony is fully revealed.
But he’s not there.
Not that I can see.
I still don’t unlock the door to find out if he’s below me on the sidewalk or hanging onto the side of the building…
I stand safely on the inside of the glass, fogging the pane with my breath as I stare at a bouquet of fucking roses that shouldn’t be reachable without a ladder or a death wish.
Daniel got close.
Too close.
He wants me scared.
All he’s doing is pissing me off, getting one step closer to crossing the invisible line I drew at the end of my fuse. My patience is wearing thin, but I can hold out longer than he’s expecting.
If not for any reason other than spite…
I wish he would come inside so we can have some real fun.
My phone pings, the sound of the HimLock app dragging me from my thoughts.
Locke:
Tell me what’s happening.
Eris:
There are flowers.
White roses on my second-story balcony.
