My eyebrows furrow as I find the words to respond. “Sorry, I didn't want to wake you; otherwise, I would have come down with you. But apparently, I woke up with a pep in my step to give this a go,” I admit, and she grins, although it doesn't quite meet the corner of her eyes.
She's sad, yes, but disappointed? No.
It's a funny kind of feeling when you know the right thing has happened. Even if it doesn't bring you joy, it still leaves an imprint on you whether you like it or not. I can’t say the same about Warren Blackwood, though. I don’t even feel the instinctive urge to refer to him as my father. He’s just gone, and I feel elated.
“Are you going to hop on this bad boy next to me?” I ask, tapping the treadmill beside me as my pulse rings in my ears at the fact that the surveillance app has gone off and she's down here.
She couldn’t have set it off and gotten down here so quickly, could she?
But why else would I get a notification?
If she notices my discomfort and confusion, she doesn't mention it as she climbs on the treadmill beside me and offers me a bottle of water.
“You're a superstar. Thank you,” I mumble, taking it from her hand and quickly distracting myself by gulping down half the bottle in one breath. All too quickly, my attention returns to my cell phone as the surveillance app goes off again.
Ocean must see it too because she clears her throat as she points at the device. “Your surveillance app? Did I leave the window open with the curtains blowing or something?” she asks, her eyebrows gathering in confusion as she tries to think.
“I don't know,” I admit, pulling my cell phone off the stand and pausing the TV series before clicking on the notification.
The screen comes to life and I choke on my next breath, frozen in place as a familiar figure comes into view, dressed head to toe in black, an oversized hoodie obscuring their face from the camera.
It's the figure that seems to appear at night, but right now, the sun is out. It's not even lunch, and they're there.
Is this some kind of mind game?
“Is everything okay?” Ocean asks, and I nod numbly as I run my thumb across the screen, watching as the figure sits perfectly in the center of my bed, their legs dangling over the side as they roll their shoulders back.
I gulp nervously, transfixed as they get comfortable in my space. I don’t move for what feels like an eternity when I finally realize that they arethere.
Right now.
I could go up those stairs as fast as I can and catch them, figure out who it is, and put an end to this insanity. That's what I should do. A shiver runs down my spine.
Glancing at Ocean, I find her already staring at me wearily, and I mindlessly shake my head.
“I have to go. I'm so sorry,” I rattle, and she nods.
“It's okay. Are you all right, though?”
I hum in acknowledgment, unable to confirm or deny as I stare at the frame still in my hands.
Live.
“Yeah, I just need answers to a question that’s been on my mind for a while, and now is my time to get it,” I explain without really giving anything away at all, and she nods.
I offer the best smile I can muster as I hurry toward the door, my gaze fixated on my screen. As I wrap my hand around the door handle, I feel the air rush from my lungs.
The figure lifts a leather-gloved hand, then points at the camera for a beat before they flip their palm up and curl a finger, telling me to come.
This isn't a case of me exploiting them. They are there because they want to be discovered.
My heart hammers in my chest as I keep my phone glued to my hand, bolting from the room as fast as I can. I stumble up the steps twice before I make it to the fourth floor, a sense of unease churning in my stomach as I stare at my dorm room door.
Shaken, I’m completely aware that I'm about to come face to face with the mysterious form that has been in my bed most nights without my knowledge. I nervously step as quietly as I can, trying to bide my time and maintain my composure, but it's futile.
My pulse rings so loud that I feel like the world is distorted around me, like I'm drowning in water in search of a shark that I know is stalking me, ready to bite.
Yet, I come willingly anyway.
