Raw meat.
My stomach churns. The smell of rot is in my nose, in my throat. My mouth fills with saliva.
Jade notices I’m going to faint before I do.
“Fuck!”She lunges forward, catching me by the elbows before I can collapse, easing me down onto the ground.
“Justin!” she yells. “Get back here! We need some help!”
From somewhere far away, I hear footsteps pounding closer. But I can’t think. I can’t even breathe.
“I think I’m going to throw up,” I say conversationally.
“I think you’re in shock. Justin, take that out to the dumpster,” Jade barks. “Now.Don’t open it.Just get rid of it.”
From somewhere above me, I hear Justin’s voice, heavy with concern. “Is she okay?”
“Now, Justin!”
Justin mutters something and scoops the box up. The smell shifts with it, gagging me all over again.
“Tell me there wasn’t a dead thing in that box,” I say in a hollow voice. I don’t even care if it’s the truth. I need to hear it.
“There wasn’t a dead thing in that box,” Jade insists, crouching in front of me. She takes my face in her hands. “Look at me, Syd. There wasn’t. I promise.”
I want to believe her. But the image of that gaping white cat, the pale roiling bodies inside…
“Where’s Bea?” My voice comes out panicked. “Where’s my cat, where’s?—”
I feel her before I see her. She nuzzles up against me, rubbing her head on my thigh. I scoop her up in my arms, burying my face in her fur and sobbing.
Safe. She’s safe.
“Why would he send that?” Jade asks, sounding horrified. “I mean… I know you two ended things on bad terms, but Alec doesn’t seem like the type to?—”
“It wasn’t him. It wasn’t any of them,” I answer, voice muffled in Bea’s fur.
And it hits me then how much I know, in my heart, that they would never do something like that. Not to me. Not ever.
My hand unclenches. I realize I’ve been gripping something tight in my fist this whole time. The card.
Shakily, I set Bea down, and I peel it open and read it.
Flowers as sweet as you.
Justin coversmy shift for the rest of the day.
But no matter how much I pace my apartment, or how many times I try to lose myself in mindless scrolling on my phone, I can’t stop thinking about those flowers.
Lilies.
Only one man has ever sent me lilies. Only one man would want to hurt me like this. He warned me, didn’t he? Told me he wouldn’t go away without a fight.
What is it he said to me, during my date with Ashton?
You’re going to regret fucking with me.
Chase. Chase is the one behind this, the one sending me these awful gifts. I’m certain of it.
