I rush to my bedroom before she can change her mind about prying more into my relationship with Leo. Denial has me believing shedefinitelywon’t if I’m hunkered down beneath the blankets, pretending to be asleep.
Getting comfortable isn’t easy; my muscles are all tight, worsening when I grab my phone to see an unread message on my screen.
Unknown Number: You have a lot of interesting things on your laptop, Mina.
I reread the text. Once, twice, three times, expecting it to change. It’s still there.
I think I’m going to be sick.
No.No.Oh, God.
He... My breath leaves me in a rush. I— What do I do? I can’t tell the police. I can’t tell anyone.
The phone trembles in my hand as my thumbs hover over the keypad. Shit, my entire body is trembling. The screen is blurring right in front of me, and it’s hard to drag air into my lungs.
What can I say? Do I say anything? Maybe he—fuck, maybe he wants something. Oh, God.
What if he’s gotten access to the tracker I installed on Leo’s car? He could go to the police with it. How long is the jail time for that?
Nonononono.This is bad. This is so very, very bad. I don’t have any money to give him if he’s holding the information for ransom. And what if he goes back on a deal if I do?
Responding to him could be an awful idea too. It’d give him an opening. If I say nothing, is that worse? I could pretend I never got it—he stole my phone, after all. Maybe I could pass it off like I got a new number.
Yes. That’s the solution. I... I can spin it.
I block his number, set my phone on the other side of the room like it might kill me, and I hide beneath the covers, clutching the pillow against my face to hide my sobs so Leo doesn’t see—in case he has a camera in here.
The only thing I can think is that I’m so utterly fucked.
I lie awake for a long time, sleep eluding me. This couldn’t have come at a worst time, and I don’t know what the fuck to do about it. There’s no more foundation beneath my feet, and I think I’m going to fall over the edge of the cliff.
When sleep finally comes, it’s fitful with horrific nightmares revolving around the text and all the awful things that could come from it... until it isn’t horrible anymore.
I’m in a whole other world.
The anxiety and fear melts away. Warmth curls at the base of my spine as molten heat radiates through my core. I squirm closer to the source, tangling my legs in the sheets and moving my hips for more of what I’m needing.
I’ve never had such a vivid dream.
My desire is palpable. It’s a living, breathing entity hammering against my ribs. I can feel every caress against my aching skin: the brush of fabric, the moisture from heavy breaths, the heat from flesh against flesh.
A woodsy smell filters through the air, filling my lungs with the scent I’ve come to know as Leo’s. I breathe deeper, drawing in as much of him as I can before it vanishes from my grip.
In my dream, all that’s left of my clothes is the shirt I took from his house.
His deft fingers keep rubbing me in slow circles, and with each pass, my world is more vivid. I can see the faint glow from the moon and the streetlights trickling through the window. Hear the faint hum of the heater. The thud of a heartbeat against my back. My saturated thighs. Slowly, it all comes to me. Most of all, the pleasure builds.
The added pressure against my sex has a groan rumbling in my chest as I push my hips against his hand to keep chasing the high.
A chuckle sounds from behind me, too real to be something I’ve conjured in my head. There’s no mistaking how his body vibrates against me, and my hair flutters with his rush of breath.
This isn’t a dream.I stiffen.
It’s the man who stole my bag and broke into my house.
He’s here. He knows I saw his text, and he’s demanding payment for his silence about what’s on my laptop.
Arms tighten around me, and the panic expands, building a scream in my throat.
