Kevin is going to get back on his feet. His brother’s going to take him to rehab, and when he’s out, he’s going to get him a job at his construction company.
Yippee.
Now that Kevin is gone, I need a new target. I haven’t gone this long without a kill in years, and every moment that passes is torture. I’m not thinking clearly. There is a thick fog in my brain I can’t get rid of. I’m on edge, and this is destroying me.
Sage managed to destroy a perfectly good target. Kevin was a nobody. He had no friends in Lake Lure, and the family that he did have were done with him. He’d stolen from them and used them long enough and they cut him off. After all, how can you help someone if they’re not willing to help themselves?
Now, with Kevin completely off the table, I can soon make another attempt with Sage. I don’t know how long she’s going to be my neighbor, but I can’t let her upend my life like this anymore. I’m going to teach her that actions have consequences.
Stalking her has been incredibly easy. Since she constantly posts pictures and videos of herself, I know exactly where she is and what she is doing. This morning she climbed up the stairs to the Chimney Rock American flag, and now she is checking out some of the souvenir shops in front of the state park.
In town, I find an empty seat at one of the picnic tables outside Scoops Ice Cream. It’s swarming with children and parents who aren’t paying nearly enough attention to them. Their shrieks and high-pitched laughter only make my nerves more frail.
Oh no.I cringe when I see a little boy walking up to me. He is still a toddler, waddling while holding an ice cream cone in his little hand. I shake my head at him, hoping he will get the message and not come any closer.He doesn’t get it.
His tiny feet carry him to where I sit until he stops mere inches from me. I lean back, hoping this germ-infested child won’t touch me. It’s nothing personal. All children are carriers of sickness. He smiles at me, and I desperately look around for this boy’s mother.
When I can’t find her, I huff. “What do you want?”
The little kid doesn’t say anything, but holds out his ice cream cone to me, urging me to either take it or, worse, lick the melting chocolate ice cream currently dripping down his sticky hand.
Barf.I gag internally before saying, “This is not the blood sacrifice I require.”
The boy’s eyes go wide before tears form in them.
Oh, fuck no.
I plug my index fingers into my ears a split second before the boy opens his mouth and starts crying with the most annoying high-pitched sound. Finally, the mom comes running toward us. She grabs the boy and lifts him up into her arms, rubbing his back while he keeps crying.
They walk away, and I do my best to tune it all out as I train my eyes on the crowd around me. I’m not here to let myself be annoyed by these dreadful children. I’m here to potentially get eyes on my target. Even though I can easily follow her online and get visuals through various security cameras around town, sometimes I like to get a real look. Feels more personal that way.
In the distance I see an unmistakable mop of fading pink hair tied in a bun, and I grin at how easy it is to find her. If I believed in fate, I would say this is it. My smile fades when I realize she is turning my way and walking toward me.
Shit, I wanted to see her from afar, not up close. I quickly stand up and turn away, but it’s too late. I thought I could evade her, but I have no such luck when it comes to Juniper Sage Featherstone.
She catches up with me a few seconds later. “I never took you for much of an ice cream guy,” Sage says, playfully patting me on the shoulder.
“And I thought we had a deal,” I reply, staring at her with a blank expression in the hope that she can finally take the hint and leave me alone.
“Listen, you told me to stop showing up out of nowhere, and I was just in town,” Sage says, holding her hands up as if to proclaim innocence. “This is nothing more than an innocent chance encounter. I swear.”
I stare at her blankly.
She flashes me a smile. “How about some apology ice cream?” Sage says, gesturing to the shop behind us. “Consider this me waving a white flag. I’ve caused you a lot of inconvenience, and I really am sorry.”
Something tells me she’s not being entirely truthful, but I do appreciate the gesture. Besides, it doesn’t look like she’s about to take no for an answer.
“Fine,” I say, walking inside with her.
It’s a hot summer day, and Scoops Ice Cream is a hot spot in town, so the line is long. Sage and I stare up at the chalkboard menu in silencewhile we try to figure out what we want. All the ice creams have funny names, so it’s hard for me to decipher exactly what each flavor is.
“What’s your favorite?” Sage asks, looking up at me with fluttering eyelashes. “I’m a Rocky Road girl.”
“So you’re a heathen?” I say.
“And you’re dramatic.” Sage laughs. “Clearly, you’ve never had Rocky Road. Otherwise you wouldn’t be saying that.”
“It’s inconsistent. The very premise of the flavor is to add variety to something that should be uniform.” I shake my head at her. “Ice cream was invented to be a creamy, smooth dessert. The textural differences in each bite of Rocky Road are a disgrace to the concept of ice cream.”
