Page 101 of Haunt the Mall
I hooked my leg over Victor’s lap, where he held it. “They’re famous villains,” I said. “One’s a burned husk with knife-hands and the other wields a machete and a hockey mask.”
“Oh, right. I don’t know. Jason?”
I poked Victor’s calve with the toe of my boots. “He’s famous for his endurance. He never stops, you know? Neither do I.”
“Nice.” Sam chuckled.
“Well, neither does Victor,” I said.
The other end of the line sped into silence. Had I finally shocked him?
Victor’s lip twitched up. He traced the inside of my knee, sending shivers to my core.
We could be very bad.
“Once we want something, we commit to the sin. I’m sure you understand,” I said.
Shaky breathing filtered through my speaker. “I guess.” He wasn’t stupid enough to miss the thinly-veiled threat. Victor was my man—and we’d bury a body over embracing a stalker’s.
“Are you ready for the second question?” I sat up to read Victor’s phone better.
“Um…”
“Parents or police?”
“What?” His voice tightened like he’s been struck by lightning.
“Who should I send all of this evidence to?” I rattled off his parents’ names and numbers.
His voice peaked incredulously. “What the— How did you get their information? Did Victor give you my emergency contacts?”
“Nope. You’d be surprised what you can find on the internet. I also have your address. That’ll come in handy if we go the police route to file for harassment," I said.
“I’m not harassing you,” he shrieked.
“Let’s examine it from another perspective, then,” I seethed, my pulse pounding in my ears like a war drum. “You’d be fine with Victor waiting outside your house? What if he cracked open your dorm room door when you were with a lady-friend or taking matters into your own hands?”
Victor shuddered and tightened his grip on my leg.
I injected more poison into Sam’s brain. “Would you be unnerved if he showed up at your next job to ‘check out the merchandise?’ What if he followed your car, then called and texted you, asking to see you alone since he could hurt the people you care about? Imagine you’d never had more than surface-level, passing conversations before that. Would you be creeped out? Scared? Intimidated?”
Sam let out a shuddering breath. “I… That’s an overreaction. You’re spinning everything I did.”
Victor typed out a few college names and pointed to them.
I nodded. “Maybe college admissions officers will feel the same way. They’ll probably skim right over the restraining orders on your application. You’re young. You’ll make mistakes. Your GPA is average enough that you might sneak in.”
Victor kissed my shoulder. The pride in his eyes threw fresh meat to the monster inside of me.
Sam’s voice broke. “Jesus, Kat. I just wanted to see you. I didn’t think… I’m sorry if I scared you.”
Apologies didn’t count when they included the word, ‘if.’
I twirled my necklace. “So, which do you pick?”
“No,” he wailed. “I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?”
“I want you to admit you crossed a lot of boundaries,” I snapped.