Obsession (Dangerous Love #1)

CHAPTER 21

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PREY IN A WOLF HUNT

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I began to stutter, unable to form a coherent sentence as I looked out the window at the cars we were passing.

“Kath, listen to me, because we don’t have much time.”

He looked at me urgently as I began to shake and clenched my fist around my seatbelt.

“Someone’s stalking you, and they have found me. There’s no college project, no photo shoot with artists. A guy came to me two weeks ago and asked me to do this, he said he was in love with you and just wanted some pictures. When I refused and tried to beat him up because he was a psychopath, others came out of nowhere and left me unconscious.”

I whimpered and covered my mouth with both palms, oblivious to his driving or the fact that we were approaching the edge of town.

He lifted his T-shirt, and I winced. His whole upper body was covered in bruises, especially around the ribs.

“Now I’m sure it something to do with that Harris guy.”

The car turned and overtook an SUV that was trying to get in front of us. Horns sounded behind us, but Adam ignored them.

“Why didn’t you…”

Before I could ask why he didn’t go to the police, I saw a car right behind us.

That car.

Terror spread through me and exploded in my temples.

“Oh, God! Adam, drive faster!”

“What is it?”

“Faster, they’re behind us!”

He looked in the mirror and saw the gray Range Rover getting closer and closer. Adam cursed through his teeth and stepped on the gas as the speed reached 200, while I wished we were in Harris’ car.

Harris!

I pulled out my cell phone, but it was completely dead.

“Do you recognize that car?” Adam asked as I struggled to plug in the charger with shaking hands.

“Yes. It’s been following me since…” Since Harris and I had our first interaction. “A long time.” I added when Adam looked at me. The screen on my phone lit up, but tit still wasn’t charged enough to turn on. “Come on…” I shouted at it, slapping it on my thigh a few times.

“Kath, listen to me!”

I looked at Adam, then in the right rear-view mirror. He’d managed to keep the Rover away, but he was driving like a maniac. He was constantly making dangerous maneuvers and was more in the oncoming lane than ours. My heartbeat increased as I felt it in my throat.

“At the next turn, when I stop, you jump out of the car and run. Run as fast as you can and hide!”

“Don’t even…”

“Kath!” he shouted at me desperately, his eyes fixed on the mirror. “Do as I say, please!”

“I’m not leaving you, I am not even thinking about it!” I shouted back with tears in my eyes.

“They’ll catch us both.”

“They’ll come after me, anyway.”

“No! Run, go to the police. Go to the detective who took Harris.”

I ran my hands through my hair and felt the sudden need to scream. God, he was already talking like he didn’t have a chance.

My phone turned on, and I waited desperately for my contacts to load. The Range Rover was getting closer and closer when Adam performed another deadly maneuver on a tight corner, throwing me against the door despite wearing my seatbelt. It was then that I realized we were already out of town and the road was lined with trees.

He braked suddenly, and the impact threw me forward.

“Now! Get out!”

He shouted at me, but I couldn’t do it. Under no circumstance would I leave him alone. They would kill him, no questions asked. He was just a pawn, a pawn that hadn’t done its job.

“Drive! I’m not leaving you alone!”

“Katherine!”

“Adam!”

We shouted at each other, then he cursed through his teeth and tried to undo my seatbelt, but the Rover soon appeared.

I screamed out as Adam hit the gas at the same time. The car took off, but we had lost our lead.

I was not able to focus on my phone, call Harris or the police because I was frozen with fear and my eyes were glued to the car behind us and the fact that I couldn’t see anything through the tinted windows.

It crashed into us and my seatbelt dug into my ribs. I tried not to scream, to stay calm, to think clearly, but there was nothing I could do as fear dictated my every action.

The next impact almost threw us off the highway, and the Rover accelerated past us.

I watched in horror as it kept getting closer, then the passenger door window lowered a little.

I howled.

I was about to throw myself over Adam when I saw the barrel of the gun slide out, held by a black glove.

Everything happened far too quickly, the shot could even be heard over the engine, then the window shattered, shards flying around. I immediately covered my face to protect myself, but it was too late because the bullet had already reached its target.

I could still see the Rover accelerating, the blood pouring out of Adam’s abdomen, and then everything turned into a series of devastating events. I could no longer scream, think, or do anything to save my life.

Adam lost control of the car and braked hard, but we were going too fast. I felt like the whole planet was spinning backwards as the car swerved unnaturally and went off the road.

The seatbelt dug into my ribs again, the air was forced out of my lungs and the car was thrown onto its left side. The sound was deafening as the body crumpled and we were trapped inside.

The position in my seat changed, and I was hanging on my side, held by the seatbelt, then something hit the ceiling directly above my head, knocking it, and my vision suddenly darkened.

At the same time, I felt the pain spread throughout my body without being able to pinpoint the cause.

Then everything stopped.

All that remained was silence, smoke, broken glass and the two of us, trapped like two birds in a broken cage.

I gritted my teeth as my ears began to ring. I closed my eyes and forced myself to reach my temples because the pain was unbearable, but my hands weren’t helping as they were trapped in an anomalous position. I blinked several times to clear my vision, but everything was blurry.

When I managed to get past the pain and keep myself from passing out, I realized the situation I was in. The car had rolled over on Adam’s side, then the roof had hit a tree, which is probably why we hadn’t rolled any further.

The back of my head hurt terribly, the roof of the car was pressing down on my head while I was hanging by the seatbelt

Adam was unconscious underneath me.

I reached for him and held him by the arm. His head was covered in blood and pressed into the broken glass.

“Adam! Adam!” I cried out, tugging desperately at him as fear and horror brought back some of my strength.

My heart pounded as I tried to free myself from the seatbelt. I wrenched free and held onto the door to stop myself from falling onto Adam. The shards dug into my palms as I tried to find a position that would allow me access to Adam. I had no chance of taking him out through his door.

I felt no more pain as the blood flowed from my skin, seemingly without source. All I focused on with unimaginable desperation was freeing Adam, making sure he didn’t….

“Adam! Adam, please, wake up!”

I screamed and cried at the same time and managed to undo his seatbelt. I held onto the door and lifted his t-shirt to examine his abdomen. There was a terrible cut on his chest, but I couldn’t see a bullet wound.

I didn’t allow myself to get too excited about it because he was still unconscious. I pressed the T-shirt to his wound, and he flinched.

I had never felt greater relief in my life, all the air in the world squeezed out of my lungs as he opened his eyes and looked at me.

“Kath, run,” he barely whispered, his breathing shallow.

“I’m not running anywhere,” I gritted my teeth and helped him pull his arm out from under him.

He winced in pain. It appeared to be broken, but after he regained consciousness, he was able to move.

“We have to get out of here,” he said, and I agreed with him wholeheartedly.

I could hear the engine sizzling, the smell of gasoline getting stronger by the second, but I didn’t want to think about it.

I crawled with all my might to my door, cutting myself several times because there was broken glass everywhere, but I managed to unlock it and push it open with my foot.

I held my hand out to Adam, and he didn’t protest when he grabbed it. It was harder for him to get out through the tight space as he was larger than me, but we managed to make our way out together, then jumped off the car.

Adam grabbed me by the waist and pulled me away from it. He was limping and losing more blood by the second. He couldn’t hold up one of his arms, but we managed to pull ourselves to safety.

After we made sure an eventual explosion wouldn’t reach us, we finally breathed a sigh of relief and sank to the ground.

There was no one around.

Our attackers had disappeared, but I still didn’t feel safe. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against a tree while the pain returned to many parts of my body. I was cold and my vision was blurred again. Adam pulled me closer to him and examined my temples, because that’s where most of the pain was coming from. I didn’t want to know why.

I breathed in through my teeth and pressed my palms to my head, where they filled with blood.

“It’s just a cut, don’t freak out.” He reassured me with his gentle voice.

I wasn’t scared, I was completely terrified, but not because of the cut on my temple.

I remembered my phone, but it was trapped in the car, which hadn’t exploded, but I didn’t feel capable of going back for it. Adam got his out and called 911 just before he lost consciousness again.

***

I felt incredibly cold.

The hospital corridor seemed colder than any refrigerator, but at least the strong smell of disinfectant and the painkillers I was given had managed to keep me sane.

Despite the dizziness and pain, I was fine. A shard of glass had cut my temple, but it was nothing that needed stitches or an overnight stay. My arms and legs were covered in cuts, but most of them were superficial. My palms were burning the most now. The pills they’d given me had eased the dizziness.

Adam was still in surgery. His cut was much deeper and needed stitches. He had been on the verge of tearing his chest apart.

I had no idea where the bullet had lodged, but I was grateful to all the angels because it hadn’t lodged in one of us.

Harris stormed through the doors of the hospital, his face even crazier with fear than before.

He called my name, sprinted towards me and slumped to his knees in front of the chair I was sitting in.

“Baby…” his words were lost in fear as he tenderly touched my bandages.

I had cleaned myself up in the bathroom, but I was still soiled with blood and mud. I was wearing the same dress as this morning and my hair was wet from washing the blood off in a sink.

The torment in his eyes was clear to see. I had managed to call him after getting my phone out of the car, which hadn’t exploded.

I stood up and took his hands in mine so he could stand up, too.

“I’m fine, just a few scratches.”

He still couldn’t speak, so he just held me.

After the nightmare I had just experienced, I breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down in his arms.

It had happened because of him. I knew that better than anything. Whoever was stalking me was doing it because of him, but I didn’t have the strength to push him away, to let him go, not when I was so weakened and scared, and he was the only person in the world who had ever managed to make the pain go away with a single touch.

Before we could say anything else to each other, I saw Shane come in too. I remembered where Harris had been, but he was here now, and that was all that mattered.

“I have never met anyone who attracts as much trouble as you do.”

I was probably mentally exhausted, because Shane actually made me smile. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against Harris’ chest as he hugged me tighter, wrapping me in a vine of warmth and protection.

“I took care of it on my end, it was a simple accident and everything is in Adam’s name. I also made sure no one called your father.”

I thanked him, grateful. I’d asked him that after I’d spoken to Harris. The police couldn’t help us now because we hadn’t seen anything. No face, just a hand out of a slightly open window, then all hell broke loose.

I massaged my temples again and turned to Harris.

“It was the car I told you about when you picked me up from the supermarket.”

He frowned in shock.

“The same car?”

I nodded.

“Are you sure?”

I opened my mouth but closed it again as a nurse walked past us. The three of us pressed closer to the wall, and I answered in a whisper.

“Yes, the same car. I saw it again the morning when we both went to help Iolanda.”

Harris looked down at the floor, frowning, while Shane watched us both.

“You didn’t tell me about it.” He scolded, and I scowled at him.

“You want me to remind you what you did earlier?”

He clicked his tongue. Everyone who passed in the corridor stared at us in shock or curiosity, especially the two men in front of me. Shane looked like a soldier ready to go to Afghanistan, and Harris looked no less dangerous, even though he was wearing a plain black T-shirt.

He was still deep in thought and there was the same frown on his forehead.

“What’s wrong?”

He licked his lips and looked towards the hospital door.

“Something doesn’t add up. I identified the guy back then. At least the car, because Ty couldn’t find any images of him showing his face when checking the cameras.”

I blinked in shock.

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“I didn’t need to, you were already scared enough.”

I clenched my fists to stop myself from making a scene in the middle of the hospital.

“Who was he?”

“A nobody! A fucking forty-year-old accountant who said he’d never in his life seen you. I beat him until I broke a few bones, but he didn’t change his statement. I’ve been watching him ever since, thinking he was a psychopath who targeted you at the store.”

I tried not to react any further, not to think about what he had kept from me, because I had enough problems already.

“Someone’s tampering with the plates,” Shane concluded, and Harris pressed his lips together.

“And it’s always a gray Range Rover,” I added.

“That’s probably on purpose, they want you to recognize it.”

A psychopath. Just like Adam had said. I remembered our conversation in the car, at least what he’d been able to tell me in those few seconds. I told them about it, and the horror on Harris’ face grew.

He understood things, I was sure of it, even if he didn’t tell me.

“I think I need to have another talk with your New York friend.”

The anger in his voice felt like a flame burning in the middle of a lake of gasoline. I knew he was about to explode, and nothing was going to stop it.

We got distracted by Shane’s phone, and he stepped away to answer it, leaving us alone. We looked at each other for a few seconds as Adam’s doctor came out. He seemed relieved when he reached us.

“Your friend is fine. The wound was deep and nasty, but nothing more than a muscle injury. His leg is broken and he’ll be in crutches for a few weeks, but his hand isn’t broken, just sprained.”

“Is he awake?” Harris asked before I could say anything.

“Yes, we’ve just taken him to his room.”

“Good,” he spoke through his teeth.

The doctor, a rather short man in his fifties, looked intently at the young man in front of him.

He shook his head and smiled at me, then left. I could understand his discomfort, because Harris seemed to be able to pulverize something just by looking at it.

“Walker, make yourself useful for once in your life and stay with Katherine until I come out,” he ordered when the detective returned.

Shane grabbed him by the arm before I could.

“You’re not beating that guy in here,” he growled in a low voice next to Harris’ ear.

They tried to be inconspicuous and not draw attention, but they were unsuccessful.

“Get your hand off me,” came the reply to Shane’s growl.

“I can’t stay. A body was found in the harbor, and I really hope it has nothing to do with you two, because you’re starting to wear me out.”

I shivered, and when Harris looked at me, he seemed to calm down and pulled me into his arms.

“I’m serious, Stone,” Shane warned.

“I’m not going to hit him. Just go already.”

Shane sighed, looking tired as he realized he’d never get a nicer response or gratitude from Harris. The regret of ever having helped was evident on his features.

“Even if what it’s happening to her because of you, don’t let her out of your sight.” Shane said before turning to me. “I told you to stay away from him now, it’s too late.”

I bit my tongue to stop myself from crying in fear as Harris shook with rage beside me.

“She’s scared enough without you spewing shit out of your mouth. And you don’t need to tell me to protect her.”

“Be better at it,” Shane replied through clenched teeth, then turned away and left.

I watched him until he left the hospital, then I looked at Harris.

“I want to get out of here.”

“We need to talk to him and you know it,” I bit my lip as I had no strength left in me, “aren’t you curious about the truth?”

“Yes, but…”

“Listen, whoever the bastard who made him do this is, it’s possible he’s still around, waiting for the right moment to get to him and finish the job. That won’t happen until I know everything.”

I wouldn’t have moved if he hadn’t pulled me along with him. He told me without any quibble that Adam could be killed.

My feet were shaking by the time we reached his room, and while Harris asked for directions, I clung to his back. At that moment, I felt the gun under his T-shirt.

I’d felt it once before, when he’d taken me home on his motorcycle, and only now did I realize what had pressed into my stomach then.

He never had it with him when he came over, and I was sure he didn’t have it with him today when Shane came, but he had it now. And somehow I knew there wouldn’t be another day when he did not have it with him.

I fought with every fiber of my being against associating Harris with a criminal, but every moment brought me closer and closer to the horrible truth.

I couldn’t fight myself and drown in denial just because I wanted to, but I needed to. I had to believe that gun was only for self-defense, that he didn’t use it regularly.

He opened the door to Adam’s room and entered without knocking first. I had expected to find Adam lying down, but he was standing and struggling to put on a shirt. A nurse was there, explaining some painkillers to him.

He looked at us, at me, and his relief was palpable in the air. I didn’t know how to deal with it or how to behave, because despite the fact that it had all happened because of me, he had chosen to do what a psychopath had asked him to do instead of telling me or going to the police.

He had lured me into a trap.

I was willing to listen to him, to understand what had determined him to do it, but the look on Harris’ face told me that he was not interested in explanations. He remained at the door without moving, in the same position in which I felt he was protecting me from all sides. His arm was around my waist while he gave Adam an impatient frown.

“Thank you!” he said to the nurse in a dismissive tone.

The young woman stopped speaking and looked at us, and I imagined Harris must have startled her, because she immediately averted her eyes and apologized, then sprinted from the room.

As she passed me, I glanced at Harris, at the anger on his face. Had I not known him, he probably would have scared me, too.

“Can we talk? Alone?” Adam asked me, then glanced at Harris.

He was struggling to sit upright, on his feet.

Harris was bursting with anger and biting his lower lip, almost as if he was about to do something horrible.

Before I had a chance to stop him or even touch him, he left my side and reached for Adam. He grabbed him by the arm and neck, and I only heard his gasp before Harris slammed his face into a wall. He crushed his jaw into it, and Adam shrieked in pain.

“Harris, please,” I said, stepping forward.

Adam tried to free himself, but he had no chance. He was too weak and wounded, and Harris was too angry.

“Speak!” he growled, pressing his face even harder against the wall as Adam gasped and looked at me.

“What happened after they beat you?” I asked.

His eyes had filled with tears from the pain, but he tried to speak.

“The next day, when I was in the hospital, they attacked my sister in the street and were about to rape her. They told me that Lucy wouldn’t be so lucky the second time if I did not do what they asked. I didn’t see the face of the others, just the one that had spoken to me the first time. I was scared to go to the police, and I was scared for my sister.”

Tears ran down my cheeks and I just nodded because I understood him and he didn’t need to explain further. I knew his sister, his stepsister, who was fifteen years old. His mother had her after she remarried, but Adam loved her more than anything.

“I thought it was some rich psychopath who saw you here and had the hots for you. He wanted nothing but those damn photos. I called you to stall them, to find a way to tell you and find out who he is before he gets to you. I have been freaking out the last few days, Kath, but every time I have backed out, something has happened. They broke into my mom’s car, they poisoned our dog,” he gasped in pain again and his head fell back.

“Let him go, Harris,” I pleaded, and surprisingly, he listened.

He turned Adam to face him.

“You said you saw one of them?”

“Yes.”

“What did he look like?”

“I didn’t see him well enough to describe him; he was wearing sunglasses and a cap, but he had brown hair, was tall and slim, over forty-five…”

Harris face spoke before he did. He had figured out who it was. He pulled out his phone and showed Adam something.

“Him?”

Adam looked at the photo, frowned, then nodded.

“Yeah, pretty sure it was him.”

They looked at each other, both shocked, and I couldn’t stand the tension any longer. I went to Harris and snatched the phone out of his hand to see the photo.

He was a normal guy, nothing unusual about him. He was tied to a chair, his eyes looking fearfully ahead, and he seemed to have been beaten up quite a bit by the time the photo was taken.

He didn’t look like a criminal or a psychopath… but who did?

I’d never seen him before in my life.

“Who is he?” I asked Harris, who released Adam and took the phone from my hand to call someone immediately after.

“Ty, are you keeping an eye on Olsen?…. Where is he now?…. Gather everyone and get him, don’t let him get away. I’m on my way… Now, Ty!”

He hung up and sent a text message, exhaling angrily through his nose.

“Harris, what’s going on? Who is that man?”

“The owner of that car.”

“The accountant you were talking about earlier?”

“Yes.”

“But what…” I stammered, and he looked first at me, then at Adam.

“I’ll find out this time.”

He grabbed Adam by the collar of his T-shirt.

“What the fuck did he want you to do, exactly?”

“This fucking photo shoot. He wanted pictures with Kath like that. I have no idea why; he didn’t explain. He wanted me to persuade her to pose in…” Adam looked at me, a little embarrassed.

“How?”

“In lingerie and covered in colored dust. He even gave me the tubes, he had a certain powder he wanted me to use.”

“And you tricked me into it? Why didn’t you call the police, Adam? You saw his face.”

“Because it wasn’t just him. He seemed to be nothing more than a manipulated pawn, an unimportant messenger. The others wore masks, they had attacked my sister. There were many of them, armed. I know you’re thinking logically now, but what would you have done if they had threatened to kill your father?”

I choked on my words, unable to contradict him further. He had gone through this trauma because of me.

I glanced at Harris, but he kept looking down, growing paler by the second.

“Colored dust…” he whispered as he seemed lost in thought, then he looked at Adam. “Was there a color he wanted you to use more of?”

“Yeah, a lot of violet.”

Harris’ face exploded with anger, he was swearing more than I’d ever heard him swear before as he kicked a cupboard vigorously. I tried to keep my cool until he calmed down.

“I should have killed him when I had the chance,” he ran his fingers through his hair, then pointed his index finger at Adam, “You’re lucky you’re her friend and she’s been through enough because of me, otherwise you wouldn’t be leaving this hospital alive.”

Without giving another answer, Harris grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room.

“Harris, wait, we can’t leave him here.”

“I’m not responsible for him, he brought this on himself.”

In the hallway, I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to attract any more attention, but once we were outside, I exploded.

“Harris!” I yelled at him, wrenching my hand from his grasp. “Tell me what the hell is going on! Who did this?”

He grabbed my hand again and pulled me to his car, and I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to make a scene in public. Once we were in the car, I took his hands in mine to stop him from driving before he explained.

“It’s Joshua. It’s always been Joshua.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and cursed.

“How… how did you figure it out so quickly? What does this have to do with the dust?”

He looked at me and licked his lips as he struggled to find his words.

“It’s a revenge plot.”

“Revenge for what, Harris?”

“For killing his brother.”

I struggled against my own collapse as Harris speed up.

I couldn’t find the strength to ask any questions; I probably wouldn’t have known what to ask anyway, but as soon as he’d confirmed that terrible thing, Ty had called him.

They had Olsen.

I wanted to wake up from the nightmare.

That was all I could think about…that it was all a nightmare. A horrible nightmare that didn’t seem to end, where the boy I’d fallen in love with was a criminal and all his enemies were using me as an instrument of revenge against him.

“V’s still at the garage, I’ll take you there and…”

“Take me home, Harris.”

The anger in my voice had the desired effect as he just nodded and accelerated towards my house.

I wanted to be with my father, take a bath and pretend none of that was true for at least a few hours or I would have lost my mind.

“I want you to promise me that you’ll protect Adam.”

His lips drew into a line as he looked ahead.

“He doesn’t deserve it.”

“Yes, he does, Harris, because he didn’t do anything. He was trying to save me, get me out of town. If anything happens to him, I swear it’s all over between us. I can accept what’s happening to me, I can deal with it, but I can’t accept that the important people in my life are suffering because of it.”

He still didn’t look at me, but he nodded.

“I’ll make sure he stays alive.”

I was satisfied with that and banged my head against the headrest. God, it hurt so much I felt like my brain was spilling out of my ears. I didn’t even notice Harris pull up in front of my house.

He reached for me.

“And I’ll make sure you’re safe. For real, this time. Someone will be watching you at all times until I clear everything up.”

I didn’t want to know what that meant, I didn’t want to ask for details either, not now, so I just nodded. My dad’s car wasn’t in our driveway, but shortly after, another car pulled up behind us and I winced. Trauma.

Harris took my hand in his.

“They’re my friends. They’ll stay here while I’m gone.”

I looked at him and wished… wished I could have resisted him, wished I could have looked at him and said that I didn’t love him, that I could have just ended it and kicked him out of my life forever.

Everything would have been so easy if I had been able to, but when I looked into his green eyes, I felt all the anger, fear and love in the world.

He had gone in too deep, left his mark, but today had been too much for me.

I couldn’t hide anymore and pretend it wasn’t real.

I had fallen in love with a murderer.

I wanted to run as far away from him as possible, but at the same time I wanted him with all my being.

Our first official relationship day. I thought about it as a memory with macabre amusement, in case we were still together in a few years.

The uncertainty of that feeling hurt more than the wounds on my body. The chances of Harris and I still being together years from now were too slim.

I opened the door before my own thoughts could make me surrender to him.

“Baby…” he grabbed my hand before I could get out.

“I need to be alone, Harris.”

“I know, and I promise I will explain everything to you, absolutely everything you want to know.”

His phone rang again, but he ignored it. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to know the details anymore. He had told me the most horrible truth of all with his own mouth.

“I just want me, my father and my friends to be safe again now.”

“I promise they will be.”

Needles pricked my eyes again, and I bit my tongue as I pulled my hand out of his. He let me out of the car, and I closed the door behind me.

Every step I took towards my house felt like a stake going through my skull. I barely managed to stumble into the kitchen and drink a glass of water, then took many deep breaths.

The effect of the painkillers wore off and the need to put my head in a bag of cocaine grew.

I saw him drive away through the kitchen window, but the other car was still there. Also a sports car, and I couldn’t see who was driving it, but I didn’t care.

I took a cigarette from the pack I’d taken from him and lit it with shaky hands. I sat down on the chair and prayed that the nicotine would help, that it would calm my fear and anger, but nothing happened. With every second that passed, I became more and more aware of what had happened, of the situation I was in.

After four cigarettes, I moved to the bathroom and left the water running in the bathtub.

I called my father to make sure he was okay and that no further misfortune would happen. He didn’t answer, but he sent me a voice message saying that he would be home in an hour.

I threw the dirty clothes in the laundry basket and got into the hot water. Every inch of skin was burning, my head was pounding, so I numbed it all with the remaining cigarettes from the pack.

I was exhausted, physically and mentally, but sleep seemed to take its time as my mind was overflowing and fear vibrated under my skin.

At midnight, he sent me the photos.

Those photos.

It was a good way to drive me completely insane, to make me realize how obsessed I had become with him. I spent hours sticking them into my diary, losing track of how many pages I’d done with him in them. My favorite pictures were my favorites – ones in which he was touching my body in the most sensual ways, and even though our faces or private parts weren’t visible, it made the pictures even more erotic.

He had become my whole life, all that mattered.

And everything that could kill me now.