Doesn’t mean that no-one’s there though.
“…and then he did this thing with his tongue in the shower and I—”
I get up and walk to the edge of the railing, peering out at the approaching mainland in the dark. The twinkling reflection of the lights on the water make it look so pretty, but in my periphery I’m scanning for whoever’s watching me.
“Malia?” Summer’s hand on the small of my back makes me jump. “Whoa. You’re jumpy. What’s wrong?”
Shouldn’t I be freaking out about the open water and all the space around me? Isn’t this boat my worst nightmare? Why am I only unnerved by the person watching me and not by all this open space with no escape?
“I think we’re being followed,” I tell Summer in a low whisper, swallowing past the nervous lump in my throat.
“Malia, that’s ridiculous. We’re on a boat to the mainland. We’re going to the same place as everyone else.” That may be true, but I feel eyes on me. We’re being watched. I know it. “Come sit down. Missing those meds has you all out of whack and paranoid. It’s a good thing we’re going to the hos—”
“Shh!” I urge, slamming my hand over Summer’s mouth to stop her from announcing our destination to whoever’s listening. We’ll see. When we dock and get off this boat, we’ll see if I’m paranoid and imagining things if this feeling doesn’t go away.
I’ve got you now.
“Who said that? Did you hear that?” I whip around trying to locate the source of the creepy, raspy voice I just heard.
“No one said anything, MT. Chill out. We’re almost there. A few more minutes.”
We fall into silence but I’m more alert now, scanning every passenger and trying to catch them looking at me. When we disembark, I’m so busy looking over my shoulder and staring into the shadows that Summer has to pull me through the streets. I’m not paying any attention to where I’m going, all my focus is on the predator lurking in the darkness.
You can run but you can’t hide.
“W-what?” I stumble to a halt and Summer shakes her head at me.
“I didn’t say anything. But we do need to hurry before the late shift ends.”
Need to taste. Want to kill. Rip. Tear. Scream.
“Malia? Come on.”
I let Summer tug me away from the darkened entryway I’m staring down. I could have sworn I heard something. It’s so strange.
“Here. Glad we made it.”
You won’t get away. I’ll bathe in your screams and your blood before the moon is full again.
Summer buzzes us into the clinic and although I reluctantly follow her, my focus is still very much outside. At least the voices seem to have stopped in here.
The doctors greet Summer and she has a hurried, hushed conversation with them. The whole team appear to have come to meet me, which is odd. I only missed a few pills for goodness’ sake! I don’t need a welcome committee for a slap on the wrist, a lecture about being a good little patient and a shot to send me on my merry way.
Summer comes back over to me and gives me a pitiful look. Why?
“Here’s her things. She has her phone on her.”
“Summer, what’s going on?” I whirl around and stare at my best friend. Supposed best friend. She’s set me up.
“I’m really sorry, Malia. But if I told you, you wouldn’t have come and it would have made everything a lot more difficult. I’m sorry. But we all really do want what’s best for you.”
She gives me a sad smile and hands over the small bag she’s been carrying. It’s obviously packed with the things needed for my stay. Why didn’t I realise it sooner? I should have paid more attention.
“I’m not staying! I thought we were just here for a quick checkup. This is ridiculous! So what if I forgot a couple of pills?!” My anger rises and the lights flicker distractingly above my head. I glance up in annoyance and the staff take advantage of my attention being elsewhere to pounce.
A sharp scratch to the neck has me snarling at Summer, “I hope you get an STI and all five of your guys’ dicks fall off!” before everything goes fuzzy and dark.
“I’m really sorry, MT,” Summer cries, sounding truly anguished. Good. She should be sorry. I didn’t want this. I didn’t ask for this. Who knows how long they’ll keep me here this time? A quick checkup my ass.
My last thought before my heavy eyelids close is that I won’t make that date with Cove after all. And I didn’t even get a chance to tell him.