“Chill out, babe. We’re fine,” Riley says with an abundance of confidence.
I get it.She’s a girl with a crush and she’s soaking up these last few minutes with Elias before the night ends. It doesn’t change what happened and what could happen, though.
“I don’t like this.”
Elias stops walking, still holding Riley’s hand tightly. “Don’t you think if someone wanted to get to you, they would have by now?”
“I…I guess so.”Fuck. I don’t know.Maybe it’s time to be honest with Riley and Elias. They’re my closest friends here and it might help if they knew what’s been going on. I nod toward the stairs in front of the library.“Can we skip the snacks and sit? There’s something I need to tell you both.”
“You okay?” Riley asks while at the same time Elias says, “Yeah. Sure.”
I bite my lip, taking a seat on the bottom step. My legs stretch out in front of me and I twiddle my thumbs in my lap, trying to figure out where to start.
“Help!” someone shouts in the distance, grabbing all our attention.
I’m back on my feet, my heart racing. “What was that?”
“I don’t know. It sounded like a girl,” Riley says.
We look around, waiting for someone to show their face, when the harrowing sound of a girl’s screams ring through the small-town square.
Riley begins walking steadfastly toward the sound and I shout after her, “Don’t go, Ry. You don’t know who’s out there!”
Elias jogs to her side, trying to stop her. “Someone’s in trouble,” Riley hisses, throwing Elias’s arm off her hip. “We have to try and help.”
I’m shaking uncontrollably. Frantic. Terrified. Unsure whether I should go with her or stay behind. I’m too scared to make a decision.
Before I have to make a decision, in the distance, someone stumbles out of the woods. Riley and Elias rush to her side while I press my fingertips to my temples, not knowing what the hell is going on.
“Who is it?” I shout, too scared to find out for myself.Is she hurt? Is she alive?
“It’s Melody,” Riley hollers back.
Pulling myself together, I jog over to them and see Melody sitting on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest. Her face is smeared with a mixture of tears and dirt. Her hair is a mess and her white jacket is ripped on the sleeve. “Oh my god, Melody,” I bellow, dropping to her side. “Are you okay?”
She shakes her head, crying. “Someone grabbed me. He’s out there.”
“Out where?” I ask. “In the woods?”
She nods, body trembling. Her eyes pin to mine and her expression shifts to one of deep fear. “He wants you, Scarlett.”
“Me?” I sputter. “Why would you say that? What did he say?”
She holds her hand out to me and unravels her fist. Sitting in her palm is a small piece of folded paper. “What is that?” I ask, although I can clearly see what it is.
“He told me to give this to you.”
Reluctantly, I take the note from her with a shaky hand.
“Open it,” Riley urges me as she consoles Melody with a hand on her shoulder.
I look from person to person, not so sure I want to know what this note says.
“What the hell are you waiting for? Open it!” Melody pushes, and I can see she’s returned to her normal bitchy self.
Slowly, I unfold it. My eyes pinch shut, and when I open them, I read the words in my head.
It was supposed to be you.