The Monster Within

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

MAYBE the note wasn’t from Nora. It could’ve been a coincidence that someone left it under her cup. This place had been packed tonight. Anyone could have left it without me seeing. But what if it was Nora? That would mean she knew my secret. Did that also mean she was the same person who had left the other notes?

I studied the handwriting, but it was smeared by a ring of coffee from the bottom of the cup. I couldn’t be sure if it looked like the other notes or not. I couldn’t even be sure Nora was the one who’d left it. Although the threatening nature of the note definitely fit Nora’s personality.

“Ready to go?” Ethan asked, coming up behind me.

I dropped the cup, spilling a few drops of coffee on the note.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Ethan grabbed a towel off the counter and began mopping up the spill.

“It’s okay. I’ll get it.” I took the towel before Ethan could see the note underneath it.

“I don’t mind helping.”

“I know, but you’ve been working just as hard as I have, and this is all I have left to do.” I wiped the towel and the note into a plastic washtub under the counter and brought it to the kitchen.

Jackson was out back taking out the trash. I could hear him slamming the metal lid closed on the garbage container. I fished the note out of the washtub and tore it up before burying it under food scraps in the garbage. I stood there for a moment with the message on the note swimming in my head. I know what you are.

I thought of the peeping Tom from the cottage. I’d almost forgotten about him with everything else that had happened since then. My life was one big jumble of problems, and that guy had gotten buried under the others. But he knew my secret. Maybe he was the one who’d left the note. It was crowded tonight. I could have missed him somehow. I’d hoped I wouldn’t see him again after Ethan threw him out. If the guy had the guts to come here and risk running into Ethan again, he must really want to get to me.

I jumped when a hand touched my shoulder.

“It’s me.” Ethan turned me around. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m just tired. This place was crazy tonight. Even my fingernails hurt.”

Ethan chuckled. “I didn’t know fingernails could hurt.” He brought my fingers to his lips and kissed each one. Sometimes I wanted to melt right into him. If I wasn’t so sweaty and didn’t smell like stale coffee and melted cheese, I probably would have.

“I really need a shower.” I brushed a stray hair out of my face and turned away.

He took my hand. “I wouldn’t care if you were covered in dirt. You’d still be beautiful to me.”

I stiffened at the thought, remembering my first night back—after I’d climbed out of my own grave. Ethan and I were both dirty after that. Sure, he’d done all the digging, but I still had to climb out of my casket. A small sound like a whimper escaped my lips.

“Hey.” Ethan brushed his hand against my cheek. “No bad thoughts, okay?” He leaned his face to mine and kissed me, making every thought wash away. He had that effect on me.

The back door opened, and Jackson cleared his throat. “Did I somehow stumble into your bedroom? Because I was looking for my kitchen.”

I pulled away from Ethan, feeling my cheeks warm from embarrassment. “Sorry, Jackson.”

“All my fault,” Ethan said, winking at me. “Is there anything else I can do for you before we head out?”

“Nah, go on home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Jackson,” Ethan and I said.

“Oh, isn’t that cute?” Jackson shook his head and mumbled, “Teenagers in love.”

Ethan and I smiled at each other as we walked out of the kitchen. Gloria was sitting at the counter rubbing her foot. She looked up when she saw us. “I’m not sure how many more crowds like that these old feet can take.”

“We could come in earlier tomorrow if you’d like,” I said. We could definitely use the money, and it was obvious Gloria needed the help.

Gloria waved us off. “That’s very nice of you, but I can’t ask two teenagers to give up their entire weekend to work in a diner. I don’t pay you enough to take away your youth.”

Taking away youth. Her words hit me like a slap in the face. That’s what I had done to Trevor—stolen his youth, stolen his life so I could have mine.

“Besides, you’re not looking too good.” Gloria narrowed her eyes at me. “You coming down with something?”

Yeah, a bad case of being sickened by the thought of myself. “I’m just tired. We’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. But if you change your mind about us coming in early—”

She got up and herded us to the door before I could finish my sentence.

Ethan laughed as we walked to the car. “I kind of love that woman.”

“Don’t make me jealous.” I playfully jabbed my elbow into his ribs.

“Oh, yes. You should be jealous. I’ve always had a thing for grandmas.”

“Well then, sonny,” I said in my best grandma voice, “give us a kiss.”

Ethan backed away and put his hands up to keep me from getting too close. “Okay, that was disturbing.”

“Over the grandma thing?”

“Definitely.” He opened my door for me, and as soon as I was in the car, he bent down and kissed me. “Definitely better than kissing a grandma.”

“So, you have something to compare it to?” I laughed as a look of disgust crossed his face.

“That’s so evil,” he said, but he was stifling a laugh. He shut my door and walked around the car.

My eyes caught a glimpse of a shadow at the side of the diner. I figured it was Jackson or Gloria, so I raised my hand to wave, but the figure stepped into the light. It was him. The peeping Tom.

Ethan got in the car, and I reached for his arm. “Look!” I pointed to where the guy was standing, but he was already gone. I’d only looked away for a second to get Ethan’s attention, but that was all it took.

“What?”

“It was—at least I think it was that guy, the one who was looking in our bedroom window.”

“Where?” Ethan opened his door again.

“No.” I reached for him. “Please, don’t go after him. I’m not even sure if it was him. It’s dark. My eyes could’ve been playing tricks on me.”

Ethan didn’t look convinced.

“Even if it was him, he’s gone now.”

“Tomorrow I’ll ask Jackson and Gloria if they’ve ever seen him. He’s pretty hard to forget with the bleach job.”

“He doesn’t bleach his hair. He’s a platinum blond. He’s really pale, and his eyes are really light blue. All his features match. He definitely doesn’t dye his hair.”

Ethan cocked his head at me. “How closely were you looking at him?”

“He was in our bedroom, only about two feet from me. Believe me, I got a good look. When someone tries to attack you, you remember things about them, especially their face.”

Ethan sighed. “You sure you don’t want me to see if he’s there? I don’t want you to be afraid to come here.”

“I’m fine. Besides, this place is always packed. What could one guy possibly do to me with that many people around?”

“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better. I don’t want anyone to come after you. Ever. There’s no good time to have a stalker.”

“I know that.” I leaned my head back on the seat. “Can we please drop this? I’m really tired, and I’m dying to get in the shower.”

Ethan stared at me for a minute before starting the car. When he pulled out of the parking spot, he drove around the diner.

“Ethan, what are you doing?”

“I want to make sure he’s gone. Humor me.”

What could I do? I wasn’t driving, and I didn’t want to get into a fight with Ethan over some creepy guy. We drove around the diner twice, just in case Ethan missed anything the first time around. I tried to keep my eye-rolling to a minimum. I knew he cared and that was why he was being cautious, but I wasn’t helpless. Finally satisfied, Ethan pulled out of the diner and headed home.

“Want to watch a movie before bed?” Ethan asked, trying to forget our almost fight.

“A movie? We don’t have any.”

“I found a DVD player and some DVDs in the storage facility. They’re pretty old, but there are a few comedies and even a horror flick.”

“No horror flicks for me, thanks.” My life was a horror flick these days.

“Comedy it is, then.”

We pulled into the driveway and stared at the rock formation.

“I guess I have to move these again in the morning. I still don’t see why anyone would bother to do this. Some of the rocks are heavy.”

“I thought we were going to leave the rocks for a little while, so whoever did it would lay off the lame pranks.”

Ethan held my hand as we wove through the rocks to the front door. “All right, I’ll leave them for a little longer. It’s just a pain to get around them.”

Inside I headed straight for the shower. I needed to wash the events of the day down the drain, and I needed a good cry. My emotions had been a roller coaster lately. I was trying to deal with this strange way I’d come back to life and the terrible things I had to do to stay alive, and I was trying to put on a happy face for Ethan. If he knew how miserable I was most of the time, he’d feel guilty. And who knew how he would feel if he knew my secret. Which was why I couldn’t let that peeping Tom near Ethan again. I couldn’t chance him telling Ethan what he knew. The question was, how did he even find out?

The water rained down on me as I went through all the possibilities. My peeping Tom had seen me kill Herman, the creepy guy I’d almost collided cars with. He’d been at the gas station when I killed the guy in the cowboy hat. I couldn’t remember what the guy working the register at the gas station quickie mart had looked like. It could’ve been him. But why would he follow me all the way out here?

The water went cold before I came to any real conclusions, and I cursed at myself for using up all the warm water. Ethan hadn’t showered yet. I wrapped a towel around me and walked out of the bathroom with my head hung low. “Sorry, I guess I lost track of time in there.”

Ethan looked at me in my towel. I usually brought my clothes into the bathroom with me so I could get dressed before I came out.

“Are you mad?” I asked.

He gawked a little more. Boys. I shook my head and walked into the bedroom. I threw on a tank top and pajama pants and combed my hair. A few minutes later, I heard the shower running. Ethan could probably use a cold shower right now. I chuckled to myself, making a mental note that wearing nothing but a towel was a great way to get out of a potential argument with Ethan.

I put my comb down on the dresser and was reaching for the light switch when there was a knock on the window. I whipped around. Someone was standing at the window, looking in. Someone with platinum-blond hair and pale blue eyes. Oh, God! Had he watched me get dressed? I stormed out of the room and out the front door. It was stupid. I knew that. But I was pissed. I had had enough of this guy following me around, leaving notes—if it was him. I was putting an end to it tonight.

I left the front door wide open and turned the corner. He was leaning against the house, waiting for me. The smug bastard knew I’d come out here.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” I stormed up to him and smacked him across the face.

His head turned to the side, and he pressed his open palm to his cheek where I’d left a big, red mark. It went well with the black eyes he had from Ethan breaking his nose.

“That’s for peeking in my window.” I moved closer to him, and he backed up against the cottage. I punched him square in the stomach, and he let out a whoosh of air as he doubled forward. “And that’s for watching me get dressed, you pervert.”

He moaned and coughed, looking at me like I was the one who’d done something wrong.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” I held my fists up, ready to punch him again if need be.

“I didn’t watch you get dressed. All I saw was you brushing your hair.”

“Sure. Like I believe that.”

“I’m telling you the truth.” He straightened and held his hands up in defense. “I’m not going to hurt you, and I’m not trying to catch glimpses of you naked, if that’s what you think.”

“Then what are you doing following me around? And what’s with the notes?”

“Look, I need to tell you something, and you have to trust me.”

“Trust you? You bashed my boyfriend’s head into the side of our house!” My arms flailed, and he ducked, afraid I was going to hit him again.

“He came at me with a hammer. What did you expect me to do?” I stopped swinging my arms, and he shook his head. “I had to get the hammer away from him. I tossed it in the woods when he dropped it. Doesn’t that prove I’m not this monster you’re trying to make me out to be?”

“Not wanting to go to jail for murder doesn’t make you a good guy. You didn’t have to hurt Ethan. If you weren’t a creep, you wouldn’t have.” My mind lingered on the image of Ethan threatening this guy with a hammer. He’d never been a violent person. What was happening to him?

“I needed to talk to you. He got in the way.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to talk to you. All you’ve done is threaten me with things you supposedly know about me. I’ve had it. Stay away from me, or Ethan coming at you with a hammer will be the least of your concerns.”

“Because you’ll kill me yourself? It doesn’t work that way. You don’t get to choose when you get the urge to steal life from others.”

Oh, my God. Up until then, I’d tried to tell myself there was a chance this guy only thought he knew my secret. But he really did. Right down to the last detail.

“Get out of here!” I screamed.

“Sam!” Ethan came running outside in his pajama bottoms. “What the hell?” he yelled when he saw me with the peeping Tom.

The guy stared at me and shoved a piece of paper into my hand before taking off toward the woods. Ethan ran after him, leaving me to look at the yellow Post-it note in my hand.

Dylan 555-0851

His name was Dylan. He knew my secret, and he wasn’t about to let me get away with what I was doing.

I had to keep him quiet. Somehow.

Ethan came back out of the woods and jogged toward me. He was going to be really upset and demand to see the note. I was sure he’d destroy it. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I memorized Dylan’s number.