My leg muscles were aching, but it was exactly what I needed as I pushed myself to go faster. I had to force the thoughts of Hayden away. I was always thinking about him, and it started to feel like an obsession, which showed how much power he had over me.
I wondered if I would be ever capable of forgetting him. It was said that love and hate were similar, and I had to agree because I couldn’t stop thinking about him, despite trying my hardest.
My phone beeped in my hand, and I stopped abruptly when I saw “Hidden Number” on my screen. I got the creeps, all the tension that dissipated as I ran coming back to me.
I didn’t dare to open the message. How wise would it be to ignore and delete it?
I should go to the police immediately. I might not know for sure if Hayden was behind these texts or not, but this was serious. I didn’t want to admit this to myself, but as far as I knew, this could be a real thing and not a cruel prank. I shouldn’t treat it as something insignificant.
A hand of cold fear gripped me hard. I had erased previous messages.
Oh no. What was I thinking? What could I say if I went to the police? I deleted the first message on Saturday night, so I couldn’t prove it existed.
Giving in to my curiosity, I opened the text.
“Aren’t you too old to wear a Mickey Mouse shirt?”
Chills broke out all over my skin as I gaped at the message. In terror, I snapped my head up and twisted around, looking everywhere for this person.
It was only 6:30, but this residential street was almost empty save for a few passers by, who were either walking alone or with their partners, and no one held a cell phone or paid any attention to me.
I was horrified that I wasn’t able to see the stalker when they could obviously see me. My heart thumped fast, the coldness paralyzing me. I could barely think straight.
I dashed as fast as I could, scared witless of what Hayden planned to do now, or was Hayden really behind all of this? Either way, I had to get home safely.
My phone beeped again. I didn’t stop running as I opened the message.
“You can’t run fast enough.”
I threw my gaze over my shoulder, but there was no one. They were playing with me. They were somewhere, stalking me, enjoying my reaction... The horror was enveloping me more and more. I really couldn’t run fast enough...
Another message arrived. “That’s right. Come closer to me.”
What? No!
And another. “Getting closer.”
No! Where are they?!
This was bad. They would catch me... They would hurt me.
I reached the street corner, but before I could swivel around to go back, I slammed into something. I wasn’t able to catch myself, falling down, but then someone grabbed me by the upper arms and kept me on my feet.
I brought my eyes up and screamed. It was Hayden!
“Stay back,” I shrieked, shoving him, and pushed backward with my arms raised in front of me.
It was him! I was right! He was sending me these messages! Oh my God. He was sick, despicable, obsessed with me, horrible—
“What the fuck is your problem?” he growled, frowning. “Why don’t you look where you’re going?”
I backed away a few more steps, whimpering when he moved toward me. I noticed my phone on the ground at the same time as he did. My stomach churned with panic when he bent and picked it up.
He looked at the screen, and his frown deepened. “Getting closer,” he read the last message aloud and met my gaze. “What is this? Who sent you this text?”
I couldn’t even speak. I had no idea what he was going to do now. He was unstable, clearly planning something... “Hidden number?” He moved his thumb over the screen, anger filling his eyes. “Will you tell me what the fuck this is?” He raised his voice, and I whimpered again, wrapping my arms tightly around my waist.
“You sent those messages, Hayden, so stop pretending like you have no idea what’s going on.”
“Messages? Which messages?” He returned his gaze to my phone, and his eyebrows furrowed even more. “That’s right. Come closer to me,” he read the message before the last one. “You can’t run fast enough.” His face was a mask of pure rage now. “Aren’t you too old to wear a Mickey Mouse shirt?” He raised his head and fixed his stare on my chest, studying the imprint on my shirt. His eyes widened, like he realized only now what I was wearing.
His body tensed, and he looked around us, scanning the area. It was frightening that he was acting innocent, just like when I accused him of slashing my tires.
“When did these texts start? Today?”
“Stop acting! I know you sent them! You’re just playing with my mind now—”
“ I didn’t send this shit ,” he shouted, and everything in me turned cold.
“You did! You sent the first message two days ago, warning me that you’ll slash my face soon!”
“I’ll slash your face soon?”
“Yes! And you sent me that horrible picture of my slashed tire covered with blood!”
He searched for something on my phone. “Where is that message?”
For a second there, I expected him to comment on Melissa’s and Jessica’s texts in my phone, feeling more than glad I’d erased Mateo’s messages. I didn’t even want to think about his reaction if he’d seen the messages from “Maria’s Hair Salon” that had nothing to do with hairdressing.
Fortunately, it seemed that he didn’t care about my social life at the moment. “I don’t see any more messages from this sender.”
“I deleted them.”
He didn’t answer. He just stared at me, or rather through me, deep in his thoughts. A couple of moments later, his eyes narrowed, focusing on me. “I have no idea why you think it was me who sent you those messages. I thought you already knew that when I warn people, I don’t hide behind anonymity.” He grasped my forearm and pulled me to him.
“Let me go,” I screamed. I couldn’t bear not knowing what would come from him next.
The middle-aged man and woman, who were passing by, looked at us. I pleaded them with my eyes to help me. Knowing Hayden, he was capable of abusing me even in front of them.
Hayden sneered at them. “Move along. There is nothing to see here.”
“I think you are hurting her,” the man said.
“I said, move along .” The way Hayden looked at this man made him shrink in fear, and he scurried away with the woman, cursing Hayden and “these aggressive young generations nowadays.”
I watched them rush away in disbelief. Hayden and I were alone again, which drew my attention to the dreadful fact that the sky had already become dark and the street lamps were lit. Hayden stood too close to me, and I could feel the warmth his body radiated. I could also feel him tremble in a barely controlled anger. Would he snap and hurt me?
“I have no idea what is going on with these messages, but if you’re smart, you’ll go home right now.” My jaw dropped when I heard what he said.
He was speaking like he cared, like my safety concerned him, but I didn’t trust him. It must be him who had sent those texts. It must be him.
“Unless you’re stupid enough to wander the streets at night.”
“If you didn’t send me those messages, then what are you doing here?”