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I only half listen to their conversation because my brain is still stuck on something Mason said.
“You only turn twenty-one once.”
If you make it to that point.
I’m now officially older than my sister was. She only had a few more days until her twenty-first birthday.
My gaze automatically moves to my shelf and the picture of my sister and me. People always thought we were twins, although she was three years older. I never saw it. Her hair was golden brown, whereas mine is almost black, and she had our dad’s dark-blue eyes, whereas I inherited my mom’s brown ones.
Our smiles were similar, though, and we looked so happy in the picture. It was taken just months before everything went to shit. We had our differences, especially toward the end, but she was my sister, and I still miss her like crazy.
You can’t change what happened.
“Evie.”
I start and gape at Mason with wide eyes.
“You okay?” His voice is soft and gentle.
The lump in my throat is almost impossible to swallow, but I manage after several tries. “Yeah, sorry. Long day of studying.”
Because we’ve been best friends for ten years, I don’t need to look at them to know they don’t believe a single word I’m saying, just like they know I won’t tell them anything if I’m not ready.
It’s become an unspoken rule among us over the last few years.
Even if I wanted to tell them what was happening, I couldn’t. Not without someone paying the price for it.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Ruby grabs my hand and pulls me off the bed while Mason attacks the mess on my duvet, gathering all of my schoolwork and putting it in aneat pile on my desk. Then he disappears in my closet for a moment and returns with my glittering designer dress in one hand and matching shoes in the other.
He smiles at me. “You’ll be stunning in this.”
Somehow, I muster a smile back. “Thank you.”
Like me, Mason is the victim of ultra-wealthy parents with no time for him but all the expectations. Sometimes, it makes him a brat but with a heart of gold.
Ruby taps a finger on her wrist. “You have twenty minutes to shower, birthday girl. Hurry.”
They escort me to my en suite bathroom like I’m a kindergartener.
My phone replays the awful notification sound for the unread message in my pocket as Ruby shuts the door. Not quick enough though. I still see the worried glance they exchange.
As usual, I’m alone with my thoughts and a sense of dread that always goes hand in hand whenever I receive messages fromhim. My stalker, my tormenter, the man who’s single-handedly brought so much destruction to my life and others that I can barely hold myself upright some days.
When he started messaging me, he told me to call him Devil, but I saved his number under Freddy. Like Freddy Krueger, my personal nightmare come to life.
Freddy
Happy birthday, pet. Enjoy your party tonight. There will be a surprise waiting for you.
The message vanishes shortly after, like it does everytime, and the phone clangs to the floor. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as disappearing messages until I got my first one from Freddy, and it was gone after a few minutes. My stomach lurches at the memory, and I barely reach the toilet in time to empty my stomach contents. I allow myself two minutes to freak out on the bathroom floor. After that, I pick myself back up and take a shower.
I’ll get through this day like any other day.
Three hours later, we’re at my parents’ estate. I’m primped and preened, ready to face the elite of Ansonville, New York, who my parents value above all else. Or at least, they like to pretend they do. Behind the curtain, there’s nothing but gossiping, backstabbing, and swindling people out of their money to enrich us further.
My stomach roils, and every cell in my body is telling me to turn around and escape. To hide somewhere, to pretend Freddy didn’t message me about a surprise. Coming from him, it can’t be good.
Sadly, my brother is by my side the second we walk into the ballroom of my parents’ estate. “Happy birthday, Evangeline.”