Page 9 of Dark Thirst (The Scandalous Novellas)

It seems like every girl I’ve met since we broke up reminds me of her, except for Michelle.

She’s different. I pull out my phone to send her a goodnight text when Amelia snatches it out of my hands and adds in her phone number.

I try to hide the annoyance on my face, but whatever.

It’s not like I’m going to call or text her anyway.

I turn around to find Brad and put my arm around his shoulder while I say my goodbyes.

“Thanks for a fun night, man, but I’m headed out.

”“Aww, already? Oh, shit it’s almost one!

” he says while looking at his phone. “Alright, dude, I’ll catch you later!

Wait! What did you think of her?” He nods towards Amelia.

“Ah, yeah, she’s cool. Got her number for later,” I say. He winks and nods at me, then goes back to talking to the group of guys next to him. I wish he didn’t feel the need to invite random chicks out just for me, but he knows what happened between Anna and I and feels bad.

As I walk out of the bar, I send Michelle a text:

S: Hey princess, let’s make plans to meet up again soon. Goodnight.

The night is crisp and dark, and the streets are mostly empty.

There’s lots of open parking on the street now that it’s late, and I notice a Jeep that I recognize, or at least I think I do.

I just can’t place where I’ve seen it before, but I know I’ve seen it recently.

It must be a truck I just recently worked on , I tell myself as I make it to my own and get in.

Tonight has been weird. I kept looking over my shoulder as if someone was watching and listening to me.

I’ve never felt this way before. Paranoia from not getting enough sleep must be getting to me.

I start my car and head back to my apartment while I try to think of where I recognize that green Jeep from, but nothing comes to mind right away.

Since the roads are practically empty, the drive home is quick.

My eyelids are heavy, and I’m looking forward to a quick shower and getting into bed.

I only have about five hours left to sleep and I want to make good use of them.

As I slip my key into the door, a sense of dread comes over me, and as I open the door to the apartment, it feels odd.

It’s a strange feeling, and right away, I catch a whiff of what smells like perfume.

A mixture of vanilla and spice permeates my nose, and as I go through the apartment, the smell gets stronger as I head towards my room. I look around and notice nothing is missing.

My blood boils at the thought of Anna possibly coming here again while I was gone. She did it right after we broke up, and I felt this same way when I came home that night.

Double checking my phone and making sure she didn’t call or text me, I notice an email from an unknown sender. No messages or missed calls from Anna, but I’m hesitant to open the email.

She still has a key to my apartment, and I stupidly didn’t get the locks changed after the last time she was here.

The bitch is probably trying to fuck with me.

I just know it. I stomp into my room, and everything looks just like I left it.

Opening my closet, I don’t notice anything missing right away.

What the fuck was she doing here and what was she looking for?

Checking my phone again, I bite the bullet and open the cryptic email.

It’s multiple photos. My heart sinks down to my stomach as I take a good look at them.

I rip open my closet again and see that my Anubis mask is missing.

I can tell it’s a woman in the photo, wearing my mask, and laying in my fucking bed.

It has to be Anna! I debate calling her and bitching her out, but I’m too fucking tired to deal with her lies.

I send her a text instead:

S: Keep the fucking mask. Don’t come back ever again.

I block her number after sending the message. No need to hear her lies or excuses. Fuck, I have less than five hours to sleep, and I’m exhausted. After a quick shower, I jump into bed and notice that the scent of vanilla lingers on my pillow.

I don’t remember her ever wearing anything sweet like that, but who else could have been here? Something tells me I’m wrong, but I’m too tired and buzzed to think straight at this point. As I fall asleep, one final thought occurs to me.

I remember that green Jeep I saw on the street when I left Gaslight. It’s my aunt Marta’s.

MICHELLE

I watched as he left the bar earlier. After going to his apartment and taking the mask, I came back to see if he was still there with her . He was, but he left shortly after. Luckily, I didn’t stay much longer at his apartment. I saw him glance over at my mom’s car, but he kept walking to his own.

He sat for a moment in his car, then started it and headed back to his apartment. I kept my distance since the roads were almost empty. No need to have him suspicious just yet. I wonder if he will notice anything is wrong before he even sees my email.

While waiting in the car for him to leave the bar, I encrypted an email with the pictures I took in the mask.

He won’t know it’s me, obviously. Maybe he’ll think it’s his ex.

He mentioned before that she had come to his apartment while he wasn’t home after they broke up.

I can’t help but feel a little bad that I’m messing with him, but I can’t stop myself.

I can see his apartment windows from where I’m parked and the lights flick on.

From my computer, I’ve hacked into this phone and I know now that he’s seen the email.

I was right. He thinks it’s his ex that came into his apartment and stole his mask.

A smile stretches across my face. My little game is going exactly how I want it to.

He doesn't know it’s going to be me behind the mask soon enough.

It’s late, so I watch for another few minutes as the lights die out in the apartment, and then, I finally head home. He texted me earlier, but I never responded. I will sometime this week. But in the meantime, I’ll keep watching him from afar.