Page 8 of Run For Me (Until You’re Mine Duet #1)

Chapter Eight

Sailor

I rush inside the house, closing and locking the door behind me.

My heart is still pounding, the adrenaline making me sick.

I go to the back door to make sure that one is locked too.

I don’t know why the weird message has me freaked out.

Once I’m sure everything is locked and there is no one in the house, I call Sam.

The phone rings and rings, but there’s no answer. It goes to voicemail, so I end it, then tap out a text.

Me: Call me when you have a few minutes.

Me: It’s important.

I could have asked him the question via text, but it feels too important for that. I stare at the phone for a while, hoping he’ll call me back, but he doesn’t, so I give up and go to my room to change into pajamas. For the first time in a long time, I’m on edge over being alone in this house.

I get into bed and stare at my phone, wondering if I should call Sam again or wait for him to call me back. Maybe he’s in the shower?

I decide not to call him back, and instead open up the Surge app.

My messages are still open when I pull it up, and I click on the most recent one, staring at the words, wondering what the hell they mean.

I’m guessing the endearment at the end—little dove—is mocking my username.

DarkRaven has been my username for years, from when I first started playing Solar Surge.

It felt fitting at the time, since I was in a dark place, and it’s stayed with me ever since.

No matter how many times I reread the message, I can’t figure out what it means, so I do the only thing I can do. I respond.

DarkRaven : Who is this?

Unlike Sam, this person answers. The little dots on the bottom jiggle immediately, telling me they are typing out a response.

You_Run_Ill_Chase : The man of your dreams, it would seem.

DarkRaven : I don’t know what that means.

You_Run_Ill_Chase : I think you do.

The messages are cryptic as hell. The person clearly likes messing with people—which is nothing new on the internet. It’s probably some twelve-year-old kids bored with nothing else to do on a Monday night. Little jerks.

DarkRaven : You have the wrong person.

DarkRaven : I’m unfriending you now.

I tap on the username to bring me to the profile. My finger hovers over the red X. One click and they’ll be gone. No more immature kids.

So why is it when another message pops up, I’m quick to go back to it to see what they say? Am I that bored with my life that I have to entertain children?

You_Run_Ill_Chase : You don’t want to do that, I assure you, Miss

You_Run_Ill_Chase : Pink

You_Run_Ill_Chase : Journal

I drop the phone and gasp, my hands coming to my mouth. My eyes are wide as I stare down at the screen, the words taunting me.

Miss Pink Journal?

This person has my journal? How do they know it’s mine? With fear and shame coursing through my veins, I grab the phone and furiously type out a message. My nerves are going haywire, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach is egging me on.

DarkRaven : How did you find out who it belongs to?

You_Run_Ill_Chase : You write so much you forget what you put down?

Did I… Did I write down my username somewhere? I think back over the years. There is no way I could remember everything I’ve put in there, but that’s why I do it, isn’t it? I write it down, so it gets out of my head. But it’s the bad stuff that’s supposed to go in there, not personal information.

Is it possible I wrote down my username and mentioned the game and he put two and two together? This is… unbelievable.

You_Run_Ill_Chase : Do you believe me now?

DarkRaven : Believe what?

You_Run_Ill_Chase : That I’m the man of your dreams, of course.

You_Run_Ill_Chase : I know your secrets, know what you crave, and I can make it all come true.

My heart pounds even harder in my chest. My hands are clammy and shaking. Is he for real?

This is impossible.

My cheeks burn with shame, and I rush to the bathroom because I swear I’m going to be sick.

Water splashes everywhere after I turn the faucet on high, needing the cold water on my face.

I’m panting as I lean over the sink, my face nearly numb.

I’m going to pass out… I’m definitely going to pass out.

Those thoughts, my private thoughts, were never supposed to be shared with anyone. They were personal things that went on in my head that I wanted no one to know about—ever.

But now someone does know. And what are they going to do with that information?

That is the most important thing, so I wipe my face, look at myself in the mirror and take slow deep breaths before heading back to my room to handle this.

These thoughts were never supposed to make it out into the world, and it needs to stay that way.

It’s not the end of the world, Sailor.

This can be fixed. Just see what they want and give it to them.

It’s that simple.

Just do what he wants, and you’ll get your journal back.

Your secrets will stay safe.