Page 24 of Stop and Seek (Our Childish Games #1)

There had been no sleep.

None.

Theo couldn’t shut his eyes if he wanted to.

When Rachel left, he spent the rest of the night staring into the ceiling, replaying the second to last round over and over in his head.

He knew he didn’t make any noise. He’d been so damn quiet that he could hear his heart pounding in his chest. His soul almost left his body when he heard some girl behind him on her phone, her nails tapping the screen.

And then the class two doors down closed.

It was like some sick magic trick when the first Seeker found him.

He froze, waited, and bolted down the hall to collide with a second.

Running into the Seeker wasn’t strong enough—he fucking barreled through him.

They both ended up on the sticky ground.

The bruises on his knees and shins were still blue.

Was it coordinated?

Planned?

Did they somehow know there were three people hiding within a hundred feet of one another?

Theo’s alarm on his phone went off and he dismissed it .

Willing his body to move—

Not going to happen. It felt like fucking lead.

God, he had to work.

He had responsibilities.

Bills.

He couldn’t keep affording to take days off when his stupid head wouldn’t screw on straight.

Why the fuck was his entire life sliding down a hole to hell?

Even if it was some kids game, it was his only escape.

Now what was he supposed to do? Live out the rest of his day in Eunice?

This nightmare wasn’t worth it anymore.

The cold water helped.

The twelve cups of coffee he guzzled also helped.

The little blue pills he found in his dresser were a goddamn life saver.

Literally.

He still looked like shit in the mirror. Eyes blood shot. Knick on his skin from shaving. Dark circles growing. To make shit worse? His hair was curling at the ends.

Great.

Fuck my entire life, I guess.

Truthfully? He almost felt normal. Except his brain wouldn’t stay in the same place for longer than half a second .

The car ride was even worse. Driving to work was a shit idea. His hands were shaking so bad on the steering wheel, he almost careened off the road into a ditch.

Oops.

Maybe mixing uppers and legal -uppers wasn’t the smartest idea he’d ever had. His heart kept slamming against his ribcage like it wanted to break free. But—in his defense—he needed to stay awake and stop obsessing over something he couldn’t fix.

The glass doors squeaked when he opened them, and he was assaulted with the smell of paper and must. At least the library never changed.

It was his one guaranteed safe spot anymore.

Peace was exactly what he needed. Calm, and quiet, and boring as shit.

Any other day, he would’ve been pulling his hair out by 3:00p.m, counting down the minutes until he could leave. The library was silent except for the sound of the air conditioner and Mrs. Rosario’s bad jokes he’d hear from time to time.

Three high school kids came in asking for help filling out their college applications, and that was it.

Theo moved through the routine in a fever-filled daze, either going in slow motion, or in triple speed.

Did he remember wiping down the same spot on the table? Not until it squeaked so loud he fucking flinched .

When he finally got around to checking his phone, the notifications looked endless—a flood of missed messages and calls. More than he’d ever seen.

Rachel had sent him twenty— twenty —fucking texts, each more frantic than the last. She’d called even more times than that. Whatever she was saying about Noah didn’t make a hell of a lot of sense, either. Not that his brain would stop mixing the letters around long enough to concentrate .

He sent her one back

yes, mom. im at work.

Alyssa’s messages had the same kind of tone: are you okay? Do you need anything?

How many “I haven’t dove off the deep end yet, people” messages was he going to have to send?

Even Noah texted him three times.

Theo paused, his finger hovering over the screen.

He didn’t want to think about Noah. Hearing Alyssa say he had a thing for someone… it gave Theo a bitter taste in his mouth. If he was just a blip on Noah’s radar—an easy fuck in Ohio, some stupid conquest—that was fine.

Definitely fine.

He didn’t open the text.

“I’m doing generators. I got no fucking clue what you’re trying to pull.” Theo shoved his hair out of the way and adjusted the headset, one hand on the keyboard.

“I’m playing ring around the—fuck,” Calvin’s voice came through the other end, followed by a short lived laugh. “Dammit, why?”

They’d been playing together for months, and the dumbass always refused to help out with the basic damn tasks.

The game wasn’t serious—no one played for cash—but, really. He’d like positive player stats once in a while.

Theo groaned. “You’re taunting them, no shit. Are you on three?”

“Two.”

“Goddammit.” Theo leaned closer to the screen, grimacing when the distant cry sounded. “If I die getting you, I’ll come hunt you down in real life.”

There was a knock at the door, and Theo’s eyes flicked down to the time: 10:45p.m.

Damn. Just ordered that. Talk about quick delivery.

Then came the second knock.

He’d already paid and tipped, fuck you very much. They could leave it there like he asked.

“I’m the delicious bait. No one can resist this. I’m a little worm, you see me wormin’ along’? ”

“You’re going—” Theo started, and down went his character. He hadn’t seen the wolf until it was too late, and escaping wouldn't help when none of his teammates would assist.

Groaning, he ripped off the headset when he heard the third knock.

“I can’t pause , you dumb fuck! Just leave it there, ” he yelled down the hall.

Back to the laptop—

Match Lost.

His stats were going to shit.

Fantastic.

He ran his hands through his hair, sighed into the microphone.

“I’m gonna what?” Calvin asked, the cackling too loud and obnoxious. “Who’s gonna find me now? You, bitch? We’re dying together .”

Theo shook his head. “Whatever. I have food, so I’m gonna go eat. Have fun queuing alone.”

Game—closed.

Voice call—ended.

He leaned back and stretched.

A fourth goddamn knock on his front door. More insistent than the last three.

“Holy shit, fine. I’m coming,” he mumbled to himself. Every bone in his body crackled when he got off the bed and trudged to the living room.

Theo slipped on the hoodie and yanked open the front door.

“Do you need me to sign? Do you need my fucking ID too?”

That was not the delivery driver.

That was—a very wet Noah.

Theo scrunched his face, looking past him down the stairs.

Sure enough, through the bubble windows at the bottom, he could see it raining again. Not sheeting like it had been the other day, but still buckets.

“Do you not own an umbrella or something?” he asked.

“No.” Noah shook his head, spraying water droplets everywhere. “I don’t. I come with gifts, though.”

Theo dropped his eyes to the white plastic bag. “I ordered pizza.”

“We’ll eat both.”

“Both,” he repeated, looking back up. “I’m not a garbage disposal.”

Noah’s grin was quick. Disarming as hell. It lit up his face, despite the rain dripping from his nose.

“I am. Look, you seemed pissed or upset, and I wanted to clear the air.” He lifted the bag slightly. “Do you hate Chinese?”

Theo’s brain stalled.

How the hell was it fair that Noah could be irritating and—dare he fucking admit it—halfway attractive?

“I love Chinese,” Theo muttered. He opened the door wider, trying to ignore his heart pounding in his ears. “It’ll give me leftovers for work.”

Noah stepped in and set the bag down. Shook off like a damn dog. “Can I borrow a towel?” he asked with a laugh. “I don’t want to drench everything.”

“Except my walls, right? Yeah. You want me to see if I can find you a change of clothes, too?”

Noah perked up. “Yeah! That’d be great. ”

Holy shit. Calm down.

Theo had a visitor , not an intruder.

Why the fuck was his body in fight-or-flight mode?

Maybe it was because he hadn’t had anyone in his apartment—aside from Rachel and Alyssa—in forever. All the guys he met took him back to a bathroom, or a car, or a motel… it felt too personal bringing them home.

At least it’s clean.

God, why the hell do you care?

Theo wrenched the dresser drawer open with enough force that the lamp almost crashed down.

It was nerves coupled with whatever those blue pills he took, that was all.

He didn’t want to go to the stupid reunion, but he came out the other side with a handful of almost friends that texted him all hours of the night. Weird? Yeah. But not in a bad way. Weird in a way he wasn’t used to.

Throwing the towel and clothes at Noah, he flopped onto the couch.

“Change in the bathroom or—” He started, but Noah was already peeling off his clothes in the middle of the living room. “Or not. My blinds are open, you weirdo.”

“They can thank me later.”

“You have zero fucking shame.”

Noah hopped onto the couch, cushions tilting to the side. “I do not.” He looked more damp than wet now. But that poor tee wasn’t going to fit right after it came off him. The joggers? Noah could keep those.

Theo really loved that shirt, though .

“You’re staring,” Noah mumbled around a plastic fork. “I can strip again, if that made you hot and bothered.”

“I was concerned about the water damage to my carpets,” Theo grabbed a noodle dish from the bag. “Why did you think I was pissed off at you? I’m not, for the record. You’re funny to think I’d give you the time of fucking day.”

It was supposed to be a joke.

Supposed to.

But the absolute silence was chilling.

Theo could hear the damn refrigerator.

He glanced over, and Noah’s face?

Not good.

The smile was gone. Hooded eyes glazed over.

It wasn’t the anger Theo was used to seeing—blown over in half a second—but the kind that made the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

“ Laugh ,” Theo whispered. He nudged Noah’s leg.

Nothing.