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If I could travel anywhere in the world, I would return toBuenos Aires. The architecture was beautiful, and I enjoyed the cuisine, especially the steaks. It’s also the location of the La Recoleta Cemetery, one of the most beautiful in the world.
Your humble admirer,
Xero
P.S. Thank you for sending the Rapunzelita manuscript. I will read a chapter a day before lights out, so a part of you will seep into my dreams.
FORTY-FOUR
AMETHYST
After dark, I hunker down inside my windowless green room, surrounded by bedside lamps, ring lights, flashlights, and lit computer screens. The space is flooded with every type of illumination imaginable, and I’m sitting within a circle of salt.
I wrap my arms around my shins, trying not to fall into despair as I take stock of my predicament:
Xero has trapped me in my own home.
He’s sealed every door and window.
He’s confiscated my phone and turned off the internet.
I’m too paranoid to alert the police in the house next door in case they discover traces of the man I killed.
My ghostly tormentor wants to punish me for something I can’t even remember.
And he’s thrown away my holy water.
The worst part about this is not knowing what happened to Myra. Xero has a nasty habit of punishing people who overstep his boundaries. Kayla choked on the dildo she stole from him, Gavin lost his fingers for touching me, and Chappy lost his life for making me an indecent proposal. Xero even cut off his tongue for offering me oral.
Also, what’s he going to do to me for all my transgressions?
Hours pass, and the concern churning in my gut escalatesinto a full-blown ulcer. He should be here, rattling the windows, or whatever ghosts do when they’re thwarted, but there’s no sign of my spectral stalker.
Is that because he’s busy chopping my best friend into little pieces for touting the manuscript? My eyes burn at the thought of Myra being at his mercy. For the longest time, she’s been my only source of companionship. Unlike my parents, she’s never abandoned me and doesn’t mind that I’m slightly unhinged. I bow my head, resting it on my bent knees.
What possessed me to write to a man caught carving out his stepmother’s heart? How on earth did I allow his beauty to blind me to his inner beast?
Dr. Saint would say I got caught up in the mass hysteria, and it brought me out of a deep depression about my failed manuscripts. If I couldn’t get agents to acknowledge my writing, then maybe I could prove myself with Xero. But is it the same principle as a bunch of kids meddling with a ouija board on a sleepover, not thinking their fun would land them in mortal peril?
When he replied, I should have been satisfied with achieving his attention, but that dopamine rush became addictive. It only got better when I posted about it on my failing social media channel and it went viral.
Then I got caught up in the phone sex, and Xero’s story of his corrupted childhood, then the online fame, the gifts, and Xero himself. He was so charming. Grateful. Humble. Each conversation was a thrilling escape into a reality where I was desired and connected.
Xero made me feel like I was the only thing making his imprisonment tolerable. He told me I was the light to his darkness, but he was my sun and his presence made me bloom.
If I’d known his fixation would continue beyond the grave, I probably would have stopped at the first letter.
Probably.
Who am I trying to kid?
Xero Greaves, good or evil, alive or dead, loving me or hating me is everything. He’s all-consuming, yet he’s the fire that animates my being. And there’s a tiny kernel of my psyche aware of the painful truth that without him, I cease to exist.
A sharp pop from above has me jerking backward. My stomach leaps into my throat. He’s just broken the lightbulb, making the room darken several watts, but the ring lights still provide ambient illumination.
Seconds later, they switch off, plunging me into semi darkness. I scoot to the edge of the circle and lean forward, careful not to disturb the salt. My gaze drops to the laptop, which is now running on battery power.
I glance at the SIM-less phone I left to charge, and it’s no longer powering on the mains.
