Page 23 of Ghost Ribbon

Rei was getting into Dimitri’s car.

No. No, no, no. I wanted to run and drag my best friend back to safety. He couldn’t go with Dimitri.

I took one step forward. A hand suddenly grabbed the back of my black ribbon, yanking me backward.

“Ah!” I gasped and twisted in panic.

And there he was.

The devil.

“Where are you running?” Alexei asked.

“I… I… I—” I was stuttering, the words fracturing before they could form.

Alexei seemed amused. He finally released my ribbon, but it sat lopsided now, crooked and wrong. I reached up instinctively to fix it, fingers trembling, but froze when he reached into his jacket instead. I really expected him to pull a gun on me or something.

But he pulled out a notebook. My notebook. The same one I had dropped when I bumped into him that day in the hallway. The one filled with sketches, half-finished poems… and yes, drawings of him. Too many drawings of him. I hadn’t even realized it was missing until now.

“You lost something,” Alexei said, holding it toward me. “I thought I would return it.”

I snatched it back immediately, hugging the notebook tight to my chest. “Th-thanks,” I mumbled. Please, please don’t let him have looked inside. Please -

Alexei leaned down. I shrank back on instinct, pressing harder against the wall behind me.

“Your drawings of me are fascinating, my little star,” he whispered. The nickname landed like a brand. “I am honored to be your muse.”

I couldn’t speak. My throat had closed completely.

Alexei straightened up. He reached out and fixed my ribbon, brushing a stray curl behind my ear in the process. Then he turned and walked away without another word, disappearing back into the building like he had never been there.

I stood frozen for several long seconds, notebook clutched to my chest, ribbon slightly straighter now but still feeling wrong. Then my legs finally moved and I ran.

When I got home, I burst through the front door of our small house. My mom called out a cheerful greeting from the kitchen. “Marco, tesoro! Come eat!” But I mumbled something incoherent about homework and fled straight to my room before she could see my face. I couldn’t let her see how close I was to breaking.

I slammed the door behind me and collapsed onto the edge of my bed, pulling out my phone with shaking hands. Rei. I had to reach Rei. He still hadn’t answered any of my texts from the bus ride home.

Marco: Rei where are you??

Marco: please answer me

Marco: Rei??

Marco: I’m freaking out please call me back

I hit call immediately after, pressing the phone to my ear as it rang… and rang… and rang. Straight to voicemail. Again. I tried three more times, each unanswered ring tightening the knot in my stomach until I felt like I might throw up. What if Dimitri had done something to him? What if Alexei had told his cousin to hurt Rei because of me? It would be my fault. Everything was always my fault.

I curled up smaller on my bed, knees drawn to my chest. Trying to distract myself from the spiraling worry about Rei, my mind betrayed me and drifted to the other nightmare of the day. Alexei. God, I hoped he hadn’t read the poems. He was probably too focused on the sketches to care about words. Maybe he was dumb when it came to literature. Maybe he didn’t bother. Please, please let that be true.

My eyes fell on the notebook lying innocently on my desk. The one he had returned. I reached for it.

I opened it slowly.

Blood.

Red smears across the pencil strokes, my monstrous depictions of Alexei from that rooftop night. I had drawn him like a monster, artistic in the most sickening way. But now those pages were tainted with real blood. As if he had taken my nightmare and made it wet and real.

A soundless scream tore from my throat. I threw the notebook across the room with all the strength my body could muster. My hands flew up to cover my mouth as I scrambled backward on the bed until my back hit the wall.