Page 86 of Darkest Obsession

“I love you.”

“Love you too. I’ll stay here, since you refused me.”

“Good night.”

“Good night. I’ll call in the morning.”

And I believe him, because he always calls when he promises. I never have to doubt him.

I hurry out of the house to my car and drive back to campus along the country roads. I park my car in my secret spot — Crispin Barclay’s old spot — and get out of the car. I have a little walk back to the dorms and campus is eerily quiet at this time.

I don’t make it three feet away from my car before I feel a large hand on my forearm. I scream and whip around to fight off whoever grabbed me, but the attacker just pushes me against the car hard and wraps their hands around my neck.

Holy shit. I can’t breathe.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Thomas

I’m close enough to do whatever I want with her, but I sense from the position of her unwieldy elbows that Clover Robinson wouldn’t hesitate to slam them into my torso. I’m still healing from the bruises. Just talking. What’s the harm in getting to know a girl, right? If I get to know her, I won’t want to hurt her. I can stop myself.

If I keep my hands to myself, I can’t touch her. I can’t allow myself to hurt her.

“So halloween…”

“I don’t get the obsession.”

“Right,” I mutter. “What about your kid videos? Would you let me see them?”

“Absolutely not,” she hisses. “But you could go look them up if you want. I can’t exactly stop you. Weirdo.”

“I won’t. If you don’t want me to.

Clover rolls her eyes. “Great.”

“We’ve got to set a trap,” I suggest. “But you seem to be the expert on trap setting.”

“My trap failed.”

“Not your trap for me. I fell pretty hard.”

Clover smirks, visibly delighting in the night she walloped me with a cricket bat. She’s really pretty when she smiles. It’s hard to resist touching her.

“You’re right,” she says. “I am the better trap setter. But there are other things to consider.”

“Like what?”

She pushes gently against my shoulder.

“We should do a better job of staying away from each other,” she says. “Our blackmailer clearly has eyes on us at all times.”

“Should we make a list of suspects?”

“Every girl at this school,” Clover says. “Except me, Sylvia, and Kola.”

“Why not Kola?”

I don’t know Clover’s friend, but she’s awfully quick to defend her, making her automatically suspicious. Vi used to read me Agatha Christie to send me to sleep. I have deductive reasoning skills – I must.