Page 36 of Stalkers Anonymous

I can’t speak. Can’t form words. Because carved into the driver’s side door of my car, in all-capital letters, is a single word: BITCH

Well, almost.

The scratches are deep, cutting through the paint to bare metal. But what they actually spell is “BICH.”

Unhelpfully, my mind flits to the barista from the coffee shop, and her baffling inability to get anyone’s name right. But there’s nothing funny about this. This is frantic, deliberate. Angry. Violating.

“Fuck,” Cole breathes beside me.

My hands are shaking. My whole body is shaking.

He was here—because in my gut, I know this is the work of a man. An angry man. A man who felt empowered to leave a vulgar message while I was having the best date of my life.

There’s no hiding it from Cole this time. No downplaying it, no insisting I have everything handled.

Because I don’t have it handled.

Not even close.

Chapter Nine: Cole

The word carved into Hailey’s car burns into my retinas like I’ve been staring directly at the sun.

My hands clench into fists at my sides. Every muscle in my body has gone rigid, that familiar hyperfocus clicking into place like a gun being cocked. The narrow downtown street suddenly feels too small, too enclosed. I can hear my pulse pounding in my ears.

For a single absurd second, my fury hiccups around the missing T. This piece of shit followed Hailey to a restaurant, gouged into her car door with a screwdriver, and couldn’t even be bothered to spell-check.

The thought is so absurd I almost laugh in disbelief. Almost. Then the rage rolls back in, hotter and mixed with disgust. He didn’t just try to scare her. He did it sloppily, like she wasn’t even worth proofreading.

“Cole?” Hailey’s voice sounds distant, even though she’s right beside me. “I should… I don’t know what I should do.”

Her hands are trembling. She’s trying to hold it together, but I can see the fear breaking through. All because some piece of shit thought it was okay to violate her property. Her safety. Her sense of security.

“We’re calling the police,” I say, my voice coming out harder than I intended.

“I don’t know if there’s anything they can do about it. It’s just vandalism—”

“It’s not just vandalism.” I turn to face her, forcing myself to relax my tone. She doesn’t need me to scare her more than she already is. “Someone followed you here, and then they fucked with your car while you were at dinner. They knew which car was yours. This is escalating, Hailey, and it needs to be taken seriously.”

She wraps her arms around herself and begins to tremble. Her teeth chatter as she shivers.

“Let’s get you warmed up. We can sit in my car while we wait for the police to get here.” I pull her into me, letting my body cloak her from the cool breeze turned suddenly icy. I can make her feel protected in this moment. This is within my control.

“I’m o-okay,” she stutters, leaning against me. “I’m not cold. I think it’s…shock.”

My heart drops into my stomach at the sight of her scared.

Emma on my doorstep, bruised and bloody and so scared she couldn’t speak.

“Of course it’s shock. This was fucked up of someone to do, but I promise, I’ll fix this.”

Her body continues to shake.

“You need to sit down, Hailey. I’m concerned about you.”

Come in, Emma. Sit down. Who did this? Did he do this?

Her terrified eyes meet mine. “I— I don’t know. I haven’t felt like this before. I don’t— I’m not sure what to say.”