“It makes you hot, doesn’t it?” I flashed a knowing grin.
“Leave her alone, Sheldon,” Corrigan suddenly said. “We have more important things to deal with.”
“Right,” I sighed and stood off of Bryce’s lap. “Like how you’re not my psycho stalker.”
“Right,” Corrigan grunted and watched the screens again.
Bryce stood behind me and asked, “What do we do about the cops?”
“They’re already here,” I pointed out. “They’re parked across the street. If they were going to break it up, wouldn’t they have done it by now?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. They might just be waiting.”
“For what?”
“For someone to scream so they can rush in and actually get a shot at this guy?”
Corrigan mused. “We’re doing their work for them. They’re not going to break this up, not while we might actually draw this loser in.”
“Corrigan,” Logan suddenly spoke up. “I want to go home.”
“No!” Corrigan rounded on her. “That’s what this guy wants. He wants people to be alone.”
“I want to go home. Now. I don’t want to be here. My parents are home. So is my little sister. I want to go home.”
“Where you’re safe and tucked in bed?” I asked.
“Yes,” Logan said honestly. “For whatever reason, you guys think this guy is obsessed with you. Call me crazy, but I don’t exactly want to be standing next to you when he shows up.”
Corrigan stiffened.
I wasn’t surprised.
And Bryce was…quiet. He knew, just as I did, what her words actually meant to Corrigan.
“I’m not leaving my best friend,” Corrigan said softly. “You can go if you want, but you have to get your own ride home.”
“Corrigan…”
“I’m not leaving Sheldon’s side,” he said swiftly and pointedly turned his back.
Logan gaped and realized, for the first time, what target her words hit. She gaped again, but slowly, stiffly, found her way out the door. It wasn’t long before we saw her on the screen leave through the front door with a friend behind her.
Bryce moved away and I heard the door lock. He slumped onto the couch and kicked his feet on the table as he remarked, “Someone’s going to end up in the hospital tonight.”
“Or dead.” Corrigan turned to him.
“Maybe the party wasn’t such a good idea,” I mused and sat on the far end of Bryce’s couch.
He rolled his head towards me and smiled faintly. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’m sorry about Logan,” I murmured to Corrigan.
He sighed, but remarked, “It’s too soon, you know. We hadn’t really been together long enough…”
“Still…sorry.”
Corrigan smirked and remarked, “There aren’t many girls who’ll let you put handcuffs on them.”
The old Corrigan still sparked.
I saw Bryce open his mouth and swiftly raised a finger, “No!”
He closed it and slumped back on the couch.
Corrigan snickered, “You had to try, though, right?”
Bryce grinned and I knew the two were fine. They just needed to throw a few punches before all was fine and dandy.
Corrigan glanced at the screens and remarked, “Too bad you didn’t put any videos in the rooms. We’d get some great p**n right now.”
My insides cringed, but I teased, “Already resorting to p**n , Corrigan? She just left.”
Bryce suddenly shot up from the couch and strode towards the computer keyboard that manually controlled the video output.
“What are you doing?” I asked and moved behind him.
“The guys were…just before I got punched the tech guy was telling me that it was weird because there was already a feed going on in the house. I didn’t think about until…”
“They didn’t say anything,” Corrigan spoke up. “I told them just to fix the video where you told them and not worry about it.”
“Yeah, but,” Bryce frowned. His fingers went to work on the keyboard.
I asked, “What are you doing?”
“Are you a geek?” Corrigan asked.
Bryce rolled his eyes. “Luca has a thing for this stuff. Playing one on one with him—he tends to ramble about this stuff. I’ve picked up some of it after shooting hoops with my brother for years.”
I arched an eyebrow. “That’s a nice skill to suddenly come in handy right now.”
“Shut up,” Bryce snapped.
I grinned.
“Seriously.” Corrigan shifted closer. “What are you doing?”
“The other feed is bothering me. It could’ve been the other alarm system. They didn’t remove it. I told them just to use the old wires, because they were already there, but…what if…”
He hit a last button and my eyes filled in horror.
Bryce finished, numbly, “What if…an alarm system wasn’t installed the last time…”
My insides hurled as I saw images of myself on the computer screens. In the shower. On the couch. In bed, sleeping…and…my eyes fixed on the bottom screen where Bryce pistoned into me. We were both grasping the bed in desperation and instead of the remembered passion from that night, disgust rolled over me in waves.
“That’s the night…”I swallowed, but forced myself to finish. “That’s the night…”
Bryce finished my thought, “…of the candlelight vigil.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
I shot to the bathroom and emptied my stomach that had been filled with nothing.
I stayed there, even after a tentative knock sounded at the door. Someone shuffled in, saw my ashen features through their drunken glaze and shuffled back out.
I held onto the toilet and rested my forehead against my arm.
I don’t know how long I stayed there, but it was long enough for Bryce to have regained control over himself. Or—that’s what I assumed when he entered the bathroom, silently locked the door, and curled around me. He rested his arms on both sides of me and dipped his forehead against my back.
Neither of us said a word, but the images flashed through me. I saw every single time where I had thought my home was private, where I was alone. And everytime my stomach rolled from the violation.
“Leave her alone, Sheldon,” Corrigan suddenly said. “We have more important things to deal with.”
“Right,” I sighed and stood off of Bryce’s lap. “Like how you’re not my psycho stalker.”
“Right,” Corrigan grunted and watched the screens again.
Bryce stood behind me and asked, “What do we do about the cops?”
“They’re already here,” I pointed out. “They’re parked across the street. If they were going to break it up, wouldn’t they have done it by now?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. They might just be waiting.”
“For what?”
“For someone to scream so they can rush in and actually get a shot at this guy?”
Corrigan mused. “We’re doing their work for them. They’re not going to break this up, not while we might actually draw this loser in.”
“Corrigan,” Logan suddenly spoke up. “I want to go home.”
“No!” Corrigan rounded on her. “That’s what this guy wants. He wants people to be alone.”
“I want to go home. Now. I don’t want to be here. My parents are home. So is my little sister. I want to go home.”
“Where you’re safe and tucked in bed?” I asked.
“Yes,” Logan said honestly. “For whatever reason, you guys think this guy is obsessed with you. Call me crazy, but I don’t exactly want to be standing next to you when he shows up.”
Corrigan stiffened.
I wasn’t surprised.
And Bryce was…quiet. He knew, just as I did, what her words actually meant to Corrigan.
“I’m not leaving my best friend,” Corrigan said softly. “You can go if you want, but you have to get your own ride home.”
“Corrigan…”
“I’m not leaving Sheldon’s side,” he said swiftly and pointedly turned his back.
Logan gaped and realized, for the first time, what target her words hit. She gaped again, but slowly, stiffly, found her way out the door. It wasn’t long before we saw her on the screen leave through the front door with a friend behind her.
Bryce moved away and I heard the door lock. He slumped onto the couch and kicked his feet on the table as he remarked, “Someone’s going to end up in the hospital tonight.”
“Or dead.” Corrigan turned to him.
“Maybe the party wasn’t such a good idea,” I mused and sat on the far end of Bryce’s couch.
He rolled his head towards me and smiled faintly. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’m sorry about Logan,” I murmured to Corrigan.
He sighed, but remarked, “It’s too soon, you know. We hadn’t really been together long enough…”
“Still…sorry.”
Corrigan smirked and remarked, “There aren’t many girls who’ll let you put handcuffs on them.”
The old Corrigan still sparked.
I saw Bryce open his mouth and swiftly raised a finger, “No!”
He closed it and slumped back on the couch.
Corrigan snickered, “You had to try, though, right?”
Bryce grinned and I knew the two were fine. They just needed to throw a few punches before all was fine and dandy.
Corrigan glanced at the screens and remarked, “Too bad you didn’t put any videos in the rooms. We’d get some great p**n right now.”
My insides cringed, but I teased, “Already resorting to p**n , Corrigan? She just left.”
Bryce suddenly shot up from the couch and strode towards the computer keyboard that manually controlled the video output.
“What are you doing?” I asked and moved behind him.
“The guys were…just before I got punched the tech guy was telling me that it was weird because there was already a feed going on in the house. I didn’t think about until…”
“They didn’t say anything,” Corrigan spoke up. “I told them just to fix the video where you told them and not worry about it.”
“Yeah, but,” Bryce frowned. His fingers went to work on the keyboard.
I asked, “What are you doing?”
“Are you a geek?” Corrigan asked.
Bryce rolled his eyes. “Luca has a thing for this stuff. Playing one on one with him—he tends to ramble about this stuff. I’ve picked up some of it after shooting hoops with my brother for years.”
I arched an eyebrow. “That’s a nice skill to suddenly come in handy right now.”
“Shut up,” Bryce snapped.
I grinned.
“Seriously.” Corrigan shifted closer. “What are you doing?”
“The other feed is bothering me. It could’ve been the other alarm system. They didn’t remove it. I told them just to use the old wires, because they were already there, but…what if…”
He hit a last button and my eyes filled in horror.
Bryce finished, numbly, “What if…an alarm system wasn’t installed the last time…”
My insides hurled as I saw images of myself on the computer screens. In the shower. On the couch. In bed, sleeping…and…my eyes fixed on the bottom screen where Bryce pistoned into me. We were both grasping the bed in desperation and instead of the remembered passion from that night, disgust rolled over me in waves.
“That’s the night…”I swallowed, but forced myself to finish. “That’s the night…”
Bryce finished my thought, “…of the candlelight vigil.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
I shot to the bathroom and emptied my stomach that had been filled with nothing.
I stayed there, even after a tentative knock sounded at the door. Someone shuffled in, saw my ashen features through their drunken glaze and shuffled back out.
I held onto the toilet and rested my forehead against my arm.
I don’t know how long I stayed there, but it was long enough for Bryce to have regained control over himself. Or—that’s what I assumed when he entered the bathroom, silently locked the door, and curled around me. He rested his arms on both sides of me and dipped his forehead against my back.
Neither of us said a word, but the images flashed through me. I saw every single time where I had thought my home was private, where I was alone. And everytime my stomach rolled from the violation.
