Page 457 of Summer Heat
“I think that sounds like fun. I wasn’t doing anything anyway.”
Maybe fate knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep Tyler. It was going to take him from me. So it gave me Daniel to keep me from loving Tyler too much.
I don’t know for sure and there’s no point in speculating.
All I know for certain is that Daniel will consume me, chew me up and spit me back out.
I need to end this before I get hurt … well, before it gets worse than it already is.
Chapter 16
Daniel
I’m losing it.
I can feel myself slipping backward into a dark abyss.
Addison and I are alike in more ways than she knows. In ways I’d never dare to whisper out loud. She’s lying to herself when she says she needs space.
She doesn’t.
She needs me, just like I need her. She’s the only thing that takes the pain away and I do that for her too. I know I do. I can feel it. I can see it in her.
The light from the computer screen is the only thing that saves the living room from being in complete darkness. I’ve been staring at it, waiting for him to see I’ve been logged in for hours.
I’m trying to stay away from Addison. I’m trying to do what’s best.
It’s been a long time, Marcus finally responds. It’s not his name or his alias in this chat. But I know it’s him.
Three years now, I answer, leaning back into my seat with my laptop on my thighs and trying to ignore the shame that rings in my blood. It’s been three years since I’ve logged into this black market chat and sought him out. Three years since I’ve felt the urge to watch over Addison every second of every day. Three years since I’ve had a hit of my sweet addiction.
What brings you back? he asks me and I swallow thickly.
She came back into my life. But you already know that.
She, as in Addison? he asks me to keep up this charade.
The keys beneath my fingertips click faintly as I type. It’s odd how I find it comforting, the soft sounds tempting me to confess my sins.
I wasn’t stalking her or trying to find her. The first time was a coincidence.
How many times have there been? he asks me.
A lot, I admit but then add, but she’s been with me this time. It’s not me hiding in the shadows. She sought me out.
Do you think that makes it healthier? The text stares back at me on the brightly lit screen and I want to answer yes. Of course it is. This time isn’t anything like what happened years ago. He doesn’t wait for me to answer before he poses another question.
If she knows, does that make it okay to allow your interest to grow to obsession?
Obsession may be the wrong word. I think possessive is better. She’s mine. My reason to move on from what happened before. My desire for more. My only way to cope.
It’s different this time. This time she wanted me there.
Wanted? he presses, and the shame of why I’m even here in this anonymous chat makes my chest feel tight. As in past tense?
She asked me for time apart and I’m having difficulties. I’m slipping back into old habits.
It’s called stalking, Daniel.
