Live Again

by Brittney Mulliner

  What did this mean? Brandon voiced my concerns for me. “If it’s not Morgan, then who is doing this? I have an alarm system and it was set last night. I asked the security guards, and they said no one that was unauthorized entered. Explain this to me.” His voice revealed his desperation.

  The younger detective spoke this time. “We understand your frustration, Mr. Tate, but I can assure you that we will do everything we can. Although there has been a violation of your sense of security, there isn’t necessarily a crime to report. The note could have been placed by one of your friends, or even by your sister. A cry for attention, maybe?”

  Brandon tensed next to me, but the senior detective held up a hand. “I don’t think that is the case here. There has been no harm done yet, but I want to figure this out before someone gets hurt.” He shot his partner a look that seemed to set him in his place.

  How could anyone think I would make this up? Why would I do this to myself? The pictures were of me and my friends. How could I have taken them?

  I sank deeper into myself, ignoring the conversation around me. If this wasn’t Morgan, then who was it?

  “Aubrey. Aubrey!”

  I looked up and saw they were all looking at me, waiting. “Sorry, what did you say?”

  “They asked for names of anyone who knows about Chicago, or anyone who would do this.”

  “Why would any of my friends do this to me? Somehow, Morgan is pulling this off.”

  “Ms. Tate, I understand your reluctance to believe this, but the most likely suspects would be the people here who know you. Maybe it’s a prank, but we want to check with everyone. Maybe your friends saw something you didn’t this weekend.”

  They could be right. Maybe someone noticed something I didn’t. It felt like a betrayal to my friends, but I knew they would understand. “Fine, I’ll write a list of the people that were there.”

  “And anyone else you know here.”

  I glared at the young detective. I really didn’t like him.

  ☼ ☼ ☼

  Brandon stayed home from work to be with me. I felt bad since things had been so busy for him lately, but he assured me he could do some work from his laptop. I was snuggled into a blanket on the couch and hadn’t moved since the detectives left. I didn’t want to go into my room, in case something else magically appeared, and Brandon hadn’t moved either.

  I’m sure he didn’t want to leave me, as much as I didn’t want to be left alone.

  I fell asleep during the third movie that came on and woke to the sound of knocking on the front door. I looked up and caught Brandon’s eye. We were both on edge and looking suspiciously at the door. He stood and looked through the peephole before opening the door.

  Carter stood on the other side, carrying bags of takeout. “I come bearing gifts!” His smile was wide, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He was just as concerned as Brandon.

  “Good. I just realized neither of us has eaten anything.” They moved into the kitchen and began setting the food on the counter. “Are you hungry, Aubrey?”

  I shrugged, but stood and made my way into the kitchen. I peeked into some of the boxes and saw Mexican, my favorite. My stomach rumbled, earning me a laugh from both of them.

  “I guess you are. Thanks for grabbing this Carter, we appreciate it.” Brandon shot me a look. What a parent.

  “Thanks, Carter.”

  It was barely a whisper, but I guess he heard. He turned and gave me a worried look before holding his arms out to me. I stepped into them and hugged him around his waist. He held me so tight I could barely breathe, but I didn’t mind. It felt good to have someone hold me, even if a few hours ago he’d stormed out on me. For the first time since I woke up, I felt safe.

  I felt him rest his chin on my head. “I left you alone for one day, and look what happens. Do I need to stay here and keep guard from now on?”

  I smiled against his chest, not wanting to break the hug yet.

  “That’s not a bad idea,” said Brandon. “Would you mind staying over tonight? I have some things I need to finish at the office, so if you could stay I would really appreciate it.” He paused for a moment. “Only if that’s okay with you, Aubrey. If you don’t want me to leave, I won’t.”

  I spoke against Carter’s chest. “I’ll be fine. I’m sorry you had to miss today.”

  “Don’t apologize. You’re my first priority. I’ll be as quick as I can.” I watched as he made a plate of food and wrapped it up. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  He smiled at me on his way out the door, and nodded to Carter like they were speaking a code.

  After Brandon shut the door, Carter released me and offered me a plate. “I got your favorite, but you can have whatever you want.”

  I spotted the enchiladas and grabbed them. Carter laughed behind me and nudged me toward the stools at the island. We ate in silence for a few minutes, but Carter quickly seemed to reach his limit.

  “How are you doing?” His brows were furrowed, and I could tell he had been stressed all day as well.

  I shrugged and pushed my plate away. “I just don’t understand.”

  He reached forward and scooted me toward him so I was facing him in my seat. “I don’t understand either, but I promise I will be here for you. I don’t care if I sleep on the floor next to you from now on. I’m not going to let anything happen.”

  There was such sincerity in his eyes, I knew he meant it. I watched as his gaze dropped from my eyes to my lips. I sucked in a breath: was he going to kiss me again? I was surprised by how badly I wanted him to. Despite his flip-flopping between being a flirt and being another brother, I couldn’t deny my attraction to him.

  I leaned forward just slightly. His eyes snapped back to mine, and he pushed his chair back and stood. He grabbed our plates and threw them away without another look at me.

  Apparently I was wrong. I was just the little sister. I sighed and shuffled into my room, shutting the door behind me, needing a few moments by myself.

  I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop. An envelope icon was on the center of my screen. I gasped, remembering seeing it before packing for the trip. I had forgotten about it that night, and now there was a little number two attached to it.

  I looked around my room, feeling like I was being watched. While I hovered the mouse over the icon, an internal battle was taking place. Should I open it or not? Finally I clicked and waited for something to appear.

  The older message appeared first. It was dated last Thursday, the night I’d been packing. I skimmed over the message and had a familiar feeling wash over me. Déjà vu. I tried to keep calm as I opened the newer message.

  My body was trembling, but my mind was frozen.

  As soon as I had the strength, I called out for Carter. He burst into the room exactly as Brandon had this morning. He scanned the room before looking at me. Concern washed over his face as he rushed to me. Kneeling so he was eye level with me, he held my face in his hands. This felt too familiar.

  “What’s wrong?” His gaze was so intense I couldn’t turn away. I lifted a hand to point at the screen while keeping my eyes locked with his.

  He broke contact and followed my finger. He read the message, then moved the mouse to open the second. He swore quietly under his breath and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. After a few seconds, he began talking. “Brandon, you need to get back here. This is worse than we thought.”

  He hung up and read the messages over again. “When did you see these?”

  “I noticed the envelope last Thursday, but I didn’t open it then. I forgot about it until just now. When I opened my computer, the icon was there, showing two messages.”

  He stood and began pacing the room. I watched him for a moment before turning back to the screen and rereading the messages.

  The first one said, “My Aubrey, you tried to run, but you can never hide. I will always be watching.” He’d proved his point with the delivery of the photographs. No matter where I moved, h
e was going to find me. He was going to continue to haunt me from inside his prison.

  The second message sent shivers down my spine. “How dare you betray me. You are mine. Forever. I’ll make sure of that.” I read it over and over again. What did it mean? Was I putting my friends in danger?

  I started to feel sick as I stared at the screen. Carter was yelling after me as I ran into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time. After my stomach was empty, I rolled onto my side and let my tears fall freely. Pretending was too hard; I wasn’t strong enough to act like I was okay anymore.

  Chapter 11

  Despite the messages, Brandon decided it would be best if I went to school. He wanted me to act as normal as possible until they could figure out who’d sent the messages. He assured me he would spend the day figuring it out and dedicate an entire team to the task, if needed. I guess I should have been grateful he was a computer genius, but it made me nervous having him more involved.

  The message had been a threat to anyone close to me. It wasn’t clear whether it meant just other guys or anyone in general, but I didn’t want to take chances. If it was up to me, I would move out to some remote location by myself to keep everyone else safe.

  I hadn’t told anyone else about the messages or the photos. It felt wrong to keep something like this from my friends, especially the girls, but I figured the less they knew, the safer they would be.

  Everyone assumed I was sick yesterday, even though we had spent the weekend together. People told me they were glad I was feeling better, and I didn’t bother correcting them. I tried my best to act normal, but it felt like I was in a haze . . . or maybe this was all some bad nightmare. No one seemed to catch on to my anxiety, though.

  Brandon’s one stipulation was that I never go anywhere alone. Even when I was on campus, he wanted me to have someone with me. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. I didn’t realize it before, but I had a friend in every class, except for chemistry. Mckayla walked with me to that anyway, so I just had to get in the habit of asking someone to meet up with me at the end of the day.

  I left at the end of the day with Cassie to go to dance. My only sanctuary. I was worried Brandon would limit where I went and make me quit until things were figured out, but this was a part of his plan to act normal. He was doing what was best for me, I knew, but I could already tell this was going to get old fast.

  I spent those two blissful hours focusing only on the task at hand. I pushed myself to my limits and felt it by the end. I was tired and sore as I got into my car and set home. I was looking forward to a bubble bath and a good book to distract me for the night.

  When I walked through the front door, I froze at the sight of Carter and Brandon silently waiting for me in the kitchen. I tried to read their expressions, but they gave nothing away.

  “Hi, guys.”

  Brandon tilted his head toward the stools.

  I set my bags down by the door and slid onto the seat. I watched them, waiting for one of them to say something. “You’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

  They stood across from me, both with their arms folded. Brandon’s jaw clenched once before he answered me. “We’ve been looking into the messages and trying to track the source. Carter got pretty close today.”

  This information wasn’t enough to clarify. I waited silently for him to continue.

  “The messages were sent from the area. Whoever is doing this is from here, Aubrey.”

  My jaw dropped. “What do you mean? Morgan is in Chicago.”

  “It’s not him. There is someone else out there following you. It looks like it’s most likely someone you know.”

  Thoughts were spinning around in my head. Another person was doing this? How was that possible?

  “I’ve hired a private investigator to dig further into this. I’m confident that we can find out who it is, and knowing it’s someone local gives us an advantage.”

  “How? How is knowing it’s someone close to me an advantage?” My voice was almost a shriek. I felt tears pooling in my eyes, and I didn’t care enough to hide it.

  “We’re closer to finding them. We’re going to be on high alert from now on.”

  Carter had been silent through all of this. When I looked at him, he was staring intently at me. A single tear broke free, and suddenly I broke down.

  Who would do this to me? How could someone already hate me enough to torture me?

  I felt arms wrap around me, and I clung to them. “It’s going to be okay, Aubrey. Remember my promise.”

  I looked up at Carter through my tears and shook my head. “How can this be happening again? I thought it was done.”

  I felt him stroking my hair; while it was soothing, it wasn’t enough to calm me down. There was nothing that could make this better. Sobs wracked my body as I buried my face in his chest and clenched his shirt for support.

  “I’m going to stay here with you tonight, okay?”

  I nodded against him, not bothering an attempt at talking. I felt him scoop me up and hold me against him as he walked to the living room. He sat down and kept me sitting in his lap, curled into him. I didn’t care what Brandon thought about us, I just needed Carter.

  ☼ ☼ ☼

  After picking up Mckayla on the way to school the next day, she took one look at me and knew something was off.

  “What happened?” Her eyebrows were scrunched together in concern.

  I focused my attention on the road, hoping she would let it go but knowing she wouldn’t. I remained silent until I pulled into the student lot and parked.

  I unbuckled my seat belt and turned to her. “The notes have started again.”

  Her head shot back in surprise. “When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I found pictures in my room on Monday morning when I woke up. They were all of me taken over the weekend. Whoever is doing this was on Catalina with us.”

  “That’s why you missed school . . .” She seemed lost in her thoughts for a minute. “Did you notify the police?”

  “Yeah, the detectives that met with me after the note I found on formal night came back.”

  “What did they say? Do they have any idea who it could be?”

  I shook my head and sighed. “No. One of them even thought I was making this up.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Why would anyone make this up?”

  I shrugged slightly. “It would make his job easier if I was.”

  “Have you gotten any other notes or pictures?”

  “Yes. There was an envelope icon on my computer the night we were packing, but I forgot about it. Yesterday, when I opened my computer, the icon was still there, but it showed two messages. They freaked me out, Mac.”

  “Did Brandon see them? Do the police know?”

  “Carter was with me when I read them, so he called Brandon and told him to come home. Brandon forwarded them to the detectives, but he had some people at his office look into them, too.”

  She sat back and was quiet again. After a few moments, she met my eyes, waiting for me to continue.

  “Carter found the source. The sender was local. Whoever is doing this is here. It’s not Morgan.”

  She quickly looked around, as if the perpetrator would magically appear. “So this is someone new?”

  I nodded in confirmation.

  “Someone we probably know.” She frowned and looked at me again. “What do we do now?”

  “Brandon wants me to continue my normal routine, but always have someone with me. He and Carter are looking into it more today.”

  “So until then, all we know is that your new stalker is here. Fantastic.”

  My thoughts exactly.

  We got out of my car and headed toward the courtyard. Talia and Alexis met us as we walked into campus. I gave a look to Mckayla, praying she would stay quiet. I didn’t want to tell the other girls what was happening when we didn’t know very much. Plus, Mckayla looked like she was going to be ill. I didn’t want to do tha
t to more people.

  Mike called my name and ran up to me just before I opened the door to the math hall. “How’s my favorite girl?”

  I wished I was immune to his thousand-watt smile. I couldn’t help but sink into him as he threw his arm around my shoulders. Was this leading him on? Maybe, but I needed my friends right now, and that’s exactly what Mike was.

  He must have taken my move as an invitation, since he kissed my forehead before he opened the door to our class. I smiled at him as I took my seat. Mr. Cox was standing at the front of the class, waiting for the bell to ring to start class.

  I looked around wondering if anyone in the class was the person stalking me. Sydney? Nick? Maybe one of the guys who gave me their numbers on my first day. They might be upset I never called.

  I sank further into my chair. I thought I could handle this. I thought I could act normal, but I couldn’t take it. At any moment, someone could be watching me.

  Just when I was getting ready to stand and leave school, I felt Mike squeeze my shoulder. That was all I needed. Mike was my protector, and he would never let anything happen on his watch.

  His presence was what I needed to make it through the class. When the bell rang, he walked me to the gym, where Cassie was waiting. I knew that if I surrounded myself with my friends, I could make it through the day. I would just have to take one class at a time. With a deep breath, I followed Cassie into the locker room to change.

  Dance was a daze, but I made it through with only a few concerned looks from Coach Sandra and Cassie.

  I couldn’t focus, no matter how hard I tried. There was a drop of doubt in the back my mind. Did I know who my stalker was? Was he close to me now? I wanted to trust my friends, but I had made that mistake before.

  So far, Mckayla was the only one that knew the truth. I trusted her not to tell anyone else yet. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want other people to start treating me differently, but maybe if they knew they could help.