14. Tessa

14

TESSA

I step out of the Sigma Theta a few hours later, the cool night air hitting my skin, bringing me down from the heady whirlwind of everything that just happened. My heart still beats faster than normal, a soft smile lingering on my lips as I head down the sidewalk, replaying the moments in my head. Who would've thought it would end like this? All the tension between us, the banter, the playful conversations culminating in a night that I'll never forget.

The breeze ruffles my hair, and I tug my jacket tighter around myself, feeling a little giddy as I walk. It's late, and the campus is quiet, but for once, the silence doesn't bother me. I feel lighter, more at ease than I have in a while. For the first time, things between me and the Sigmas seem like they might have calmed down in some crazy way.

But as I turn the corner toward my dorm, the lightness in my chest starts to fade. I glance over my shoulder. It's empty behind me—no one around. Still, a weird prickling sensation creeps up my spine, the kind that makes me want to look again, just in case.

I keep walking, my footsteps quickening against the pavement while the streetlights cast long shadows ahead of me. Every few steps, I steal glances over my shoulder, trying to shake the uneasy feeling that's now gnawing at me. It's probably nothing, I tell myself. Just the leftover adrenaline making me jumpy.

But then I swear I hear footsteps. Faint, but there. My stomach clenches. I don't stop, don't slow down, just keep walking until I finally reach the door to my dorm building. Swiping my key card with shaky hands, I slip inside and let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

Once I'm safely in my room, the feeling should go away, right? I should feel secure. But the second I step inside, a different kind of unease washes over me. Something's off. I glance around—everything looks normal at first glance. Same bed, same desk, same clutter.

But then I notice it—little things. The stack of books on the corner of my desk is shifted, as though someone's thumbed through them. My chair is pulled out a couple of inches, just enough that I know I didn't leave it like that. My phone charger, usually on the nightstand, is now coiled on the floor by my bed.

Unease settles into the pit of my stomach, clouding over the joy I'd felt earlier after leaving Sigma Theta. Was someone in my dorm room? I feel jittery all of a sudden, the adrenaline rushing back full force. Before I can take another step, a jingling noise startles me so hard that I nearly jump out of my skin.

Pressing a hand to my racing heart, I roll my eyes at myself when I realize it's just my phone alerting me of an incoming text. Grabbing for it, I pick it up to see a message from Valencia asking how the night went.

I fire off a quick text to let her know that I'll tell her about it tomorrow before placing my phone on my nightstand and slipping off my rumpled clothes. It's the wee hours of the morning and I'm exhausted from earlier. I have a class in the morning so I desperately need to get some sleep.

Brushing off the incidents as paranoia, I take a fast shower and throw on an old T-shirt before climbing under my covers. I'm out in mere moments and by the time I wake up in the morning, I've forgotten all about my stuff being moved.

My heart feels light as I head to the campus café, hoping to run into Alec this morning. He's not there but then I remember he has a midterm today, so I grab my usual vanilla latte and sit down, only slightly disappointed that I don't get to see him.

Something prickles at the back of my neck and I glance around, wondering if someone is staring at me. No one is looking at me though, too busy drinking their coffees or working on homework or essays. I brush it aside again and check my schedule. I have a meeting with the staff at the paper later today and I'm planning on recording a podcast episode this evening, but besides my morning class, I've got some free time.

I contemplate texting Devin or Jace to see what they're up to when I feel the same prickling sensation again and glance around, furrowing my brow. I swear I catch a glimpse of someone peeking at me from the bathroom corridor, but they're gone in a flash.

Jumping to my feet, I follow the figure around the corner, but there's no one there. The hallway is quiet and unless the person disappeared into the bathroom, I have no idea where they went. I'm tempted to check, but I realize I need to leave if I'm going to make it to class on time.

Stifling a groan, I press my fingers to my temples, refusing to let anything distract me from my day, or from how great last night turned out.

With newfound resolve, I ignore the prickling feeling on the back of my neck and head to class, determined to put it all behind me.

As I head to class, fallen leaves crunch underfoot and I wave to a few people as I pass by. The campus is as lively as ever with students rushing to classes and the hum of conversation filling the air. But as I walk through the quad, I feel it again—that nagging sensation, like eyes on the back of my head. I stop and turn around quickly, scanning the area. People are around, but no one looks suspicious. I don't see anyone who could be watching me. Still, my heart races, and my skin prickles with anxiety.

Shaking it off, I turn and walk into the psych building, dropping my stuff off before heading to the restroom to wash my hands from where some caramel syrup got on them. I arrive back at class, sit down, and pause.

My notebook, which I'd left on the table just moments ago, is now slightly ajar, pages flipped to a random spot in my notes. I freeze, staring at it. Did I do that? I must have. There's no way someone could have touched my stuff. There are a few students around and no one is acting oddly. They ignore me as I glance around.

I shake my head. My mind's just playing tricks on me. I'm tired since I barely got any sleep and I'm probably just hallucinating. Right? So I decide to take a nap between classes and see if that helps clear things up.

But later, when I'm sitting down to edit my last podcast at the newspaper office, I realize that something is seriously wrong. The files have been deleted.

My blood turns to ice in my veins. Am I being stalked? Is someone following me? I glance around, eyeing the students who are working around me, quietly tapping away at their laptops or filing articles.

I can't keep brushing things off anymore. Not with the evidence sitting in front of me. I know for a fact that I'd never delete a podcast file without a backup copy and the files are nowhere to be found.

Tears prick at my eyes, and I wonder who is trying to set me up to hurt me. My mind briefly flicks to Max and his cronies. If anyone was going to be stalking and harassing me, it'd be them. After the scandal, I knew I was going to become a target for the men responsible. They'd see me as an intrinsic part of their downfall and probably target me.

But as time wore on and nothing happened, I started to my guard down, feeling safe since they were all in jail. I check now just to make sure and give myself some reassurance.

When I look up county records, I breathe a sigh of relief. Max Byers is still in jail and probably will be for a long, long time.

If it's not Max or one of his cohorts, then who could it be?

Something painful and sharp twists inside of me just then. It's not possible but…could it be the boys? Could Alec, Devin, and Jace be the ones behind all this?

Was the truce just a cover to keep messing with me? My stomach rolls and I feel sick wondering if it's possible they only started messing around with me to distract me from their antics.

With a million thoughts racing through my head, I decide that there's only one thing to do. I head out, needing to talk to someone that I can trust.

With a gentle knock, I call out for Dr. Ava, hoping she's still in her office. She beckons me inside and I enter, breathing in the warm scent of the vanilla candle on her desk.

"You look troubled, Miss Collins," Dr. Ava says, raising one manicured eyebrow. Her English accent is lilting and soft, calming me instantly.

"I…I think that someone might be stalking me," I admit, looking down at my hands. My red nail polish is chipped on my left pinky.

"Oh goodness, that's very serious," she says, leaning toward me and placing one hand on my shoulder. "Tell me what's going on."

Everything comes spilling out, though I leave out the sex stuff with the boys and Dr. Ava frowns, pursing her lips.

"If someone is threatening you, I strongly suggest that you take this to the campus police," she urges. "I would hate for something to happen to you."

"You're probably right," I say, misery filling me. I can't imagine who might be doing this, and a huge part of me hopes like hell it isn't the boys, but I can't be sure.

"Thanks for your help," I tell her, waving goodbye as I leave. Walking to my car, my head feels more full than ever, but I stop in my tracks when I see a note on my windshield.

Racing over, I grab it and open it up to see the words I'm watching you scrawled across it in red marker.