Chapter Two

Madelyn

Two days had passed since the incident with David at the hospital. The wound was still raw, but Madelyn was healing herself the best that she could. She busied herself with work and deep cleaning her house to help keep her mind off of things. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she still didn’t understand why he had treated her the way he did or why he blamed her for his attack. And that was frustrating.

Thankfully, she was meeting Melanie for lunch in a bit to go over what she had discovered in the police report David filed from that night. Hopefully, she would finally get some answers. Not that it mattered anymore as she no longer had the desire to try to clear her name with him. Not after what he did. She only wanted to know to appease her own curiosity and to see if she could figure out who it was that was stalking her.

Madelyn realized the day after she found the note in her car that it wasn’t just a sick prank like she originally thought—or hoped. She had found another note on her desk when she got to work the next morning, telling her how beautiful she looked, how he hoped that she had a good day, and that he was counting down the minutes until they could be together. It wasn’t as creepy as the first note had been and was kind of sweet in its own way, but it did make her wonder how the hell he got in and out of the station without being seen. The police station was supposed to be one of the safest places, wasn’t it?

After finding the second note, Madelyn felt as though she were constantly being watched. It was like she could feel a pair of eyes tracking her every move at all hours of the day. It was a feeling that she just couldn’t shake, one that had buried itself so deep into the pit of her stomach that she was beginning to wonder if it would ever go away. Whether she was at home, at work, out shopping, or taking a shower, she knew, without a doubt, that he was there, Xavier, lurking somewhere among the shadows. But what threw her for a loop, was the fact that she wasn’t as afraid of this guy as she probably should have been.

She figured it was most likely due to her past. She had been through so much as a child, more than any adult she knew, and that trauma had changed her. It had messed with her brain chemistry or something. Her previous therapist had tried to explain it to her, but she never really understood. All she knew was that things didn’t always affect her the way they should.

It didn’t hurt that she knew how to take care of herself too, though. After everything she had been through, she had made it a point to take as many self-defense classes as possible. She had been told that it was overkill, that she would probably never need it in her lifetime, but it made her feel better all the same. It made her feel more confident and sure of herself.

Steam billowed out of the bathroom door as she exited, a towel wrapped around her body and one in her hand as she dried her hair. She stopped short when she spotted the long purple box with a matching purple bow sitting on her freshly made bed. Not only had that box not been there twenty minutes ago when she got into the shower, but she hadn’t bothered making her bed yet either. Which meant that someone had been in her room at some point in the twenty minutes she had been in the shower.

Madelyn moved toward the box tentatively, as if it were a bomb about to go off. When she reached the edge of her bed, she looked around the room and down the hall to ensure it wasn’t a trap. Once she was sure that she was alone, she picked up the card that was taped to the top of the box. It was made of thick, white card stock, and the note was typed instead of written, except for the now familiar signature. The package was from Xavier. Her stalker.

So far, he hadn’t left anything that would hurt her, but it was still too early to know what this guy was really capable of. After all, he had put David in the hospital just for talking to her. Who knew what he would do if he realized that she wasn’t going to agree to be his as quietly as he hoped?

Dropping the towel she was using to dry her hair, she opened the card so she could see what the note said in its entirety.

“I watched you last night, and what a beautiful sight it was, watching you come on your fingers. Who were you thinking about, I wonder. I can’t wait until the day that I get to feel you come around my cock because then I’ll be able to die a happy man.

After looking through your room, I realized that you didn’t have one of these. I thought I would give you something to help tide you over until we are together. All I ask is that you think of me when you use it. – Forever Yours, Xavier”

Madelyn pressed her lips together as she set the note down on the bed. Knowing that he had watched her masturbate the night before was unnerving, but she should have known better. The guy was everywhere, and he didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon. Unsure of what else to do, she flipped the top off the box.

The moment she moved the tissue paper, she pressed her fingers to her lips to stifle her laughter. Inside the cheerful purple box, on top of the sparkly tissue paper was the biggest vibrator she had ever seen in her life and, to top it off, it was an obnoxious neon pink color. It had to be at least thirteen to fifteen inches long and as thick as a tree branch. And it was veiny as hell too, full of bumps and ridges in all the right places. She had never seen anything like it before, and she wasn’t going to deny that it looked like it could be fun. That was if it didn’t tear her apart.

She should be upset with the guy for thinking he had the right to send her something like this, disgusted even. However, she wasn’t. Already, she had come to accept whatever this guy decided to throw at her. Besides, what could she do? He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to be easily deterred, nor did she believe he was going to stop anytime soon. Not after everything he had done thus far. The only thing she could do was let it play out the way it was supposed to. Either he’d come after her and she’d kill him in self-defense, or he’d kill her. Not much she could do about it either way.

Setting the box with the monster cock down on the floor, she kicked it under her bed. She would figure out what to do with the damn thing later. Now, she had to get ready for lunch with Melanie, and she needed to decide if she was going to tell her about her new friend. While she didn’t trust the police—she hadn’t in years—Melanie was her best friend. Her only friend really, and that had to count for something. At least, it should.

Madelyn had met Melanie three years ago when she first started working at the station as the receptionist. Melanie had been a patrol officer then and had taken Madelyn under her wing. Cedarwood PD was comprised of mostly men, and Melanie had said that the girls needed to stick together. She had been a big part of Madelyn’s life ever since. It was something she wasn’t used to, having a friend, but she was grateful for it.

The girls had arranged to meet at a little bistro down the street from the station, and a text message from Melanie told her that, as usual, she was already there and had grabbed them a table outside on the patio. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so Madelyn didn’t mind. She even joked with herself that maybe she would get the chance to catch her stalker in action. Not that she knew what she would do if she did.

When Madelyn stepped out onto the patio, she spotted Melanie immediately as her bright red hair was hard to miss. She smiled to herself and made her way over toward the table. Melanie grinned at her as she approached. “Hey.”

“Hey you,” Madelyn replied as she sat down, hanging her purse on the chair behind her. She nodded toward the glass of iced tea sitting in front of her. “That mine?”

Melanie nodded. “Yeah, I already ordered your chicken club with avocado too.”

She beamed at her friend, reaching for the glass and then taking a sip. “You know me so well,” she stated, setting it back down on the table.

“Yeah, I do. And I have to be at the station in an hour.” Melanie dug into her bag and pulled out a manilla folder with a case number across the top corner. “So, we need to go through this.”

“Oh! Is that the report on David’s attack?” Madelyn asked as she reached across the table to grab the file. She was more than a little excited to finally find out what had crawled up David’s ass.

Melanie slapped her hand away before settling back in her seat and flipping the file open. However, the small smile that played across her lips didn’t go unnoticed, letting Madelyn know that she was just playing around. To an extent. “Yes. It is.”

Madelyn laughed and shook her head. She should have known better than to try to take one of Melanie’s files in the first place. The girl had always been particular about them and was a little OCD in that regard. She was the only person in the station who didn’t ask Madelyn to retrieve files for her or fix and edit reports as she preferred to do them herself. Madelyn didn’t fault her for it; it was just one of her many quirks.

“According to the report, the assailant cut the power and waited for David in the basement,” Melanie read from the file. “It says the guy slammed his head against the wall, dazing him. He then threatened him and punched him a couple of times before…” Madelyn watched as Melanie winced. It was odd to see her wince like that. Because she was a cop, she had seen a lot over the years, but this clearly got to her. “Before he stabbed him with a Phillips head screwdriver where the sun doesn’t shine. Ouch.”

Madelyn cringed herself at her friend”s words, remembering exactly where David had been stabbed. The guy may be a jerk, but he hadn’t deserved that. She wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy. It was no wonder the guy was pissed.

“David went on to say that the guy did leave him his cell phone so that he could call for help,” Melanie continued. “And, of course, he was gone before they arrived.”

“Oh, how nice of him,” Madelyn muttered sarcastically. That part was a little surprising though. Why would the guy risk David calling the police and identifying him? Why not just kill him? She wasn’t complaining. It wasn’t like she wished for David’s death, she was just surprised was all.

“Right?” Melanie agreed before shaking her head and closing the file on the table in front of her. “But, I still don’t see how or why David can blame you for this. Especially since he didn’t even mention you in the report at all. It still doesn’t make any sense. ”

Madelyn chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. After a thorough debate with herself in the car on the drive over, she had decided that it was probably best if at least one other person knew about the fact that she had a stalker, just in case anything happened to her. However, she was still unclear as to how to bring it up.

“It makes sense if the guy was trying to get David away from me,” Madelyn replied reluctantly. “If he was trying to get David to back off so he could have me all to himself.”

Melanie’s eyebrows raised as a look of confusion crossed her features. “What on earth would make you think that?”

With a heavy sigh, Madelyn dug into her purse. She had wanted to be sure the same guy sending her the notes was the same one who attacked David. The first note had taken credit for it, but she didn’t have any proof. Even now, she didn’t have any, but she did have a strong feeling deep in her gut that was telling her that it was the same person.

“I found this in my car the day I went to see David in the hospital,” Madelyn explained, handing the folded piece of paper over to Melanie.

Just as Melanie took the note and began to read, the waiter came by to drop off their food. Madelyn thanked him and picked a fry off her plate before quickly popping it into her mouth. She didn’t know how Melanie was going to react to this, but she had a feeling she wasn’t going to be happy about it. Especially since Madelyn didn’t tell her about it when she first found the note.

“Okay, why the fuck am I just now hearing about this?” Melanie asked her after a while, confirming Madelyn’s suspicions that she was upset. Madelyn could see the anger and irritation on her face clear as day, her fist tightening around the letter.

She shrugged, deciding not to admit to the fact that she almost didn’t tell her at all. She was trying to be better about opening up to Melanie, but she was used to dealing with things on her own. It was still a work in progress.

“I honestly thought it was a prank,” she replied. “I thought maybe David had one of his friends put it there to really drive the whole thing home.”

Melanie scoffed. “And now you don’t think so.”

It wasn’t a question, but Madelyn shook her head anyway. “No, I don’t. I’ve received a few more letters like that one along with some gifts over the last couple of days.”

“What kind of gifts?”

“A couple of hand-carved wooden doves,” she answered honestly, fighting a small smile at the memory of what she had found earlier. “And a monster dildo on my bed this morning.”

Melanie, however, didn’t find this nearly as funny as she did and raised her voice so much that it drew the attention of other patrons on the patio. “He was in your house? Madelyn!”

“Relax, Mel. It’s not a big deal,” she said softly, trying to defuse the situation.

Melanie’s face completely deadpanned, and she looked at Madelyn as if she had lost her damn mind. “How the fuck is any of this not a big deal? This guy is stalking you.”

“But he hasn’t even tried to hurt me, and he’s obviously had several opportunities to do so.”

Madelyn wasn’t sure why she was suddenly defending the guy. It was surprising even to herself. Not to mention a bit stupid. Melanie was only trying to help, trying to get more information, but she just didn’t feel like this guy was a threat. At least, not to her.

“Are you forgetting that he put David in the hospital? That he nearly castrated the guy? And this right here?”—Melanie waved the note in her hand—“makes it sound like he’s going to turn you into some kind of sex slave. Saying you belong to him and shit.”

If she thought that note was bad, it was a good thing Madelyn didn’t show her the note that she got from Xavier that morning. She would really lose her shit then.

Melanie shook her head. “No, I’m not going to let that happen. Let’s go.”

Madelyn cocked an eyebrow as she watched Melanie rise to her feet and snatch the file off the table before she shoved it into her bag. “Go where?”

“To the station. You are going to file a police report and show them these letters.”

She was shaking her head before Melanie even finished speaking and folded her arms across her chest. That was completely out of the question. “No. I’m not.”

“And why the hell not?” Melanie threw her arms out to her sides. “I don’t get you. You work for the cops, for crying out loud. And you trust me as far as I know. Yet, you don’t trust them? How does that even make sense?”

“My reasons are my own, Mel. Besides, I told you, and that’s good enough for me.”

Melanie growled in frustration before flopping back down into her seat and pointing her finger in Madelyn’s direction. “You are such a pain in the ass. I really hope you know what you are doing because there is no guarantee that I can keep you safe on my own.”

It wasn’t her expectation for Melanie to keep her safe. She was confident that she could defend herself should the need arise. She just wanted someone else to know what was going on in case the worst should happen and she failed to protect herself. However, she didn’t like the fact that Melanie was so upset with her. So, she decided to try a compromise. “If the guy ever makes me feel unsafe, I will go to the police, okay? Would that satisfy you?”

“No. But it’s a start,” Melanie retorted, picking at her salad. “You know, one of these days, you are going to tell me why you have such an aversion to the police.”

“Wouldn’t you rather hear more about the monster dildo he sent me this morning?” Madelyn asked playfully, hoping to lighten the mood as well as change the subject. She knew Melanie wasn’t happy, but she never did stay mad at Madelyn for long.

“No! I don’t want to hear about your monster cock!” Melanie snapped a little too loudly.

A group of older women who were dressed in their Sunday best and sitting just a few tables away gasped and began whispering hurriedly to one another, causing Melanie’s face to flush. Madelyn laughed at the sight as she picked up half of her sandwich. Maybe, one day, she’d tell Melanie about the hell she had gone through with the police when she was a child, but today was not that day.