“Nina, no!” I hear my sister scream from the opposite direction. “Come this way!”

I follow the voice. “Carly?” I feel a hand touch me and I scream.

“Shh, you have to be quiet. They’ll hear you.” She tugs me down and I follow her as she crawls inside a hollowed out tree.

My arms wrap around her hugging her as tight as I can. “I’ve missed you so much. Who will hear me? What is going on?” I whisper my heartbeat speeding up as I see how nervous she is.

“I don’t have long, Nina, you have to listen to me. You need to trust Jake.”

“Carly, I don’t want to talk about him right now. I need you to tell me why you’ve come to me now. I’ve never been able to dream about you unless it’s a memory.” I’ve always had nightmares of that night, and lately I’ve been dreaming of old memories.

“No, you have to listen. Jake can save you. Trust him.” Her hands rest on my shoulders. Her eyes are pleading with me.

“Save me from what? I don’t—” her hand clamps down over my mouth as we watch a pair of feet walk past our tree. Carly’s hand is shaking and she is so tense. She’s scared of whoever that is. I try to lower my head to look but she starts shaking her head as tears well in her eyes.

“I have to go and so do you. Trust Jake. One more thing, you need to stay away from—”

“Nina!” I jolt awake, sitting straight up in my bed.

“No, Carly!” I look around for her. Shit. Stay away from who?

My door swings open and Jake is standing there. “Jesus, are you okay?”

His arms wrap around me. I start to shake and cry. I can’t believe I talked to her. Was it real? She was trying to warn me to stay away from someone, but I woke up. I cling to Jake no longer afraid to trust him. I asked my sister for help and she delivered. She said I could trust him, that he would save me. The only thing is that I don’t know what I need saving from.

“Hey.” He pulls away, his hands cupping my face wiping away the tears that are falling. “What’s going on?”

“I just need you right now.” He nods, his arms tightening around me once more. He lies down pulling me next to him. I can’t believe I just admitted that to him. I never admit to needing anyone. I bury my face in his chest, letting him envelop and surround me. I need his comfort, I need to feel safe. Whoever Carly was scared of, it was for good reason. Could it be the person who sent me the notes? We stayed there for the longest time, neither of us moving or speaking. I hear the door open and close knowing that Tina must be home from work. I can’t stay in bed all day hiding from the unknown.

I lift my head up and look at Jake. “Thank you for being here.”

He leans his head down and kisses me. “Anytime you need me I’ll be here, babe. You scared me. I tried calling you and I didn’t get an answer. I called the spa and they said you left early. You know you really need to start locking your door.”

I nod, I have always been horrible with that. Tina yells at me all the time. “I think I have some stuff I need to tell you.” My body begins to shake and Jake looks at me with worry in my eyes. “It’s about who I was visiting at the cemetery. She was my sister.” I tell him about the way Carly had been acting and then about the night I found her. I have to stop multiple times through the story just to be able to finish it. “After I lost her…” My voice breaks once more, as tears continue to fall. “…I lost myself. I didn’t go back to school, I just did all my assignments from home. I didn’t go to graduation because of the memorial they were planning. I couldn’t bear to accept that she was gone. Whenever anyone tried to talk to me about it, I shut down. My mom tried to get me to talk to someone I refused to go. I felt like I deserved to live in pain, because I was to blame for her being gone.”

“Why would you think you were the reason? Nina, it sounds like Carly was just really unhappy for some reason. That isn’t your fault.” His hand is sliding up and down my arm giving me the courage I need to continue.

“It was my fault, Jake. I should have been there for her, I could have stopped her. She always listened to me. I was self-centered, and oblivious to the amount of pain my sister was in. I might as well have just killed her myself.” I sob loudly completely breaking down.

“Listen to me, your sister would not want you to blame yourself. She knew you loved her. You were a kid, it’s normal to act the way you did. Your sister would want you to live, not to punish yourself for her decision.” I grip his shirt as if he is the only lifeline I have. I know what he is saying is true, that doesn’t make me feel less responsible though. “You will get through this, I will help you. It’s okay to be happy.”

Carly told me to trust Jake, and I am going to try my damnedest to.

I want to tell him what she said about staying away from someone, about him saving me, but I don’t. Carly never got a chance to tell me who it was. I feel like if I start to ramble about this to Jake he will think I’m a complete psycho. Paranoia is filling my head as I try to figure out who in my life might be a danger to me.

I’ve always been anxious, and this is only making it worse. My body is shaking from the fear that surrounds me as to what is going on. I am so suspicious of anyone around me. I feel like I’m being watched.

Like someone is lurking in the darkness.

Chapter Seventeen

Nina

I walk into work and Kelly hands a beautiful silver square box. I smile and take it from her. It’s been a week since I received the rose and nothing else has happened. Jake has been sending me little surprises every morning since then, I know he is trying to erase the bad feelings from that package, and I’m not complaining. “Wait, Nina. Here.” She hands me one more a slightly bigger red box. Two? A chill runs through me. Jake has never sent me two. I take it and try to act as if I’m not completely on edge.

I walk back to my room, placing both boxes on the counter. I contemplate doing eenie meenie miny mo. I reach for the silver box slowly unwrapping the bow. I lift the lid up to reveal a bag of dark chocolate potato chips. My favorite. I smile realizing Jake remembered when I had told him this a few nights ago.

My eyes immediately land on the red box. My muscles tense and my heart speeds up. Maybe Jake was just feeling extra generous. Maybe it’s nothing. I pull the ribbon, untying the bow. When I lift the lid, a scream rips through my throat, it’s so loud a sharp pain stabs at me. I stumble back, falling and landing on the floor. There is a mouse, a dead mouse. Its head is completely severed from its body, and blood pools around it. Kelly comes rushing into the room. “Nina, are you okay? What’s going on?”

“Call the police,” I mutter in the midst of tears and an oncoming anxiety attack. I grab my phone out of my pocket and text Jake.

Me: I need you. I’m at work. 911.

My phone rings in my hand almost immediately. It’s Jake. I answer it. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? I’m on my way now.” Knowing he is on his way brings me a little bit of comfort. The gym is only about ten minutes away.

“I’m okay, I’ll fill you in once you’re here.” My voice is weak and soft, my throat hurts from the loud scream. I press the end button and wait. Wait for the police, wait for Jake, wait for help. That’s when I see it. A small white card on the floor about a foot away from me. It must have been in the box. It probably fell out when I opened it. I reach for it slowly, almost as if it may bite me if I move too fast. When I flip it over there is plain black script printed on it.

If you don’t want to end up like this get rid of him.

I will not have you dismiss me again.

My hand goes to my mouth as I begin to cry once more. Who the hell is sending this stuff? What do they mean that I won’t dismiss them again?