Chapter 24 Chapter 24
Hailey’s POV
The taxi dropped me off at my junction, and I stood there for a moment, staring at the dark pathway leading to my dorm building.
My heart was still racing from everything that had happened at the station, from Damien showing up like some dark knight, from Detective Morrison’s probing questions, from the overwhelming feeling that my life was spiraling completely out of control.
I pulled out my phone to check the time when it buzzed in my hand.
Benita.
Wait for me at the junction. I’m almost there.
I sighed with relief. At least I wouldn’t have to walk into that potentially violated space alone.
A few minutes later, I spotted Benita walking toward me, her arm linked with Marco’s. They stopped a few feet away, and I watched as they kissed, a long, lingering goodbye that made me look away awkwardly.
When they finally pulled apart, Marco gave her one last smile before heading back to his car.
Benita practically floated over to me, her face flushed and happy. “Sorry, sorry. I know you’ve been waiting.”
“It’s fine,” I said, managing a weak smile. “How was the date?”
“Amazing,” she gushed. “He’s so sweet and funny and….” She stopped mid-sentence, her expression shifting as she really looked at me. “Wait, what’s wrong? You look terrible.”
“Thanks,” I said dryly. “That’s exactly what every girl wants to hear.”
“Hailey, I’m serious. What happened?”
I took a deep breath, the words feeling heavy on my tongue. “Someone broke into our dorm.”
Benita’s eyes went wide, all traces of her earlier happiness vanishing. “What? When?”
“While we were both out,” I said. “I came back and the door was open. The lock was broken. There were footprints everywhere.”
“Oh my God,” she breathed, her hand flying to her mouth. “Did they take anything?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t go inside. I went straight to the police station.”
“And? What did they say?”
I laughed bitterly. “They said since nothing was obviously stolen and no one was hurt, they can’t really file a proper investigation. Just a report.”
“Are you kidding me?” Benita’s voice rose with indignation. “Someone broke into our home and they’re just going to do nothing?”
“Pretty much,” I said, exhaustion weighing down every word.
“This is insane,” she ranted, her hands gesturing wildly. “The police department is literally encouraging stalker behavior. What are we supposed to do, wait until something terrible happens before they actually care?”
“Benita….”
“No, I’m serious! This is exactly why people don’t trust cops. They’re useless when you actually need them.”
I was about to respond when I heard the roar of an engine, loud and getting louder.
I turned, squinting into the darkness, and my blood turned to ice.
A car was speeding toward us, headlights blazing, coming straight down the narrow pathway with terrifying speed.
And it wasn’t slowing down.
“Move!” I screamed, grabbing Benita’s arm.
But there wasn’t enough time to run. The car was too close, too fast.
On pure instinct, I threw my entire body weight against Benita, hurling both of us to the side.
We crashed onto the rough pavement just as the car roared past, so close I could feel the rush of air and heat from its engine.
Pain exploded through my left arm as I landed on it wrong, a sickening crack that made me cry out.
“Hailey!” Benita screamed, scrambling to her knees. “Oh my God, are you okay?”
I couldn’t answer. The pain was blinding, radiating up from my arm in waves that made my vision blur.
Through the haze, I heard something that made my heart stop.
The screech of tires.
The car was turning around.
“It’s coming back,” Benita gasped, horror written all over her face.
Panic surged through me, momentarily overriding the pain. “Run!”
She grabbed my good arm and hauled me to my feet. We stumbled toward our building, my left arm hanging uselessly at my side, tears streaming down my face from the agony.
Behind us, the engine roared again, the car accelerating.
“Faster!” Benita shouted, practically dragging me now.
We burst through the entrance to our building just as the car screeched to a stop outside. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought whoever was driving might follow us inside.
But then the engine revved again, and the car sped away.
People emerged from their rooms, drawn by the commotion. Concerned faces surrounded us, voices asking if we were okay, if we needed help.
“We’re fine,” Benita said shakily, though her face was pale and her hands were trembling. “We’re okay.”
But we weren’t okay. Not even close.
“You need a doctor,” Benita said, looking at my arm. It was already inflamed, the pain making me nauseous.
“I know,” I gasped. “But I can’t go back out there. What if they’re still waiting?”
Benita’s face crumpled with fear and frustration. “This is insane. Someone just tried to kill us.”
“I know,” I whispered, leaning against the wall as another wave of pain washed over me.
“Let’s just get inside,” Benita said, wrapping her arm around my waist to support me. “We’ll figure out what to do once we’re safe.”
We made our way down the hallway to our door, and Benita pulled out her keys with shaking hands.
But as she pushed the door open, we both froze.
There, just inside the threshold, was an envelope.
Plain white, no markings, just lying there on the floor like it had been waiting for us.
“What the hell?” Benita whispered.
My stomach twisted with dread as I stared at it. Someone had been here again. While we were out, while that car had been trying to run us down, someone had slipped this under our door.
“We need to read it,” I said, staring at the envelope.
“No,” Benita said firmly, still supporting my weight as my broken arm throbbed with each heartbeat. “We need to get you to a hospital first. You’re hurt, Hailey.”