Chapter 16

The drizzle started around eight, about half an hour after the first thunderclaps tore through the sky. Lucy had just parked when the rain intensified and grew louder. She left the car on the main road behind the property, and I unlocked the small gate hidden between the bars that protected my house. The police were on the other side, parked out front, exactly where I had left them when I escaped through the back.

They weren’t much use, to be honest.

Lucy insisted on staying with me that night, but I knew I had to get used to being alone again. Before the murder, I spent most of my time by myself, and that was how things were supposed to be. I wasn’t going to let him make me another one of his victims, and that’s exactly what would happen if I kept cowering.

The first thing I did when I got inside was take off my shoes and jeans. I threw them in the laundry basket and grabbed a pajama set I had washed earlier. The kitchen windows were open, so I closed them and went to check the other rooms.

My bedroom window was open too.

The wind had carried some of the rain inside, leaving the floor slippery. The curtains were wet. I stopped to lower the blinds and saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned quickly, and when my gaze landed on the object on the bed, I screamed.

The clown mask.

He had been in my house.

The phone rang. I didn’t want to move, but I forced myself to go pick it up. Before answering, I grabbed the mask and threw it to the floor with all my strength, stomping on it until it broke.

"Why did you throw the mask on the floor, Coraline?"

I shut my eyes.

"It was you at the park," I whispered. "In the haunted house."

"Did I scare you?"

I wondered if he was outside again, talking to me from a payphone. I felt so powerless, so weak, so… It was like my life didn’t belong to me anymore.

"Do you hear that noise outside?"

I only noticed it when he mentioned it. I strained my ears, trying to listen for anything beyond the sound of raindrops hitting the roof. At first, there was nothing—then I heard it. Low, almost too low to notice unless I was really paying attention, something was scratching at the front door.

"Why don’t you go outside and see what’s at your door?"

He was playing with me again.

"You think I’m an idiot?"

He laughed.

"I thought you were braver than that, love. If I scare you that much, just lock the doors and stay quiet until it’s safe to come out."

Son of a bitch.

The door kept being hit, but I realized I couldn’t hear the sound through the phone, which could only mean he wasn’t waiting for me outside.

If it wasn’t him, then who was it?

Maybe it was a stupid decision, but I couldn’t just stay in my room and let him take something else from me. Even though fear gripped my body, even though I felt like he could catch me at any moment, I still left my room and went downstairs, still walked up to the door.

Because if I let him take my soul, then there would be nothing left to fight for.

"Do you like me?" I asked.

"Are you ready for the answer, Coraline?"

"I already know the answer."

His breathing grew heavier.

"You think you like me, and you probably believe it’s mutual or that I’ll fall for you at some point."

I laughed, even though my hands were shaking.

"I will never feel anything for you, and if you try to force me to think otherwise, you’ll find out I’m much worse than you."

"I have no intention of forcing you into anything, love," he replied. "You’ll submit of your own free will."

"You—"

"Open the door, Coraline."

His voice had no emotion.

Nothing.

I did as he asked and was met with a gust of cold wind and raindrops.

At first, I almost didn’t see it, but there, hidden behind the wooden pillar, was a tiny, black, furry creature.

A skinny little kitten, shivering from the cold, with a pair of dark eyes staring at me without hesitation.

I placed the phone on the counter and crouched down slowly, careful not to scare it.

I reached out my hand, fingers brushing the ground. For a few seconds, it just watched me, cautious, before taking a step back.

"Hey there, little one."

When its paw touched my finger on the floor, I knew I had permission to pick it up.

It was cold—I could feel it by the way it nestled into my arms.

The kitten was a tiny, beautiful thing, all curled up, and yet still beautiful.

I knew I would keep it the moment it meowed at me.

Later, I found out it wasn’t a he, but a she.

"You’re so dark," I whispered, smiling. "What a pretty little thing."

I looked out into the rainy, gloomy night, deciding on her name.

She rubbed her head against my wrist, demanding affection, and I obeyed.

"What should I call you, huh?"

She blinked at me.

"Nyx?" I suggested, stroking her head. She purred.

"That’s right, little one. Your name will be Nyx."

The phone rang again, reminding me that he was the one who had told me to go to the porch.

Still holding the kitten, I went back inside and picked up the phone.

"You get lonely sometimes," he said. "She’ll keep you company when I’m not around."

I tried to remember if I had ever told him that, but I hadn’t.

"Go to hell."

"Look at the collar."

I lowered my head toward my shoulder and held the phone there.

With my free hand, I touched the collar around Nyx’s neck.

It was just an ordinary collar—except for a small, long, whitish object attached to the tag.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It's for you to put her name on," he said. "I had to find some use for it."

I looked more closely and… My God.

My God, my God, my God.

Please, no.

I rushed inside and locked the door. I took Nyx’s collar off and let her roam free in my house. When I held the piece between my fingers, I was certain I was touching a bone—a long, thin bone. I had to steady myself against the counter.

"What is this?" I repeated. "What the hell is this?!"

He breathed heavily on the other end of the line.

"You know what it is."

No, no.

"Is it Andrew’s?"

The moment the words left my mouth, I grasped the full weight of what was happening. He didn’t even need to answer because I already knew. I knew that was the bone he had taken from Andrew. He wasn’t just a stalker trying to get my attention—he was a damn monster.

"What do you expect to gain from this?" I demanded. "Do you think you can win someone over like this?"

"Win over?" he repeated.

"I despise you," I spat. "I hate you, do you understand? I hate you!"

Foolish girl.

"Run from me if you want, fight against it," he declared. "But know that it’s useless. Nothing will change what I’ve planned for us, Cora. I will get what I want."

I didn’t ask what that was. The rage inside me burned, becoming all I could see. With trembling fingers, a dry mouth, and my heartbeat pounding in my ears, I said,

"Not if I find you first."

"I’m waiting, love. I’m always waiting."

He hung up, leaving me frozen in the living room, watching my new pet stretch out on the couch. He had given me a cat, but it was never an innocent gift. It never was.

Nyx looked at me and purred, nestling into the furry cushions.

Andrew’s bone was still resting between my fingers as I walked over to her.