Templeton Manor Book 2 of The Reflections Trilogy

CHAPTER 5. TORN

"Joy! Who are you talking to?"

I hear Tiffany's voice ring through the hallway and echo off the walls around me, and I snap out of the horrified trance I've been stuck in after my encounter with the masked man. I then hear the elevator doors close behind me and I spin around to see if he's still there, but he's gone.

Tiffany walks closer to me so she can hear me a bit better as I yell back something she'll actually believe.

"I was just talking to one of the guests that was on the wrong floor."

"Oh, ok. Well, I'm going to head down to the bar to meet John and Adrianna in a little while and I'm going to go grab dinner and have some drinks with them. Want to join us?"

"I'm not in the mood right now, Tiffany. I think I'm just gonna go back to my room. After what you just told me at the airport earlier, I don't think it's a good idea. I need some time to myself."

"Ok, well, be like that then. I probably should have just kept that to myself, but if you change your mind and stop being a big baby, you know where to find me."

I'm fuming after what she just said to me, but I bite my tongue and decide to ignore her. I turn my back to her and walk toward the other elevator, ignoring the rest of the shit that's coming out of her mouth. She's trying to get a rise out of me and I'm not going to give her the satisfaction. At this point, I would rather come face to face with that creepy guy again than to be anywhere near her right now.

When I get back to my room, I eagerly lock the door and kick my shoes off. My feet are killing me after all of that walking and I really want to sit down, but I don't waste another second and grab a cigarette and lighter and open the sliding doors to my balcony. I need something to calm my nerves fast, and this usually does the trick.

As I light up and take my first drag, I glance down into the courtyard and almost choke as I inhale the smoke. My eyes are immediately drawn to the man in the Scream mask. He's just standing there in the shadows by a large tree, staring up at me. I throw my cigarette over the rail and frantically run back inside and lock the doors to the balcony.

After I take a few deep breaths and calm down a little, I decide to go back out there to see if he's still there. As I slowly tiptoe back to the edge of the balcony, there he is, but this time he's waving at me, almost taunting me. I decide to do something bold and Tiffany-like and I flip him off. I fumble around with my phone, trying to unlock it so I can call Adam and as I'm waiting for him to pick up, I continue to watch the man as he continues to stare back at me. But once he notices I'm on my phone, he slowly turns and walks away.

When Adam finally answers, he sounds out of breath. "Hey beautiful! I've been waiting for you to call."

"Hi Adam. Are you busy?"

"No, I'm just leaving the gym. I always have time for you, babe. What's going on?"

"It's a long story. I don't want to get into it right now, but I just needed to hear your voice. Please tell me you're coming tomorrow."

"So Joy, about that. Umm, something came up at work and I can't leave for at least three more days. I'm so sorry."

I sigh, roll my eyes and begin to whine to him about how unfair this is.

"But Adam. I thought you had it all worked out."

"Oh, I thought I did too, but we got some new leads on Blake's killer and I've had to follow a couple of those. They turned out to be false, but we still have to check them out."

"Yeah, I guess you have to do what you've gotta do. Aren't they worried about me being all alone here at all?"

"They have surveillance on you, and they're making sure Templeton is secure. We have a few staff members that are undercover, so you're in good hands."