One Last Time (COMPLETED)

Keep Your Friends Close

After a careful inspection of his car for any hidden tracking devices or cameras, Parker held my door open for me and made sure to shut it hard once I'd sat down in the passenger seat.

As soon as he was situated in the car, he asked for the first of three addresses given and I watched his face twist through a mess of emotions before his expression became unreadable altogether. It made the coldness in the pit of my stomach spread, as the look was making me question whether my stalker was right, that I shouldn't trust anyone.

He drove, though the entire ride was silent, there was a massive wedge between us. A thick tension that couldn't even be severed with the sharpest of knives. He would occasionally reach for the radio and touch the knob to turn it up a little, but every few minutes a song he didn't like would come on and he'd turn it off. It wasn't until he slowed the car into a spot about twenty minutes later that I recognized where we were.

Freshman year of high school Mom and Dad had introduced us to the local country club; we hated every second of it. But there had been one good thing to come out of it, a small little cabin at the end of a long dirt path behind the building. It was no bigger than the master bedroom back at home, but it had been big enough for Maya to host her kickbacks with her friends, and more times then not I'd been roped into tagging along. The intensity of the tension in the air between Parker and me was almost as unnerving as being back here. I had nothing but bad memories at this place.

"Did it say to go inside or what?" he asked quietly, avoiding eye contact.

I opened my phone to the text message, then shook my head. "Doesn't say anything. I'm going to assume that we're supposed to go to the cabin."

"At least it narrows down who could possibly be doing this to you. To us." Parker pointed out, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Not too many people knew about this place or the things we did here."

I didn't respond, as the statement made me even more wary and freaked out. He stepped out, and almost in unison, we both shuddered where we stood. Whether it was the brisk air touching at our warm skin or because of the past that we'd so securely locked away at this place having the ability to break the surface, I wasn't sure.

Parker kept a few paces ahead of me, not far enough to lose me, but enough where I had to pick up my speed to keep up with him. He ended up having to pull his phone from his pocket and use the flashlight as we approached the woods, knowing well that the sun finally setting wasn't going to do anything for us in regards to lighting. As soon as we were in the darkness of the gnarled, dead branches, he slowed so he was in step beside me, his head slightly tilted, as if he were listening for something.

I wanted to be relieved that we'd reached the small, rundown little building, but it only added to my anxiety. Because the creaky old door already sat ajar, as if someone had already entered the place-or had left it open because they were sure we'd come.

"Stay out here. I'll sweep the place and—"

"And they could be waiting out here for me. For you to leave me by myself. No thanks." I cut him off, following as he nudged the door open further with the toe of his Nike's. He kept one of his hands against my forearm, ready to push me behind him at any second, but it wasn't necessary, as the second we stepped in, the dark living area was illuminated by multiple candles and a lantern.

"This is creepy as fuck." Parker muttered, but he edged closer to grab the lantern, likely wanting to save the battery life on his phone. "Why the hell are we here? It's been vacant for a couple years."

As if our stalker had been listening for that very question, a click sounded and my dead sister's voice filled the room.

"I am not being dramatic, Park." Maya's voice was steadily rising. "Someone has been following me. I need to tell Mia. If they're after me, they might by after her and—"