The Devil In Disguise

CHAPTER 33: The Right Decision

My phone started ringing. Jumping in surprise, I whisked it out of my pocket and leaned back on my pillows, my laptop on my lap.

"Grace, what's up?" I greeted, answering the phone.

I sat up suddenly as all I heard on the other side were shallow breaths. She didn't reply.

"Grace?" I said, my eyes widening in fear. Her breathing was quick and she took short breaths, as if she was scared. Jumping off of my bed, I ran downstairs, grabbing the landline and dialing in 999 —

"It's gone," a whisper came through. Freezing, I said anxiously, "Grace? What's gone?"

After a few moments of silence, she replied, "The writing. On my wall. It's gone."

Gasping, my hand flew to my mouth. That meant he'd been to her house again and erased his mark. But remembering something, I said with relief,

"But Grace, it's okay. You can still tell the police; you have that picture on your phone!"

Grace took a shuddering breath and then started weeping. Alarmed, I blinked and was about to ask why she was crying when it was all okay —

"The photo's gone too!" she cried, openly sobbing into the phone. My face fell and I walked to the armchair in my living room, sitting down with a thump.

"Grace, it's fine," I desperately tried to make her feel better. But I knew, from experience, that she wouldn't feel better until the intruder was caught. She felt violated and unsafe, and I didn't blame her. "You told your dad, remember? The police have to believe him!"

"My dad doesn't believe me himself! And I have no evidence anymore!" Grace wept, and I felt a wave of sadness, hearing her cry. She was always so happy. I then felt a stab of shame; it was my past that was the cause of her pain.

"He thinks I dreamed it; he told me he went up to my room after I left for school and checked but it wasn't there! That means that the person was waiting for me to leave, maybe even right outside my window as I changed!" Grace continued, sobbing. "My dad said that he's dreamed of those kind of things before and they're just nightmares that feel real. But it was real!"

"I know, Grace," I replied sadly as she broke off into sobs again.

This was all my fault. Grace was unsettled and disturbed, not to mention unbelievably confused as to why this was happening. And she needed closure, even though my past wasn't exactly closure; just a dire warning that she was in danger. But it was something, right? She would know who was doing this, and why. And she'd be more aware and cautious. She was already involved; it would be a mistake not to let her know everything now. Yes, it was the right decision.

Taking a deep breath, I felt a pang of relief. I was finally going to tell her the truth; tell them the truth.

"Grace?" I said gingerly. She snuffled and replied. "Yeah? I know, I'm crying a lot and I'm sorry —"

"No, no," I quickly stopped her and said, "Come to my house. Now. My address is 77 Mockingbird Way, FL258LU. You'll... um... need to hear this."

After she got my address and agreed with curiosity, I hung up. Then making a group chat consisting of me, Xander, Simon, Corina and Grace, I texted them.

16:37, Karissa: Guys, I need to tell you something and it's pretty big. Forgive me for leaving you hanging, haha. Anyways, you need to come to my house NOW. My address is 77 Mockingbird Way, FL258LU. I expect you all here within 30 mins or I will hunt you down and consume you for dinner. Got it? Cool.

16:38, Xander: I know your plan. You're going to seduce me, aren't you? I saw that greedy look in your eyes the day we met...

16:38, Corina: Xander, you're an idiot.