Obsession

Chapter 26

"Both Rue and Anna swear their phones haven't been out of their sight since you gave them your new number," Leo says, looking down at his phone. "And I know there's no way he could've gotten to mine. Who else has your number?"

"My mom and dad," I reply distantly.

Ever since I received Kai's text earlier today, it's been hard to think of much else. Even with Leo right next to me, sitting on the floor of our practice room, I still can't pull myself out of the dreadful daze I've been in.

"We know it can't be your dad. Kai doesn't even know where he is. That only leaves your mom."

I look him like he's crazy. "There's no way he'd have the opportunity to get to my mom's phone. Not unless..." I trail off when I suddenly remember the dream I had about Kai.

It feels like it was so long ago now, but it was really only a few weeks. He climbed through my bedroom window like it was a completely normal thing to do. It felt so real. Too real. Could it have been? He never mentioned it and neither did I, since I thought I was dreaming.

"Mara, are you okay?" Leo asks, touching my arm and pulling me out of my daze.

"Oh, yeah," I whisper. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I can tell by the way he's looking at me he's not buying it.

I smile at him, trying my best to be reassuring. "Can we just move on from this?"

He nods hesitantly, like he still doesn't believe me. "Okay. We have a lot to cover today anyway."

He stands up, pulling me up with him by my hands. We take a few minutes to stretch and warm up our bodies before Leo starts breaking down the last part of our routine for me.

At first, I follow along and try to memorize each move, but after a few minutes, my mind drifts off as it as been all afternoon. I'm worried about my mom. What if Kai did somehow climb through my bedroom window and go through her phone while she was sleeping? It sounds absurd, but after everything he's said and done lately, I can't rule it out. Especially if my dream was never really a dream.

Thinking back on it, why was I so okay with him climbing through my window like that? Even in a dream state, that's a little bit creepy. I wonder if he's done it before?

"Mara?"

Leo's voice breaks me out of my thoughts and I suddenly realize I just missed everything he was trying to teach me.

"We can do this another time if you want," he says.

"No, we need to practice. It's been a while since the last time," I reply.

"You have a lot going on. Right now, this routine, the competition, it's not that important. We've done so well together this far, I think missing a couple of weeks won't hurt us much," he says, stooping down to turn the music off.

He sits down on the floor and reaches for my hands, pulling me into his lap and cradling me against his chest. I love being like this with him. It makes me feel safe, and right now, that's all I want.

"I think Kai is sneaking into my mom's house," I say out of nowhere.

Leo looks down at me and furrows his brows. "What?"

"A while back, he climbed through my bedroom window in the middle of the night. I thought I was dreaming at the time, but I'm starting to wonder if it was real. And if it was, he's probably done it a few times before. He could've easily gotten to my mom's phone if..." I trail off, getting choked up at the thought of him being there with her while she's sleeping and defenseless.