Don't Look Behind You (Don't Look Series Book 1) by Emily Kazmierski (summer reads .txt) 📗

hands in his lap. “I saw the photos. It’s not a crime to take photos, Megan. Has he threatened you in any way?”

“. . . No.”

The sheriff spreads his hands, palms up as if to say, I rest my case.

Outrage and humiliation intertwine, sending hot flashes through my core. “Sorry we woke you up,” I grind out, pushing up from the chair.

“Sit down.”

Inexplicably, my legs obey him. I glare at the facade of his desk while he picks up the phone. “I’ll call your aunt and have her pick you up.”

“Please don’t. I can walk.”

“Nonsense,” he says, tired. “Can’t have you walking home alone in the middle of the night when there’s a serial killer on the loose.” His flat delivery makes me bristle, but I keep silent. This could not have gone any worse.

The only adult I kind of trust might be helping cover for a murderer’s lackey.

The sheriff doesn’t believe me.

And the man who started all of this with a killing spree is in Hacienda.

A place Aunt Karen assured me he’d never come.

It’s all because of me.

“He’s going to find and kill me,” I say as soon as I’m alone with my guardian in her car. I’m trying to be flippant to keep her from seeing the depth of my dread, but it doesn’t work, even for me. I wrap my arms around my middle, squeezing tight.

Noah tried to get Aunt Karen to let him come with us, but she’d refused, instead saying that he should wait for one of his parents to come pick him up as well. With an apologetic smile, he’d slipped out before the deputy had the chance to call his house, saying something about not wanting to wake them up.

“Don’t cling that self-fulfilling prophecy,” Aunt Karen says, pulling out of the lot and on to the dark road. “I thought we were clear on the ‘no sneaking out’ rule. Are you really going to make me put an ankle monitor on you? I could get one, and Sheriff Lamb would go along with it. He’s no fan of yours.”

Everything in me I’ve been bottling up bursts out in a rush I know I’m going to regret.

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Then you could let your boyfriend know where I am every second of the day. He could deliver me to the Mayday Killer soooo easily then.”

Aunt Karen slams on the breaks when a yellow light abruptly turns yellow even though there aren’t any other cars around. When she whirls on me, her eyes are blazing with anger. “Is that really what you think? That I’m stupid enough to date a guy who’s a stalker? Come on, Megan. I think in the last few weeks you’ve gotten to know me better than that.”

“Don’t try to lie. I saw him giving you that envelope tonight. What was in it? More photos of me? Since his hobby is photography? What am I to him? Wildlife?”

She goes silent.

Arguments and thoughts spin in my head, but I don’t voice any of them. I don’t want to provoke the woman who has sole responsibility for me any further. The truth is, I don’t know what she’ll do if I keep pushing her. I don’t know what she’s truly capable of doing. A shudder moves through me, making me hug myself tighter.

I have never felt so completely, utterly alone.

My so-called guardian pulls into the driveway and shuts off the car, but instead of getting out, she stares into the rearview mirror.

I twist in my seat to see what she’s looking at. There’s nothing back there but Justin’s house, illuminated by a too-orange street light. Is she thinking of delivering me to him after all?

“I asked him to keep an eye on you when I couldn’t,” Aunt Karen says finally.

“Wait, what?” I whip around to look at her.

Aunt Karen’s hands loosen from the steering wheel and fall into her lap. “Justin. You’re right. He’s been following you, observing you. But it wasn’t because he’s helping the Mayday Killer. He’s been helping me.”

“Helping. . . you.”

There’s a weak smile on her face when she looks at me. “I was nervous about being a teenager mom, so I asked him to back me up. I never thought you’d figure it out, or that it would feed into your fear like it did.”

“So, Justin was working with you. He’s not a homicidal maniac’s BFF.” Something clicks in my head. My roaring instincts go quiet. Somehow, I know she’s telling the truth.

“That’s what I’m saying, yes.”

“You could have just told me.”

Aunt Karen reaches over to take my hand, tentatively, then more firmly. “I thought it’d be easier if you didn’t know. I thought it’d be easier for you to find some sense of normalcy. Clearly I was wrong.”

“Clearly.”

“Let’s go inside. I could use some coffee. Want some?”

We’re halfway up the walkway to the front door when I grab her arm.

“If Justin wasn’t the one passing me those threatening notes, who was?”

Aunt Karen purses her lips. “I don’t know yet, but we’re going to find out.”

Chapter 30

Day 149, Tuesday

Being back on stage is glorious. Neon pink light shines down from above, bathing me in a glowing halo of happiness. It’s the first bit of peace I’ve felt all week. For just a moment, surrounded by the friends I’ve made in the drama club, I can relax. The rush of performing bubbles through my body as I recite the lines, putting all of the tension in my shoulders into the character I’m embodying.

I don’t even look at my backpack in the corner where I left it to see if anyone’s messed with it yet. If anyone does try to put another note inside, it’ll trigger the tiny camera Aunt Karen tucked inside.

Marisa didn’t show up for rehearsal today, and after we waited for her for twenty minutes, Esau told me to step in. I protested.

A little.

But the truth is that hiding behind the scenes has been killing me. The first time I did this play, I absolutely