Lurker by Stefan Petrucha Read Free Book Online Page B

is,” Laurel agreed. “I think we need some Ashton to wash that freak out of our eyes.”
    Â 
    Mandy left Drew at Laurel’s house, hoping her friends would talk and put last night’s misunderstanding behind them for good. Walking through the cool afternoon air, she felt uneasy. She lived inthe same neighborhood as Laurel, only seven blocks away, and though she never once saw anyone creeping through yards, the terrible man from the news followed her home. She kept throwing looks over her shoulder and to the sides, checking the narrow yards that ran beside familiar houses. She carried him in her head, his beak nose, his thin lips. The thought of his fingers made her skin crawl.
    Her feet moved faster as she told herself that he had moved on. He couldn’t stay anywhere in town—in the state—without being recognized. His face was all over the news. His face, his nose, his lips, his fingers…
    Don’t run, she told herself. Just be cool. There’s no way he’s out here. Don’t freak. Walking up her own driveway, Mandy tingled with anxiety. She didn’t want to be alone in the house. Once inside, she locked the door with trembling fingers, then hurried to the kitchen to test the back door locks as well. Upstairs, checking e-mail, she did not turn on music, but instead listened for any break in the house’s quiet.
    Again, she was surprised by how few e-mails waited in her inbox. Half a dozen friends she’dseen at the vigil dropped notes, commenting on the sad event. Dale wrote her two notes, both of which she erased on sight. The ritual of e-mail comforted her. There was spam from an online clothing store where she’d bought a blouse once, an offer to buy Viagra online, and a note from a screen handle she didn’t immediately recognize.
    Kylenevers
    Subject : Me Again
    Hey, sorry about yesterday. I know we don’t know each other. Kyle here. I feel kind of bad about IMing you like that. With everything going on with N., I just wanted to chat…don’t know a lot of people and was kind of upset. Going to the vigil last night helped. A really nice ceremony. Were you there? Anyway, sorry. Maybe we can chat some other time. I really did like your profile.;-) C ya.
    K
    Â 
    â€œNot needing a looz for my buddy list,” Mandy said. She closed the e-mail and was navigating the cursor to the delete button when the doorbell rang.
    The sound was so unexpected, her heart leaped into her throat. She stood, left the desk, and creeped to the window. Doing her best to look without being seen, she searched the curb, then looked down at her driveway.
    â€œOh, perfect,” she whispered, seeing Dale’s silver Audi parked on the white concrete.
    The doorbell rang again. Mandy considered ignoring it, like she had ignored his phone calls and his e-mails, but told herself she was being childish. This wasn’t the mature way to handle a relationship. Not that being mature was one of Dale’s strong points. Still, she knew that if she didn’t talk to him, he’d keep coming around. Besides, if he was playing stupid jokes, like sending her twisted text messages, she wanted to put a stop to it. Right now.
    At the front door, she looked through the window and saw Dale bouncing on his heels nervously. She hated to admit it, but he looked great, wearing a thin black leather jacket over a cream-colored sweater and perfectly faded jeans. His black hair was properly mussed and fixed with product. To her, he looked like a young Keanu Reeves. In fact, that’s what most people thought. Mandy reachedup to pat down her hair, then stopped in defiance.
    She didn’t care what she looked like, not for Dale. This wasn’t a date!
    Mandy opened the door, consciously drawing a frown on her lips. “Dale,” she said dryly, as if already completely bored with the conversation, though her heart beat fast.
    â€œHey,” he said, still fidgeting with