Unwritten Rules (Rules 1)

The sound of a new message coming through rips my attention away from my complicated thoughts.

Unknown: Locking the lady in the car. How nice.

I stop breathing, glancing around. There’s no one in sight. The streets seem empty, but they’re not. They can’t be. Not only is the message from a number that’s impossible to identify, but it also comes from someone who’s watching me at this very moment.

On the other side of a road is an imposing building that looks like it used to be a hotel. The broken windows and boarded entrances give away that it’s been closed a long time ago. A large board that reads TO BE DESTROYED in bright red letters covers the main entrance. Next to it, another one says DO NOT ENTER. DANGER.

It only lasts a second.

But that’s enough.

I see a shadow pass in front of a window located on the third floor. It vanishes almost as quickly as it appeared. If I had blinked at the wrong moment, I would’ve missed it.

Winter: Who are youth?

I curse as soon as I hit the Send button. Will messed with my phone yesterday. Looks like someone had wandering fingers and turned on the autocorrect.

Winter: Who are yogurt

God damn it.

Winter: Who are you***

The reply comes a lot quicker than I anticipated. I can feel my fingers tremble when I tap the message to open it.

Unknown: I’ll tell you who I’m not.

Five seconds go by.

Unknown: The guy with the shitty phone

I keep my eyes glued to the hotel and exhale. No sign of the shadow, but I know better than to think that it’s gone because I no longer see it. I desperately try and reassure myself. That’s something Haze would say. It’s probably him.

I begin typing a reply but turn my head when I hear a door closing. I see the boys walking out of Nicole’s house with, you guessed it, Nicole herself.

She is a solid five foot eight. Her perfect wavy auburn hair falls all the way down to her stomach. She’s that girl you see on the street that makes you say “I should start working out and drinking green stuff.”

I understand what Kendrick saw in her.

She’s beautiful. Her makeup is on point. She probably follows the fashion trends, and I bet she knows how to make even-winged eyeliner. Next thing I know, Blake has opened the car door for her, and she slides into the back seat next to me.

I smile. “Hi, I’m Winter.”

She looks me up and down. “That’s fascinating.”

Her answer doesn’t really surprise me. Kendrick didn’t exactly make it his life mission to get her back when she left him. That has to mean something. Will and I make eye contact in the rearview mirror. He’s right. I don’t know how to handle her.

“REMEMBER, IF MARIA ASKS, YOU RANDOMLY ran into each other at the mall and—”

Nicole interrupts Alex, annoyed. “Yes, I know. I was crying, he comforted me, and we got back together.”

As I sink into the couch, I fight the urge to comment. What a terrible story. Might as well make her say, “Your son lied to me for months, broke my heart, and ruined my idea of love, but he saw me crying at the mall, because the mall is such a good choice for a crying spot, and I realized I never stopped loving him and we should get back together.”

The unknown number didn’t text me again after I stopped replying. I decided not to tell the guys about it. I don’t want to worry them when I’m 99 percent sure it was Haze.

It’s probably nothing.

Creepy shadow in an abandoned building texting me that he can see me. No big deal, right?