My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 67

Nina

I woke up the next morning after a mostly sleepless night to the sound and smell of someone cooking breakfast in the kitchen. The sun was shining through the slats of my blinds as the birds chirped outside; somehow, I had fallen asleep the night before despite the terror running through every fiber of my being. I knew someone was watching me. Whoever it was had gone so far as to climb up into the tree outside my window and watch me as I laid in bed. This couldn’t go on for any longer -- I had to do something. Despite the fact that I wanted to hide in my room all day after being humiliated by Lisa the day before and likely becoming the laughing stock of the entire university, I knew I would have to venture out today to report this stalker.

I climbed out of bed, splashed some cold water on my face, and headed out into the kitchen.

Jessica glanced up from the stove, where she was flipping pancakes, to give me an apologetic look. “Morning,” she said. “Are you feeling better? Ready to talk about what happened yesterday? I saw the pictures on Twitter, and I just want you to know that I’ll kill Lisa if you want me to.”

I shook my head. “No,” I replied. “It’s okay. I’ll deal with it.”

Jessica sighed, then pointed to the stack of mail on the counter. “There’s a letter for you.”

"A letter for me?" I asked, confused. I wasn't expecting any mail.

I rifled through the pile of mail until I found an envelope with my name on it. I opened it and read the contents. My heart started racing, and my hands trembled.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, I’ve been watching you… I’ve been watching you very closely, Nina Harper. I know everything about you, even down to the brand of cereal you like to eat in the mornings: Frosted wheats, right? With a splash of almond milk? I know that you’re fooling around with someone who you shouldn’t, too. Let me put it bluntly: get away from Enzo Rivers. If you don’t… Bad things are going to happen to you and all of your friends.”

My hands shook as I scanned the letter. At the bottom, there was something else written.

“P.S. Wouldn’t it be a shame if someone added peanut butter powder to your friend’s pancake mix?”

As I read the last line, my eyes widened. I looked up from the letter to see Jessica cut into her pancake and raise the fork to her mouth.

Jessica was deathly allergic to peanuts.

“Stop!” I shouted, lunging forward and slapping the fork out of her hand.

“Ow! What the fuck?!” Jessica yelled, dropping both the fork and the plate and scattering pancakes across the floor.

“There were peanuts in that,” I said breathlessly, handing Jessica the letter.

Frowning, she snatched it out of my hands, her eyes widening as she read it. "That's fucking terrifying," she whispered. "What are you going to do?"

"I’m going to the police,” I said, turning on my heel and storming off to my room to get dressed. I shoved the letter into my bag as Jessica continued to stand in shock in the middle of the kitchen.

…

I walked into the police station, my heart racing with fear.

"Excuse me," I said to the officer at the front desk. "I need to speak to someone about a stalker."

The officer looked up from his computer, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have any evidence of this stalker?"

"Yes,” I replied, reaching into my bag. "I got this threatening letter this morning."

But as I reached for the letter, my hand found nothing. The letter was gone.

The officer stared at me with a skeptical expression on his face as I frantically dug through my bag for the missing letter.

“Miss, if you don’t have any evidence, there’s not much we can do--”