Chapter 2
Butterfly
ELSA
I made it! It felt lonely without Gianna, but I was glad I made it either way, staring at the big building with the name Kingston’s University boldly plastered on the exterior. Students of different sizes, colors, and races moved around, some in pairs and some alone.
“Will you be fine, Honey?” Aunt Tiana asked, dragging my traveling bag to meet up with me, “You know where to come whenever you get homesick.”
“I’ll be fine. You worry too much, and you’d get grey hairs faster that way.” I laughed at her as she grabbed my hand and gave it a little squeeze. I was finally here, in Washington DC, far away from Ohio and far away from the stalker.
“Alright then. In you go, I still have to drop off James at high school.” She fumbled with her keys before turning away. Aunt Tiana lived here; she grew up in DC, and that made it more comfortable for me to come here.
New school, new decisions, fresh start, new life.
I held onto the bag handles and dragged both of them along with me towards the registration room. There were other people with various traveling bags and luggage lining up at the office door. I have a good feeling about this year.
After that night with the stalker, I woke up in my bed; my parents and my brother said I was brought in by the paramedics. I lived in fear for the last week of being home. I couldn’t even tell anyone the real truth about what happened at the party—the fact that I was contacted by a psychopathic serial killer. I changed my phone and card number before leaving for DC. At least I was sure of one thing: there was no way in hell the stalker would follow me to this place or even be able to contact me.
“Move, bitch.” A female voice screamed behind me, and I turned backward to glare at her, but she passed me before I could see her face.
“Perfect!” I sighed, running a hand through my red hair.
***
AFTER HOURS AND HOURS of registration, I'd not even been here for up to twenty-four hours, and it was already extremely stressful. I fumbled with the keys I was assigned to open my dorm room with. The hallway contained so many doors, which I presumed all belonged to other students. There was a big exit door at the end of the long hallway, and if the map of the school and dorm rooms they gave me was correct, then it should have led to another hallway that contained an entrance to the main school.
I finally clicked the door open. Room 909 was boldly written on the wall above the door. It contained two beds and a big space dividing them, big enough for everyone to maintain their distance and privacy. Maybe college isn’t as bad as I thought.
Goosebumps filled my skin, and that feeling of being watched was there again. I rushed back to the door and closed it. “He can’t follow you here, Elsa, you’re safe here.”
I took the bed close to the window. I've heard nasty problems about roommates and hoped to get a nice one. The small knife hidden in my ankle over my trousers and boot poked at me. Pulling it out, I placed it on the little nightstand that held the bed lamp. Call me paranoid or whatever, but I'm taking that knife wherever I go, I'm not a fan of surprises.
“Attention please.” The speaker I saw earlier in the hallway came to life; this must be their way of communicating with all students at once. “All students are expected to go to campus for a brief meeting in five hours.”
There were cameras in my room. I looked around to inspect the place. Three cameras to be exact, but we were told not to worry, they only check it when there is a problem and not without our consent. They also stated something about a button to press when in trouble so they can monitor the situation from the cameras.
I might as well unpack, today was one hell of a day.
Hours had passed, five to be exact, no one had come in yet as my roommate, and I was glad about it. I needed the peace for some time. Removing the towel from my wet hair and wet body, I picked up my outfit, a red crop top that had pink flower drawings on it, then a white denim bum shorts that hugged my waist perfectly. I picked up my red hair bow tie from the drawer where I arranged thirty of them perfectly and tied it on my hair in a high ponytail then brought two strands down to my face. I did some mascara on my doe-shaped eyes and a light gloss on my full lips, perfect!
I was ready, with a bracelet that had a love pendant and my inhaler in my pocket, I was ready, not only for the meeting but for everything, and of course, my knife.
***
“HEY, YOU DROPPED THIS.” A male voice halted me as I walked back to my dorm, he had my inhaler in his hands.
I gave him a warm smile and took it from his hand. “Thank you, I hate my pocket most times.”
“I can relate.” He was taller than me and was brown-skinned; the meeting was over, and most people were on their way back to their dorm rooms. “I’m Nathan, by the way.”
“Elsa.” I kept walking after placing my inhaler back into my pocket. “You’re a fresher here too?”
“Nah, second year,” he smiled at some girls that passed us, and I couldn’t help but notice the dimple on his cheek.
“Right! What was it like for you in your first year? Main classes start in two days, and I’m honestly nervous.” I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear; the hallway was getting empty now.
“Was tough, but don’t worry, you’d enjoy it.” He gave me a wink before stopping at a T junction; I guessed he was taking the opposite direction. “This is my cue to leave, but if you need any help, I’m right here, room 402.”
“Sure, thank you, Nathan.” I watched as he disappeared into the crowd before checking my phone for the school map I snapped. My stomach did a low growl; I needed to find the cafeteria.
“Which way exactly is this?” I asked no one in particular as I walked through the empty hallway that was supposed to lead to the cafeteria, well, according to the stupid map anyway.
The lights in the hallway were dim, and it had lockers but no doors. Did I mistakenly wander into the main school building? “I should probably just go back; besides, I still have the snacks Aunt Tiana packed.” She murmurs to herself.
Just as I was about to turn, I felt a masculine hand on me and then a loud thud that made my entire body ache with pain. He barged me on the wall, one of his hands on both my arms, pinning it to my back, and the other on my neck, pushing the side of my face on the wall, pinning me to it.
“Who are you? Let me go!” I wiggled, screaming at him, the cameras in the hallway; this was the right time the campus security should check the damn cameras.
I looked from the side of my eye at his face; it was a guy, with a mask, a skeleton mask. My heart rate increased, and I felt every bone in my body tense up, my heart kept beating against my chest so hard that it made it difficult for me to breathe.
I felt his face and lips go to my ear, his breath across my neck. “Hello, Kitten. We meet again.”
Chapter 3Little KittenELSAI felt his face and lips go to my ear, his breath across my neck. “Hello, Little Kitten. We meet again.”My entire body froze for a second. That name – my head did a spin back. The only person who called me that, the stalker from Ohio.I pushed at the figure behind me and stepped on the toes so hard that the person released me for a bit, giving me a chance to run. I turned, and my legs began working faster than they had ever done, running through the hallway filled with locker rooms.“He... help!” I screamed on top of my voice. I couldn’t see him again. I looked back; he wasn’t standing there, he wasn’t chasing me either.“Do you know how long I’ve fantasized about how good you’d look when you are running away from me with so much fear in your eyes, Kitten?”I couldn’t exactly pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but I could hear it everywhere, echoing through the empty hallway like he was some demon from hell. I felt instant happiness and hope immedi
Chapter 4UNKNOWN“What was that you said again?” I asked, picking up the blood-stained towel on the cabinet and wiping off the blood on the knife with it before turning backward to face the half-dying man tied to the chair of nails. Every movement he made caused him pain and made the nails shift in his body.“I’m sorry, we didn’t know you were in this city; we would have—“ I hit the sharp blade on the handle of his chair where his fingers were separated, a screeching scream came from him as he closed his eyes trying to endure the pain. His pinky finger was on the ground, cut out from his hand and making it four fingers left. He was missing his left ear and one pinky finger, both on the ground.“You’re not sorry for trying to sex traffic and sell little kids going to school or young thirteen-year-old girls that still have their whole life ahead of them.” I walked around the chair, trailing the blade on the wall as I passed. “You’re sorry for getting caught by me.”“Who are you to judg
Chapter 5 Beautiful DisasterELSAMy eyes searched the room hurriedly; someone came inside. I locked the door before leaving. I rushed to the door handle to inspect it for any signs of break-ins or forced entry; there were none. It can’t be the stalker; I’ll see signs of a break-in if it was him. Maybe it was the university; perhaps it’s just one of the ways they pass information or something. It’s not the stalker. Right?I walked towards the neatly dressed bed slowly and picked up the envelope. I’ve loved red ribbons since I was a kid; that was partly why I dyed my hair red, so I could match the aesthetic of the ribbon. But whoever made this envelope didn’t know that, right? Because only my family did, and maybe a few friends.I untied the ribbon on the envelope by pulling the other side of it; it opened, and I gulped when the content of it came into sight. I emptied it on my bed and just stared. An electronic drawing pen, a Mac drawing pad, and some… chocolates?I didn’t know how t
Chapter 6 Tag, You're ItELSA“Hello, Little Kitten,” his mouth was close to my ear, so close that I could feel his hot breath there. “Run.”It sounded like a whisper, so quiet that anyone else wouldn’t have heard, but I did, and I ran.The hallway seemed to be closing in on me. There were so many people; some scowled at me as I bumped into them while looking behind me, and some cursed at me. I didn’t care. All I knew was that I had to go, far away from this place.“Nooo!” I screamed and struggled when strong hands held my arms from the front. I didn’t bother opening my eyes; I knew it was him.“Hey, calm down… are you alright?” I opened my eyes to see Nathan’s worried expression all over his face as he searched mine.I had no idea what I was thinking or what came over me, but I knew that if there was anyone I was glad to see right now, it was Nathan. I threw my arms around him and hugged him; I could feel his body tense up and freeze, but then he eased up and hugged me back.My eyes
Chapter 7The ManipulatedELSA“Get on your knees and take out my dick, Kitten.” The gun was on my lower chin now, lifting my face to meet his.My heart was thumping extremely hard now. He didn’t just… did he just ask me to… The gun under my chin made my body quiver. He could kill me right now, toss my body into the river, and no one would know; they’d think I lost my inhaler and died.“You don’t have to do this; I swear I won’t tell—““Remove my belt, Elsa.”A shiver dropped down my spine, and I took in a deep breath before going on my knees. He was wearing black trousers that looked like jeans but weren’t. My hands were shaking when I got to his belt. I removed it and tossed it away; my hand went to his zip next, and I pulled it down. I could just punch his dick and make a run for it.𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚'𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣.I couldn’t see his face, but I had a feeling he was watching me intently—my every move. I obeyed his earlier request and placed my hand inside the open space the z
Chapter 8The ManipulationELSAI opened my eyes, my head was banging; I was sitting on leather, or something like it.When my vision became clear, I gasped. I was in the back seat of a car which was in front of the police station. I remembered fighting with the stalker when he told me he was going to drop me here. I remembered him putting a white cloth on my nose, and that was it…“He drugged me! That fucker!”“Miss, you’re awake.” A male voice spoke up from the front seat, and I looked up at him. He was looking at me with both fear and surprise.My eyes searched all over his face; he didn’t look familiar in any way. But with his suit and black glasses, I guessed he worked for the stalker. “Who are you?”“I was asked to drop you here. Please kindly exit the car.”“You were asked? Are you crazy?” Anger flushed in my eyes. “Could you not see I was drugged against my will? You couldn’t even try to help by calling 911 or something.”He took in a deep breath. “Look, Miss. I have a child i
CHAPTER NINE The ManipulatorELSAI looked at the finger again; Nathan wore that ring today at dinner. This was Nathan’s finger. Everything we ate at dinner appeared back in my throat. I rushed to the toilet immediately and bent to throw up; my stomach was hurting so badly.I took in a deep breath before flushing, then washing my face and hands in the sink. Why was this happening to me? I haven't done anything bad to anyone; I can't even call it karma.Maybe I should move out. My brain mentally reminded me that the stalker first sent me a message when I was in Ohio, prom night. There was no escaping him.I went back to the room; the finger which was covered with blood was still on the ground, making the room stink badly. Tears filled my eyes looking at it. Nathan went through this because of me, because I hugged him.I used a tissue to put the finger back into the box and disposed of it the only way I knew how. I was going to apologize and cut ties with Nathan. It was for his safety,
Chapter 10Death WishELSAI took in a deep breath and smoothed my palm on my red round-neck top and a jean skirt that stopped at the middle of my thighs before my knuckles came in contact with the door in a subtle knock.I was outside the front porch; it was Nathan’s house. It’s been one week since what happened to Nathan, and I didn’t know how to show up at his doorstep.These past few days made me realize one thing: I liked Nathan more than a friend. The stalker had also been off my neck; he stopped texting, and I didn’t have that fear of being followed anymore. Me withdrawing that amount of money put him and his business on the edge… I hope.“Hello…” An old woman who seemed like she was in her early eighties said, opening the door with a wide smile, her dimples visible, probably where Nate got him from.“Hi, ma’am, I’m Elsa.” I looked around; just standing here made my heart ache at the realization that I caused this to him. “Nathan’s friend.”“Oh, come on in, dear.” She held the