I'm normal.
A normal Eastbrooke girl shopping in New York City with her friends.
Just breathe, Keatyn. It will be okay.
"Hey," Peyton says. "You missed out on all the excitement."
I laugh.
I actually, really laugh.
They have no idea the excitement I just had.
"I need some coffee," I say.
What a stupid excuse.
"I need coffee too," Maggie says. "So what's up next?"
"We need cute pajamas for PJ day. I know a great lingerie store. Should we go there next?"
"That sounds fun!" Katie says. "I'm thinking I need some new lingerie too."
"What for?" Maggie asks, nudging Katie with her elbow. "You planning to attack Dallas?"
Katie smirks. "Nope. I'm just going to look so hot that he won't be able to resist me."
After we all get coffees, I call our driver and we head to the lingerie store.
We all pick out fun pajamas to wear for PJ day.
"Let's have a lingerie party tonight," I suggest. "We'll drink wine and wear something fabulously sophisticated."
We have a great time giggling and trying on silky chemises, robes, camisoles, gowns, all sorts of stuff. Annie buys a gorgeous long silky gown.
She says, "Who cares if I didn't make Court. I'd rather buy a gown like this. I feel like a movie star."
We shop until we can't shop anymore then head to my loft.
When I walk in my front door, I instantly feel safe.
At home.
While the girls check out the place and claim their bedrooms, I walk into my closet, sit on my chair, and finish my prayer.
Please let this be over soon.
Vincent is back in his hotel room. Even though he's disgusted with the way Abby has been acting, seeing her in person today reminds him of how beautiful she is. He's fondling himself thinking about his run-in with her. As he's about to climax, he pictures her on the escalator and realizes for the first time that it wasn't Abby.
That's why there were no guards. It was Lacy. Or Keatyn.
Does it even matter anymore?
He remembers touching her hand. How warm it felt. The exhilaration of seeing her again.
Then he remembers losing her. It was Keatyn. She had been there to see her mom. She's in New York.
And he needs to let the whore know he's getting closer.
He doesn't allow himself to finish, but rather stops what he's doing to himself, and takes a photo out of his briefcase.
He stares at the photo of Lacy. It's a still from the video he shot of her coming out of the water in a bikini and blowing him a kiss.
He smiles at her perfection. The way her eyes speak volumes to him.
"I'm sorry to do this to you, Lacy," he says to the photo. "But it's going to have to be part of our script."
He allows the rage that's been simmering inside since she pulled away to overcome him, and he repeatedly stabs the photo of her.
Then he tucks what's left of Lacy's face into an envelope.
He takes a hat out of his suitcase and tucks it under his arm. He walks down the hall and to the stairwell, where he puts on the hat and walks up a flight of stairs.
He slips the envelope under the whore's hotel room door.
Then he goes down the elevator, catches a cab, and goes back to the hotel where he had checked in under his own name. In the safety of this room, he allows himself to finally have his release.
Katie and I are getting ready for bed when Garrett calls me.
"I just wanted to let you know that your mom cut her trip short and is safely back in Vancouver."
"Why did she cut her trip short?"
Garrett sighs. "You told me that you want to know everything, right? Even if it's rough to handle?"
"Yes."
"When she woke up this morning, there was an envelope pushed under her hotel room door."
"And what was in it?"
"A photo of you. From that day on the beach when you let him take your picture. You were blowing a kiss."
I shudder remembering the kiss he shot me yesterday and know that the photo was not really meant for Mom.
Is was meant for me.
I try to sound unaffected. "He already sent us that picture."
"Yes, honey, but this one was different."
"How so?"
"It was stabbed numerous times with a very sharp object. All that was left intact was your face."
My stomach lurches and all I manage to say is, "Oh."
Katie says to me, "Hey, I'm gonna hop in the shower."
I nod to her, wait for the shower to turn on, and then say to Garrett, "Poor Mom."
"Poor Mom? Poor you, if he finds you. You need to tell me everything that happened on Saturday."
I give him the run down.
"So it was a completely chance encounter?"
"Yes. You told me Mom was planning a trip, but you didn't tell me where she was going. I had no idea."
"I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd try to see her."
"I'm sorry about the Brooklyn thing, Garrett. I wouldn't have gone to see her. You know what was really weird though? He didn't call me Keatyn. He called me Abby. He's never called me Abby before."
"He's getting worse. More out of touch with reality."
"Did he leave when Mom did? Are you following him?"
"We were. We tracked down his hotel. He might be out of touch with reality, but he's still not making any mistakes. He didn't stay at the same hotel as your mom and he had what appeared to be a business dinner tonight. Since neither you or your mom are in the city, I saw no need to continue surveillance. He's scheduled on a flight to LA tomorrow night at seven. We'll make sure he's on it."
"Even though I know I'm safe here, I'll feel better when he's back in California."
"You and me both."
Keatyn is back in school when she gets called to the office. She knows Vincent is still in town. Granted, she's in Connecticut and not New York, but she will feel much safer when he's back across the country. Even though this scene turned out not to be Vincent, it was scary for her. And it helped Riley and her bond further, firmly cementing their long friendship.
I'm in history class with Riley when I get called to the office. I smile, grab my bag, and figure that Peyton got me out of class again.
When I get to the office though, I don't see her.
Instead the Dean's secretary says, "Miss Monroe, the dean will see you now."
The dean will see me now? Why does the dean want to see me?
What did I do!?
I walk into his office.
Be calm, Keatyn. Don't look guilty.
The dean looks up from his desk. "Sit down, Miss Monroe. There's something we need to discuss."
"Yes, sir," I say as I fidget with the zipper on my handbag.
"This is a delicate situation," he tells me. He's got a little bead of sweat on the upper corner of his forehead, where his hairline just barely recedes.
Is he nervous?
"We pride ourselves on security here at Eastbrooke, but it appears that someone was in our office last night. We believe that your file was accessed."
My eyes get huge, my thoughts immediately racing to the rehabs that were broken into. To Vincent being in New York City.
Vincent tracked me from New York.
He had me followed, and I didn't know it.
He knows I'm here.
But if he knows I'm here, if he broke in last night, why didn't he come and get me last night while I was sleeping?
Didn't Garrett say Vincent was too smart to do it himself? That he probably hired someone.
Does that mean he's on his way?
I clear my throat. It's obvious that the dean expects me to respond. "Were there other files accessed?"
Please say yes.
"It appears to have been just yours."
I try not to panic.
I need to know what Vincent knows. "What exactly is in my file?"
"The basics. Your school transcripts. Current class schedule. Parking pass. Dorm assignment. And, well, the financial arrangements regarding your tuition."
That's why he broke in. He knows I'm here, but he needs to know what dorm I'm in. Tonight, he's coming to get me. Or maybe he's waiting for me inside my car. Hiding in the backseat, waiting for me to drive off, then he'll overtake me. Or maybe he wanted me to know he found me. Maybe he'll make me wait. Make me crazy with wonder as to when he's coming. Maybe he's playing with me. Garrett said that stalking is all about control.
What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? I just started building a new life here.
"Thank you for letting me know, sir. Is there anything else?"
"No, we just needed to make you aware of the situation. Particularly since your financial data may have been compromised."
"Thanks," I say.
He has no idea. He's worried about money. About getting sued.
I'm worried about someone grabbing me and never being seen again. I grab the locket around my neck and pray that whatever they installed in it actually works.