obsessed

chapter 4

After everything that happened, I asked Anna to drop me off at home, of course,

after we had ice cream. I wouldn’t say I felt better because when I came back,

Dad was gone—no goodbye, no apology, not even a word about what he’d done.

I’m in my room now, listening to music, watching the snow fall outside. And there

it is again. Something in the woods. Not a dog this time—a person. The same

spot where the dog had been standing before. It’s as if he’s looking directly at

me. Is he really looking at me, or am I losing my mind?

I snap out of my thoughts when Marsha barges in without knocking. No warning,

no respect. I don’t know how much more of her I can take. I turn to face her and

ask,

“Can’t you knock?”

“Can’t you just clean the f*****g house?” she spits at me, her tone sharp. We

don’t even have hired help anymore, and she still has the nerve to speak to me

like this.

“Where are the maids?” I ask, frowning.

She rolls her eyes.

“Oh, I fired them.

”

“You what?” I’m stunned.

“FIRED HER,

” she repeats, her voice dripping with annoyance.

“Well, then who’s going to do the work, and why the hell did you fire her?” I

demand, my frustration rising.

Once again, she rolls her eyes.

house.

”

“Because you were supposed to take care of the

Me? Take care of the house? I’ve never worked a day in my life, especially not

since I’ve been with Dad. He never let me do chores. He always said I should

focus on my grades. I wasn't a nerd—I knew how to have fun, but I balanced it

with keeping my grades up.

“I’m not doing that,

” I say firmly.

“I have tests coming up.

”

“I didn’t ask if you could or couldn’t. I asked you to do it,

” she responds, her voice

like a command. It’s as if she owns this place. Well, technically, she does

because my dad is too blind to see what’s happening. He treats me like crap just

because of her.

“You need to back off,

” I snap, standing up.

“Or I’ll call my dad.

”

I slam the door in her face.

“Oh, honey, you can try it. Go on and call him. Let’s see if he picks up.

” Her

mocking voice echoes as I hear her footsteps heading downstairs. I let out a sigh

of relief. What’s her problem with me?

I lie back on my bed, thinking about everything that’s happened in the last few

days. My phone vibrates with a notification. I pick it up, and my heart sinks. My

video of slapping Josh is going viral.

“What the f**k?” I mutter under my breath.

Then my phone vibrates again—Josh, with a hundred text messages.

“How could you do that to me?”

“You embarrassed me in front of everyone.

”

“It’s not like I married her.

”

What the hell does he mean by that?

Is this guy seriously okay? I can’t believe I dated him. How embarrassing. And to

think I cried for him last night. What the hell, Alice? Okay, I wasn’t crying for him

exactly. I just needed to cry, to get it off my chest. But it stings. It really hurts that

he chose her over me.

Flashback:

“Alice is a loser, Alice is a loser,

” they chanted, mocking me, just because Emily

lied and told everyone I kissed Sarah’s boyfriend.

“Stay away from her, guys—she’ll steal your boyfriend,

” Emily said, circling

around me with the others, all of them laughing.

I kept mumbling,

“I didn’t.

”

Tears ran down my face as I stood in the middle of it all. That was middle school.

But eventually, people found out that Emily was the one who kissed him and

made him blame it on me.

Present:

I sigh, my heart heavy, and eventually drift off to sleep. When I wake up, it’s late

at night. I decide to get a snack, but when I try to open the cabinets, they won’t

budge. I try again—nothing. I move to the pantry—no luck. What the hell is going

on? I try the fridge—same thing.

Did she lock everything because of me? What is wrong with her?

Frustrated, I decide to confront her face to face. But as I approach her room, I

hear something that makes me freeze. She’s talking to someone—a man. What

the hell? Why is a guy in her room this late at night? I think it might be a plumber

or something, but I try to eavesdrop on the conversation. What I hear chills me to

the bone.

“Oh no, don’t worry about her. She’s sleeping. She’s dumb like her father,

” the

man laughs.

“He doesn’t even realize it’s not his kid, it’s yours,

” she says in a low voice. I can

hear them shifting around.

What? What did she just say?

The kid is not my half-sibling?

My mind is racing. I want to rush to tell Dad, but I hear footsteps behind me, too

close. The man with Marsha is coming for me. In my panic, I knock over a vase,

the sound shattering the silence.

“It might be her daughter, Alice. Go catch her,

” Marsha orders, her voice now

cold and commanding.

I hear the man’s heavy footsteps following me. I run for the front door, but I have

nothing on me—no phone, no shoes. What should I do? Should I tell Dad? I

can’t—he won’t believe me.

I run faster than I ever have before, my heart racing. The snow makes it hard to

move, but I push on. I glance over my shoulder and see him closer than I

expected, the snow making it harder for me to get away.

I reach the road, and for a moment, I think I’ve gained some distance. But I look

back, and Marsha is at the front of the house now. I need to keep running.

As I get closer to the edge of the forest, I hear the sound of boots crunching in

the snow behind me. I push myself harder, but then—bang! A gunshot rings out.

The sudden, sharp noise jolts me. I turn and look back, my breath coming in

ragged gasps. The man is still chasing me. The gunshot... was it a warning? I

don’t know. But the fear driving me to keep running is more powerful than the

pain in my legs. I don’t look back.

I head into the forest, my only option now. The darkness of the trees feels

suffocating, but I know I have to get away. But that shot… It wasn’t just a

warning. Something dark is happening, and I need to survive.