My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 68

Nina

“Of course I believe you, Nina.”

Relief flooded through me at Enzo’s words. “Thank you,” I whispered, looking down at the table.

Enzo wasted no time in getting to work. He opened his laptop and started scouring all of the Twitter threads that contained pictures of me, scanning through them until he had a list compiled of some of his biggest -- and most angry -- fans.

“Do any of these people look familiar to you?” he asked, turning the laptop toward me. I furrowed my brow as I looked through the list then shook my head, handing him back his laptop.

“Not really,” I replied, “but I also haven’t seen the stalker. I know they were right next to me on multiple occasions, but I never saw them.”

“What about someone else?” Enzo asked. “Like James. Or even Lisa. Those pictures taken from the quad the other day when Lisa threw her coffee on you were taken from relatively close range. Maybe someone else saw.”

“I could ask James,” I replied. “I don’t think Lisa would even talk to me, let alone tell me the truth.”

Enzo nodded and shut his laptop, stuffing it back into his backpack. “That’s alright,” he said. “I’ll talk to her. You go talk to James.” He stood, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, then started to head for the exit.

…

I found James in Tiffany’s office later that day, poring over paperwork. He was slightly upset that I had just run away from him the day before, but was understanding of the situation and even more concerned when I told him about the stalker.

“I haven’t seen anyone,” he said, his eyes wide after I told him about the stalker. “Did you go to the police?”

I nodded. “I went this morning,” I replied. “The stalker somehow erased all of the evidence. They even stole the letter out of my bag. So, naturally, the police didn’t believe me.”

“Well, I’ll keep an eye out,” he said, standing from the table. “Let me know if you get any more letters or anything.”

I nodded, feeling defeated as I walked out of Tiffany’s office. The sun was already going down, which only added to the feeling of being watched.

When I arrived at home, Jessica and Lori were sitting on the couch. Both of them were visibly shaken.

“Did you go to the police?” Jessica asked, jumping up from the couch as soon as I entered.

I nodded. “They didn’t believe me. The stalker somehow destroyed the evidence.”

Jessica immediately burst into tears. Lori jumped up and wrapped her arms around Jessica, pulling her into a hug and narrowing her eyes at me over Jessica’s shoulder.

“Did something else happen?” I asked, my heart racing.

Jessica pulled away from Lori and nodded, wiping her tears with her sleeve. “I was walking home from the dining hall earlier and saw something move in the bushes,” she said between sobs.

My eyes widened and I stepped closer to her. “Did you see them? What did they look like?” I asked.

“What the fuck?!” I half-shouted, half-whispered as I stormed toward him. I slapped his arm, which didn’t even make him flinch.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I guess I should’ve warned you before I teleported in here. I just thought it would be better if no one saw me come here.”

“So, was that you who left my window open?” I asked.

Enzo’s eyebrows knit together. “No,” he replied. “Why? Was your window not open last time you were here?”

I shook my head vigorously and watched as Enzo stormed over to the window, pulling up the blinds and peering out. He stared out into the darkness for what felt like an eternity before turning around and walking over to me.

“I talked to Lisa,” he said, standing close enough to me that I could feel the warmth emanating from his body. “It wasn’t her. She has no idea who’s been taking all of these pictures.”

“Really?” I asked. “Are you sure?”

Enzo nodded. “I know Lisa. She may be a raging bitch, but she’s a surprisingly horrible liar.”

I bit my lip, staring down at the ground as a million things raced through my mind. Tears started to well up in my eyes as I considered the possibility that it might be best to do what Lori suggested and just cut Enzo out of my life, once and for all; just like the stalker said in their letter, things would only get worse if I continued seeing him.

“Don’t worry, Nina,” Enzo said, pulling me into a tight hug. “We’ll find this stalker.”