short black hair, just long enough to run your hands through. This is wrong. So wrong. I shouldn’t be attracted to a stalker. His presence is so overwhelming, it feels as if he’s ten feet tall with a shadow crawling up the ceiling, slithering toward me. This room feels tiny with him in it. I feel tiny with him in it. He takes a step toward me, a hint of that smirk remaining on his face—just the slightest curl in his lips. I take a step back. Finally, my instincts aren’t completely jacked sideways, and I make my first smart move of the night. “Cat got your tongue, little mouse?” Briefly, I close my eyes. His voice washes over me, leaving goosebumps in its wake. The sound is as deep as his black eye. I swallow again, nearly choking on the very muscle. It feels like my tongue has swollen to double its size. “What do you want from me?” I choke out. He prowls towards me. My spine tightens, and despite the gallons of fear pumping through my heart valves, I stay still. When he gets close enough, I'll stab him. Aim for the throat, Addie. My eyes lock with his, and all thought escapes me. He presses the entirety of his body against mine. No shame. No shyness. No, /et me buy you a drink first before I press my man pecs into you. The boldness of it has me nearly biting my tongue in surprise. It takes several seconds for my body to unlock. Before I can think about what I’m doing, I swing my knife towards him, but meet resistance when I attempt to lift it. I look down in confusion, just to see his bare hand wrapped around the blade. Blood pools in his hand, a small trail heading straight towards my own. I gasp, my eyes widening and snapping back to his. Not a single iota of pain shines in his eyes. Not even a glimmer. He jerks on the blade once, ripping it from my weak hold, blindly tossing it behind him. The knife clatters loudly against something before toppling to the floor, the sound reverberating in the otherwise quiet room. Nothing but my heavy panting breaks the static of silence surrounding us. His presence is a vortex, steadily depleting the oxygen from the room—and even from my brain. Because I cannot think straight with his body so close to mine. With the fear coiled tightly around me, the force of it turning my body to stone. I’m useless.