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  Thinking about it some more, I had always wanted to do an article on childhood sweethearts. I pitched it to my editor, but she rebuffed it and said it was too soppy. I always thought papers sometimes needed a bit of soppy. Every once in a while, I thought people would like to read something good in the news for a change.

  “You have something in mind, don’t you? I can see the wheels turning in your head.”

  Debating it, I wondered whether Suzie would be pissed off with me for going over her head.

  “It was just an idea. I’m sure you won’t like it.” I waved my hand in front of me, just to prove the point.

  “I want to hear it.”

  Sighing, I looked across at Mr. Walker. Maybe he wasn’t the hard-ass everyone made him out to be. “I wanted to run an article on childhood sweethearts. Just a nice article about children who have grown up together, who are still with each other, and may even be married with kids.”

  Smiling, Mr. Walker leaned forward on his desk again. “I like the idea.”

  Shocked, my posture straightened. “You do?”

  Laughing, he said, “Yes, why not? Have you got a childhood sweetheart?”

  Thinking about Dean, I often wondered what would have become of us if he had stayed. Feeling a little saddened by the idea, I shook my head. “No. I’m young, free, and single. I think a bit too single. I haven’t had a date in—”

  Fucking hell, Tyler. What the hell are you doing?!

  “Shit… I mean, sorry. That was a little too personal.”

  “That’s quite all right,” he said, smiling. “I like the idea. Why don’t you run with it and let me see what you come up with?”

  Feeling my heart drumming, I nodded. “Of course. It would be my pleasure.”

  “Excellent. I’ll let Suzie know you’re working on something for me, and we’ll see what you produce. I’ll give you forty-eight hours to find some stories. How does that sound?”

  Shit, that wasn’t a lot of time, considering I had to find people to talk to. Thank God for the internet. “Yes, that sounds fine with me.”

  Banging his fist lightly on the table, Mr. Walker sighed. “Good. Now get to it. Before you go to your desk, can you please tell Suzie I want to see her?”

  Taking that as my cue to leave, I quickly got out of my chair. “Of course. Thank you.”

  I was out the door as quick as my legs could carry me, then went in search of Suzie to let her know Mr. Walker wanted to see her.

  Scurrying back towards my desk afterwards, I sat down and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Louisa motioned with a thumbs up, a questioning look on her face. I smiled and gave her one right back. I knew she couldn’t get away for a chat, so a very brief thumbs up was all she needed to know that I was okay.

  Slouching down in my chair, I thought about Andrew Walker and how much he surprised me today. He wasn’t at all how I imagined. In fact, he seemed nice. But it was the thought that he let me run this story I’ve wanted to do for years which impressed me the most.

  With that running through my head, I started frantically searching for people to interview. I sent out message after message, and it was only once I’d finished my day that I got through them all.

  *****

  Once I was home, I sent a couple of messages back, thanking some people. I had managed to secure an interview with two sets of couples…one had met in school when they were ten, and the other was a step-brother/step-sister who had met when they were twelve. A little strange, but still a story nonetheless. People always got a kick out of that sort of thing.

  I just finished my messages when I decided to get something to eat. My belly was rumbling and I knew it was crying out for something more substantial than burgers and fries.

  I grabbed my car keys and made my way out to the car park so I could drive down to the local Chinese restaurant. It was only when I got to my car that the hyperventilating started.

  I pulled my car into my spot every day. Now, however, my car was backed into my space. I had only left it there about two hours ago!

  This led me down the path of only one solution. In the two hours of arranging emails and interviews, my stranger had been in my car, reversed out of my space, turned the car around, then reversed it back in again.

  I should have been scared. This whole thing should be scaring me but, for some reason, all I did was laugh. Right there in the middle of the car park, I laughed my head off.

  “Are you okay?” said a voice, startling me.

  Looking to my right, I saw it was Alan, one of my neighbours, looking at me peculiarly. “Yes, sorry. I was just thinking how silly it was that I forgot my car keys.”

  Looking down at my hand, he said, “But they’re in your hand.”

  Laughing, I nodded. “Yeah, I know. I forgot that, too.”

  Alan laughed right along with me and shook his head. “It happens to all of us, Tyler. Don’t worry. It’s probably old age.”

  Pushing his shoulder, I scowled at him. “Hey, less of the old, mister!”

  Alan laughed, but went on his way. All I could do after waving goodbye was stand there, completely bewildered. I knew my stranger was trying to communicate with me, but I wasn’t sure just how much further he would take things.

  I would find out soon enough.

  Chapter 2

  Dean

  If you prick us, do we not bleed?

  If you tickle us, do we not laugh?

  If you poison us, do we not die?

  And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

  William Shakespeare

  Have you ever heard the saying, “Being betrayed is one of the most valuable lessons life can teach”? Well, that was me in a fucking nutshell. I was young, naïve, and ended up falling for a girl who betrayed me. It was at that moment in my life, when I was only eighteen, that everything changed for me. I was no longer the lovesick puppy dog that hung around a girl just because she fluttered her eyelashes at me. Tyler was just like any other girl. She was manipulative and greedy. She was a witch in fucking sexy high heels.

  When I was young, I thought she wanted to be with me. When we first met and I punched that fucking twat Tim, I knew she was the one for me. Call it stupid, as I was only eight at the time, but just a simple smile and the flush of her cheeks was when I finally became aware of girls. Well, one girl.

  We played together, spent time together…but, all that time, she was just playing me. I even gave her a locket with a set of angel wings because she reminded me of an angel. How fucking dumb was I?

  I used to be soft, but since she betrayed me and went with that arsehole behind my back, I’d never forgive her. She knew how much I loved her, but the minute I was gone, she went with him. She was with me through good and bad, then she betrayed me in the worst way possible and rubbed my face in it. The witch completely blanked me and favoured his friendship over mine.

  She’ll never be able to love again. I’ll make sure of it. Since that time all those years ago, I had grown and made myself stronger. If she saw me now, she would never recognise me. It took time to put my plan into action, but I was almost ready to act. She would pay for what she did to me, and she would never be able to heal once I was done.

  Tyler O’Shea and her family would regret the day they ever betrayed Dean Scozzari and his family. I was going to completely damage her. I’d chew her up and spit her out. First of all, though, I was going to have some fun with her. I couldn’t wait to see her squirm when I started my games. Just wait and see how what I had in store for her would frighten and excite her at the same time. I’d lull her into a false sense of security—then I’d strike.

  She was mine for the taking. She’d always be mine because once I finished my plan, I’d be leaving my permanent fucking mark.

  Chapter 3

  Tyler

  Buckinghamshire, 1991

  “What did you do at school today?” my mummy asked me as we sat down to dinner.

  I smiled brightly at my mum and started twirling my ha
ir. “Well, Math was really boring, and I caught Mr. Branning picking his nose in English. Eww.” I scrunched up my face, but my mum and dad just stared at me. My sister, Rebecca, was only three, so all she did was carry on playing with her doll on the table.

  “At playtime, me and Dean played hide-and-seek, but he kept on finding me.” I started laughing when I thought about Dean grabbing me when I was hiding behind the toilets. I thought it was a good place to hide, but Dean had obviously played this game lots of times before.

  I looked up at my mum and dad, and could see them frowning at each other. My dad then turned to me with a sigh. “Did you not play with Ian?”

  “Of course I did.” I smiled. “We all play together. We always play together.”

  My mummy placed her hand on mine. “It’s just…every conversation is about Dean these days. Don’t forget who your old friend is, Tyler.”

  I frowned at mummy and daddy. For some reason, they didn’t like it when I talked about Dean. “Why don’t you like him?”

  I could feel myself growing sad and I knew my mum and dad didn’t like it when I got sad. “It’s not that we don’t like him, darling.” My mum smiled softly and stroked my hand. “It’s just, well…he did hit a boy the first day of school.”

  I got angry then. I didn’t like it when they said bad things about Dean. “He only hit Tim because he was being really mean to me. He was being a good friend by sticking up for me.”

  My mum smiled and nodded her head. “We know, sweetie. Just be careful.”

  *****

  The next day, I strolled down to my car. I had pulled it, like usual, into the space. I was expecting it to be parked the other way around and, sure enough, it was. Smiling to myself, I thought how nice of my stranger to park it that way so all I had to do was drive out. It was then that I thought to myself how nice it would be to thank my stranger/stalker, but how could I when I’d never even met him?

  But then it came to me. A flash of inspiration, if you will. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before.

  Rushing back upstairs, I thought there was no time to lose. I didn’t want to get to work too late.

  Rushing inside my flat, I grabbed a notepad and pen. Scribbling on it, I wrote, Thank you for backing my car into my space. It was very thoughtful of you.

  Leaving it on the table so it was a plain to see, I grabbed all my things again and left. The only problem now was that I couldn’t wait to get home and see if one, it looked like he’d read it, and two, and this was the scariest and most exciting part, would he respond?

  Trying to bury that thought, I got to work with visiting the couples for my two stories I hoped were good enough to submit to Andrew Walker.

  My first stop was the step-brother/step-sister, Daniel and Melody. I was interested to hear what they had to say, and hoped it would be rather juicy and romantic.

  Once I had finished at their house and all was wrapped up, I got to work as soon as I could. Louisa was patiently waiting next to my booth. “Hey. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you yesterday. How did it go with big man in there?” Louisa pointed in the direction of Andrew Walker’s office.

  “It went well. He just wanted to let me know how well he thought I was doing and how much he appreciated my hard work.”

  Her eyes widening, she sat on my desk. “Wow.”

  Putting my bag under my desk, I sat down. “But that’s not all.”

  Louisa frowned, leaning in a little more. “It’s not?”

  “No. I told him about a story I wanted to do, and he said he wanted me to go with it. That was after I told him about my freaking love life!”

  Louisa gasped. “Noooo!”

  “Oh, yes,” I said, nodding. “I don’t know what the hell came over me. I said I wanted to do a story on childhood sweethearts. He said it was a good idea and asked if I had one of my own. I told him no, but that’s not the worst part. The worst part was when I started blabbing on about not having a date in God knows how long.” I rolled my eyes and cringed.

  Louisa laughed. “Oh dear. That’s not good. What did he say?”

  “He smiled and said it was fine. I still can’t help feeling like an idiot every time I replay the conversation in my head.”

  “But he liked the idea and wants you to go with it?”

  “Yeah. At least that’s something. I just got back from visiting a step-brother and step-sister. They’re twenty-seven now, but have been together since they were twelve. It’s actually quite a funny story as they hated each other at first. They were attracted to one another right from the start, but they didn’t want to let the other one know how they felt.”

  Smiling, Louisa played with her locks. “Sounds interesting, and I’m sure you’ll do a good job.”

  Pulling my seat under my desk, I smiled. “Thanks.”

  After a few seconds of silence, Louisa spoke. “You know, you have to remedy this.”

  Looking up at her with a frown, I asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “This ‘I haven’t been on a date in forever’ thing. You need to get laid, girl, and I know just the place to take you. How about this Friday?”

  I sat back in my chair and bit my lip. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what Suzie might have in store for me after this.”

  Throwing her hands onto her lap, Louisa let out a frustrated sigh. “Oh, come on, Tyler. I know journalism is your life, but you’ve got to live a little, too. Just a few drinks, then some hot and heavy sex with some random guy.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” I laughed.

  “We do have it easy. All we need is a vagina, and we’re guaranteed sex wherever we go. Men just can’t resist us.”

  Laughing, I thought maybe she was right. I had been neglecting myself in that department for a very long time now. “Okay. It’s a date!”

  Jumping up from my desk, Louisa clapped her hands. “Great! Let’s meet outside Bo Jangles at eight. How does that sound?”

  Bo Jangles wasn’t too far away from my apartment. “Sounds great.”

  It was only a few minutes after she left that Ian came over to my desk. “How are you, sugar lips?”

  Looking up, my eyebrow raised. “Sugar lips?”

  Ian ran his fingers through his golden locks and smiled. “Yeah. I guess I’m feeling good about myself today.”

  “Why? Did you get laid?” Trying to type an email, I looked up when Ian didn’t answer. I saw the big huge grin on his face and I knew that said it all. “You little arse. Who was she?”

  Ian winked and leaned over a little. “Someone I met at a club in Soho. We hit it off, and once I thought I had a shot, I invited her back to my place. She accepted and… Well, I think you know the rest.”

  Slapping his knee, I couldn’t help feeling jealous. Everyone was having sex right, left, and centre, except for me. “You jammy bastard.”

  “No need to get jealous, sugar lips. I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone out there willing to sleep with you.”

  Gasping, I very nearly lunged for the git. “You better get out of here before I launch my stapler at your head.”

  “I’m sorry, Tyler. I couldn’t resist it. How about we go out this Friday night…after the Bolognaise, of course? I’ll buy the drinks, considering you paid for lunch the other day.”

  Remembering how he had to rush out of the restaurant, I had to ask, “Oh, how did that go, by the way?”

  Waving his hands, he dismissed it. “I managed to come up with something within the hour. No sweat.”

  Looking at Ian, I couldn’t help but feel jealous of his nonchalant attitude. He seemed to work better under pressure, and he can do as he pleased with his time. I hate people like that.

  “Well, I can’t make it for our normal Friday night. Maybe Saturday? You can come around for Bolognaise night then. What do you say?”

  “Will there be sex involved?”

  “Absolutely bloody not, Ian,” I scolded.

&nb
sp; “Oh well. A man can try.” Getting up from his perch at the edge of my desk, Ian smiled. “What shall I bring around, red or white?”

  Sitting back in my chair, I twiddled my pen. “Maybe a bit of both. You normally do anyway.”

  “Very daring, Tyler. Okay, I’ll bring both. Maybe spin the bottle won’t be out of the question.”

  Watching him stroll away, I tried throwing a paperclip at his head, but it missed him and landed right on the head of Thomas, one of the senior editors.

  Trying hard not to laugh, I leaned back in my chair and scooted down as much as possible, trying to get out of sight. Thomas looked everywhere for the offending person, but shrugged once he realised he wasn’t getting anywhere.

  I wasn’t completely out of the woods just yet. Looking around, I glanced over and just happened to see Andrew Walker walking past our cubicles. He seemed to study me somewhat curiously, then went on his way. Oh shit. How much did he see?

  Trying hard not to think about it, I got to work on some things until it was time to go meet the second couple for my article.

  This next set of childhood sweethearts was rather adorable. I was glad I taped the whole conversation between us as I couldn’t remember a damn thing once I left. The whole time I was there, I was fidgeting and getting antsy. I was dying to get home and find out if my stranger had replied to me.

  *****

  Once my day was over, I got back home and pulled into my parking space. I raced for the stairs. Unlocking the door, my heart was thumping so wildly, I thought it might just spontaneously combust.

  Dumping everything on the floor, I went to my kitchen and found the note sitting where I left it this morning. I could see my writing on it, but couldn’t see a reply. I felt disheartened for a second because I had been thinking about it all day. I was looking forward to coming home and finding a little note back to me. In a sense, I felt a little angry.

  Figuring I shouldn’t concern myself too much with it, I decided to get a drink of wine and sit down at the table.