Page 88 of Hellebore

“Okay… I’m listening.”

Tears keep falling as I pace the bedroom, bare feet silent on the thick rug. “Remember the stalker I told you about?”

“Yes,” she says softly.

“Well… he saved me.” My voice wavers. “I went to the bar a block from the apartment. There was a man there. He seemed nice, offered to walk me out and wait for my ride. But then he⁠—”

My heart feels like it’s going to shatter my ribs. The words catch in my throat, heavy and painful.

“Briar?” Lucille’s voice softens, sweet and heavy with worry that wraps around my heart like a lifeline.

“He tried to rape me,” I murmur, the words scraping raw from my throat. “He was going to kidnap me, but Drystan—” I slap a hand over my mouth the second his name slips out, terror flashing through me. He’s going to end the call. I know he is.

“Drystan? That’s the stalker?” Her tone shifts to surprise.

“Yes… he saved me. He got there in time and pulled that monster off me.” I swallow hard, carefully choosing every word. “He told me he could protect me, that he had been doing it for a long time. I was so scared, Lu. I didn’t want to drag you into danger too, so I… I went with him.”

“Shit, Briar! Why didn’t you call me? I went to the cops and they said there was nothing they could do. I searched every shitty motel, every bar, every alley. I even got this weird text I knew wasn’t from you.” Her words tumble out fast and breathless, each one laced with pain and relief.

“I know. I’m so sorry.” Tears stream down my face as I keep pacing the bedroom, clutching the towel tighter around my chest. “I did something stupid. He has these… serums with hellebore in them. I took one by mistake and passed out. He took care of me after that.”

The lies taste bitter on my tongue, but I cannot tell her the full truth. She would come looking for me, and Drystan would destroy her without hesitation.

“When are you coming back?” she asks, hope cracking through her voice.

“I don’t know.” My own voice trembles. “I told him, Lu. I told him what happened five years ago… and he wants to find them.”

There’s a heavy pause. “How can I help?”

The offer catches me off guard, love swelling painfully in my chest.

“Lu… he will kill them,” I confess, voice low.

“I know,” she replies, her tone turning ice-cold and fierce. “I hope he makes them suffer.”

“Jesus, Lucille…” I shake my head, a broken laugh escaping through my tears.

“Are you really safe?” she asks, deadly serious now.

I close my eyes for a moment, and for the first time in this conversation, I speak only the truth. “I am. I promise. Drystan is… different. Unhinged in ways I can’t explain. But he would never hurt me.”

She hums softly on the other end. “When will I see you again?”

I take a shaky breath. “Probably once he finds them.” Another lie. The thought that he might never let me see her again twists like a knife in my chest.

“I miss you so much, Briar,” she says, her voice cracking.

“I miss you too. So much.” I smile through the tears, even though she cannot see it.

“So, he’s not some old man creep—” She asks, changing the subject the way she always does when things get too heavy.

“Oh definitely not.” I glance around the room nervously, half-expecting Drystan to appear. “He has nine piercings.”

“NINE?!” she shrieks.

A real laugh bubbles out of me, the first genuine one since this nightmare began. “Yes. And he fucks like the devil himself.”

She lets out a dramatic whimper. “Lucky you!”