Chapter 3

Kaylee pushed herself off the wall. She turned to walk toward the kitchen for a glass of water to calm her nerves. Before she could take a step, the guest room door pulled open from the inside.

Greyson had taken off his jacket. He was wearing a fitted black t-shirt. He leaned against the doorframe and looked at her.

His tone was incredibly casual. "I just moved in and I'm starving. Do you have any recommendations for late-night food around here?"

Kaylee suddenly remembered the DoorDash order she had placed. The tacos had to be close.

She needed to act friendly to cover up her massive guilt. "I actually ordered a lot of food," she offered. "You can have half."

Greyson's eyes lit up. He flashed a bright, genuine-looking smile. He followed her straight into the living room without hesitation.

They sat down on the living room sofa. Kaylee kept a throw pillow between them to maintain a safe physical distance.

The silence was suffocating. Kaylee blurted out a question to break it. "So, what kind of games do you usually play?"

Greyson pulled his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the screen casually. "I play a little League of Legends sometimes."

Hearing the name of the game made Kaylee's scalp prickle. A horrifying realization hit her. Right before she panic-quit her stream, to make her lie look real, she had sent a friend request to Killer's account.

She frantically patted the sofa cushions, searching for her phone. She needed to cancel the request before he saw it.

She grabbed her phone and unlocked it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Greyson's screen light up. He had the official game companion app open.

His long thumb scrolled down the screen. He was looking at his notification list.

Kaylee's chest tightened. She rapidly tapped the game app on her own phone, trying to log into her Bambi account.

The apartment Wi-Fi lagged. A loading circle spun endlessly on her screen. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Right then, Greyson let out a soft chuckle. The sound was loud in the quiet living room.

Kaylee's hand jerked. She almost dropped her phone. She turned her head stiffly to look at him.

Greyson tilted his phone screen slightly toward her. "There's this really funny streamer who just sent me a friend request."

Kaylee felt the blood drain from her face. Her stomach dropped. "Oh? Who is it?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Greyson looked right into her eyes. He said the name slowly. "Bambi."

Kaylee's throat went completely dry. She let out a hollow laugh. "That sounds like a fake account."

Greyson raised an eyebrow. His thumb hovered right over the screen. "I don't know. I feel like it's fate."

Kaylee watched in pure horror as his fingertip tapped the green accept button.

In that exact same second, the phone gripped tightly in Kaylee's hand let out a violent, loud vibration.

The system notification sound echoed in the living room: Killer has accepted your friend request.

Kaylee shoved her phone face-down against her thigh like it was burning her. She pressed her hand over it to hide the screen light.

Greyson turned his head. His eyes were wide and completely innocent. "Why did your phone just go off?"

Kaylee stuttered over her words. "Spam call. Just a telemarketer." She shoved the phone deep into the crack between the sofa cushions.

The doorbell rang. It was the loudest, most beautiful sound Kaylee had ever heard.

She shot up from the sofa like a bullet. She sprinted toward the front door to grab the food, leaving Greyson sitting there, watching her run away as a smirk formed on his lips.