I turn to Alex, who sits in the bed, watching me.
      "Is your last name Crowley?" I ask. He nods, with wide eyes.
      "How'd you know that? I never told you?" I thrust the letter at him. He reads it with horror in his eyes.

     "Ruby, is this the murderer from Essie?" I solemnly nod.
     "Yes." I pick up the photos, not only of us in the club and walking to the hotel, but of us talking in the hotel room. The last one is of his real ID. I hand him the photos after he finishes the letter.
     "I'm sorry... I knew this a bad idea. I knew he'd know somehow. I knew you'd probably die, just because you met me..." I confess. His face softens.
     "Ruby, do the cops know?" He asks. I shake my head, tears ready to fall.
     "He'd bomb the school and my house if I told. He sent me photos of the bombs... I reversed image searched them and they didn't come up with anything. He took them, he has bombs..." I say, my voice cracking. He covers his mouth.
    "Ruby..." He doesn't ask, he just hugs me. I just met him, but he's going to die because of me. Therefore, I don't mind.

I pull away, "Look, I need to get out of here. Me and Avery agreed to meet up in the lobby at 3:45 am. It's 3:40." He grabs my hand before I leave. Normally, I would have shaken it off, I don't like being grabbed. I didn't, he had good intentions, he's a good guy. I can tell, plus if he's going to die because of me, a touch should matter.
       "Can I at least get your phone number?" He asks. I nod.
      "I hid my phone, so I couldn't get any more texts, but that didn't change anything." I grab a sticky note from the pad on the desk.
       "Here's my phone number, below is my email, if my phone gets taken or something happens, you can email me. See you later, Alex" I open the door.
      "Goodbye, Ruby." He says.

     Avery drives me home.
    "So, was that fun?" I shrug.
     "Sure." I say. She laughs.
    "You didn't sleep with him, did you?" Avery is magical.
     "No. How'd you know that?" I exclaim.
     "It's really obvious. The acting in the elevator was really good, but if you slept with him, your hair and makeup would not look that good nor would your outfit look the exact same," She says, "So, did you just walk in there, like 'Can we just pretend we slept together?'" She asks.
     "No, at the club he told me he wasn't interested in sleeping with me. His friends made him come. I explained how we were in basically the same situation. So, we mutually agreed to fake it." I explain.
    "Oh... that makes sense," She says. We pull up to my house where she drops me off, "Good luck." I walk around to the side of my house and lift up the window and crawl into my bedroom.

     I glance at the clock, it's 4:45. Fifteen minutes until my alarm goes off. I spend ten of them changing into pajamas and taking off my makeup. The last five I spend filling around in bed, hoping for some odd miracle where I can get a full nights worth of sleep. My alarm goes off at five. I shut it off and trudge into the living room. My dad was just turning on the tv. I stand next to him in anticipation, remembering my friends' disappearances the day before. The news anchor appears, a gloomy look on her face. My stomach feels like a pit as she opens her mouth.
     "This morning, one dead body was found. It is believed to be Jessica Alden." Jess. I try not to cry, I really do. I couldn't try hard enough. I hug my dad, crying into his shoulder just as I had done as a nine year old when I broke my arm. This was a different type of pain. I look up as the anchor says, "There was a note attached to the body. The police have collected it and are looking for forensics. We got a copy, the note reads:

    Dear Girls,

     You two know who you are. Hopefully you'll take me a little more seriously. Don't forget what I said. It applies to the rest. As always, hush hush ladies.

-Your Friend

    The police are asking for the two girls to come forward. They need to know everything they can. You will be protected." She finishes as my dad frowns.
    "Those poor girls, I can't imagine how awful it would be to be stalked like that. I hope they come forward." I nod.
     "I hope so too."

I walk into the kitchen and toast my bagel. My brother enters.
    "Hey, Ruby?" I look up.
     "Yes, Cody?" His arms come around from behind his back, he's holding my cell phone. I gasp.
    "How'd you get that?" I ask. He shrugs.
     "I called it because you disappeared and found it in a shoebox while you were gone, last night. I didn't mean to read your texts, but I hung up the call from your end and I saw a message. Ruby, I know you are one of those girls." I viciously yank the phone from his grasp.
     "You don't tell anyone, you hear me?" I command. He looks at me, fearful.
    "Ruby. You need to..." He starts. I cut him off.
     "I need to do a lot of things, my science project, my math homework, get more than three minutes of sleep, etcetera. Okay? But most importantly, I need to stay alive. Telling someone won't keep me alive. I'm fine, just don't tell anyone." He frowns.
    "I'm just saying, do right what those girls on the Pretty Small Liars show did wrong. They didn't tell the cops, it lasted for seven seasons. Don't make this last for more than one." He says, trying to get his point across. It doesn't. I roll my eyes.
     "One, it's Pretty Little Liars and two, it's fictional. The cops can catch him without me." He stands there for a moment before pouring a bowl of cereal. As he walks out, I read the message.

Oh, Ruby. I can't believe you ditched your phone. I guess I'll just have to resort to other methods. Too bad you weren't able to say your last goodbyes to Jess. They'll find her body in the morning.

I cover my mouth and face the wall to hide and muffle my crying. Just at the moment I needed comfort, I get a second text. At first, I'm afraid to read it. It's another unknown number, but this time, it's signed with "Alex"
not "Your Friend." I open the message, tears still rolling down my face.

Hey, Ruby, I know it's totally not cool to text right after you meet someone, but I'm not cool. So, if you'd like to, I'd love to go out for coffee or something sometime. Text me back?

With my tears still running, I find myself smiling. I open the message and respond;

I'd love that Alex, tell me where and when. Just make sure the coffee shop sells hot cocoa or tea. I hate coffee. :)

I close my phone and eat my bagel, at a balance. My life absolutely sucks because all
my friends are bound to be dead, but there's Alex. Even if he's bound to be dead too.