Skipping Stones - Part II

Jade needed to get to the bottom of this.

"There's no way it's some kids. Liam is always trying to calm me down but looks stupid in the act! "

Now she sat on the edge of the park bench, fidgeting with her phone while Liam skipped rocks a few feet away. The lake reflected streaks of gold and violet from the sunset, the same one where they’d first realized what they meant to each other.

“Hey,” Liam called. “You’re quiet.”

Jade glanced up, forcing a smile. “Just… tired.”

He came over, crouching beside her. “No, something’s up. You don’t go quiet unless you’re thinking too much.”

She sighed, hesitating before showing him her phone. “I got another one, actually not even one, we had a whole conversation.. "

He frowned, taking it. The screen read so many texts between them.

Jade bit her lip. “That’s the second one this week.”

Liam rubbed the back of his neck. “Probably just some kid messing around. People make fake numbers all the time.”

“Liam, please stop," she said softly. “the first texts mentions our exact conversation, and you still think it is a coincidence? That's stupid."

“Maybe, it someone on campus who got a quick glimpse of your phone," he said quickly. “or Christina’s TikTok, she posted that video of us last week.”

Jade shook her head, anxiety sharpening her tone. “Liam, they’re sending things about you. Personal things.”

He sat down beside her, voice steady but gentle. “Hey. Look at me.”

She did.

“I promise, whoever it is — they’re just trying to get in your head. I’m not going anywhere.”

Her chest tightened. “What if they’re not just trying to get in my head?”

Liam hesitated, then reached for her hand. “Then we’ll deal with it together.”

The words should’ve comforted her — and part of her wanted them to — but something about the look in his eyes made her wonder if he believed it himself.

Later that night, Jade was in her dorm scrolling through her texts again. The messages were all from Unknown. No photo, no profile, no clues.

Christina texted her at the same time:

Christina: “you okay? saw you looked weird today”

Jade: “yeah. just tired.”

Christina: “girl i know your ‘just tired.’ what happened?”

Jade: “someone’s texting me again.”

Christina: “I’ll help you figure it out. don’t tell Liam yet.”

Jade stared at the last line for a moment, conflicted.

Too late, she thought.

The next day, Liam showed up early to walk her to class. He was smiling, teasing her about her sleepy expression, acting normal — maybe too normal.

But Jade couldn’t shake it. The feeling that someone else was out there, watching, waiting.

As they passed the courtyard, she caught a glimpse of someone standing by the gate — too still, too intent. Which was oddly suspicious, wouldn't they be rushing to their next class? They definitely weren't professors either, they were short-like, Jade decided to walk up to them.

When she blinked, they were gone. Weird.

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