Eye Candy by R.L. Stine Page A

he like? Come on, spill. Tell all.”
    â€œI will,” I said. “Let me just get changed. And maybe take a shower, okay? Call out. Get Chinese or something. We can sit and talk.”
    â€œExcellent.” Ann-Marie opened the drawer where we keep all the restaurant take-out menus. I hurried to my room. The phone rang as soon as I entered.
    I let it ring. After the weird breathing call last night, I put on the answering machine and left it on. I planned to screen my calls from now on. The machine picked up after four rings, and I heard:
    â€œHi, Lindy. Hope you remember me. It’s Shelly. You know. The guy you met by accident. I found your number and—”
    I picked up the phone and clicked it on. “Shelly? Hi. It’s me. How’d you get my number?”
    â€œLindy, hi. You’re there.”
    â€œShelly, how’d you get my number?”
    â€œEasy. I hacked into your computer and got all your personal info.”
    â€œNo. Really.”
    â€œReally. I found it online. You know. One of those
White Pages
pages. It was totally easy. You don’t expect to have any privacy these days, do you?”
    â€œI guess not. I—”
    â€œI don’t know if you kept my number or not. I’d really like to see you. I mean, maybe we could meet by accident again. What do you think?”
    I laughed. He was talking so fast, racing.
    â€œYou didn’t really go out with that Colin guy, did you?” he rattled on. “I warned you about him. He’s a girlie man. What was he drinking, anyway? Some kinda pink ladies’ drink, wasn’t it? A Cosmopolitan? Lindy, hel-lo. You don’t want to go out with a guy who wears tight designer jeans and drinks Cosmos.”
    I thought of Colin’s hand on my breasts. My cheeks burned from his rough, stubbly beard.
    â€œShelly, listen . . . I’m kind of busy.”
    â€œNo. Don’t say that, Lindy. Let’s keep it simple. We’ll just have coffee. Or we’ll go to a dance club. Or maybe the Bahamas for a long weekend.”
    I laughed. “Are you trying to wear me down?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIt’s working.”
    Colin said he’d be traveling next weekend. No reason to feel guilty if I went out once with Shelly. After all, I didn’t really know how Colin felt about anything. I mean, I hardly knew him.
    â€œOkay. Saturday night,” I said.
    â€œI’m not really in the mood,” he replied. And then quickly added, “Joking. Just joking. Why can’t I stop joking? That sounds great, Lindy. Now, do you want to stay on the phone and get to know each other for an hour or two?”
    â€œBye, Shelly,” I said.
    â€œBye.”
    I clicked off the phone and returned it to its base. Turning, I saw that I’d forgotten to make the bed. I make my bed every morning—one of my few habits left over from childhood.
    I pulled off my top and started to slide out of my jeans when I saw the light blinking on my answering machine. A message I hadn’t retrieved.
    I pressed the NEW MESSAGE button and stood frozen, listening to a raspy, whispered voice . . .
    â€œDon’t say no, Lindy. Keep going out with me.
DON’T EVER say no, I’m warning you. I’ll mess you
up—I’ll REALLY mess you up if you ever say no to me.”

PART TWO

11
    It’s a dumb joke,” I said. I still felt warm from my shower. I had on a long flannel nightshirt. My wet hair was wrapped in a towel. “Come on. The food is here. Let’s eat.”
    Ann-Marie chewed her bottom lip. “It’s not a joke. It sounds serious to me.”
    I tore open the Chinese food bag. “Someone’s idea of a sick joke.”
    Ann-Marie started to pace, arms crossed in front of her. “It’s a threat, Lin. That raspy whisper. No way it’s a joke.”
    I’d played the message for her. She insisted on hearing it four times.
    â€œ
. . .
I’ll mess