Her pulse was deafening, pounding in her ears as she stared at the glowing screen.
The words blurred slightly as her vision swam with disbelief. This couldn't be happening.
Her heart fluttered violently, and her jaw fell slack, a mix of fear and excitement twisting in her chest.
She hugged the plush toy on her bed so tightly it threatened to burst at the seams.
This was real.
Her eyes blinked rapidly, as if trying to dispel the possibility that she was dreaming. She wasn't. This was happening. It was him.
Her phone vibrated again, pulling her from her daze.
"You left your phone number?"
The message sent a shockwave through her system.
Her grip on the phone faltered, and it slipped from her fingers, landing on the bed with a soft thud.
Her breathing came in quick, shallow gasps as she scrambled to pick it up again.
The room felt too small, too dark, and her head swam with a dizzying mix of emotions.
She grabbed a bottle of water from her nightstand, chugging it in a desperate attempt to calm herself.
Then, with fingers trembling so violently she could barely type, she replied.
"Who are you?"
The seconds stretched into an eternity as she stared at the screen, her thumb hovering over the keyboard in case she needed to type something else.
The faint ticking of the clock in the distance filled the silence, each tick louder than the last.
Finally, her phone vibrated again.
"That's not very smart."
She let out a muffled scream, burying her face in her pillow to stifle the sound.
Her entire body was trembling now, a mix of adrenaline and nerves making her hands clammy.
She lifted her head, her mind racing. What did he mean? What wasn't smart? Was he angry? Amused? She had no idea, and the uncertainty was maddening.
Her fingers flew across the screen.
"What do you want from me?"
The words stared back at her, taunting her as she waited for a reply.
Her pacing quickened, the walls of her dorm room seeming to close in around her.
When his reply came, it was like a punch to the gut.
"Wrong question. What do you want from me, Frida?"
Her breath hitched.
What did she want?
Her hands trembled as she typed back a simple, hesitant response.
"I don't know."
The reply came swiftly, cutting through her uncertainty like a knife.
"Liar."
Her heart skipped a beat. She could almost feel him smirking through the words, as if he knew something she didn't.
Then another message came, and her blood turned to fire.
"By texting me, you're giving me consent."
She swallowed hard, her pulse racing faster than ever.
Consent? For what? Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she debated her response.
"To do what?" she finally typed, biting her lip as she sent the message.
His reply was instantaneous, chilling in its simplicity.
"What I want with you."
The words sent a shiver down her spine, and her jaw dropped.