{"id":258746,"date":"2026-07-13T16:28:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/dont-ask-why-steph-nelson\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:28:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:28:52","slug":"dont-ask-why-steph-nelson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/dont-ask-why-steph-nelson\/","title":{"rendered":"Dont Ask Why – Steph Nelson"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Leslie asks, leaning to peek inside the house. I watch him\u2014the way his eyes dart and how he seems to avoid eye contact\u2014and I can\u2019t help but wonder what his chart looks like. Immediately, I think of Scorpio. Scorpio gets a bad rap because of its shadow side\u2014paranoia, jealousy, and manipulation\u2014and they can be volatile, too.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019re also insanely intuitive, resilient, and magnetic. Scorpio has a way of dominating a chart whenever it\u2019s present, even if it\u2019s not a person\u2019s sun sign. I adore Scorpios. They tend to know what they want and how to not give a fuck, and we can all use a little more of that in our lives. As for Leslie, I have this inkling he\u2019s something else. \u201cStill sleeping,\u201d Rawson says, answering his question. Leslie squints like he\u2019s trying to determine whether Rawson is lying. \u201cDid your other friend turn up?\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart hammers. \u201cNo,\u201d Rawson says. \u201cShe probably twisted an ankle or something and can\u2019t find her way back. You know how women are.\u201d Wait. Rawson is supposed to bring credibility to our concern, not play into what we believe Leslie already thinks: that we\u2019re overreacting.<\/p>\n

I stiffen. \u201cHm,\u201d Leslie says, and shoves his hands into the pockets of his khaki cargo pants. It suddenly occurs to me that if he\u2019s involved with Courtney\u2019s disappearance, he would know we\u2019re bluffing. \u201cSorry to hear that. I\u2019ve been looking and haven\u2019t found anything either. Maybe she took a kayak to the mainland,\u201d Leslie says. There\u2019s a glint in his eye like he\u2019s holding back a smirk. He\u2019s playing with us, and Rawson is fumbling this. My breathing has become shallow, so I take a deep inhale.<\/p>\n

I have to make this better. When Rawson clears his throat like he\u2019s about to speak, I jump in. \u201cThere\u2019s still two kayaks on the shore, just like when we got here. So, no, she didn\u2019t take a kayak.\u201d He smiles, and it makes me feel like I have spiders skittering up my spine. It\u2019s horribly insincere and slightly amused. \u201cYou\u2019ve seen the whole island? And you know there are only two?\u201d \u201cOf course not,\u201d Rawson says in a flustered tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just unlikely she went searching for a third kayak when there are two on the beach.\u201d Courtney didn\u2019t take a kayak. That\u2019s totally beside the point, and we\u2019re standing out here arguing about it while Paige and Reese are waiting for us to get Leslie inside. But how do we do that? I bite the inside of my cheek.<\/p>\n

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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Any reference to historical events, real people, real places, or real companies are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author\u2019s imagination. Published 2026 by Ticking Clock Press ISBN: 979-8-9896154-3-8 OceanofPDF.com For Heidi Hildebrand May your Leo fire always burn bright OceanofPDF.com Content advisory: This novel contains depictions of depression, anxiety and panic attacks, suicidal ideation, violence, kidnapping, terminal illness, drug use, and coarse language.<\/p>\n

Please read with care. OceanofPDF.com Swim faster, I think. Just a little farther and you can hide in the mangroves. My lungs burn. I gasp for hot and sticky breaths, my heartbeat a steady count as I swim parallel to the beach. Stroke-stroke-breath. Stroke-stroke-breath. Thirty yards or so and I\u2019m there. Thank god for the blanket of darkness the new moon provides.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t see him, and I pray that means he can\u2019t see me. I thought I\u2019d be safe on this island. That he couldn\u2019t find me. \u201cHe won\u2019t stop until he\u2019s behind bars.\u201d My sister\u2019s words float into my mind like an accusation. She said this only yesterday while we were tanning on the beach, but I didn\u2019t believe her. I couldn\u2019t help but feel a sense of safety here on the island.<\/p>\n

Which is why I walked the beach solo with a margarita in hand late tonight, like countless nights prior. Why didn\u2019t I pay attention to how far from the house I\u2019d strayed? I\u2019d wandered almost to the mangroves when I heard movement coming from the stand of palmettos behind me. He was fast, on me instantly. I scrabbled in my shorts pockets for the pepper spray I\u2019ve started carrying all the time, and when I sprayed it into his eyes, he released his crushing grip on my arm.<\/p>\n

I had a single moment to decide: sprint back along the beach toward the house, or swim the Gulf of Mexico. It\u2019s two miles to the nearest shore. If I stayed on the beach, he\u2019d catch me, but a two-mile swim was out of the question at night. A third option emerged: that secret spot in the mangroves. I glance back. Did he follow me into the water?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see him, but it\u2019s dark, so I\u2019m not sure. Don\u2019t slow down. Don\u2019t think about that. Just swim.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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