?WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL?
?EPISODE 22 ?
I took a few short breaths and reached out for my bag to
grip my pepper spray. I took a different route tonight. Just to see if he would still follow.
After walking a few blocks, I looked behind me and to
my dismay, the guy was also there. But he kept his distance. Sometimes, he walked much slower, making no
attempt to close the distance between us.
Was it still a coincidence? Or was he really following
me?
When I reached my porch, I turned around to look
behind me again.
I saw the boy standing at the corner street about thirty meters away from me. He just stood there and watched me go inside the house. Once I was safely in, I peeked through the window. I saw him turn around and walk away.
Now, that was really creepy!
The next night, I saw him again. I walked slower this
time, still keeping my pepper spray within reach. I held my
breath and looked behind me.
There was no one there. I
sighed in relief. He didn’t follow this time. Maybe the last two nights were just coincidences. Maybe I was just being paranoid. After all, what could he want from me?
I kept looking behind me. I didn’t see him. I was alone,
walking the deserted streets towards my house. For the first
time in days, I felt myself relax.
I went inside my house and locked the door behind me. I
felt relieved. No one was stalking me. I had nothing to worry about.
But just as if it had become a habit, I couldn’t resist
peeking through the window, just to check.
My heart dropped to my toes, I forgot to breathe and all the hairs in my body rose to attention when I saw the familiar hooded guy walking on the sidewalk. He turned to look at my house, slowed his pace down for a little bit… and then jogged away.
I leaned against the wall and took a couple of deep
breaths, trying to calm my hammering pulse.
When I wrote to my diary that night, I told Hunter how
scared I was because I suspected that the boy was stalking me. I told him it could be Chaise, the same guy who stole a kss from me.
It took me a moment to realize that I was rambling in
what I was writing. But I thought that if something
happened to me, Meredith would find my diary and read it.
So, I had to make sure I leave enough clues about my
suspicions. If it wasn’t Chaise, he’d be able to prove his innocence.
I paused from writing. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
Crazy, even.
Yes, I’m crazy for thinking that Chaise Anderson was
stalking me.
I sighed and looked at the diary before me. Maybe I was
even crazier for thinking that Hunter would get to read this
diary someday.
I touched his necklace. He said he loved me. But why
hasn’t he come back for me yet?
Is there still hope for Hunter and me?
The next day was the same as any other day. The
corridors still went abuzz about me when I walked to my
locker, girls still slipped in snide remarks intended to insult me when I walked past them during lunchtime. Denise and I still sat at the far corner looking like a bunch of outcasts.
“Chaise didn’t go to school today,” Denise said.
I gave her a weird look and then a teasing grin. “Okay…
that’s bordering obsession.”
“No, silly!” She giggled. “I kinda miss watching him
watch you. It’s really entertaining.”
I rolled my eyes. “For the last time, Denise, he’s not
interested in me. If he is… then it would be for scary
reasons.” I almost shivered at the thought of the boy, who I
suspected was following me every night.
He had the sameheight and built as Chaise. If he was Chaise… then I should really be scared of his intentions… especially since I bruised his ego.
That night, I closed up quite late again. I wouldn’t
usually mind the last minute shoppers. They were good for
business. But then they were making my walk home a little bit more dangerous. By nine in the evening the streets to
my house would still be well-populated. In other words, safe.
However, past ten, it was almost deserted, to the point that you should actually beware of the people who walked
around you… especially those that regularly followed you,
pretending to keep their distance, waiting for the right
moment to attack.
I looked around the streets before I started my journey.
No one was around. A car or two passed by, but I didn’t see
the hooded boy lurking in the shadows.
I walked two blocks in safety. However, when I turned
the corner, I saw two guys leaning by the light post. They
were wearing shabby clothes and it looked like they were
smoking pot. My heart pounded in my chest. There was no
way to avoid them, unless I turned around and walked back.
They were blocking the sidewalk. I calmly stepped out of their way and walked past them, not making a sound, not
even breathing, praying that they wouldn’t notice me.
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