“Hey… You know I can see that you have read my message? You not in the mood to chat? I read the text and don’t know if I should engage with him. I’m not really in the mood to chat. I reply and then he replies within seconds. Is everything okay…? I hope it’s not something I did or said to upset you. I think I behaved myself very well. He type back and I smile. He had been wonderful really. We had a very productive first session and I was more convinced that we were going to ace this final assignment. No its not you. I’m just a little tired. I lie knowing that I wasn’t going to get much rest tonight not with everything that had happened. I’m sorry I bothered than. He says and I don’t know if he I read that he was mad or if it was just me being paranoid again. You know I had been up late last night finishing my notes. I type back and I hope it’s enough to make him feel better. I know…So you get some rest and I will see you in the morning. Sleep tight beautiful. I read and feel the heat moving up my face again. I’m not sure if I should say something now or rather later. I know if I reply he will not stop and I really wasn’t in the mood so I decide not type anything back.
The room is dark and humid. There is a sweet smell in the air and I try to figure out where the smell is coming from. I stretch my arm out to feel the wall around me guide my way through the darkness. I walk and then I feel a bump in the wall. I feel and try to recognize the texture. It was wood. It was a door. Quickly I start looking for the handle to open it so that I can escape this darkness enfolding me. I find the handle and pull it tightly. To my surprise it wasn’t locked and I push it open. The candle light floods the room and I stand staring at the chains and whips carefully nailed against the walls. The king sized pillar bed draped in red silk and Egyptian cotton stands boldly in the middle of the room. Candles grazed the cabinets and shelves. This room reminded me of the Red Room in E.L James’s Fifty Shades of Grey. It gave me the creeps. On the far side of the room I see another door and believe that it is my only way out. I take my first step inside and start to smell the sweet scent again. I look around and see a fireplace in the corner behind the door it was lit and the heat was comforting. I take another step and then I feel the hands on the back of neck and my whole body freezes up. I can’t move and feel it pushing me further inside. I hear the door close behind us and my heart pounds hard in my ears. I close my eyes and feel it pushing me further in. Wake up Annabelle! Wake up! I hear my conscious speaking to me but the scent has me in trance and I feel light and hazed. “Get on the bed beautiful” I hear it say to me and I climb on to the bed without protest. I lie down in the red rose petals spread all over the bed and my eye lids are heavy and my mind fuzzy. My mouth feels thick and my throat becomes dry. “Why don’t you want me when I’ve loved you for such a long time? I just want to love you Annabelle” It is standing right over me staring at me through the mask. I feel it taking my arms and bringing it over my head. I feel the cold of the hand cuffs around my wrist and hear them strap into place. “If I can’t have you Annabelle… No-one will” He say and walks over to the cabinet and takes out a knife. I look at the blade shining in the light of dim candles and I can’t think straight. “No one! You hear me!” It screams to me and then I feel the fear creeping up inside the pit of my stomach. “We will never be apart again” It says and slides the blade up my thigh and over my bare stomach. I try to recall when I had become naked. I try to free my arms from the bondage but I can’t. I was too weak to defend myself. I wasn’t thinking straight. My head was pounding. I see it coming around the bed climbing on top of me and stroking my hair. “I love you Annabelle” It says and then I feel the cool blade against my throat… I try to scream…
I wake up in a cold sweat. I look around my room see nothing out of place. My room’s door was open like I had left it and I see the light shining in from the bathroom down the hall. I feel my hands shaking and my stomach twist. I switch my bedside lamp on and I get out of bed. I look around again and walk over the bathroom and switch on the light. I look at myself in the mirror. I look flustered and hot. I wonder what the dream could mean. I open the tap and fill my hands with water and splash it on my face. I was hot and scared. This was becoming too much for me. Who is out there trying to hurt me like this? I walk back to bed and see the notification light on my phone flashing. I see the Facebook icon showing. I open it and it was an inbox message from myself. The profile name was my name Annabelle Spencer. I open the message and start reading.
Are you sleeping? I read the words and see that the message had just been sent. I look around the room to see if anything was out of place. I’m sorry if I woke you… I didn’t mean to scare you earlier tonight I just wanted to see you. I just needed to see you. I look at the words and don’t know if should reply anything. Did you have a bad dream…? I know I have been having them too… Dreams of you leaving me. I don’t know what to do. Well sleep tight my love. I will see you soon. I read the final words and throw the phone on the bed. I don’t believe this. How does he know I’m awake? I walk over to the window and look outside. I see in the distance something moving… I can’t be sure if was human or an animal or just the shadow of a car driving down the next street. I feel the cold rushing in through my room and go outside into the hall. I look towards my parents room and then down hall to the stairs. I try to focus my eyes on the dark. I can’t be sure what I was seeing. I don’t know if my imagination was playing tricks on me but I swear I was seeing someone coming up the stairs towards me. I look hard and then I see it. The light shimmers off the plastic of the mask. He was in our house. Oh My God… I scream hard and loud. I run back to my parent’s room and fly onto their bed. “His here in the house!” I scream and my father flies out of bed and walk over to his closet and takes out his gun. My mother pulls me into her arms and holds me close. I see my father walking out the room holding the gun high. My mother looks at me trying to still my shaking body. I feel the tears stinging my eyes. A couple of moments later my father comes back into the room. He looks at me and then at my mother and shakes his head. “I saw him dad… Coming up the stairs” I say and point with a shaking finger to the door. “I checked everything the alarm wasn’t deactivated or nothing…All the doors are locked. There is no way someone could have come in without something being disturbed” My father says the words and I feel more crazy than afraid. My mother looks at me and I see the pain in her eyes. Maybe it was just all in my head with the dream I had. Maybe everything was just becoming too much for me. I start to cry again and my mother holds me in her arms and kisses me softly. “Why don’t you sleep here with us tonight okay” She says and pulls me close to her heart. I look at her bewildered and smile at her like a little girl. I snuggle in between her and my dad and sigh hard and deep. Could it all just be in my mind? I think about the messages on my Facebook. Oh God. I close my eyes and say a little pray in my heart for God to protect me and keep me safe from whomever it is out there who wants to hurt me. Or rather love me. That is what he said in the dream; all he wanted to do was love me.
Chapter Twelve
I’m still trying to figure out what had happened that night. The messages were gone the next morning when I checked it and I checked the contact list there was no Annabelle Spencer. Maybe it was just all in my mind. I look out in front of me and everyone looked like a suspect. “Hey… You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost” I hear Garett speaking under Nicole’s ranting and raving about Ethan. “Yeah… I’m just still a little freaked out about what happened. I swear it felt so real” I look at Garett and he reaches over and takes my hand. I see the pity in his eyes and feel weak all over again. Everyone looks at me like I was crazy and some like Nicole was too caught up in their own lives to see that I was having a mental breakdown. “Hey… Don’t worry everything will be okay. It will all blow over soon. This guy will realize that he doesn’t stand a chance with you and he will give up and disappear” Garett says and I know he was only saying that to make me feel safe and relaxed. “I hope you’re right… I don’t need this right now… Maybe goi
ng to London is a good idea after all this” I say and Garett lets go of my hands like they were on fire. “London? What is in London?” He asks and looks at me questioning. “I got a job there… I start December” I say and he looks at me hard. For a moment he looks upset and then he shakes his head. “London… I didn’t know you were looking for a job overseas… I thought we were both going into teaching” he says and looks hurt. I had been so wrapped up in my own world the last couple of weeks that I completely forgot to tell them about my plans. “I know… But I just thought that maybe this was what I needed. A change; a completely different place.” Garett looks at me and I try to take his hand but he pulls it back. He looks at Nicole who looks at him sympathetically. “You know about this?” He asks and then she gives him an apologetic look. “You told her and just conveniently forgot to tell me?” He says and gets up from his chair. “After all that I have done for you when everyone treated you like you were shit I cared for you and befriended you. Stuck with you and stood up for you when they all called you a loser and an Ice Princess and now I’m the last to know you’re leaving… After we had made plans together for the future…” I see the tears glisten in his eyes. Oh God he was really hurt. I get up too and try to take his hands but he pulls away from me. “I’m sorry Garett… I really didn’t think it was a big deal” I say and then he shakes his head. “That is you’re problem Annabelle… Nothing to you is a big deal. You only think about yourself, you don’t think about the people in your life who loves you and who cares about you. You think everyone doesn’t care about you and that makes you oblivious to their feelings because you have a heart of ice and you think everyone has one too” He says and picks up his bag. “I loved you Annabelle and would have travel the world with you if you asked me too, but I doubt if you would ever have done it for me” He says and I feel like shit. Lower than shit really. “I’m sorry Garett…Please try and understand I never meant to hurt anyone…” I say and he looks at me again. “That’s your problem you can never mean to hurt anyone but you do and then you expect everyone to just understand. Did you think I was joking when we made all those plans? Did you think I was saying all those things to change my mind later?” Garett says and I feel terrible. He glares at Nicole and she looks down at her hands and he lets out a whisper of a laugh. “Okay… So since you’re marrying her cousin all is forgiven right… Great. Well just remember that someone almost killed you over this bitch…” He says and I can see the hate burning hot in his eyes. Nicole’s eyes shoots full of tears and my heart skips a beat. I feel hot and my hand starts shaking. “Garett please stop…I know you’re hurt but this is unnecessary” I say but he clearly doesn’t care. He hated me and I know he had every right to be mad at me, I had made plans with him and Nicole but I never thought it to be permanent. I can’t also understand why they were so upset because if it was either one of them telling me that they had changed their minds and planed on doing something else with their lives, I would have supported them. But I guess Garett was right; I don’t really care about other people and there comings and goings because I have been so unattached that it will never bother me what they do because it doesn’t really directly affect my life or the things I want to do with my life. I look up at Garett and sigh and try to smile but he avoids me completely. “Good luck abroad… If you ever make it there” He says and looks at Nicole again and walks away. I watch him leave and I take deep breath. I can’t believe that had just happened. Garett was so angry at me and I don’t blame him. I remember how my father had reacted when I told him that I was planning on going to London and it was border line where Garett was right now. I sit down next to Nicole again and look at her. I see the hurt in her eyes and I feel guilty all over for her being attacked instead of me that night. I look down at my food and wasn’t really hungry and neither was Nicole. “Check please” I tell the waitress when she comes walking pass our table.
Hey… I’m going to have to cancel today. I’m not feeling well. I type the message and feel horrible for lying to him. He has been such a good team player and we were nearly done with our assignment. We still had a week to finish so I figure missing a day won’t make a difference. I really wasn’t in the mood for people right now. My whole altercation with Garett has left a very bad taste in my mouth. Is everything okay? I read the message and then I sigh. Yeah I just had rough day. I reply and start walking to my car. I can always come over to your place if that would make you feel better. I read the message and frown. For a second my mind was contemplating the option. But I quickly brush it off. No… We can always just pick up tomorrow. I type and get into my car. Okay okay… But you have to know I’m very disappointed that I’m not going to be able to see you today. I love spending time with your mind. I read the message and smile. Yeah yeah… I will see you tomorrow. I say and start the car and drive off.
The house is empty and I feel out of place in the many rooms. I walk outside and sit beside the pool. I look around my back yard and notice all the places that someone could have climbed over the wall and enter the house. I feel a chill run down my spine. Maybe leaving the school early wasn’t really such a great idea. Being alone with my thoughts wasn’t the best of places to be right now. I look at my phone and see another message and I dread who it can be. Hey… I really feel awful for everything Garett had said to you. But I kind of get what he was saying. I read Nicole’s message. I sigh and know that I should maybe apologise to Garett. It is kind of hard knowing that you can just leave us behind like all our years really didn’t mean a thing. I feel bad. I love you Annabelle and I was taken aback a little but I also understand why you are doing this. And please know I don’t blame you for what happen to me… It wasn’t your fault… I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Well we chat later. I see you left early. Hope you feel better soon. Nic. I read the closing line and then I put my phone down and stare over the water of our pool. This going from bad to worse I fear. I get up and walk up inside the house. Halfway up the stairs I hear the bell ring. I freeze and wonder who it could be. I walk to the door and open it. I see his car standing in front of the gate and him standing by the intercom. I see him look up and I swear my heart stopped for like a split second. What was he doing here? I go back into the house and press the button to open the gate. I see him running back to his car and get inside. He drives in and I close the gate again. I see him park his car next to mine and climb out. He was wearing his sweat pants and a tank top. He must have come from practice since he was still wearing his rugby cleats. I see him looking at me guilty. “I know I should have called or texted but my…” He begins and I know what his going to say next “Let me guess your phone’s battery died” I say and he smiles at me the brightest smile I had ever seen. “Yeah I think I might need a new phone or a new battery” He says and walks right up to me for a second I thought he was going to kiss me and my breath gets caught a little. “Something like that…” I say and fold my arms in front of my chest. “What are you doing here?” I say and look at him questioning but also trying to be as calm as possible. He smiles and runs back to his car. He takes out his back pack and comes walking back to me. He smiles again and I feel light hearted at the sight of him. “I saw that you weren’t in English so I figured that I had to bring you the notes since you never missed a class… And I was worried. You never miss a class… what’s up?” He says and suddenly his face looks serious and worried. I hate that he is not just a rugby buffoon; it would have made all of this so much easier. I turn and start walking back inside the house with James following right behind me. “Wow… This is a something out of a picture book” he says as he walks inside the house and takes it all in. My mother had great taste but she like keeping things simple and classic. He touches the walls of the foyer that was plastered with pieces of blue and white glass mosaic style. I look at him as we enter the lounge and he looks around in awe. “Wow… Your house is amazing” he says and I smile at him. “You can put your stuff here” I say and open the door to the back yard. He puts his book sack
down on the kitchen floor and walks with me outside. His mouth falls open and I feel like rolling my eyes at him. I grab my phone and leave him standing on the patio as I go back inside and sits myself down at the kitchen table. A moment passes and he comes back inside. He looks at me and smiles. “Would you like something to drink?” I say and he comes and sits down next to me. “Sure… A glass of water would be fine” He says and I get up and walk to the fridge. I take out the water canister. I pour him a glass and put the kettle on. He drinks it and comes walking to me and looks into my eyes. My insides tremble and I feel hot and hazed. He puts the glass in the basin and just stares at me for a while. I feel uncomfortable and my hands are sweaty. “You know coffee is never a good remedy when you’re stressing it only makes it worse as it causes heart palpitations.” He says and points to the kettle. “I’m not stressing” I say quickly and try to gather my composer. “Well you’re not sick so I guess the only thing that could make you miss class for I would say the first time in your life must be stress about some underlying issue you’re trying to avoid” He says and I feel like he can see right into my soul. I look at him with the; is it that obvious look. “Or is this part of your new life changing phase… Missing class and not caring about school” He says and I roll my eyes at him. I was so tired of people say those words to me. “You know I’m so sick and tired of everyone telling me how and what I should feel” I feel the anger flaring up in me and my hands start shaking. “So why does this bother you now?” He says and I look at him hard. “It doesn’t” I say and pour the water in my cup and he moves backwards and leans against the counter to put some very welcomed distance between us. “I know…That’s why you’re so angry right?” He says and I look at him. His eyes were inviting to me open up to him and told me it was safe to share my heart with him. “I’m going to London. I got a job there… And now everyone is making me feel shitty for doing something for me.” I say and I see his eyes widen in surprise. “London… Wow… That is…” I see him searching for the right words to say and I feel the lecture coming on and I dread it. “That is amazing… Where in London?” he says and I look at him openly surprised as he smiles at me. “London City itself…I got a job at a publishing house as a proof reader” I say and smile at him. He frowns and waits. “A proof reader… Really? Isn’t that a little beneath you?” He says and I smiles at him coyly. “Yes…but I guess we all have to start somewhere” I say and he gives me an agreeing look. “So I take it your family isn’t really too happy about the move” He says and I sigh. “It’s not really my family that bothers me but my friends… Well Garett in particular, he acts as if I owe it to him to stay. I mean yeah when we started here he was one of the first friends I had made and yes we made plans together for our future… But times have changed and I well… I guess I just thought that his plans had changed just like mine has… Well… Up until a while ago mine was still kind of the same but with everything that has happened recently… I just feel like I needed a change.” I say and James listens to me attentively. He presses his lips together and gives me a tight smile. “Well you have touched people’s lives and it’s only natural for them to want you around forever just to put that dose of Annabelle in their day that had kept them going on through the years” he says and I see the sadness in his eyes. He was sad to that I was leaving. But why? We hadn’t even spent so much time together. He come walking closer to me and leans in and touches my cheek softly. I feel hot under his touch and then he turns around and walks to his bag and takes out his book. He comes back and hands it to me. “I can get it from you tomorrow” he says and looks at me and then at the clock. It was almost seven and I know my parents should be back any minute now from their conference. I take the book from him and get up. He picks up his bag and we start walking to the front door. I look at him and he looks at me and I see his jaw twitch. He touches me cheek again and with is index finger rubs along my lip. I feel my lips part and before I could take my next breath he lips met mine; soft and comforting. I feel my breath get caught and then he put his hand on my waist holding me down. Good too since I could feel my whole body become light. He kisses me again and my lips kiss him back. I slide my hand over his stomach all along his tight six pack and feel him moves as I touch him. He parts my lips with his tongue and suck my gently to his. He strokes it with his gently and the inside of my mouth gets wet as I taste him soft and moist inside my mouth. My stomach is filled with butterflies and my hands are shaking. The kiss intensifies and I feel his breath growing heavy and hot. His hands move from my hip up my back and up to the nape of my neck and he holds me in place. He kisses me hard and I kiss him hard too. He tastes so good. I feel something inside me move and my core starts throbbing as he plays with the hairs at the back of my neck. He leans in closer to me and his chest grazes my nipples and they become hard under the sudden stimulation. Suddenly he pulls away and I feel my breath rushing into my lungs. He puts his forehead against mine and closes his eyes. “I have to go… If I stay another second I will not be able to control myself” he says and I feel stupid and dumbstruck. “I will see you tomorrow” He says and opens the door. I pull myself together and watch as he walks to his car and don’t know if should call him back or just let him leave. He starts the car and sits looking at me for a while and I feel sad at him leaving like this. I just had my first kiss and it was amazing and I wanted more. Suddenly I see the gate open and frown but then I see the car coming up the street. One of my father’s very bad habits and my mother hated it. James looks at me and smiles. I smile back and he blows me a kiss. I lift my hand and wave to him as he waits for my father to pull in and then he pulls out. My father stops next to him and my heart stops for a bit; then I see the two of them shaking hands and my father smiling at him. I sigh with relieve and give him one last wave. I wait for them to get out and I see my mother smiling at me as she approaches me. “James King” She says and I smile at her. “Yes mother…” I say as we walk inside. “Those eyes remind me of your father” She says and looks at me approvingly. I wonder what that means but I’m still too caught up in what happened a few minutes ago. That kiss set my whole body on fire. My father comes inside and looks around the as if he was looking for something indicating that something had happened. “No dad… We didn’t fuck…” I say and walk up the stairs. I suddenly feel annoyed and roll my eyes. I walk up the stairs and into my room with a low giggling in the pit of my stomach. I fall on my bed and lie staring at the ceiling. I had always imagined how it would be… When I started my first year of University I thought it would have happened already but I never sat down long enough to build some sort of interest to someone. Garett used to tease me and offer to be my first but it was weird. He was very much interested in men and just the thought of what he has done with men grossed me out a little. We tried kissing a few time but it would end in a huge laughing moments and hundreds of euws… I always wanted my first time to be with someone who wanted me and who I wanted. It was like my mother said, I should want him more than he wanted me, but with having no experience in dating or guys or anything romantic for that matter how can I be sure that this was it. I mean I had never kissed a guy before and this one kiss can’t just be the decider for the rest of my life. Roll on my stomach and feel disappointed. There might be guys out there in the world that kisses much better than James does and if I hold on to him right now I might never know. I hear my phone go off and I grab it off the bedside table. I hope I didn’t intrude or make you feel weird…I really just couldn’t resist any longer. I read the message and feel the excitement inside me come alive again. I sit up and think about what I should reply. I guess it was bound to happen sometime or the other. I type back and feel the cynical me come out and sit next to me. What was I doing? Trying to make him lose interest in me? I shake my head and wait for his reply. You really think it would have happened? I read and then I bite my lip. Well with everything you had said to me over the last few weeks kind of made me anticipate that you would make some sort of move… I just didn�
�t think it would be a kiss. I say and wait. I’ve wanted to kiss you since that night in the Neelsie when you almost walked out on me but I was afraid that I would lose you forever. I read and my heart skips a beat as I read the word forever. I don’t know about forever… But I think I understand what you mean. I type back and get up from my bed and walk over to the window. I look out and see something lying on the table next to the pool. I try to focus my eyes and then I see it. It was another rose. I drop the phone as it goes off again and I look hard at the flower just lying there. I look around the back yard to see if anyone was looking back at me but there was nothing that looked out of the ordinary. It was getting dark and I wonder how long the rose had been lying there. I run out of my room down the stairs and through the kitchen right outside and see the rose still lying there. I walk closer and pick it up from the table and one of the thorns prick my finger. I see the red blood seeping out of the little hole and I put it to my lips and look around the yard for anyone looking at me. I see someone coming up behind me and I see my mother standing with her fingers to her lips as she looks at the rose in my hand. I see the fear glistening in her eyes and I feel my breath get caught up in my throat. She comes walking over to me and we both see the scuff marks against the wall where he must have entered and escaped. I look at her and then my father joins us. “You’re not safe here… I think you should go and stay with your Aunt for a while until we can get some more security around here.” My father says and I put the rose back down on the table and we walk back inside. I feel like I was walking on air. I walk to the kitchen table and sit down. I look down and see James’s book lying on the table and I touch it slowly and think about him for a second. “Let me call Adele and find out if it’s okay for you to stay there for the weekend” My mother says and I she walks over to the phone and starts dialling the number. I look at her and get up and walk up the stairs. I enter my room and sit down on my bed. Why was this happening to me? I think about the roses and the panties and the mask man and Nicole being attacked and the Facebook messages. Why was this happening? Who is the person doing this to me? What had I done to him to make him hate me or rather love me so? I look around the room to see if there is anything that can give me some indication to why this was happening. I see my phone lying on the ground and I see the light flashing. I walk over to it. You’re lips are so soft and sweet… I could kiss you forever. I read the words and sigh. Hey… I’m sorry I’m out of line. I read and look at the words I just never thought that I would ever get the chance to kiss you. You have always been a dream of mine and now it was like heaven, finally having you. I read the words and my heart’s starts beating hard in my chest. Annabelle? Annabelle; are you still there? Are you mad at me had I said something wrong? I read the words and think about everything that had happened the last few weeks. Ever since James and I had come into my life and we started working together on this assignment all these things started to happen. I’m still here… But I should tell you that don’t have me James. Just because you kissed me doesn’t make us an item. I type back and feel angry. Well you kissed me back so I know you feel something for me too… If you hadn’t you would have stopped me and you would have been offended. I read the words and look up at the ceiling. He was right I feel something for him, something I had never felt before. But I can’t just fall head over heels for the first guy who I share a kiss with; my first kiss with. People kiss all the time it doesn’t mean its true love. I saw you kissing a girl the other night… Did you feel the same way about her as you feel about me? Am I just another skirt you’re chasing? Does the fact that I’m still a virgin excite you? You think you can break me and tell the whole world how you fucked the Ice Princess? I couldn’t stop myself. I was angry and I hated the way he made me feel. Weak and pathetic and I feel my hands shaking. You know what… You’re right. We should just keep this platonic. I’m sorry I kissed you. It won’t happen again. I was wrong. I thought that we had something, I don’t know… special… Different. I have kissed girls yes but no-one had made me feel the way you had, before I even kissed you I knew how good you would taste but I was afraid that this would happen. You would think of me as an opportunist and a pig who only wants one thing. I read the words and sit down on my bed again. And for a second I thought that you might have seen the real me… But I guess not. I put the phone down and close my eyes for a second. I think we are about done with the paper. I will email my last few thoughts and you can put it all together. Thank you for working on this assignment it was great getting to know you. Or at least the side of you you wanted me to see. It was great to be myself a little; even if it was only for a brief moment. Have a good night. I read the words and the tears threaten to spill over my eyes. Good night James. Thank you for your hard work and commitment. I appreciate it. I type back and hit send. I can’t believe it was over. Over before it even started. It was better this way. Getting attached to him would only mean one more person who would hate me for leaving to London and make me feel shit about doing something for me. I can’t have James. He was too broken to think straight and I know it won’t be long before he replaces me with another love sick girl hypnotises by those beautiful blue eyes. I remember the day at the sports, how he had looked at me, how our hands brushed each other’s lightly. Then I hear his friends laughing and I see his smile. He was a dick back then and he probably is a dick right now, his just learned to be slicker about it. Yeah. You’re wrong about me Annabelle. You have no idea how wrong you are… But I hope our paths cross again one day so that I get the chance to show you how wrong you are. I read the words and my breath get caught and my heart pounds hard in my chest. Goodnight my Ice Queen… Love James. I don’t know how to feel and stand up walk to the window and look out into the distance. Oh James… Why are you doing this to me? Why are you making this so hard? I hear a knock on the door and look as my mother comes walking in. “Adele says it’s okay for you to come and stay with them for a while” She says and comes walking over to me. She holds me close and I put my head back on her shoulder. “Mom… Who is this person? What does he want with me? What had I done to him to make him want to hurt me like this?” I say and close my eyes. “People are strange and have their own way of thinking. There is nothing you can do that can make this person change his mind about you or about what his thinking. His sick and he needs help and I really hope that the police find him before your father and the people who love you find him” She says and I know she is trying to make me feel better, but it wasn’t working. “Come pack a few things and let’s get you over there” She says and lets me go and I start looking around the room. I wonder if he has been in here. I pack a small bag and take my phone. That was the last message from James and I feel disappointed and wish I had not been such a bitch. I walk down the stairs and see my parents waiting for me and I sigh. I never thought that my life would be turned so upside down in such a short space of time. This was the worst for me, being forced out of my own house. First it was out of Res and now here. I feel the anger dig its nails into my heart and the tears of resentment rushing in. “Come… Let’s go and please no-one is to know where you are staying… Please Annabelle. You have to realize how serious this” I hear my father say and I know that he is only trying to keep me safe. “I will get some camera’s set up around the house in the meantime” He says and I don’t even hear what he is saying. I’m looking at all the faces in the streets as we drive to Summer’s house but no-one looks like my stalker. I have a stalker. A serious stalker.
Loving Annabelle Page 18