Eyes of a Stalker

by Valerie Sherrard

  “Shelby?” Mom said. “Is something wrong, dear?”

  I shook my head and tried to explain but I couldn’t quite find the words to say how I just felt overwhelmingly thankful and happy to have my life back to normal again. How amazing it was to be able to enjoy something as simple as sharing a meal without the burden I’d been carrying around, wondering where the stalker was, what he was doing, what he was thinking, and worst of all, what he was planning.

  In that flash of time, it hit me that even if Greg and I didn’t get back together, I could stand it. Over the past week there had been many moments when I thought I just couldn’t take any more of the hurt, when all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and stay there. Now I knew that, with or without Greg as my boyfriend, I was going to be okay.

  If you’ve ever had a broken heart, you know how horrible it is, and how, when it first happens, it seems impossible that anything in the world will ever really be right again. But I think that moment always comes, like it did with me, when you just know that somehow you will get through it.

  Annie’s words floated through my head. “It does-n’t always hurt this much.” I knew she was right, that it is possible to go on with a broken heart. I’d been acting at it, pretending nothing was wrong, for a week, and there had definitely been snatches of time where I really hadn’t been consumed with the pain of the break-up.

  That didn’t mean I wasn’t hoping with all my heart that we’d be able to fix things between us, but if we didn’t, I knew I could stand it.

  I’d just finished sorting out my thoughts on all of this when the phone rang. The first few seconds of the ring made me cringe inside, and I had to remind myself that it wasn’t going to be a call for me from the stalker.

  Mom got it and spoke quietly for a moment before covering the mouthpiece and turning to Dad and me.

  “It’s Alyson Stark,” she said. “She wants to do a follow-up piece now that the police have someone in custody. Kind of a thank you to everyone who tried to help by calling in anything they saw that was suspicious. What do you think?

  “I don’t want another problem with the police,” Dad said. “They weren’t exactly thrilled that we talked to her before.”

  “Yes, but that was just because we could have compromised the investigation, even though we didn’t because we were careful about what we said to her,” Mom pointed out. “And in any case, it all worked out okay and the investigation is over. I think it would be nice for us to acknowledge the help the community gave.”

  “Oh, I don’t suppose it will hurt. Shelby, do you mind?”

  “No, I don’t care, but Betts and I were planning to go to the mall later. Would she be coming over soon?”

  Mom went back to the phone and talked for another minute or so. After she hung up she told us that Mrs. Stark would be along shortly.

  Betts and I did the dishes while we waited, me washing and her drying. We’d just finished when the knock came.

  “Shelby, honey, you must be so relieved to have this whole thing over with,” Mrs. Stark said as she whipped out a notebook and pen. “Why, when I think of my Nora being the very same age as you and I picture her going through something like this, I just shudder.

  “Now, there was one thing I didn’t get confirmed when I spoke to the police, and that was the identity of the stalker. It was the Green boy, wasn’t it? Eric Green?”

  “Did you ask the police that question?” Dad asked before I could say anything.

  “Well, I, uh, I’m not sure if they’re allowed to confirm that.”

  “Because the suspect is a minor?”

  “Something like that,” she said vaguely. “They don’t really explain things very well sometimes. You know how it is.”

  “My understanding,” Mom said, “is that you’re not allowed to give out the name of a minor who’s accused of a crime.”

  “Well, no,” Mrs. Stark admitted. “We can’t print the name.”

  “Then why do you need it?” Dad asked. She blushed, and stammered something unintelligible. It occurred to me that she’d just been busted digging for gossip instead of actual news.

  “Maybe we can just go ahead and talk about the things you can print,” Mom suggested.

  Mrs. Stark recovered from her embarrassment with amazing speed. She brightened right up and launched into some quick questions about our reaction to the news that a suspect had been apprehended. Then she got a “thank you” statement from us and wrapped it up. The whole thing probably didn’t take more than five minutes.

  Mom and Dad saw her to the door, but after they’d said goodbye, Dad turned with a kind of disgusted look on his face.

  “That was nothing more than a fishing expedition,” he said. “Abusing her position, trying to get information she’s really not entitled to. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to talk to her again.”

  Mom agreed, though she added that maybe they should give her the benefit of a doubt and that it’s probably just in Mrs. Stark’s nature to ask questions and dig for information, because of her job.

  If Betts thought anything about that, or realized that gossipers aren’t always viewed kindly, she sure didn’t mention it to me. Her mind was on going to the mall… and one other thing.

  “Did I tell you that the party at Tyrone’s place was changed to tonight?” she asked. (She had told me — about twenty times.) “Now that you’re single again, you should go.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not? Is it in case… oh, never mind.”

  “In case what?”

  “You know, in case Greg is there. With Tina.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Istared at Betts, hardly able to believe that she’d just casually told me that Greg might be going to Tyrone’s party with Tina. How could she not realize that it would hurt me to hear something like that?

  I reminded myself that I’d been acting as if I’d wanted the break-up, so there’d be no reason for Betts to think I’d care if Greg was already seeing someone else.

  And, really, that was what was so shocking to me: the idea that he’d found a new girlfriend so quickly. It was as if I’d meant nothing to him.

  That would have been the time to come clean with Betts, to tell her the truth about the whole thing, but pride held me back.

  So, just like I’d been doing ever since I broke up with Greg, I swallowed it all down and forced myself to smile. And then I said the dumbest thing I’d said in a long time.

  “I don’t care if Greg is there with ten other girls. In fact, I think I will go to the party.”

  Betts squealed and hugged me and didn’t seem to notice that I was blinking faster than normal, or that my smile was phoney and frozen in place.

  “This is great!” she said. “Maybe we’ll both get new boyfriends tonight. That would be cool.”

  I thought it would be anything but cool. I also thought she was kind of getting a bit ahead of herself as far as Kevin was concerned, but I didn’t say either of those things. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I could speak properly just then.

  “Anyway, let’s hurry up and get ready to go shopping. I want to look for something new to wear tonight.” Betts was shifting into high gear — her normal speed when there’s shopping involved. “Hey! You should too!”

  Buying new clothes was the last thing on my mind. The only reason I’d wanted to go to the mall at all was to try to finish my Christmas shopping. I’d even thought maybe I’d find something just right for Greg, that’s how sure I’d been that we’d make up.

  While I got ready to head out, I wondered what on earth had made me decide to go to Tyrone’s party. It was like I was drawn to it against my will, as if a magnetic force was making me go. It really didn’t make any sense. And yet, I knew I wasn’t going to back out, no matter how awful it might feel to be at a party with Greg — not as his girlfriend, but as his ex — while he danced and laughed with someone else.

  You did this to me, I thought, picturing Eric’s face. I never did a s
ingle thing to you, but you started this whole thing and scared me and forced me to do this.

  In that moment, the most powerful anger I could ever remember feeling filled me to the point that I was actually shaking. I wanted to scream until my throat was raw, to throw things until exhaustion overtook me. Mostly, I wanted to make Eric Green suffer for what he’d done.

  What I did instead was take some deep breaths and join Betts in the kitchen. Mom glanced up from some pictures she had spread over the table.

  “Shelby?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you all right, dear?”

  “Fine,” I said. You can fool a lot of people, but it’s almost impossible to fool your mother! “I, uh, have a bit of a headache, but I’m sure it’ll pass when I get some fresh air.”

  “You’re sure?” She neither looked nor sounded convinced, but I knew she wouldn’t push it with Betts there.

  “Yup. Anyway, we have to go.”

  “Well, have a good time. Oh! Just a sec. Betts tells me you two are looking for something to wear to a party this evening.”

  “Uh, maybe.”

  “Here’s something to put toward it.” She dug into her wallet and passed me a couple of twenties.

  “Thanks, Mom.” I took the money and stuck it into my purse, knowing I’d just give it back later.

  Betts and I started toward the mall and I have to admit that it was nice to be able to walk along the streets of Little River without wondering and worrying about being stalked. We window-shopped as we passed through town, making note of any stores we might want to check out later on.

  The mall is only about a twenty-minute walk from my place, but it took us almost twice that to get there. When we did, Betts tried to talk me into trying on clothes with her, but I insisted I had to get my shopping finished. We split up and I promised to meet her at Francine’s Boutique a bit later on.

  I’d already bought things for Mom and Dad and all of my grandparents, as well as a couple of cat toys with catnip in them for Ernie. It’s a habit of mine to finish all of the family members first, and then buy for anyone else on my list. This year there had only been Betts, Greg, and Mr. Stanley, but, as you know, Greg was no longer on the list.

  It didn’t take long to find just the right thing for Betts. She loves earrings for special occasions, and as soon as I saw a pair with a snowman couple (I guess that would actually be one snowman, and one snow-woman) I knew it would be perfect for her.

  Mr. Stanley was a little harder, but I finally decided on a big, fluffy pair of slippers that were made to look like bear paws. I remembered him mentioning that the nursing home was a nice place, but they never had the heat high enough to suit him and his feet would get cold a lot.

  I was on my way back to where Betts was (her gift hidden away in my purse) when a pretty satin lipstick holder caught my attention in a store that mainly sells purses, hats, and gloves. It was pale blue with two tiny daffodils crossed over each other on the front — a design that kind of stood out amid all the red and green holiday stuff.

  On impulse, I bought it for Annie Berkley. We’d never been close friends or anything, and she’s a very shy person, so her kindness the other day had really meant something to me. I’d just write her a note on a card telling her so, and wish her a happy Christmas on the last day of school before the holidays.

  “Hey, Shelby!”

  I turned to see Ben Hebert and Jimmy Farrell hurrying toward me.

  “Hi you guys.”

  “That is so freaky about Eric,” Jimmy said. “What do you think will happen to him?”

  “I have no idea, really,” I felt uncomfortable talking about it, but didn’t want to be rude either. “And, uh, I was just on my way…”

  “He’ll probably get sent to the nuthouse,” Ben interrupted. “Anyone who’d do something that weird should be locked up, don’t you think?”

  “Well, he needs help, for sure,” I said, wishing I hadn’t been drawn into the conversation at all.

  “I always thought he was a bit strange,” Ben said. I expected I’d be hearing a lot of that over the coming weeks.

  “I really have to…”

  “Hey!” Ben interrupted for the second time. “We just saw Betts and she told us you guys are going to the party at Tyrone’s place tonight. It should be pretty cool. Everyone’s going to be there.”

  “Okay, then…”

  “Yeah, so I’ll see you there,” Jimmy said. He looked embarrassed.

  “Uh, okay, see you later.” I gave a wave, even though I was standing right beside them, and walked away as quickly as I could.

  I got to Francine’s Boutique just as Betts was coming out of the dressing room with her arms full of clothes. She sorted through them, kept two pairs of pants and three tops, marched to the cash register, and passed the salesgirl a credit card.

  “I can’t decide,” she said innocently, “but I need some new things anyway. You gonna try some things on here?”

  “I can’t,” I said, and added, before she could protest, “I need to go home and lie down for a while.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s too bad. Do you want me to go with you?”

  “No, you stay and shop or whatever. I’ll talk to you later and we can make plans.”

  “All right.” Betts came over and gave me a quick hug. “Feel better, okay?”

  “I’ll be fine. I just need to rest for a bit. Have fun shopping.”

  I headed toward the nearest exit, passing the phone where Eric had made the call that tripped him up. Something made me stop and stare at it for a minute, as if it could explain why a kid who seemed perfectly normal would flip out that way. Then I hurried out the door and made it home in record time.

  Mr. Stanley was there, having a chat with my dad and, of course, stroking Ernie. Forgetting about lying down, I joined them for a while and then helped Mom get dinner on the table. When I called the men to come and eat, Dad helped Mr. Stanley up. He looked small and frail next to my father.

  As if he’d read my mind, he smiled over at me. “They say you get shorter when you get older. It’s true too,” he said, gesturing to a picture on the wall behind him. “There was a time if I’d been standing in front of this picture, you wouldn’t have seen it at all. Now, you can see pretty near the whole thing.” His eyes twinkled then and he added, “Why, would you believe I used to be six-one?”

  I giggled at that. Mr. Stanley is only an inch or two taller than me, though it’s hard to tell because of his stoop.

  “Okay, maybe it was five-seven. Can’t a feller claim a few inches in his old age?”

  “Sure you can.” I pulled his chair out and Dad helped him settle into it. Mom asked him if he’d like to say the blessing, like she does every time he visits.

  “Heavenly Father,” he intoned, “thank you very much for these good people and the food we’re going to share, and for watching over this little girl here, who we all love. Amen.”

  My eyes were moist as I opened them and started passing around the food. In no time, though, I was listening to Mr. Stanley’s stories, just like my folks were.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Betts and I had just started out walking toward Tyrone’s place, which is on the outskirts of town and a good half hour away, when we heard a car horn. We turned toward the sound in time to hear someone call my name.

  “Shelby! I thought that was you.” As the window came down I saw that it was Webster.

  “Oh, hello,” I answered. I felt immediately uncomfortable, remembering how he’d acted at the last book club meeting he’d attended. I also got thinking about what Jimmy and Sheri had overheard Grimes saying about him not taking his medications. But the real discomfort hit when I remembered that he’d been questioned as my potential stalker. What must he think of me?

  “Kind of a cold night for you girls to be out walking,” he said. His voice sounded calm and normal.

  “I know! And we’re going all the way to Standover Ridge,” Betts chimed in. “We’ll
be frozen by the time we get there.”

  It really wasn’t that cold out and I could see what Betts was up to, but I was powerless to do anything about it. The next thing I knew, Webster was saying he was going that way and offering us a drive. Betts was in the car in a flash and I reluctantly got in beside her. I wondered how she could just jump into a car with someone she’d never met before, just because he happened to know my name.

  I’m probably only hearing alarm bells because of the stalker thing, I thought. On the other hand, even before that whole business, I’d always been more cautious than Betts.

  Five minutes later, when we were getting out of Webster’s car and thanking him for the drive, I felt a little silly. He’d been perfectly fine, chatting with us about school and the usual stuff adults talk about with teens. I figured he must be taking his pills again.

  We knocked at the front door of Tyrone’s place but no one came. It wasn’t hard to figure out why.

  “They can’t hear us,” Betts said, turning the door-knob. It wasn’t locked, so she just pushed the door open and we went in.

  The music was as loud as you’d expect, which made conversation a bit of a problem. This wasn’t stopping anyone there, as far as I could tell. There were a lot of voices talking over the song that was playing in the downstairs rec room, which is where Betts and I made our way.

  I saw them as soon as we walked into the room: Greg and Tina. He was sitting on the couch, and she was perched beside him on the arm, smiling down at him in a way that left no doubt about how happy she was to be there with him.

  At my side, I felt Betts stiffen and look at me. I knew she’d seen them too, and was watching for my reaction. I let my gaze drift around the room, doing my best to act as though there wasn’t a horrible ache swelling inside me.

  He saw me. I sensed this even though I didn’t actually see him look over. I told myself that whatever I did, I must not let him know I cared. And then, to my horror, I saw him coming toward me as the song playing on the surround-sound ended.