Never Talk to Strangers

by T. L. Hanigan

  “Nick!” I giggled.

  She squealed, happily, “Yay! When did he ask you?”

  “Tonight, he asked me after dinner.”

  “Oh, my God, yay!” She then yawned and said, “I'm kind of tired, so I'm going to sleep.”

  “Alright,” I laughed. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight!” She said and the line went dead.

  I went on my laptop to delete the account when I saw a message.

  Sk8erBoi: Hey, I’m sorry for the way I acted, it wasn’t cool of me.

  One reply and then I’ll delete it, I thought.

  Sunshine: It’s fine. Thanks for apologizing.

  But he went on.

  Sk8erBoi: Are we okay?

  Sunshine: What do you mean?

  Sk8erBoi: Like we can still talk? You’re not seeing anyone else?

  Sunshine: Not that I feel like it’s any of your business, but I did start seeing someone.

  Sk8erBoi: Well, can I see you?

  Sunshine: No.

  Sk8erBoi: Why not? I want to see you. Your picture is beautiful and I want to kiss your soft pink lips. I bet you're a good kisser.

  Sunshine: What part of "No" do you not understand?

  This was bull. He was really pissing me off. Shaking with disgust and anger, I went to his page to report and block him.

  Why did I ever talk to him!? Ugh! I shut my laptop and put it on my desk. I pulled out my phone and deleted the app off my phone.

  What the hell am I going to do? What about Nick? Should I tell him? I had to tell my brother.

  Opening my bedroom door, I slipped out and went down the hall to his room. When I knocked softly on his bedroom door, only then did I realize that I was shaking.

  He finally opened his door after a few minutes, and he was in his pink footie pajamas. “Are you okay?”

  "No," I whispered. “I'm not.”

  He hugged me, bringing me into his chest. “What happened?”

  Walking into his room, he shut the door behind me. Sitting on his bed, I explained in a bit of a rush, “I was talking to a guy online, and Mom and Dad found out; and now they're mad.” I paused, taking a deep, shaky breath. “He’s being a creep. I just thought that I should let someone know.”

  “Who was it?” Tyler asked.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know his real name.”

  After I told him the site, he started clicking away on his phone. “What’s your username?”

  “Sunshine,” I told him after a moment.

  “Did you put any personal information on your page?” He asked, scrolling on his phone.

  I shook my head, “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Doesn’t look like you did…,” His voice trailed off. “I mean, it says you’re in a few different groups.” Then he asked, “What's his name?”

  "Sk8erBoi."

  He paused, looking at me with a hint of worry in his green eyes. “Like with the number eight and an I?”

  I nodded.

  "Summer,” He paused.

  When he didn’t continue, I asked, “What is it?”

  Tyler sighed. “Um, I think this is a fake profile.”

  I was confused. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean this guy,” he paused, looking apologetic. “This guy isn’t who he says he is.”

  I let out a heavy sigh and shut my eyes. “Well, crap.” I paused. "What the hell am I going to do?” I jumped off his bed, pacing his room.

  “Did you report him?” He asked.

  I nodded. “And blocked him.”

  “Then there’s nothing to worry about,” he smiled.

  I sighed. “Okay.”

  “Okay, now get some sleep. Do you want to sleep in here?” He offered.

  I shook my head. “No, thanks. I'll sleep in my bed tonight.”

  “Alright. Goodnight, Summer.” He said giving me a hug.

  “Goodnight, Tyler.” I hugged him back, then left his room to go to mine.

  Shutting my bedroom door, I changed into my pajamas.

  Crawling into bed, I heard my phone go off. Opening my phone, I opened the message thread with Nick.

  Nick: Have a good sleep, cutie. See you tomorrow.

  I smiled and typed back.

  Me: I hope you made it home safely. See you tomorrow, hun.

  Nick: I did, thank you, dear.

  Smiling, I put my phone down, drifting off to sleep.

  Four

  Sk8erBoi?

  The next morning, I woke up before my alarm had gone off and couldn’t go back to sleep. Instead, I scrolled through the social media app on my phone, when I received a text message.

  Unknown: Good morning, beautiful.

  Confused, I replied asking who it was; they answered immediately.

  Unknown: Sk8erBoi. My account got hacked or something.

  How in the hell did he get my number?

  Me: I think you have the wrong number. Please don’t contact me, again. Thank you.

  Unknown: See you at school, beautiful.

  My heart racing, I screenshot the messages, but paused on sending them to Emily and Danny in our group chat.

  Hey, guys. I don’t think I’m going to school today – I don’t feel good.

  I sighed. Delete, delete, delete…

  Something happened, and I have a really bad feeling about today…

  I deleted that, too. Why did I feel like something bad was going to happen? If my school wasn’t on my profile, which it wasn’t, then why did I feel so worried and scared? And why did I feel like I couldn’t tell my two best friends?

  Beep! Beep! Beep!

  My alarm went off, making me jump. “Stupid alarm,” I muttered to myself, shutting it off.

  Climbing out of bed, I threw on a gray sweater and light blue jeans with holes in the legs. Brushing out my hair and throwing on some makeup, I looked myself over. I knew I looked good and that I should feel good about it, but at that moment, I felt awful about it.

  “Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Summer.” I told my reflection. “It was an honest mistake.” Applying lip gloss, I added, “And it’s never going to happen, again.”

  Making my way downstairs, I smelt fresh breakfast in the air. Tyler was cooking.

  “I love it when my brother cooks.” I say coming into the kitchen, then I noticed Sam cooking with Tyler. “Oh, morning, Sam.”

  “Morning, Summer.” He turned and smiled at me. “Breakfast is almost done. Have a seat.” He turned back to Tyler and whispered something that he was clearly excited about.

  Pulling out my phone, I sat it on the counter, scrolling through the app. Hearing footsteps behind me, I closed my phone, so my mom couldn’t see before she went off to work.

  She sat down next to me and I got up, going to the coffee machine to make myself a cup, in fear she’d bring up the site, again – and I really needed my coffee.

  I heard snickering and I turned around to ask what was so funny, when I saw Nick sitting at the counter. “Nick?” I was pleasantly surprised to see him here. “What are you doing here?”

  “Good morning, to you, too, Summer.” He joked.

  “Wow, Summer,” Tyler and Sam laughed at me.

  “I didn’t mean it like that.” I rolled my eyes. “I mean, like, you’re here.” I paused while pouring creamer into my coffee. “It’s not too soon for that?”

  "It’s just breakfast.” Tyler turned around and added, “They come over for breakfast, sometimes. Don’t make it weird.”

  I bit my lip. I didn’t forget, I had just never really talked to Nick before. Plus, I would normally sleep in. I felt slightly awkward – and kind of upset that my brother didn't warn me. Though I didn't say anything else about it.

  “Would you like some coffee?” I asked Nick, taking a sip.

  “No, but thank you.”

  Sitting back down next to him, I could feel his eyes on me. “You look beautiful.” Nick had this look in his deep brown eyes at I only ever saw Danny and Emily giving each other.


  “Thank you,” I blushed, but tried to hide it.

  I quietly ate my food, feeling nervous, but a lot better now that I had food and coffee.

  “I had a good time last night.” Nick whispered to me.

  I blushed and nodded, “I did, too.”

  “You blush a lot.” He smiled.

  That made me blush even more, and I tried to hide my face. Nick laughed lightly at me.

  Though I couldn’t stop thinking about the message from that creep. It made me sick. I was terrified something was going to happen.

  When we had finished eating, Tyler and Sam were cleaning up breakfast, talking between themselves. Glancing over at Nick, I knew it was the right thing to do. Even if we were just going to the dance together, I felt that I should be honest with him.

  “Nick,” I asked, softly, “Can you help me with my books?”

  “Sure,” he smiled and we went upstairs to my bedroom.

  In my room, I shut the door slightly, and turned to him. “Um, can I talk to you about something?”

  “Yeah, of course, what is it?” He asked concern. “Are you okay?”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer. “I know that we just went on a date and that we’re just going to Winter Formal, but I need to be honest with you.”

  “Summer, if you think it’s too fast, we can slow down.” He told me. “I would like to get to know you.”

  Me and my big mouth, I thought. “It’s not that, actually, but thank you.” I smiled. “I’d like to get to know you, too.”

  He gave me a small smile. “What’s bothering you?”

  “Well, um,” I sat down on my window seat, and I offered him to sit next to me. Once he did, I continued. “A few days before we went on our date, Emily suggested that I download the app to find a date.” I paused. “So, I did.”

  He looked away from me. “I see.”

  “There was this guy that was being weird, and Em had said it was a red flag. He was just being a major creep.” My hands felt sweaty, and I rubbed them on my pants. “Then, after our date, I went on there to delete it and he was being creepy, again. So, I reported and blocked him.” I paused, “And I don’t know how he got my number, but he did and he said he’s going to see me at school today.” My phone started ringing just then and I looked to see that it was a block number. A rush of fear came over me. I pushed the sleep button on my phone, setting it back down.

  I looked back at him and he was looking at me now.

  Waiting for his response, I added, softly, “I’m sorry I dumped this on you.”

  “Don’t be sorry.” He took my hand in his. “I’m glad that you’re being honest with me.”

  My phone rang again and I picked it up to find a blocked number calling, again.

  “Everything okay?” He asked his face full of concern.

  “Yeah,” I said waving it off. “It’s just a blocked number.” Once again, my phone rang with a blocked number. "What the hell?"

  “Do you want me to answer it?” He asked.

  “No, it’s okay. They can leave a voicemail.” Putting down my phone, I turned to Nick. “Thank you, though.”

  He nodded. “You’re welcome.”

  Getting up, I grabbed my backpack and a few school supplies that I had out on my desk.

  “So,” Nick stood up, walking over to me.

  Turning to him, I tucked my hair behind my ear. “So?” I smiled, biting my lip, waiting for him to continue.

  “Am I supposed to wait before asking you on another date?”

  Pressing my lips together, I thought for a moment. “Probably.” Then I laughed, shaking my head.

  Nick took a step towards me. “How about lunch?”

  “Dinner, breakfast, and then lunch?” I laughed. “Sounds pretty good to me.”

  “Today?” Nick asked.

  I smiled at him, and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

  Just then, my phone rang again. Walking over to the window seat, I picked up my phone. Rolling my eyes, I finally pushed to answer and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

  "Sunshine?" Asked a male voice I didn't know.

  "Who is this?" I asked.

  "Your voice is so beautiful; I can't wait to see you."

  I froze. I couldn't move. It was that stupid guy from that site. "If you don't leave me alone, I'll call the cops."

  The line went dead.

  “Summer?” Nick asked softly. I jumped at the light touch on my arm. “Are you okay?”

  Shoving my phone in my pocket, I turned to him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I told him, trying to smile.

  He opened his mouth but shut it, again.

  I sighed, fluttering my eyes shut. I told him I wanted to be honest with him, and then I turn around and lie. “Actually, no. That was him.” I finally say, opening my eyes, again.

  Nick rubbed my arm and squeezed me into a hug. “Don't worry, Summer.”

  “He says he knows where I go to school, Nick.” My voice broke a little. “I don’t know how, but he does. I didn’t tell him; I don’t have any personal information on the site.”

  He didn't say anything for a while, and it scared me. “He's not going to the school.”

  “What if he does?” I asked looking at him again.

  Nick pulled me closer to him. “He won't; and if he does, your brother and I will kick his ass.”

  I chuckled a little. “Thanks,” I whispered.

  “Summer, I really like you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you.” He wiped away a few tears that were running down my face.

  “Promise?” I whispered.

  He smiled at me. “I promise.”

  I hugged him and said, “I'm sorry for dumping this on you.”

  “You’re fine.” He kissed the top of my head. “Now why don't we get you to school, cutie.”

  I chuckled. “Alright.”

  He picked up my school stuff and walked me down the stairs, to the kitchen, where Tyler and Sam were.

  “You two almost ready?” I asked them.

  “Yup.” Tyler said cheery, taking Sam's hand and heading outside.

  Nick and I followed them. Sam and Tyler were already driving away by the time we got outside. Nick opened the car door for me, and I climbed inside.

  “Nick,” I asked after leaving the driveway. “Can we just not go to school?”

  He didn't say anything for a minute. “Summer, it'll be okay. I promise.”

  I sighed and he put his hand on my leg, as if to reassure me.

  Pulling into the school parking lot, we were pretty early so we sat in Nick's warm car for a while, listening to music and talking, when I noticed a man sitting outside of the school on one of the benches. He didn't look like a student, but he didn't look like a teacher either. “Nick?” I asked, feeling a knot in my stomach. “Who's that?”

  He looked up at the man. “I think that's my brother.” Nick seemed slightly confused.

  “You have a brother, too?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I mean, he’s my adopted brother. He’s a year older than me.” He laughed. “I wonder what he's doing here.”

  "Maybe he's waiting for you?” I ask.

  He shook his head. “Eli would've called me.” He looked at his phone then said, “We should probably go inside now.”

  Nick helped me out of the car, and I smiled at him. We started towards the school when Nick stopped to say hello to his brother. “Hey, man. What's up?”

  “Oh, hey. I'm just waiting to meet up with someone.” Eli said.

  “Oh, who?” Nick asked.

  Eli looked around for a minute, “Uh,” Then he looked to his phone, then back at Nick. “I think she'll be here soon.”

  “Alright, well make sure you let Mom and Dad know.” Nick and I started to walk away but then he stopped. “Oh my God, I'm sorry. Eli, this is Summer. She's my date for Winter Formal. Summer, this is my brother Eli.”

  Eli's blue eyes brighten then darkened. “Hello.”

  “Hi,” I say as nice as I can
, although I'm freezing.

  “Nice to meet you, Summer.” I felt like I heard his voice before.

  On the phone. I'm taken aback from this.

  I swallow the lump in my throat and speak as calmly as possible. “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Eli studied me, and I felt extremely uncomfortable. “Have we met before?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so.” Then I added, “Maybe you know my brother, Tyler.”

  “No,” He said slowly. “I don’t think it’s that.”

  I took Nick’s hand, the knot in my stomach growing. “Nick, we should get to class.”

  Nick nodded to Eli. “See ya at home.”

  As Nick and I walked away, I was shaking. Not because I was cold, but because this Sk8erBoi person was Nick's brother. What the hell?

  “You okay, Summer?” Nick asked inside.

  I didn’t answer right away. I couldn’t tell Nick that his brother was the one harassing me. “Yeah, I think so.” I said softly.

  “What are you thinking about?” He asked.

  I looked at him next to me. I know I told him that I wanted to be honest with him, but I couldn’t tell him. He probably wouldn't believe me. I had to keep it to myself. “Nothing.” I said, then smiled up at him. “It's nothing.”

  Although, Nick didn’t believe it for a second.

  ***

  “So, tell me everything.” Emily said, as we walked down the hallway together for lunch.

  “Well, as you know, last night he asked me to be his date for Winter Formal.” I smiled.

  Emily laughed. “I know that, but what is he like?”

  “He’s really sweet.” I told her.

  “That’s it? Just really sweet?”

  I laughed, again. “Well, he likes books.”

  “Is that all you two talked about last night?”

  I rolled my green eyes at her. “No, not all we talked about. Tyler and Sam made us breakfast this morning, too.”

  Emily gasped, excitedly. “He was there this morning?”

  “Yes, he drove over this morning.” In the hallway, between the front doors and the cafeteria, I stopped her. “We’re going to go out for lunch today, so I’m going to wait for him outside.”

  “Do you want me to wait with you?” She asked, but I shook my head.

  “No, that’s okay. Thank you, though.” I gave her a hug.