of. I had to have been vivid enough for her to capture my emotion in that sketch. It didn’t make any sense. I wouldn’t care if Bianca and Britain were a couple – I wouldn’t care if he was with anyone else. My head spun with questions of why I couldn’t remember what I wanted to talk to him about – why I was determined to protect him and others from Bianca…nothing made sense.
I stared at the phone Britain had sent for countless moments before finally deciding to text him.
I let out a breath and texted: ‘you found me’.
He responded immediately: ‘did I get you in more trouble by me sending it – I told the messenger to give it to you and no one else’.
I knew if I told him the messenger had given it to my sister, whoever that was would lose their job. That’s just how it is with Britain and Bianca’s family: if you didn’t do as you were instructed or show proper respect to their family, you’d pay a price. I thought of the guy that had delivered our food the other night; I really did hope he was guilty of some crime and wasn’t used as a martyr for Bianca’s alibi.
I texted back: ‘they had already given me mine back Ill mail this one back to you.’
His response was immediate: ‘it’s yours in case they take yours away again – how’s Salem r u still in trouble.’
I bit my bottom lip as I fought the urge just to turn the phone off and pretend that he didn’t exist anymore.
My stomach tied itself in knots as I texted the words: ‘How did you find me?’
At that moment, the phone began to vibrate with a silent ring. I looked to the short wall, knowing that Kara would hear whatever I said, and I didn’t want her to know I was talking to him. I crawled off my bed and walked to my closet – it wasn’t as big as the one I had at the apartment, but I could still close the door and muffle my voice.
I answered in a whisper, “Hello?”
“ A whisper…,” he said in an amused tone. “You really must be in trouble.”
“ The house echoes; I don’t want my voice to carry.”
“ Were they mad when they saw the phone?” he asked.
“ Yeah…how did you find me?” I asked again.
“ It wasn’t hard…Madison had tags from Salem when she came to see you last month – you said you’d been friends since you were kids – one Google search and...well, there you were.”
“ Stalker,” I said in a flat tone.
“ Did you not want me to know where you were?” he asked in a tone that almost reflected pain.
I squinted my eyes closed and balled my hand into a fist. “I don’t know what I want right now – those drugs have really messed with me….I just want to be alone.”
“ You’re never alone…we both know that,” he said quietly
“ Do we?” I asked, questioning if anyone beyond me knew about the sinister whispers that haunted me.
“ Yeah…” There was an awkward silence. “I just needed to know you were OK. I can tell that you aren’t yourself right now,” he answered tenderly.
“ Am I acting different?” I asked.
“ Just confused – two days ago, we were happy…now you willingly went two and a half hours away from me.”
“ I didn’t go willingly – I wanted to stay there,” I said, regretting that I hadn’t fought harder to stay – Salem wasn’t my secret anymore.
“ With me?” he asked in a charismatic tone.
I hesitated before I answered him. “I just wanted to figure out what I was wanting to talk to you about that night…do you remember?”
“ Us.”
“ There is no us – we’re just friends,” I said shortly.
“ Well…maybe that’s what you wanted to talk to me about…maybe you wanted to change that.”
“ That’s not it,” I said, shaking my head and growing more frustrated with myself.
Silence took over for countless moments, and I started to think of an excuse to get off the phone. Before I could come up with one, he asked, “How did your afternoon go with mom – did you have a family celebration?”
My heart
I stared at the phone Britain had sent for countless moments before finally deciding to text him.
I let out a breath and texted: ‘you found me’.
He responded immediately: ‘did I get you in more trouble by me sending it – I told the messenger to give it to you and no one else’.
I knew if I told him the messenger had given it to my sister, whoever that was would lose their job. That’s just how it is with Britain and Bianca’s family: if you didn’t do as you were instructed or show proper respect to their family, you’d pay a price. I thought of the guy that had delivered our food the other night; I really did hope he was guilty of some crime and wasn’t used as a martyr for Bianca’s alibi.
I texted back: ‘they had already given me mine back Ill mail this one back to you.’
His response was immediate: ‘it’s yours in case they take yours away again – how’s Salem r u still in trouble.’
I bit my bottom lip as I fought the urge just to turn the phone off and pretend that he didn’t exist anymore.
My stomach tied itself in knots as I texted the words: ‘How did you find me?’
At that moment, the phone began to vibrate with a silent ring. I looked to the short wall, knowing that Kara would hear whatever I said, and I didn’t want her to know I was talking to him. I crawled off my bed and walked to my closet – it wasn’t as big as the one I had at the apartment, but I could still close the door and muffle my voice.
I answered in a whisper, “Hello?”
“ A whisper…,” he said in an amused tone. “You really must be in trouble.”
“ The house echoes; I don’t want my voice to carry.”
“ Were they mad when they saw the phone?” he asked.
“ Yeah…how did you find me?” I asked again.
“ It wasn’t hard…Madison had tags from Salem when she came to see you last month – you said you’d been friends since you were kids – one Google search and...well, there you were.”
“ Stalker,” I said in a flat tone.
“ Did you not want me to know where you were?” he asked in a tone that almost reflected pain.
I squinted my eyes closed and balled my hand into a fist. “I don’t know what I want right now – those drugs have really messed with me….I just want to be alone.”
“ You’re never alone…we both know that,” he said quietly
“ Do we?” I asked, questioning if anyone beyond me knew about the sinister whispers that haunted me.
“ Yeah…” There was an awkward silence. “I just needed to know you were OK. I can tell that you aren’t yourself right now,” he answered tenderly.
“ Am I acting different?” I asked.
“ Just confused – two days ago, we were happy…now you willingly went two and a half hours away from me.”
“ I didn’t go willingly – I wanted to stay there,” I said, regretting that I hadn’t fought harder to stay – Salem wasn’t my secret anymore.
“ With me?” he asked in a charismatic tone.
I hesitated before I answered him. “I just wanted to figure out what I was wanting to talk to you about that night…do you remember?”
“ Us.”
“ There is no us – we’re just friends,” I said shortly.
“ Well…maybe that’s what you wanted to talk to me about…maybe you wanted to change that.”
“ That’s not it,” I said, shaking my head and growing more frustrated with myself.
Silence took over for countless moments, and I started to think of an excuse to get off the phone. Before I could come up with one, he asked, “How did your afternoon go with mom – did you have a family celebration?”
My heart
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