I pulled myself from my thoughts of last night as I took another look in the mirror. I ended up choosing jean cut off shorts and a bright yellow tank top. I didn’t really know why I was so concerned with what I was going to wear. Maybe it’s because I like him I thought. I looked at the clock. I only had 5 minutes to get to his house. So I ran downstairs after grabbing some money off my dresser.

“It’s almost 11.” I heard someone say behind me. I turned around to find that it was Justin who said that.

“Ya I know. I’m heading out the door right now.” I replied.

“Jc told me to get info from you if he wasn’t awake and he obviously isn’t so….Where are you going to be? How long are you going to be gone and what time will you be back?” He rattled off the questions that I knew Jc would ask.

“We are going to be around this area but probably end up at the mall. I should only be a couple hours. So I’m guessing I will be back at two. Oh and tell Jc not to worry so much.” I added as I headed out the door.

As I was opening the door I heard, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” I just shook my head at what Joey had said. I was right on time as I rang Steve’s doorbell. He opened the door and ushered me in. I briefly met with his parents and we were off.

I showed him all the local hangouts and where we went for fun. He seemed to be enjoying himself. We were in the mall now and I was tired of walking around. So I suggested, “Why don’t we go to the food court and get some lunch?” He agreed eagerly.

We had gotten our food and were sitting across from each other at a round table. “Where did you live before you came here?” I asked trying to strike up a new conversation.

“I’m from Pittsburgh.” He said. I nearly choked on my food. “Are you alright?” he asked concerned that I would need CPR.

“No I am fine. I just can’t believe you’re from Pittsburgh because I used to live there too.” I explained. I looked at him and his eyes lit up. I guess he was glad that he wasn’t the only one from Pittsburgh.

Once that was said we got into so many conversations. We were learning so much about each other and how much we had in common. I was beaming from this new discovery.

“Excuse me for a minute while I go to the bathroom.” I said as the conversation died down a bit. I walked toward the bathroom and went in. Once I was finished I washed my hands and came out. As soon as I came out, I was pulled off to the side into a small closet that was blocked from public view. I was terrified thinking that I was going to be raped.

“Who are you?” I trembled. The guy looked at me with a smirk on his face.

“I’m the son of your family’s murder.” He said all the while still having that smirk on his face.

“What do you want?” I asked a little more boldly now that I knew who he was.

“I just wanted to let you know that I have been following you. Does that boy you are with mean anything to you?” He questioned. I chose my words very carefully so he wouldn’t get Steve involved in this.

“No. He’s just new in town and I was showing him around. That’s all.” I explained. He gave me a look that said he didn’t believe me but blew it off.

“Ok cause you know that I would possibly have to harm him to if he was close to you.” I nodded my head and he continued. “I think that’s all for now. I just wanted to warn you ahead of time so it won’t be a complete surprise when I do something unexpected.” He finished as he pushed me out of the closet. I wiped the tears that had formed from my eyes and led myself back to the table.

“You ready to go?” I asked as I joined him.

“Ya. I told my folks that I wouldn’t stay out that long so I could help them finish unpacking.” I nodded my head in understanding as we walked out of the mall and headed for home. We didn’t talk that much on the way back. I had too many thoughts swirling around in my head. Why did he tell me that? Don’t must convicts want you to have no clue about when they are going to strike? As I was thinking I realized that something was going to happen real soon. He wouldn’t have talked to me otherwise right? I just have to keep my guard up. I have to keep an extra eye on my family.

We reached his house and said our good-byes. “Call me when you get settled in or want to hang out.” I said.

“Will do. Thanks for showing me around.” He blushed.

“No problem, I had fun.” I replied. We gave each other one last good-bye with a smile. I had opened my door and nearly broke down to cry when I stopped myself. You can’t cry. Then they will know something is wrong. Play it cool. I said to myself while I wiped my tears. I walked into the living room and sighed when I saw only Lance was in there.

I was about to run upstairs to be alone while I cried but right when I turned around and was going to move Lance noticed my presence.

“Hi. How was your day?” He asked starting a conversation. Oh great, I thought. He probably saw that I was about to go upstairs without talking to anyone. Now he is going to dig around and see if he can get me to talk about what’s bothering me.

“Where are the guys?” I asked ignoring his question.

“They went to pick up some lunch.” He explained for their absence. I nodded my head in understanding. I was 2 o’clock.

“You never answered my question.” Lance pointed out. I knew he wouldn’t forget about that.

“Good. Steve and I found that we both lived in Pittsburgh.”

“That’s cool.” He stated waiting me to throw him some more details cause he probably knew that I wouldn’t tell Jc about it later and he would be asking.

“Ya. We have so much in common. Plus he’s really nice.” I said with fake enthusiasm. He noticed it and looked at me with curiosity like why I was pretending to be something that I wasn’t.

“What’s the matter?” He asked gently. I shook my head meaning that nothing was wrong but he didn’t buy that. He patted the seat next to him. The seat looked so comfy and I needed someone right now so I walked over and sat down beside him.

“What happened? Did something happen when you were at the mall with Steve?” I simply nodded my head. He looked at me and I looked back at him into his green eyes. He seemed very relaxed. I could tell that he wasn’t pushing me for an answer. He was always like this, so understanding and calm. Even in the worst situations. He would make a good friend. He wasn’t a friend to me though. I always considered him and the rest of the guys minus Jc as brothers. With this in mind and the memory of what happened last time I didn’t tell them, I decided to tell him.

“We were at the mall. Everything was going well. We really did hit it off and had a lot in common. I excused myself so I could go to the bathroom and when I came out I was grabbed from the side. I was pulled into the closet with some guy. I was very scared cause I thought he was going to rape me. You know when we got that phone call from the guy that claimed to be the murder’s son…well it was him. He warned me that he was following me and that I should see him so when something happens it won’t come as a complete shock to me.” I began to weep into his shoulder as I finished my story.

He rubbed my back and said, “Everything’s going to be ok.” He kept repeating this and I relaxed at hearing this. I believed that it really was going to be ok and everything would turn out fine. I was so exhausted from the day that I had that I didn’t even notice Jc and the others come in until Jc spoke up. I didn’t move but I heard him and saw from the corner of my eye.

“Who wants McDonald’s?….” His voice trailed off as he saw that I was crying and in Lance’s arms. “What’s the matter with her?” He questioned. I felt Lance shake his and head and mouth the words ‘we’ll talk later.’ He continued to rub my back as I fell asleep still filled with worry but a little calmer than before.

continued