Wingless And Beautiful episode 5

🕊WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL 🕊
🍁EPISODE FIVE🍁

I would be joking if I said that the months of my life had
been perfect. That everything was peachy, filled with smile
and laughter, with an abundance of blessings and love.
Sure, the nightmares didn’t come often since the day I met
Hunter. But I lived each day in pain… a different kind of pain
from what my mother and stepfather had left me.
Another first. My first heartbreak.
Surviving was a struggle for me. It was hell for Meredith
too. She was the one who had to live with me while I tried to
deal with a broken heart. And she had to be the one to take
care of the bills with the small pay she received from the
small-time jobs she got over the next year.

The day Hunter left, I listened to his voice message over
and over. Just memorizing the sound of his voice. As I lay
down in bed at nights, I imagined him lying down beside
me, saying those words to me.
I wanted to be angry at him… shout at him and tell him
how unfair he was. He made me fall in love with him, and
then he would just leave? He didn’t even have a cellphone
when I met him, so I wouldn’t know how to call him, talk to
him, assure myself that he would come back to me.
But I knew, too, that because he fell in love with me, he
found the courage and motivation to undergo an operation
he should have taken a long time ago. Because of me, he
wanted to be better, he wanted to be wh0le again. I just
needed to trust and believe that someday, we will see each
other again.
We moved to a smaller house because Meredith couldn’t
afford the rent on our old house anymore. And she figured it would be safer for me because it was a bit closer to my
school.
I went back to Leighton High a month after Hunter left. I
tried to live among the humans again. And it hit me that for
the past year, I had been living in a limbo. I got so scared of
my own nightmares, I forgot that there were scarier things
in real life.

The first day of school, the silence was deafening as I
walked the corridor to my locker. Everybody was looking at
me. They could not believe I had the guts, the courage and
the face to go back to school. I could almost hear their
thoughts. And they weren’t all pretty.
At first, I didn’t mind that they stayed away from me.
Sure, they could look past my scars. I kept them well-hidden
under my mass of brown hair. But I could not hide the fact
that more than a year ago, my name was all over the
papers with the headline, “Mother Kills Insane Stepfather for
Torturing Teenage Daughter and then Commits Suicide.”
I stepped right out of a horror novel. And these
beautiful, spoiled, rich kids could not believe the fact that I
share the same campus with them. I was a stain in the
s₱0tless reputation of the school known for educating the
town’s golden boys and girls.
During the first days, they were civil, polite even. But
one week after, their thoughts were getting louder. Like they
really wanted me to hear them.
Scarface.
Scary witch.
Hideous.
Monster.

She shouldn’t have been allowed to go back to this
school.
There were some who didn’t think bad about me at all.
Instead, they felt pity. And I wasn’t sure I wanted their
thoughts either. I would never want to be treated with pity or be given special treatment just because of what
happened to me. I just want to be normal… invisible even.
“Don’t mind them,” a voice said beside me as I was
taking my things out from my locker one day.
I looked to my right and found a girl with dark blond hair
and beautiful blue eyes stare back at me. I thought she was
joking, pretending to be nice to get to my good side and
then prepping me for a nasty prank later. But as I stare back
at her, her smile seemed genuine and her eyes looked
warm.
“I’m Denise Wesley,” she said, extending her hand to
mine.

I haven’t seen her before. She must be new this year. I
reluctantly shook her hand.
“Allison Harley,” I said in a quiet voice.
“I know. You’re all these people talk about,” she said,
smiling at me apologetically.
“Well, whatever you heard about me, they’re probably
true. And if in doubt, you can always Google me. I’m sure
I’m on the news archive,” I said dryly.
She stared back at me for a moment and then she
laughed. “I have Chemistry next. What’s your next class?”
I stared back at her trying to figure out what was wrong
with her. Sure, there must be something. Because why else
would she talk nicely to me? Like she genuinely wanted to
be my friend.

“You’re… not on the school paper, are you?” I asked.
She gave me a confused look. “I couldn’t write to save
my life, but why do you ask?”
I shoved a book back in,side my locker and took out my
Chemistry book. “I can’t think of a reason why you would
want to talk to the school freak.”
“You’re the school freak?” she asked me with a wide-
eyed expression. “I thought it was Queen Bee over there,”
she said, pointing at Chelsea Braxton, the school’s most
outgoing, most all-over-the-place girl.
“She is the absolute opposite of me. She thinks
everybody likes her,” I said.
Denise grinned. “Exactly. She thinks that.” She shook
her head. “I hate her. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.”
“Really?”

Denise shrugged. “She’s not pretty. She’s all makeup,
fancy clothes and expensive bags. She can’t even tell
preposition apart from proposition. Yet she acts like she’s so
smart. And those Jimmy Choo pumps she’s wearing?” she
asked and smirked. “Knock-offs. And yet she acts like she’s
all-authentic.”
I stared at her blankly, not really sure why she was
saying these to me.
“Her best friend? Candy Wilson? Pretty girl, huh. But
that head of hers? Empty. Chelsea keeps her because she
feels beautiful when Candy is around. Like… birds of the
same feather flocking together. Yeah, right!”
“Why… why are you telling me this?” I asked.

Denise smiled. “To tell you that something is always
wrong with somebody everywhere. Sometimes, people put
you down to distract others from noticing their own
imperfections. I went to grade school with them. Chelsea
thinks that Candy lives beyond her means… and tries hærd
to be like her. And she called Candy’s brother a retard. I
wonder how they’re still friends.”
I closed my locker and turned to her. She was right. I
should actually pity people who had tiny brains and shallow
minds instead of feeling belittled by them. “Let’s go to
Chemistry,” I said, smiling at Denise.
From that day on, Denise and I became good friends. So
far, one year had passed and she hasn’t done anything bad
to me. Denise was genuine in wanting to be my friend.
I wrote to my diary every day. When I sat on my bedside
to write, I would imagine Hunter sitting there beside me,
listening to my thoughts, hearing me say the words I could
not tell anybody else. I would close my eyes and remember his face… the way he would hold me in his arms and k-ss
me. Tears would roll down my cheeks because for a while, it
was as if I could really feel his warmth enveloping me. I
could feel all the love he had in his heart going out to me.

I thought about Hunter almost every waking hour. Each
night before I went to sleep, I would say a prayer for him. I
wish he was alright. That whatever operation he went
through made him better… or at least did not make his
condition worse.
I wish I had means to contact him. I wish I knew his
number or his email address. But that was purely classified
information at CRC and since Meredith had to take more
than one job, she had been too busy to volunteer at CRC.

She couldn’t access in,side information that would give me
news about Hunter.
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months…
and months turned into a year and a half… still no Hunter.
I Googled his name every day, hoping to God, I wouldn’t
encounter some bad news about him. When I didn’t, I would
say a little prayer of thanks. And I always prayed that he
was safe, well and healthy.
“I always meant to ask you about your necklace,”
Denise asked me one time. “Boyfriend?”
“Sort of,” I replied, because, in truth, Hunter and I never
really said we were in an exclusive relationsh¡p with each
other.
“What happened?”
“He… wasn’t well. He went away to have some…
treatment,” I replied, the sadness in my voice could not be
disguised.
Denise smiled at me ruefully. “Is he coming back?”
I sighed. “I pray every day that he will.”
“And until you know for sure, you are not going to date
anybody?”

I shook my head. I didn’t have any intention of doing
that. I still loved Hunter. And I still hoped every day that he would come back… even if he still couldn’t see. I didn’t care
if he was blind. He was perfect to me. And he was the only
one who saw me… made me feel worthy… even with my
flaws, my past, and my scars.
“You’re pretty, you know,” Denise said.
I actually laughed at her statement. “And you’re crazy,
you know.”
Denise shook her head. She reached out for my hair and
fixed it on the side where my scar was, hiding them behind
my locks. “I won’t be able to tell you have a scar if you fix
your hair this way.”
“And what do you want me to do after?” I asked, raising
a brow. “Cheat my way into getting a date?” I shook my
head. “These scars are part of me. Sooner or later, a guy
who would be interested enough to ask me out would see
them and get turned off.”
“Come on, they aren’t bad. And you could get away with
a great personality,” she said, trying to inflict a little
positivity into me.

“I’m sure that’s what guys see the first time they look at
you,” I said sarcastically. “Leave it be, Denise. I’m not
interested in dating anybody. I… sort of promised somebody
I would wait for him.”
“And if he doesn’t come back?”
I sighed. I didn’t want to think about that possibility. “I
can’t bear the thought that something bad happened to
him.”
“Okay. What if he got better… but decided to move on
with his life without you?”
It was the first time I thought about that. It never really
crossed my mind before. What if… what if Hunter got his
sight back… and he went back to his old life? What if he
chose to leave the past and the memories of his blindness
behind? Could I really blame him if he decided not to come
for me?
I shook the thought out of my mind. Hunter was not that
shallow. And he made me a promise. I believed him. I
believed he truly loved me. I believed he would come back
to me.
Meredith was going out of town a lot, working for a big
events company. If her company had a project in another
state or town, she was required to go and stay there for a
couple of days. I didn’t mind being left alone in the house. I
was eighteen now. Plus, the last thing I wanted was to
prevent her from going after her own dreams because she
had to take care of me.

I took a couple of jobs after school too. I still had plans
of going to college. While, there was a chance that I got a
scholarsh¡p, I knew I still had to spend for a lot of things.
And the more I saved up, the less Meredith would have to
worry about me.
I got a temporary shift at Strung, a shop that sold
musical instruments. One of their staff went for a holiday for
two weeks, they needed somebody to fill in. It was a job I
really enjoyed since I could play instruments.
During closing hours, I would hold one of the electric
guitars in the store and I would practice playing ‘Sweet Child
O’ Mine’. I would imagine that Hunter was just right there
beside me. Teaching me, telling me the chords I needed to
play. I was getting better at it too. And one night, I really
nailed it.
“Come on, chica! Sing to it!” Dominic, one of my co-
workers, said to me.
I shook my head. “I would attract too much attention.”
“It’s almost closing time. No one’s here. Just me and Mr.
Simpson. He wouldn’t mind. He always encouraged us to
test the equipment here anyway,” he said with an
encouraging tone. “Come on. You can play and sing, right?”

Instead of answering, I played the song again. Dominic
set up a microphone in front of me and for just for kicks, I
started singing .
I played the song perfectly and I knew the singing
wasn’t bad either. I bet that if Hunter was here, he would be
so proud of me.
When I finished, I heard Dominic and Mr. Simpson,
clapping and cheering along with some customers who
came in for last-minute purchases.
I felt almost embarrassed because I thought it was just
the three of us left in the store now. I put the electric guitar
back on the rack and went to the counter to take care of the
customers’ purchases.
“You certainly play very well. I knew your stepfather. I
guess he taught you well,” one of the customers said to me.
He was a man probably in his fifties. He was accompanied
by a guy with dark hair, who looked like he was just my age.
I smiled shyly at the man as I bagged his purchase.
The man turned to leave and the younger guy followed
him. As he reached the door, the younger guy turned back
to look at me. I noticed his eyes went to the nametag on my
chest. Then he looked at me in the eye and gave me a wink
before he exited the store.
“I have a band. Maybe you can jam with us sometimes.
We could use a female band member,” Dominic said to me.

I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why? Dom’s right. Your stepfather was really good at
the guitar. He played for a local band here,” Mr. Simpson
said to me.
I smiled at him gently. He must have known my stepdad
too. He bought my first guitar from this shop. Before I could
cry at the memory, I excused myself and went to the back
to gather my stuff. My shift has ended and it was time for
me to go home.
After temping at Strung, I got a job serving tables at
Burger Inn. It wasn’t ideal for my condition, but the owner
gave me a chance, so I took it. Many of the kids from my
school hang out there after classes, especially during Friday nights. I was lucky enough to survive their pranks on a daily
basis.
After a week though, my luck ran out.
“Hey BG! Wanna serve our order, today?” a boy, named
Don Winston, called me loud enough for everybody at
Burger Inn to turn to my direction.
I drew deep breaths. One. Two. Three.
For the past week, they had been calling me BG. It stood
for Burger Girl. I couldn’t complain. I was a burger girl. And
being a Burger Girl meant I was able to save some money
for college.

“Hey BG!” Don Winston called again. “Couldn’t you get
here any faster?”
“Just a minute,” I said cheerfully. I do have to keep up
the appearances.
A minute later, I served their orders.
“Hey, burgers are not complete without dressing, right
guys?” Don asked the rest of the people on their table.
The girls beside him giggled and fluttered their
eyelashes. I recognized them from school. One of them was
Chelsea Braxton. Don smiled at them mischievously.
Without warning, he stood up, raised his hand over my
head and poured ketchup all over me. I was too shocked to
react at first.
“What the f-ck!”
The girls laughed. Then they smiled at me innocently.
“Oh, that’s better!” He went close to me and whispered
in my ear. “Now, you’re more tempting than the burger.
What do you say, we meet up after your shift? I could eat
you all night.”

Now, that was below the belt! I was so appalled that I
slapped him on the face. The girls stopped laughing.
“Alice!” my manager called me. “What are you doing?”
“He… harassed me!” I replied, trying to defend myself.
“No, miss! She said a nasty remark to us and was rude
in serving our table.” Chelsea told my manager.
What the hell?
“I did not!” I said angrily. “I was nice to you and you
poured ketchup all over me.” Then I pointed at Don. “And he
harassed me!”

But my manager was already staring at me with a raised
brow, shaking her head.
“You’re fired, Alice,” she said.
“But he provoked me, Andrea,” I protested.
“You know the rules. You should not harass customers
even if they harassed you first.”
I sighed. “Fine!”
I turned my back on Don Winston and his friends. I
heard a series of snorts and giggles, which made me want
to turn back to them and punch them one by one. I’m
already fired anyway.
I walked back to my locker, took off my uniform and
wiped off the ketchup from my hair and my face. I went out
of Burger Inn, glaring one last time at Don and his gang.
They just laughed and someone actually stuck a tongue out
at me.

I couldn’t believe that there were kids like Don Winston,
Chelsea Braxton and their army of groupies who could
afford to make somebody lose their means of living and
then laugh about it afterwards.
When I came out in a rush, the first person I saw was
another guy from school. He was new but somehow, he
looked familiar, like I’d seen him before his first day at
Leighton High.
What was his name? Chaise something?
I couldn’t care less.
“Hey, what do you know?” he called to me. I turned
back to face him. “Is it Alice Harley Bad Hair Day? Or did
you just run out of a sweeter-smelling hair gel?” he asked,
his eyes were laughing.
I glared at him. “F-ck off!” Then I str-de away.

“Hey, hey!” he called again. “Bad mood? Is the red flag
up this time of the month?”
I sent another glare his way.
“Not everybody was born lucky like you, Chaise…” I
trailed off, realizing that I didn’t know his surname.
He waited for me to continue. Then he took a step
towards me. I took a step back, afraid that he was going to
physically assault me. He grinned. From where he stood, I
realized how tall he was. He was probably as tall as Hunter.
He had the same built too.
“Anderson,” he whispered. His expression turned soft.
“My name is Chaise Anderson.” He smiled at me and then
he walked away.
I didn’t care what his name was. He was from school.
And he was like the rest of them. He was new… hot and
rich. He instantly fits right in. From the moment he stepped
out of his black Porsche, wearing a hooded jacket and sleek
sports sunglasses, he was Mr. Popularity. I was popular in
school too. But I was the exact opposite of Chaise Anderson.

I was popular in a bad way when all I wanted was to be just
a fly on the wall.
A single tear escaped from my right eye, rolling down to
the side of my face, close to where my scar was. I wished
for nothing more but for Hunter to come back, so I could
lean on someone who would understand. I didn’t want to
just imagine him standing beside me anymore. I want him to
be real!
***
The next day, I was sitting in the library doing my
homework in advance. I still had to go job-hunting after
school.
“Well, well… if it isn’t Rock Princess,” I heard someone
say beside me.
I didn’t have to look to see who it was. Apparently,
Chaise Anderson’s new hobby was to make my day
miserable.

“Oh please, there are more fortunate souls that deserve
your attention today, Mr. Anderson,” I said, not bothering to
look at him.
“I’m not interested in them. They’re not as interesting
as you are,” he said in a conceited tone.
I turned to glare at him. But he only grinned at me and
said, “You’re cute, you know.”
He was wearing a gray hooded sweater again. I couldn’t
help wondering, ‘What’s with the hood?’
“I don’t know that. The last time I checked, I was
horrendous.” I rolled my eyes.
“Come on, what does a guy have to do to get noticed by
you?”

“Oh, I notice you, alright,” I said dryly. “I noticed that
you’re disturbing my free time to do my homework and I
can’t help being annoyed by you.”
A group of girls passed by in front of us, giggling. I stole
a glance at them and saw that they were looking dreamily
at Chaise.
Of course.
Since he transferred here, he had been the object of
many girls’ fantasies. I can’t see why.
“See? Those girls. They want your attention. They want
you to talk to them. Nothing you will say to them would be
annoying enough. While as with me… the sound of your
breath intake alone is infuriating. Can’t you just go and…
breathe somewhere else?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m comfortable just as I am.
Right here. Beside you.”
I gro-ned in frustration. “What do you want, Chaise
Anderson? Are you really that desperate to make
somebody’s life a living hell?”
“You see… that. You have this opinion of me that I want
to change,” he said seriously. “I’m not all that bad, if you
gave me a chance, Alice.”

I shook my head. “Whatever for?” I shut my book,
gathered my things and started to leave.
“Alibri Bookshop,” he said.
I turned to him and raised a brow.
“My aunt owns the place.”
“Congratulations,” I said sarcastically and turned to
leave.
“They need an assistant,” he said quickly.
I turned back to him. “What?”
He shrugged. “I know you lost your job at Burger Inn. My
aunt was looking for a part-time assistant for the shop.”
“And?”
“You might want to give my aunt a call,” he said,
smiling. He took out a card from his pocket and handed it to
me.

“And the catch is?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I would say one date. But I have a
feeling you would say no anyway. So I have to say, nothing.
There’s no catch. I just want to help. If you… would consider
the offer.”
I stared at him suspiciously. I was used to being pranked
on. It would be almost every day of my life. But the look on
Chaise’s face was warm and his smile looked genuine. I took
the card from him. “Seriously? No catch?”
He nodded.
I stared at the card in front of me and then I murmured,
“Thanks.”
He smiled. “I’m really not such a bad guy if you would
just get to know me.”
“Even if that were true, I doubt I would be interested,” I
said. “But if you’re really sincere about wanting to help me
out, then again, thanks.”
I called up the number that Chaise gave me. I know his
aunt, Mrs. Bailey. My mom used to buy me books from their
shop when I was a little girl. She was delighted when I gave
her a call and immediately proceeded to telling me about
the salary she was offering on a part-time basis. I just
needed to come in every day after school and close up at
ten in the evening. She said that I could do my homework in
the shop while manning the store. During exams week, we
could work something out with the schedule. I was
extremely happy about the offer. She will pay me higher
than what I got from Burger Inn. The workload is lighter and
I could read as many books as I wanted.
Before I went to bed, I wrote on my diary as if I was
talking to the person who was meant to read it one day.

Dear Hunter,
Today, I got a new job at Alibri. It was perfect. I wouldn’t
have to wait tables anymore. My life would not be a circus
every day. I’m positive I didn’t have to see much of the kids
from school and get scrutinized by them on a daily basis
while trying my best not to hit them with a frying pan.

I’m sure my encounter with these kids will be limited
now. Hey, not many of them would be smart enough to
frequent a bookshop, right?
I wish you were here. I wish I could go back to our
garden again… and see the swans and the fireflies. Since
you left, I never found the courage to go back there. I know I
would only cry my heart out and miss you every second.
I hope you’re okay. I haven’t heard from you in a long
time. It’s been… a year and a half. My diary is getting
thicker and thicker. You will need a lot of time to catch up on
reading it.
I miss you.

I fought the urge to cry. As I turned off my lights that
night, I wondered if Hunter was still looking forward to reading my diary, the way I was always looking forward to
write to him each day.
***
Every day, I would turn up promptly after school at Alibri.
It was not a difficult job. When I didn’t have homework to
do, I would dust the shelves and make sure that the books
were all in their right locations so it would be easier for me
or the other staff to locate a title.
One day, as I was org-nizing some books that were not
in their proper places, I found Chaise Anderson in between
the shelves.
“And what are you doing here?” I asked dryly.
“Is it not obvious? I’m picking up a good book to read,”
he replied curtly.
I rolled my eyes. “Really? I didn’t know you could read.”
He smirked but didn’t say anything.
I tried to reach for the shelf closer to Chaise but stopped
when I realized that he didn’t move an inch to give me
space.

“Excuse me, do you mind?”
Still, he didn’t budge. “It’s my shelf.”
I sighed desperately. “Can’t you find another shelf or at
least move away a little bit? I just need to put this book
back in its place.”
He smiled at me and moved away just a little bit, which
still didn’t give me much space. Returning the book would
mean I had to stand a few inches away from him. Too close,
I may as well smell his aftershave.
“Be my guest,” he said mischievously.
“I will push you away, Chaise Anderson, if I need to. I
want to close up early tonight.”
He raised a brow. “I dare you.”
“Great!” I extended my hand to his chest and gave him
a quick shove. But he was quicker than me. He reached for my hand and pulled me towards him instead.
I was too shocked to react. I dropped the rest of the
books I was carrying. My hand was caught in Chaise’s hands
and chest.
I heard the chimes on the door, indicating that
somebody came in,side the bookshop. But I was helpless to
assist the new customer, Chaise had me trapped right
where he wanted me.
“Are you scared of me, Alice?” he asked in a whisper.

I glared at him. “I’m not scared of you. I hate you!” I
said under my breath.
His eyes gleamed and I was reminded of a devil
disguising under a halo.
“Maybe I can change your mind,” he whispered darkly.
And before I could realize what he was going to do, he
leaned forward and his l-ips covered mine in one gentle k-ss.
It took me a minute to recover after he lifted his face.
His eyes were dancing, still he didn’t release me. He was
just staring at me in those striking gray eyes of his.
Finally, I found the strength to push him as hærd as I
could, he actually jerked back. I wiped my l-ips with my
fingers as I heard the chimes ring again, indicating that
another customer needed my assistance.
I was too mad that he took advantage of me that I
slapped him on the cheek. He looked dumbfounded at first
and then I saw the angry expression dawn on his face.
“Well, you have successfully changed my mind about
hating you. Congratulations! Now, I loathe you!” I said
angrily.
I str-de away from him, not caring that I left a pile of
books on the floor. I scanned the other shelves to see the
customers that went in, but I found that Chaise and I were
alone in the shop, which meant that whoever went into the
shop with the first bell had left the second time I heard it
ring.
I went to the counter to check the cash register,
ensuring that it was still locked. Nothing seemed to be
missing, and besides, who would steal a book? So, I
breathed in relief. I couldn’t really afford to pay for
shoplifted stocks.

Chaise walked towards the counter. I glared at him
murderously. He also looked pissed. It’s probably the first
time he stole a k-ss from somebody and got slapped for it.
He sure looked confident of his looks and his k-ssing
abilities. Apparently, he wasn’t used to being turned down
by a girl… maybe not even by pretty girls. It must be hell for
him to be shut down by me… the scar-faced girl who was
called a monster by everybody.
“Just because you got me this job does not mean you
earned the right to… harass me,” I said with a scowl.
He took a deep breath. He acted like he wanted to say
something but he decided against it. He shook his head in
disbelief and then he turned to leave.
I closed up at exactly ten in the evening. The store was
a few blocks away from my house. The streets leading to my
house were not well-lit but I was used to walking alone at
nights. I did this even when I was working for the burger
joint. The only difference was that Burger Inn was in the
town center and the streets leading to my house from there
were much more populated even late at night.

I wasn’t scared. I have been through worse than a petty
mugging. And besides, I don’t practically come in as flashy,
who would want to mug me?
As I turned a corner, a black Porsche was parked on the
side of the street. The engine was on, but the tint on its
windows was too dark, I could not see who was in,side. When
I turned another corner, the car went off, much to my relief.
I was afraid somebody from school decided to take their
pranks on a different level. Or worse, what if Chaise decided
to wait for me to get out of his aunt’s shop so he could
harass me again?
When I walked up the front steps to my house, I heard a
car pass by. I turned around and saw the same black
Porsche I saw a while ago. It drove past my house very
slowly. My heart pounded in,side my chest. I immediately
ins**ted my key to the door. The door didn’t open. I looked
at my hands in panic as I realized I used the wrong key.
Shit!
The car stopped a few meters from my house and I felt
scared. I had this feeling that whoever was driving the car
was watching me. I took another key and even before I
could ins**t it in the h0le, the door opened.
“Alice!” Meredith greeted me.
“You’re home!” I couldn’t be any happier or relieved to
see her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, noticing that my face was
flushed.
I turned to look at the street again, but the car was
gone.
I didn’t want to tell Meredith about the car. It could be
nothing and I didn’t want her to worry. I was sure if I told her
about it, she would make me quit my job and I needed that
money for college.
“Have you eaten?” she asked as I went in,side.

“Yes. But I’m still hungry,” I replied. The Chaise
harassment and the car scare actually drained my dinner.
“I’ll heat up the lasagna,” she said.
After an hour, I got ready for bed. I wanted to tell
somebody about how I hated Chaise for what he did. And
how scared I felt when I thought he was following me as I
walked the dark streets home.
Denise would definitely confront Chaise if I told her. And
she would tell Meredith about the car. I didn’t want anybody
to worry about me. It was nice that some people cared. But I
had to face reality. I didn’t have a guardian angel protecting
me from arrogant guys like Chaise or from potential stalkers.
I had to look after myself and I didn’t want anybody to worry about me more than they already were… more than they
should.
But I know, if I wanted to let things out of my chest, if I
could tell anybody my deepest worries, I would tell only one
other person.
So I opened my diary and started writing.
Dear Hunter…