Chapter 1

 

Dear Diary,

   Today is Monday, February the 3rd.

I woke up this morning feeling happy. Like nothing bad can happen. Like I am shielded from everything that is evil in this terrible world. I just hope it stays like this.

-W

   I finish writing in my journal and put it back in my desk. I grab a tee shirt and a pair of blue jeans before heading to the shower. After my shower I get dressed, grab my backpack and head down stairs.

“Mom, I’m leaving!” I yell as I walk towards the front door.

“Ok, have a great day at school,” she replies.

   I got into my old green ford pickup and pulled out of the driveway. It will take roughly twenty minutes to reach my destination, Reid Memorial High School. Yes, I said high school, the home of all Criminal County teens. Luckily this year I am a senior.

   By this time next year, I will be far away from this place.  I am so tired of all the bullshit. I have been planning to leave since freshman year. The only downside is that I will be leaving Ashley and my mom. I will still come and visit I just can’t live here anymore.

   I pull into the school parking lot parking next to a red mustang. The first thing I do is look for Ashley. We have been friends since kindergarten. We do everything together.  

I see her talking to one of the guys from our Chemistry class. I wait till he leaves to approach her. “Hey Ashley” I say as I walk towards her.

“Hey Willow,” she replies with excitement in her voice, “you will never guess what just happened. Jason, you know the hottest guy in school asked me out on a date.”

“When?”

“Yesterday evening. He’s taking me to dinner then a movie. I texted but you didn’t answer.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t find my phone. I think I left it in my locker.”

   Ashley and I make our way through the crowd of students to our locker. As soon as we get to our lockers the warning bell rings, we now have five minutes to get in class and be seated. I grab the books for my Spanish class, say goodbye to Ashley and rush down the hall. I am seated before the first bell rings. I have never been late for a class, and I’m not starting now.

“Alright class, settle down” says Mrs. Philips. “It is time to start class.”

   Mrs. Phillips is one of the best teachers. She never yells. She always helps you if you ask. Most of the teachers at this school tell you to figure it out and do it yourself, but not her. I wish all teachers were like her.

   Mrs. Phillips is about to start her lesson when Mr. Ditmore enters the room along with someone else. Mr. Ditmore is the principle. Everyone hates him. Even my mom hates him. One time she actually called him an ass, and a whole bunch of other words that I won’t get into. As for the other guy, I have no idea who he is.

“Good morning everyone. I would like to introduce Shane Gregory.” Mr. Ditmore announces. “Mr. Gregory is a new student here at Reid Memorial and I expect you all to make him feel at home. Now let’s see, Willow.”

   I look to the front of the room, surprised to be hearing my name. “Yes, Mr. Ditmore”.

“Would you mind showing Shane around school after class during study hall?”

“Not at all.”

“Thank you. Shane after class meet up with Willow. If you have any questions just ask her.”

   Mr. Ditmore leaves the room and everyone starts talking as Shane sits in the empty seat two rows in front of me. For some reason I can’t take my eyes off of him. He is tall, has brown hair, brown eyes, and his body, oh, the only why I can describe it is as perfect. His body is perfect. He has perfect shoulders, perfect arms, legs, feet, hands… I could go on and on. He is just so PERFECT! Did I mention he has perfect abs! I start to feel my heart racing inside my chest. What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel like this? I try to make it stop, but it won’t.

Before I know it the bell rings to end first period. Everyone rushes out into the hall except for Shane and me. “I’m Willow” I say as I stick my hand out.

He shakes my hand and replies “I’m Shane”.

“So, Shane what would you like to see first? The library, Gym, I could show you the classrooms that your classes are in.”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever you want.” His reply is awkward. It really seems like he doesn’t want to be here.  

“Is something wrong?” I ask.

“No, I’m just tired.”

“Ok then. Why don’t we start with the classrooms and end with the gym?”

“Alright, that sounds good.”

“Can I see your class schedule?”

“Sure” he reaches into his bag and pulls out a yellow piece of paper. “Here you go.”

“Looks like we have the exact same schedule.” I say looking at the piece of paper.

“Weird. Is that why you were assigned to show me around?” he asks while rubbing the back of his neck.

“I don’t know. No one knows why Mr. Ditmore does anything. Why don’t we get started? Since you already know where this class is, why don’t I show you where the majority of the students go during study hall.”

“Sounds good to me.” He replied with smile.

“Alright.”

   As we walked down the hallway I couldn’t help picturing his smile in my head. His smile has got to be the most perfect smile ever. My heart starts racing again. The feeling is back. That feeling of seeing something beautifully perfect. I don’t know… I can’t really describe it, but this feeling it’s not bad it’s good.

   We walk out the doors and into the courtyard I start to speak when I hear my name being called. It’s Ashley. “Hey Ashley. This is Shane, he just moved here.”

“Hey Shane, I’m Ashley it’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too” he seems nervous.

“So… Shane where are you from?” Asks Ashley with an enthusiastic voice.

“Denver Colorado”

“Cool.”

I interrupt “We should get going if you want to finish the tour before lunch”.

“Ok. Let’s get going.”    

   We say bye to Ashley and head to the Chemistry room. I for one hate Chemistry. Especially Mr. Thomas the teacher.

“Here we are, the Chemistry room. We probably shouldn’t go in since there is a class, but here it is.” I said as we approached the room.

Shane peaks into the room “it seems bigger than the other classrooms”.  

   “That’s because it is. They needed room for all of the equipment. You ready to go to the physics room?”

   “Yeah.”

   We arrive at the physics room. The room is empty. I watch Shane as he walks around looking at everything.

   “What’s with all the posters of Einstein?” he asks.

   “Miss Jones is obsessed with him. She worships him like he’s a God or something.”

   “Wow, she likes him that much?”

   “Yeah, she even named her dog after him.”

   “How much time do we have to finish the tour?”

   “About 25 minutes”

   “Alright. Can we go to the library next?”

   “Sure.”

   We start to leave when a group of guys cut in front of us. Its David and his group of jocks. David is the captain of the football team.

   “Hey gorgeous, how are you today?” David asks as he wraps his arms around me.

   “Take your hands off me” I say as I push him away.

   “Why don’t you introduce us to your new friend.”

   Shane interrupts in reply “I’m Shane”.

   “Nice to meet you Shane. I’m David.”

   “We should get going if you want to see the library.” I say. I really want to get out of here.

   Shane looks at me “Alright, let’s go”.

   We leave the room. David and his group of morons watch us walk down the hall. I hear David says something but I ignore it and keep walking.

   When we get around the corner, then Shane says “What was that all about?”

   “Nothing.”

   “It didn’t seem like nothing to me.”

   “Just forget it, ok.”

   “Fine, at least tell me who that guy was.”

   “That was David. He is the captain of the football team, which automatically makes him the most popular guy in school.”

   “That explains a lot. Is he like your boyfriend or something?”

   I look at Shane “Why the hell would you think that?”

   “I don’t know. I guess because of the way he put his arms around you and how he talked to you.”

   “Did you not see the part where I shoved him off.” I say with a hint of anger in my voice.

   “Yeah. I’m sorry to jump to conclusions but you wouldn’t explain to me what that was so I just figure he was your ex or something.”

   “Well, he’s not.” I say calming down. I don’t know what it is about Shane, but I can’t stay mad at him. Either way it’s not his fault, he didn’t know.

   “Ok. I hope you’re not mad at me.”

   “I’m not. Sorry for snapping at you.”

   “Already forgotten.”

   “Thanks.”

   We walk into the library. It’s quiet and there are only a couple of students inside. The librarian was at the desk when we walked in.

   “Hey Willow. How are you?” She says in a whisper.

   “Good Ms. Phelps. You?”

   “Just fine. Who’s this fine young man?”

   “Oh yeah, Ms. Phelps this is Shane. Shane this is Ms. Phelps, our librarian.”

   “Nice to meet you Ms. Phelps.” Shane replies in a very respectful way.   

   “Nice to meet you to Shane.”

   I look at the clock behind the desk. “Is that the time? We should get going. There is only five minute left to finish the tour.”

   “Alright.” Says Shane.

   We say goodbye to Ms. Phelps and head to the Gym. “As seniors we don’t have a gym class, but we do use the gym for intramurals and convocation.”

   “I know what intramurals are but what’s convocation?” he asks while looking confused.

   “Convocation is when the entire school goes into one room and listen to something like an announcement or something. As an example, once for convocation the entire student body had to watch this video on what could happen if you meet up with someone you met on the internet, Stuff like that.”

   “Ok. I get it.”

   “Are you sure. You still look pretty confused.”

   “Yeah, I’m sure.”

   “Alright” I say as the bell rings. “Guess it’s time for lunch.”

   “Great. I’m starving. Do you know what’s on the menu for today?”

   “I think it’s taco salad, but I’m not sure”

   We walk to the cafeteria. Unlike earlier there are students everywhere. I can barely hear myself think. The Cafeteria was even louder than the hallway.

   “Ashley and I usually eat outside at the picnic tables, if you want to eat with us.”

   “Alright, let me grab my lunch.”

   “Ok, I’ll wait by the door right over there.” I point towards the door.

“Ok, see you in a minute” Shane says as he enters the lunch line.

I see Ashley walking towards me. “Hey Ashley!”

   “Hey Willow. Where’s Shane?”

   “He’s in the lunch line. He’s going to eat with us so I’m waiting for him.”

   “Ok, I’ll go find a table.” She says as she walks out of the cafeteria.

   I stand by the door waiting for Shane. For some reason I can’t stop thinking about him. I look up to see him in line. All I can do is stare. Stop it Willow, stop it. I force myself to look away. Why does this keep happening? What is this feeling I have?

   Shane meets me by the door “Thanks for waiting on me”.  

   “No problem. Ashley went ahead to get a table.”

   “Ok.”

   We find Ashley. She was at our usual table by this big gorgeous oak tree. We have been sitting at this table every day since freshmen year.

   “Hey Shane. Nice of you to join us.” Ashely says as we sit down. “But there is a test you have to pass before you can official join our little posse.”

   “Ashley” I say trying to get her to cut it out.

   “What’s the test?” Shane asks eagerly.

   “It’s easy. All you have to do is tell me what you think about that guy right over there” she points at David.

   “From the encounter we had earlier I think he’s a pretty big douche” was his answer.

   “Good, wait when did you have an encounter with him?” she asks Shane in surprise.

   “Earlier when we were leaving the physics room he just showed up out of nowhere.”

   “Willow, what did he do this time?” Ashley looks at me intently. “Willow!”

   “Nothing, same as usual. Now will you just stop?” I say getting angry. Calm down Willow, Calm down.

   Shane looks at us confused “How long has he been doing that?”.

   I answer “since sophomore year”.

   “Why?”

   “I don’t know. Please stop asking questions and leave it alone. You to Ashley.”

   “Fine.” Shane and Ashley both speak at the same time.

   We sit in silence for the rest of lunch. When the bell rings we all get up in unison. My next class is Chemistry with Mr. Thomas. Mr. Thomas can be an ok teacher at times. Very few students like him though.

   I stop by my locker to get my text book. Shane’s locker is next to mine. I keep glancing towards him. I’m pretty sure he’s mad at me. I can’t stand him being mad at me. But why? I barely know him. Still I need to fix things. “Shane?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry for snapping. I just didn’t want to talk about it. Ashley knows that but you didn’t. So I hope you can forgive me.”

“I should be the one apologizing. I stuck my nose some where it doesn’t belong. I’m bad to do that.”

“So everything’s ok?”

“Yeah, everything’s ok.”

“Want to walk to class together?’

“Sure.”

   Shane sits next to me in Chemistry and Physics. Ashley, Shane, and I all grouped up for a physics project. The bell rings. We all head to the parking lot.  “Shane.”

   “Yeah Willow.”

   “How are you getting home?”

   “Driving” he points at the red mustang.

   “That’s your car?” Ashley face lights up. “Take me for a ride?”  

   “Maybe some other time.”

   “I’ll hold you to that” Ashley said a bit disappointed.

   “What about you two?”

   “The old rust bucket” Ashley points at my truck.

   “She’s not a rust bucket” I defend my truck.

   Shane cuts in “I like it”.

   “Really?” Ashley’s jaw drops on surprise.

   “Yeah, I have always liked old trucks. I think there cool.”

   I smile at Shane. I can’t help it. I start to say something when David walks up and interrupts.

   “Hey Shane.” Surprisingly he starts talking to Shane. “The coach wanted me to talk to you about joining the team. He noticed that you played at your old school and we need one more. So what do you say?”

   Shane looks at me then back at David. “Thanks for asking but no thanks.”

   “You sure, we could really use you. Willow talk some sense into him.”

   “I said no. No means no. Don’t involve her.”

   “Fine” David leaves in frustration.

   “I got to get going. See you tomorrow?” Shane says as he pulls keys from his bag.

   “Of course.” I watch as he gets into the car and take off.

   I say bye to Ashley and head home. The whole way there all I could think about was Shane. I wonder where he lives? Who does he live with? Does he have a girlfriend back in Denver? Why can’t I stop thinking about him? I turn on some music to try and distract me from all the thoughts.

   “Mom I’m home!” I yell as I enter the house “Where are you?”.

   “In the kitchen sweetie.”

   I walk into the kitchen, welcomed by the smell of my mom’s famous apple pie. “Smells good.”

   “I have been baking since ten this morning. Did you find your phone?”

   “Yeah, it was in my locker.”

   “Good. So what’s new?”

   “There’s a new kid at school. His name is Shane. I was assigned to give him the tour and answer his questions.”

   “Is he nice?”

   “Yeah, he ate lunch with Ashley and me. We also have the exact same schedule.”

   “So your friends?”

   “Yes, we are friends.” I can’t help but smile.

   “Speaking of new, I noticed a moving van at the house across the street earlier.”

   “Really, no one has lived in that house for years after what happened.”

   “I know, I was surprised. They have been trying to sell it for years. I was thinking we could take one of these pies over and welcome them to the neighborhood.”

   “Sure. When?”

   “Will take the fresh one as soon as it's done.”

   “Ok.”

   I wait in the living room. It will take about thirty minutes for the pie to finish. I wonder who finally bought that house. It has been empty since Mr. Rogers killed his entire family then himself.

   “Willow, the pie is ready.”

   “Ok.” I get up and head to the kitchen.

   “Look outside and make sure their home.”

   “Mom.”

   “Willow.”

   “Fine.” I go and look out the living room window. “They’re home.”

   Mom walks into the living room with the pie. “Come on, the pie won’t stay warm forever.”

   We walk across the road. The last time I was here was with Maddie. She was one of Mr. Roger’s daughter's. We use to hang out all the time until you know.

Mom knocks on the door. We have been standing there for about a minute when the door flies open.

   “Shane?” I say shocked to see him standing in the doorway. My heart starts to race.

   “Willow, what are you doing here?”

   “We live across the street. My mom wanted to bring over a pie. This is your house?”

   “Yeah.”

   My mom interrupts “Hi Shane, I’m Elena Willow’s mom.”  

   “Nice to meet you.”

   “As Willow mentioned I wanted to bring this over and welcome you to the area. It’s a homemade apple pie.”

   “Thank you.”

   “No problem.”

   A tall man walks up behind Shane. “Son, who is at the door?”

   “Dad, this is Willow and her mom they live across the street.”

   “Willow, the girl from school?” he asks with a smirk on his face.

   “Yes, the girl from school.”

   “It is nice to meet you both.” He looks at Shane “Did you finish unpacking?”

   “Almost. Why?”

   “Willow why don’t you help Shane and let me and your mom talk.”

   I look at Shane who shrugs his shoulders. “Sure, why not.” I follow Shane upstairs to his bedroom. I immediately stop at the door. It’s Maddie’s room.

   “Is something wrong?” Shane looks at me concerned.

   “Not really, it is just the last time I was in this room was with Maddie.”

   “Who is Maddie?”

   “Maddie was my friend. She lived here and this was her room.”

   “My dad told me no one has lived here for years.”

   “Yeah, her family was the last to live here. Did your dad tell you why no one has lived here?”

   “No. Just that something bad happened.”

   “He doesn’t want you to know?”

   “Not sure. What happened?”

   “Do you really want to know?”

   “Yeah.”

   “Ok then, sit down.” I look at Shane “Ready?”.

“Ready.”

“It was about eight years ago. Maddie’s dad was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. He was seeing things and couldn’t tell what was real from what was fake. It was bad. One night when I was having a sleepover with Maddie we heard screaming from downstairs. Of course we had to run down stairs to see what was happening. By the time we got there the screaming had stopped, so we figure it was nothing. We were wrong. When we entered the kitchen we saw Maddie’s dad sitting next to her mom. Both of them were covered in blood. Her mom was dead. We freaked out and ran back upstairs to the bathroom. We were about to call 911 when her dad knocked the door down. To sum it up, I got away Maddie didn’t. Then when her dad realized what he had done he killed himself.”

   “Your joking. That’s what happened and you were there for the entire thing?”

   “Yes.”

   “If I had known I wouldn’t have asked you to tell me. I’m so sorry.”

   “No need to apologize, that was a long time ago.”

   “You sure you’re ok?”

   “Yeah, I’m ok.” I look around the room. “So what do you want me to do?” I push the subject to the back of my mind.

   “Can you help me get all my clothes put away?”

   “Of course.”

   We spend over an hour talking and folding clothes. The entire time I have that same feeling I felt when I first saw Shane. He is the perfect guy. I finally know what that feeling is. It is me falling in love with this amazingly perfect guy.

 

Chapter 2

 

Dear Diary,

   Today is Monday, February the 10th.

   It’s been a week since I meet Shane. My feelings for him grow every day. I’ve thought about telling him how I feel but I can’t.  Every time I am about to the same questions pop up. Does he feel the same as I do? If he doesn’t will it destroy our friendship?

   On another note this weekend is prom. I already have my dress and everything. Ashley and I are going together as friends. I wish I was going with Shane.

                                                             -W

   I put my journal in my desk and head downstairs. I can smell the burnt bacon from the stairs. My mom may be good at baking but she can’t cook anything else.

   “Mom, have you seen my bag? I can’t find it.”

   “It’s in the living room.”

   “Ok, I’m leaving.” I quickly grab my keys and head out the door.

   I get into my truck and shut the door. I can’t help but look to see if Shane has left yet. He hasn’t. I turn the key and nothing happens. Not again, I can’t believe this is happening again.

   I jump when someone knocks on the door. I look over and see Shane. I open the door “Hey”.

   “Hey, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

   “It’s fine.”

   “Having car trouble?”

   “Yeah, it won’t start.”

   “Let me try.” He reaches for the key. He brushes against me. My heart starts racing. His touch is like electricity; it spreads through my body like a wildfire. “Why don’t I give you a ride? I don’t think it’s going to be starting anytime soon.”

   “Thanks.”

   “No problem.”

   We get into his red mustang and head to school. We barley talk. I can’t help but watch him. I watch as the muscles in his arms tighten when he grips the wheel. My heart is beating so fast I think it’s going to burst out of my chest. I’m going to tell him. I start to speak but no words come out. Why the hell am I so scared to tell him?

   “You alright?” Shane suddenly breaks the silence.

   “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

   “Well for one you have been staring at me for the past ten minutes with the same expression on your face.”

   “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize I was staring.”

   “It’s fine, I don’t mind it. As long as it’s you that’s staring at me.”

   “What!?”

   “I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Can we just forget I said that?”

   “No. What do you mean by If I’m the one staring at you?”

   “Nothing, please just forget I said that.”

   “Wait no. Do you like me?”

   “Of course I like you. We’re friends are we not.”

   “I mean do you like me like me. Like you want to be more than friends.”

   “Maybe.” He tries to avoid eye contact.

   “Really.”

   “Yeah.”

   “How… how long have you felt this way?”

   “Awhile. Why does it matter?”

   “It matters because I feel the same way. I have since we met.”

   Shane pulls the car over and looks at me in shock. “You have!?”

   “Yeah, I have wanted to tell you but I didn’t think you felt the same.”

   Shane suddenly leans over and kisses me. I kiss him back and wrap my arms around him in reply. I feel a fire rush threw my body again, but this time it is different. It feels so passionate and welcomed. I hope this feeling never ends.

   He pulls away “Ok, that was um.”

   “Great.” I smile as the word gently passes through my lips.

   “Yeah, great!” He continues to look at me. “We should get going if we are going to be on time.”

   “Ok.”

   He starts the car, and before pulling away, reaches over and grabs my hand. “Do you mind?”

   “No, I don’t mind.”

   It takes us about ten minutes to get to school. The whole time Shane never let go of my hand. I never want him to.

   “Shane, what is this?”

   “What is what?”

   “You and me, what are we?”

   “I don’t know. What I do know is that I want to be your boyfriend.”

   “So we are dating?”

   “Yeah.”

   “Now we need to talk about what we are going to tell Ashley. She’s my best friend I tell her everything. I can’t keep this from her.”

   “I know; we will tell her.”  He says with the most beautiful smile on his face.

   “Ok, but let me tell her.”

   “Alright. On another note, will you go to prom with me?”

   “Yes I will go to the prom with you!!!”

   We both get out of the car. Ashley was waiting for us. “Hey Ashley” we both say in unison with a smile.

   “Hey you two. What’s with the grinning?”

   “Nothing” my reply makes me smile more.

   “Really, so you're both extremely happy and have no reason to be happy?”

   Shane wraps his arm around her shoulders “just go with it.”

   “So there is a reason and you’re not going to tell me.”

   Shane and I reply in unison “basically”.

   “Great.”

   We head to our lockers. On our way there Shane tries to grab my hand but I glare at him and he stops. I wanted him to take my hand, but we need to tell Ashley first. I hate myself for stopping him. I just want to feel his touch again. I never want the fire to go away.

   Shane sits in front of me in Spanish. He keeps looking back at me grinning. I smile in reply every time.

   I feel like somebody's watching me. I look over to the other side of the classroom. It’s David. He is just sitting there staring at me and he looks mad. Why is he staring at me and why does he look mad? The bell rings.

   Shane and I start to leave the classroom when David walks up to us. “Hey Willow, Shane”.

   “Let us through David” Shane gets in between David and I.

   “Come on, I am just trying to have a friendly conversation.”

   “Yeah right,” the words just blurt out of my mouth.

   “Fine,” David turns and walks away.

   Shane looks at me “You ok?”

   “Yeah, let’s get going.”

   We started walking down the hall. “So, are you going to tell Ashley like we planned?” Shane asked.

   “Yeah, but I don’t know how she is going to take it.” I say with a slight frown on my face.

   Shane grabs my hand. “What is it?”

   “Ashley has been my friend for years. We have always gone to things like this together. I don’t want it to seem like I am ditching her for you.”

   “It won’t. Just explain it to her, she will understand.”

   “Alright.”

   I enter the courtyard, Shane stayed back so I could talk to Ashley. I see Ashley sitting next to the bushes across the courtyard. “Hey Ashley” I say as I sit down.

   “Hey where is Shane?”

   “Bathroom.”

   “Ok. Are you going to tell me why you and Shane were acting so weird this morning?”

   “Actually yeah, I was wanting to talk to you about that.”

   “Go on.” Ashley says seeming interested in what I have to say.

   “Well….” I hesitate to tell Ashley about me and Shane. Why is this so hard?

   “Come on just spit it out.”

   “Shane and I we’re together.”

   “Together, like dating?” Her eyes get wide as the words pass through her lips.

   “Yeah.”

   “Since when?”

   “This morning.” I can’t help but smile when I think of what happened this morning is Shane’s car.

   “You really like him?”

   “Yes, and he feels the same way. So you’re ok with it?”

   “Of course as long as he doesn’t hurt you I am fine with it.”

   “That’s good, but there is one more thing.”

   “What?”

   “I’m going to the dance with Shane. He asked me.”

   “I thought we were going together?”

   “We were, he just asked me this morning. I’m sorry.”

   “It’s ok. I shouldn’t get mad.”

   “So we are good?”

   “Yeah we’re good.”

   We see Shane walking towards us. “Hey Shane” Ashley says.

   “Hey” Shane looks at me and I nod.

   “Shane, just to let you know if you hurt her I hurt you, got it.” Ashley’s face looks so serious it’s funny.

   “Got it. I’m not going to hurt her.”

   “Good.”

   Shane sits next to me in the grass. I can’t help but smile. I take his hand in mine and he smiles back. I love him.

   The rest of the school day goes good. There are no more run-ins with David. Thank God.

   Shane drives me home. “Thanks for the ride.”

   “No problem.’

   “Do you want to come in?”

   “Yeah. Will your mom mind?”

   “She’s not home.”

   “Where is she?”

   “Work. She won’t be back until around ten thirty or eleven tonight.”

   “Ok.”

   We walk inside. “So where does your mom work?” Shane asks.

   “She is a nurse at the ER.”

   “How often is she on the night shift?’

   “Every other night except for the weekends.”

   “That’s a lot.”

   “Yeah. The ER only has three or four nurses so my mom and one of the others split up the week, and the other two work the weekends.”

   We walk up the stairs to my room. I put my bag on its hook. Shane sits on the bed. He has been in my room before but this time he seems different. “So what do you want to do? We could Study or watch a movie.”

   “How about a movie.”

   “Which one?” I point to the bookcase next to my desk.

   Shane walked over to the bookcase and started to look through the movies. “These are all horror or action movies.”

   “So what.”

   “Nothing I just figured most of them were chick flicks or something.”

   “God no. I hate those kind of movies.”

   “Me two. Why don’t we watch The Conjuring? I haven’t watched it yet.”

   “Good choice. I love this movie.”

   We walk into the living room. “You want to put in the movie and I’ll get the popcorn.”

   “Yeah.”

   I walk into the kitchen, get the popcorn out of the cabinet and put it in the microwave. For some reason I’m nervous. Shane has been over before but we were just friends then. What going to happen? Do I want something to happen?

I jump when I hear the beep from the microwave. I put the popcorn in a bowl and walk back to the living room.

   “Popcorn” I say entering the living room.

Shane starts the movie as I sit the popcorn on the coffee table. I watch him as he walks back to the couch.

“You're staring again” he says looking at me.

“Oh God, sorry.” I start to blush as I look away

“No need to apologize.”

Shane sits down and puts his arm around me. I lean onto him in reply. This is the first time we have gotten this close. The wildfire starts up again.

I look at Shane and he is looking at me. My eyes meet his. He leans towards me and presses his lips against mine. The kiss is so passionate that I feel like I am melting into him.

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer as we kiss. My body is on fire. He lays me on my back. I want him but this is too soon. “Shane” I say fighting against my own will.

“Yes” he replies before kissing my neck.

It feels right but I can’t “We should wait.”

He stops and looks at me “you're right, I got carried away. I’m sorry.”

 “You don’t need to apologize. I want to, I do, but I think it’s too soon.”

“Yeah me too.”

“You’re not mad.”

“No I’m not mad.” He kisses me again then gets up.

I sit up. I’m such an idiot. He probably hates me now. I don’t want him to hate me. “Shane?”

“Yeah.” He doesn’t even look at me.

“Are you sure you’re not mad? Because I feel like you are.”

“I’m sure I am not mad. I agree that it’s too soon and we should wait.”  He looks at me and grabs my hand. “I’m not mad.”

“Ok.”

Shane puts his arm around me again. We just sit and finish the movie. I want to be closer to him. I want to feel his body against mine, but this is as close as we can get for now.

We finish the movie. Shane probably jumped twenty times before the movie finished. Although he denied it every single time.

The phone rings “Hello?” I answer the phone and I can hear breathing on the other side but there is no answer. “Hello? I can hear you breathing.” They hang up.

“Who was that?” Shane looks at me with a confused yet concerned look on his face.

“I don’t know. I could hear breathing but the person didn’t say anything.”

“Check the caller ID.”

I check the caller ID. “It says Unknown Caller and has no number.”

“That’s weird.”

“It was probably just a prank call.”

“Maybe, but just in case I should stay with you until your mom gets home.”

“I wouldn’t mind that…”

“I feel a ‘but’ coming on”

“…but if my mom found out you were here that late she would have a cow.”

“So bad idea?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. I guess I should be heading home then.” He walks over wraps his arms around my hips and kisses me. “If you need anything call me or come over ok.”

“Ok.”

Shane leaves and I head up to my room. I sit at my desk and work on homework. Let’s see I have a work packet for chemistry and a test in physics to study for.

I hear a loud noise come from the hallway. I walk out of my room and get this weird feeling, somethings different. I look down the hall and notice something on the floor.

I slowly walk toward the object. It’s a picture frame. I look at the wall and saw where it was from. It must have fallen. I sigh a breath of relief  

I pick the frame and turn it over. What? Where is the picture?  The picture is missing. I try to remember which picture was in the frame. I look and the wall and remember is was a picture of my mom, me and my dad. It was taken during our first and last family vacation. Where could it have gone? I start to panic when I hear a door shut from down the hall.

I run downstairs and pick up the phone. I have this feeling that someone is watching me. Call Shane Willow, call Shane.

The phone rings. “Willow, What’s wrong?” Shane answers.

“I think there is someone in the house.” I whisper trying to stay quiet. I hear footsteps from above the kitchen. Mom’s room.

“Willow, get outside. I’m on my way.”

I meet Shane out in my front yard. His dad is with him. “What happened?” Shane and his dad ask in unison.

   “There is someone inside. In my mom’s room, upstairs.”

   “You two stay out here. Shane call the police, ok. I’m going to have a look around.” Shane’s dad walks into the house.

Shane calls the police. “Hello, there is someone in my girlfriend’s house… 28 Oxford Lane… Shane…”

   Shane is still on the phone when we hear gunshots from inside the house. Shane drops the phone “Stay here!” He yells at me.

   “Shane don’t” I try to stop him but he is already inside.

   I hear the operator from the phone and pick it up “Yes” my voice is shaking. “I don’t know... Willow… ok… please hurry…” I hear sirens from down the street. “Yes, I’m still here...”

   Two police cars pull up and I hang up the phone. “Willow?” The cop walks up to me.

   “Yes”

   “We need you to stay here ok. Where is Shane?”

   “Inside somewhere. His father went in to check things out and when we heard the shots Shane ran in. I tried to stop him.”

   “It alright an ambulance is on its way you wait out here ok. We are going to go in and find Shane and his father alright.”

   “Alright.”

   I watch as the four officers walk into the house. After a few minutes one of the officers comes out. “Are they ok?” I ask. So many thoughts have been running through my head I need to know.

   “Shane is ok, but his dad was shot.”

   “What about the person who shot him?”

   “He got away.”

   The ambulance pulls up. My mom hops out of the back and everyone else runs in to help Shane’s dad. “Mom!” I run and hug her. “What are you doing here?”

   “I heard what everything over the scanner. Are you ok?”

   “Yeah, but Shane’s dad was shot.”

   “And Shane?”

   “He is ok.”

   We stand and wait. It felt like forever when they finally came out. I watched for Shane. I ran as fast as I could to him.

“Shane” I looked at him worried. He looks like he is about to break down. I can’t help but embrace him.

   “Willow, my dad.”

   “I know. They are going to help him.”

   “What if he...”

   “Don’t go there Shane.” I end the hug and look at Shane. “You can’t think like that.”

   “I know but I can’t help it.”

   One of the police officers walk up behind us. “We need you both to give us a run through of what happened before we got here to put in the report.”

   “Shane?” I look at Shane and he nods. “Alright.”

   “Why don’t we go sit on the sidewalk.”

   We both sit down. I give my statement first. I tell everything about the picture, the door, and the footsteps. I even tell them about that weird call I got earlier. Maybe it had something to do with this. When I’m finished they have Shane give his statement.

   After finishing with the police my mom drives us to the hospital. Shane doesn’t say a word the entire way there. He just stared out the window.

   When we enter the E.R. my mom walked over to the desk to find out where they took Shane’s dad. I look over at Shane and he is just staring at the floor. I reach over and take his hand. He pulls away without saying a word.

   Does he blame me? I understand why. I am the reason his father was in the house. The reason he got shot. I am the reason he may die. I blame me. This is all my fault…  

 

 

Chapter 3

 

Dear Diary,

   Today is Tuesday, February the 1lth.

   The police still haven’t been able to figure out who the person was or why they broke in yesterday. The only thing that he took was the photo from the hallway. I’m still freaked out over the whole ordeal.

   Good news, Shane’s dad is going to be ok. The bullet didn’t hit anything major. The doctor said he was lucky. If the bullet had hit even an inch higher he would have died.

   Bad news, Shane hasn’t answered any of my text or calls. I wish he would just talk to me. My mom and I are going to the hospital before I have to go to school to see him. He wouldn’t leave his dad last night so my mom is taking him some clothes and stuff. Maybe he will talk to me. I can’t stand him not talking to me.

                                                                 -W

   “Willow, come on! We need to go!” My mom yells from downstairs.

   “Coming!” I run out of my room to the stairs. I stop next to the spot where the picture once hung.  That picture was the last photo I took with my dad before he died.

   “Willow” I jump when my mom said my name. “Are you ok?”

   “Yeah, I guess I’m still a little jumpy.”

   “That’s understandable. You ready?”

   “Yeah.”

   We leave the house and head to the hospital. On the way there all I can think about is Shane. Will he talk to me? Will he even look at me? Does he blame me? I think back to yesterday when he pulled away from me. Will he ever forgive me?

   The hospital is quiet when we arrived. We take the elevator to the recovery floor. It felt like the elevator would never reach the floor. I was so anxious I could barely breath. I can’t wait to see Shane.   

   Shane watches me as I enter the room. He fidgets in his seat as I walk up to him. I start to say something but he interrupts me. “Can we talk?” He almost seems nervous.

   “Of course we can talk. What is it?”

   “Not here.” Shane stands up and grabs my hand. “Somewhere private.” He takes me out of the room and down the hall.

   “Shane where are we going?”

   “I told you somewhere private.” He pulls me into the first empty room he sees, and I hear the door shut behind us.

   “Sha….” Before I can even say name he pushes me against the wall and presses his lips on mine. At that moment I knew he still loved me, that he does not blame me.

   Shane starts to pull away but I just pull him closer. I groan as his hand slides down the middle of my back. I wrap my legs around his waist as he picks me up. “Shane” I whisper as his lips gently move down my neck. He sits me on the nightstand by the bed. I don’t want to stop.

   At that moment we hear a crash from the hallway. Shane pulls away and walks over to look out the window. “It’s just one of the nurses.”

   “Thank God, for a second I thought it was my mom.”

   “Well it wasn’t.” He walks back over and wraps his arms around my waist, and kisses my neck again.

   “Shane.”

   “I know.” He looked into my eyes “We should get back. You have to get to school”.

   “Yeah, I do.”

   “You sound so disappointed. It’s cute.”

   “Of course I’m disappointed. I won’t be with you. I’ll be alone all day.”

   “You still have Ashley.”

   “Yeah. But she is not my boyfriend, you are.”

   “Really, so you’re playing that card.”

   “Yeah.”

   Shane leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “Come on.”

   When we get back to the room my mom gives me one of her looks. “What?”

   “Where did you two disappear to?”

   I start to talk but Shane interrupts me “we went for a walk. I wanted to talk to her without waking my dad.”

   “Alright. Willow we should get going.”

   “Alright, bye Shane.”

   As soon as my mom walks out of the room Shane pulls me in for one last kiss before I leave. “Bye.”

I meet my mother in front of the elevator. “What took you so long?”

“Nothing.” I could not help but smile.

“If it was nothing, what’s with the smile?”

“I told you it’s nothing.”

When we enter the elevator there is a guy standing in the corner. I get a feeling of unease. I feel like he is watching me. I can feel his eye watching every move I make. Who is this guy?

   I decide not to tell my mom about the man. It is probably just my mind playing tricks on me. At least I hope that is the case.

   Neither my mom or myself speak the entire way to school. After she parks I look at the clock and see I still have thirty minutes before class. I start to get out of the car when the door locks. “Mom! What are you doing?”

   “I need to ask you something.”

   “What do you need to ask me?”

   “You and Shane…” She hesitates. “You guys are being safe right?”

   “What do you mean being safe?”

   “I mean using protection.”

   “God mom. It’s not like that.”

   “Then what were you two doing after school yesterday when I wasn’t home? And this morning where did you two disappear to?”

   “Yesterday all we did was watch a movie, and earlier we were just talking.”

   “So you two are not.”

   “No mom, we’re not.”

   “Thank God.”

   “Why does it matter anyways?”

   “I just don’t…”

   “Don’t what?”

   “I don’t want you to end up in the same situation I did.”

“You mean you don’t want me to end up pregnant and in high school.”

“Yes, just please promise me that if you do decide to take that next step you’ll be careful.”

   “I promise.”

   “Thank you.”

   I get out of the car and head to class. Ashley isn’t at the lockers, she’s probably in class by now. I really wanted to talk to her. I somehow manage to get seated before first bell.

   By the middle of first period I could no longer pay attention to the teacher. I keep daydreaming about Shane. I flashback to when we were alone. The way he held me, the way his hands caressed my body. I never wanted him to stop.

After a few minutes I start to think about the conversation I had with my mom in the car. I want to take the next step with Shane but what if mom is right. She was my age when she got pregnant. What if that happens to me.  

I made it through lunch. Luckily I got to talk to Ashley during study hall. Talking to her always helps me feel better.

By the time third block begins I feel like my normal self. Although I can’t stop daydreaming about Shane. A few times I thought of what could have happened if we hadn’t stopped this morning. If I had let myself lose control.

“Willow!” I hear my name being yelled from the front of the classroom.

“Yes, Mr. Thomas?” I look up and see Mr. Ditmore standing by the door. What’s going on?

“Your leaving.”

I gather my things and leave the room. There are two police officers waiting for me in the hallway. “What’s going on?”

“Willow, we need you to come down to the station.”

“Why?”

“We have a suspect.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Your mother is going to meet us there. We need to get going.”

“Then let’s go.”

My mom is waiting outside the station with another officer when we arrive. I saw the look on her face and knew something was wrong. I could feel it. “Mom, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. We were waiting for you to get here.”

“Willow, Mrs. Elena.” A man I have never seen before comes up behind us. He doesn’t look like the other officers. Instead of a uniform, he wears a suit.

“Yes.” My mom and I reply in unison.

“I’m agent Russo. Why don’t you two come in so I can explain what’s going on.” He holds the door as we enter the station. “This way.” Russo leads us to a room at the back of the station.

Agent? What type of agent? Who the hell is this guy? Thought after thought ran through my mind. At least I am about to find out what’s going on.

“Please sit down.”

My mother and I both sit. “You said you are an agent.  Like a government agent?” I ask with curiosity and confusion.

“Yes, I work for the DEA branch of the FBI.”

   “The DEA.” My mother looks at the man shocked.

   “Yes the DEA.”

   “Mom, didn’t dad work the DEA?” She ignores the question.

   “What does a robbery have to do with the DEA?” She does her best to avoid eye contact.

   “The reason we are involved is because all the evidence we have points to a drug cartel we have been after for years.”

   “Why would someone from a drug cartel break into our house and only take a picture?” I want to know what’s going on.  

   “We think it has something to do with your father.”

   “What does this have to do with my husband?” I can hear the confusion in my mother’s voice.

   “Robert was undercover in the cartel before his accident.” Something in the way he talked, he’s lying about something I can feel it. “We think they figured out his true identity and are trying to get payback.”

   “Payback? How do they plan on getting payback?” I speak without thinking. I also think I know the answer.  

   “They plan on killing you, Willow.”

   “What?” My mom grabs my arm as if to protect me. “Are you sure? How do you know?” She starts to panic. I’m so shocked I can’t even speak. They want to kill me.

   “We know this because Willow has been targeted. They most likely broke in so they could confirm your relation to Robert and scare you.” He looks at me. “They’ve probably been watching you for weeks. They are probably still watching you. The call you got was a threat.”

   “A threat?” I can finally speak.

   “Yes, a threat. The call is there way of informing their victims that they have been targeted.” He answers my question without hesitation.

   “How serious is this threat?” My mom’s voice shook as she spoke.

   “Very.” His answer was blunt and uncaring.

   I can’t help it I have to ask him “What aren’t you telling us?”

   “What do you mean?” He defends himself.

   “You're lying about something, I can tell in the way you talk. Especially earlier when you talked about my father.” I speak with a forceful yet calm voice.

   “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Russo avoids eye contact.

   “It has to do with my dad doesn’t it. Every time I mention him you avoid eye contact.” This time he does not reply.

   “You both are going to be put in the witness protection program. It is the only way to keep you both safe.” He continues to avoids my question.

   “No.”

   “Willow, if it’s the only way to keep you safe we should do it.” I can tell by her voice that she is concerned.

   “Mom, I can’t. I don’t want to be running and hiding away for the rest of my life.”

   My mom looks over to agent Russo “Is there anything else you can do?”

   “I could try to get you both around the clock bodyguards.”

   “Fine, as long as I can stay here and continue to live my life.”  

   My mom and I wait outside the station as they assigned our body guards. I wish Shane was here. I really need him right now. I am still shocked by the situation.

   I pull out my phone to call Shane when someone pulls it from my hand “What the hell!” I don’t recognize the two guys but they are dressed similar to Russo. They must be agents.

   “You shouldn’t do that.” His voice is low and ruff.

   “And why not?” I stand up in front of the man crossing my arms.

   “Because they’ve probably tapped your phone.” He turns off my phone and sticks it in his pocket.

   “And how was I supposed to know that? How am I going to call people?”

   “This.” He hands me a black flip phone. “That’s a burner phone. You can’t use it any longer then three days.”

   “Why?”

   “Willow, do as he says.” My mom places her hands on my shoulder.

   “You must be Elena.” The agent sticks out his hand. “I’m agent Morgan with the DEA.” My mom shakes his hand in reply. “I’m going to be willows body guard. My partner agent Hanley will be yours.” Agent Hanley reaches over and shakes my mom’s hand.

   “So what now?” I interrupt to end the conversation. I want to leave. I want to go see Shane. I need to tell him what’s going on.

   “Now we get you home.” This time it was Hanley who answered. His voice was similar to agent Morgan’s but softer and more relaxed.

   “Can we stop by the hospital on the way home?” I ask hoping he says yes.

   “Sure why not.” Hanley looks at Morgan who gives him a hateful look.

   “Thank you.” I head to the car.

   My mom and I sit upfront with the government goons in the back. Do I need to tell them about the man in the elevator? Agent Russo said they probably have someone watching me. What if that was him? If I tell them they may not let me go back to the hospital. I want to see Shane. I can’t tell them.

   We arrive at the hospital. “Willow.” My mom walks over to me. “I’m have to go talk to someone but you and agent Morgan can go ahead to see Shane.”

   “Alright.”

   Agent Morgan and I head to the recovery floor. I hate this whole body guard thing. How am I going to get alone time with Shane now?

   “Shane,” I walk up and hug him.

   “What are doing here?” He hugs me back. “I thought you were at school.”

   “I was. It’s a long story.” I pull away from Shane.

   “Does it have to do with this guy who’s watching you like a hawk?” He motions towards agent Morgan.

    “Yeah.” I turn around and look at Morgan “Can you wait outside?”

   He hesitant to answer “fine, I’ll be right outside the door.”

   “Thank you.” I turn back to Shane. “Where’s your dad?”

   “They took him up to physical therapy. So what’s going on? Who is that guy?”

   “That’s agent Morgan.”

   “Agent?” Shane’s eyes widen.

   “Sit down and I will explain,” I close the door. Shane and I both sit on the bed; I tell him everything.

   “So let me clarify this. Your dad was a DEA agent, and the people he angered are now trying to kill you?” He looks at me with confusion and concern.

   “Yes.”

   “And now you have to be guarded twenty-four seven?”

   “Yes.”

   “How are you so calm right now?”

   “I guess because I’ve had longer to let it sink in.”

   Shane wraps me in a hug. We just sit there holding each other. “Shane, I love you.”

   “I love you too.” He wraps his arms tighter around my body.

   “Willow, Shane.” My mom knocks on the door.

   Shane and I pull away from each other at the same time. “Yeah?” We speak in unison.

   “Can I open the door?” I can hear a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

   “Of course.” Before she even has a chance to grab the knob I pull the door open.

   “We need to get going, it’s getting late. Shane your dad wants me to take you home. I told him you could stay with us, he said it was up to you.”

   “I guess I’ll stay with you guys.”

   “Alright, let’s get going.”

   I switched seats with agent Hanley so I could sit in the back with Shane. Unfortunately, that meant I would also be sitting in the back with agent Morgan. I really hate this guy. Why does he have to be my bodyguard? I hope this doesn’t last forever.

When we get home Shane and I walk over to his house. Luckily I convinced them to let us go by ourselves. I will finally get some alone time with Shane.

“Thank god.” I sigh in relief when we enter his room.

“What?” Shane wraps his arms around my waist.

“I’m finally away from the goon squad.”

“Oh.” He kisses me. “So what are you going to do during your few minutes of freedom?”

“This,” I kiss him back.

“Just that?” He smiles. “I think you could do little better.”

“Really, let’s see.” I kiss him again, but this time I don’t stop. I wrap my arms around his neck as we move towards the bed.

Shane picks me up and lays me with my back against the mattress facing him. He slides his right hand from my hip to the bottom of my thigh. “Tell me when you want me to stop” he whispers in my ear.

I whisper back “I never want you to stop”.  I groan as Shane kisses my neck.

He slips his hand beneath my shirt as he continues to kiss my neck. I take off my shirt, and in reply he does the same. When his skin touches mine it feels like fire. The same way it did the first time we touched.

I start to unbuckle his belt. Shane sits up on his knees and throws the belt across the room. I pull him back into a kiss. I’m not stopping this time, I can’t. I love him.

Before I know it I’m in just my bra and underwear, and Shane is in just his boxers. I groan as he kisses my stomach moving towards my legs. My body aches for his touch. He pulls my underwear off, then his own. He kisses my neck. I groan as I bury my face into his shoulder.

 Shane leans over and kisses my forehead as he pulls up his pants. "Did you hear that?"

“What?” I looked at Shane.

“I heard something from downstairs.”

“Shane, Willow,” we hear someone call for us.

“Here,” Shane tosses me my shirt.

We hear someone call for us again. “Upstairs,” I yell back.

“What’s taking you guys so long?” I meet agent Hanley in the hall.

“We were talking and lost track of time.”

“Is that why your shirts inside out and backwards.”

“What,” I look down and see the tag of my shirt. “You can’t tell my mom.”

“Don’t worry your secret is safe with me.”  

“Thank you,” the feeling of relief and embarrassment washes over me. I walk back into the room to get Shane and fix my shirt.

When we got home my mom was waiting for us. Luckily she bought our story about losing track of time. She has no idea of what we were really doing. Thank God.

“Shane I got you an air mattress from the basement,” she points to one of the air mattresses on the floor.

“Actually, I was hoping he could stay in my room.”

“No way. He is staying downstairs.”

“Please mom. He will still sleep on the air mattress just in my room.”

“Willow,” I can tell she’s getting frustrated with me.

“Please.”

“Fine, but he stays on the air mattress.”

“Alright,” I help Shane carry his stuff to my room.

Shane sets up the air mattress next to my bed. "I'm going to go change while the mattress is blowing up."

"Alright, do you remember where the bathroom is? "

"Yeah," Shane grabs his bag and walks out of the room.

I walk over and sit on my bed. When I close my eyes I can still feel Shane's touch. I think about what we did then about my promise. The promise I made mom, I broke it. I have never broken a promise to my mother before. If she finds out she will never forgive me. Shane and I did not use protection. What if I end up pregnant? This is bad, so bad.

"Willow," Shane says my name as he walks back into the room.

"Yeah."

"Are you okay, " he sits down on the bed with me.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know you just looked a bit upset when I walked in," he wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.

"I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what," Shane gently pulls at my earlobe with his teeth.

"Us, what we did."

Shane puts his hand on my thigh "do you regret it?"

"No, I don't regret it. It's just I made a promise to my mom."

"What promise?"

"To be safe and careful if we ever decided to take the next step."

"You’re worried because we didn't use protection."

"Shane what if I end up pregnant. I can't ..."

"You're on the pill right?", Shane takes my hand in his.

"Yeah."

"Then it should be fine."

"Shane there is a forty percent chance I will still get pregnant."

"And a sixty percent chance you won't, think positive."

"Alright, let's just go to bed," I get up and walk over to my closet. "I'll be back in a minute," I head to the bathroom.

When I return to the room Shane is sitting on the edge of the air mattress. "Come here," he holds his hand out wanting me to take it.

"What," I take his hand then sit down next to him.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Shane you don't need to apologize. I over reacted."

"No you didn't. It's understandable that you would be worried about that."

"You're not worried."

"Yes I am."'

"It doesn't seem like it. You're so calm, and you don't look worried."

"How about this, we will both figure out the signs and if you start to show them we will get a test and figure it out from there."

"Okay, sounds like a plan."

"Good," Shane put his hand on my thigh then leaned over and kissed me.

We continued to kiss as I lay back pulling him towards me. He moves his hand up my thigh and up under my shirt. "Shane, we can't my mom’s downstairs."

"I know," he pulls his hand out of my shirt. I laugh.

"are you ticklish."

"Maybe," I grin.

"Well, let's see," Shane starts tickling me and I can't help but laugh.

"Shane, stop it," I continue to laugh trying to get him to stop. "Shane," I pull Shane into a kiss trying not to laugh.

"Maybe I should tickle you more often."

"Or not. I hate being tickled."

"You didn't seem to hate it a minute ago."

"Well I do."

"Whatever you say. We should probably get in bed."

"Yeah," I pull Shane in for one last kiss before bed. "Night."

"Night."

 

 

Part of Chapter 4

4

Dear Diary,

    Today is Saturday, February the 15th.

It’s been a couple of days since everything happened. Shane’s dad is improving every day, but they are going to keep him for another week or so. Which means Shane will continue to stay with us. I love having him around all the time. After what happened Tuesday I feel a lot closer to him, although I’m still worried about the possible consequence. If I’m pregnant my mom will never forgive me.

                                                              -W

 

"What's that," Shane walks over and playfully tries to take my diary.

"It's nothing. I thought you were in the shower."

"I was. Really what is that?"

"My diary."

"You keep a diary?" Shane looks like he's trying not to laugh.

"Don't laugh at me."

"I'm not."

"Sure," I go over to my desk and put my diary in the drawer. I twitch when Shane's arms come from behind and wrap around my waist.

"Sorry if I startled you," I can feel Shane's breath on the back of my neck.

"It’s alright," I lean into Shane. I pull Shane's arms tighter around me as he kisses my neck and shoulder.

Shane turns me around so I face him. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a kiss. He picks me up and carries me over to the bed. He carefully lays me on the bed "Shane my mom and the agents."

"She already left for work with Hanley."

"Are you sure they left and agent Morgan."

"I'm sure. We’ll be quite."

"Okay," I pull Shane back into a kiss.

I put my hands under his shirt wanting him to take it off. He does and I follow. I try to refrain from groaning. I can feel the warmth from Shane's breath as he kisses my stomach.

"What the hell," agent Morgan is standing in the doorway to my room. “You two could at least shut the door.”

"Shit," Shane and I sit up. I grab the blanket to cover myself. "Get the hell out," I throw a pillow at Morgan.

"Alright, no need to be hostile," he walks out the door smiling.

“Oh my God,” I lean my head on Shane’s shoulder. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

“Here,” Shane hands me my shirt.

“Do you think he’ll tell my mom?”

“I hope not,” Shane pull his shirt over his head. “She’ll kill me if she finds out.”

“She’ll kill both of us.”

“True,” we both laugh. Shane places his hand on my knee “You know I love you right?”

“Yes, just like you know that I love you,” I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. “Now what do you want?”

“Why do you assume I want something?”

“Because I know you. Seriously, what is it?”

“Do you absolutely want to go to the dance tonight?”

“To be honest, no. The only reason I was going in the first place was Ashley, I never really wanted to go.”

“So it's ok if we don’t.”

“Of course its ok.”

I hear the house phone ringing down stairs. Shane and I walk down to answer it. Since the phone call I got on Monday they have been monitoring the phone in case they call again.

“You know the drill” Agent Morgan is waiting by the phone.

“Hello?” I wait for someone to answer.

“Is this Willow Jones?” The voice belongs to a man but I don’t know who.

“Yes, who is this?”

“You know you prettier the they described, especially in the tank top and shorts you are wearing.”

“Again who is this?” I try to keep from shaking, it doesn’t work. How does he know what I’m wearing? Morgan must have had the same thought because he is looking around holding his gun.

“Mm… jasmine and lilac.”

“What?”

“Your perfume, it's jasmine and lilac. Where did you get it?”

“I got it from a friend.”

“You mean Ashley, right.”

“How did you know that?”

“We’ve been watching you for the past month. You can learn a lot about someone in that time.”

“What the hell do you want with me?”

“We want to use you to get revenge. We are going to kill you Willow, don’t you get that?”  He laughs then hangs up the phone.

“Come here,” Shane wraps me in a hug as I start to cry. At that moment we hear a loud crash from upstairs.

“He’s in the house. You to stay here.” Agent Morgan runs upstairs.

“Shane,” I wrap arms around his waist pulling him closer. I feel safe when I’m close to him.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let them hurt you.”

“He’s gone,” Morgan came down the stairs. “You to stay in the living room, I need to call this in.”

Shane and I walk over and sit on the couch. “They were in the house again, he was in my room. I don’t feel safe here anymore. I want to leave Shane, I want to get out of here.”

“It’s going to be ok,” He wraps his arms around me and kisses my forehead. “You’re going to be ok.”

“You two alright?” Morgan walks in from the kitchen.

“Yeah, what's going to happen now? How did he get in the house?” I tried to keep my voice from shaking but failed.

“I don’t know how he got in. My boss is going to send a team to check out the house and figure it out. They want you to check and see if anything is missing from your room.”

“Ok.”

“I’ll come with you.” Shane takes my hand and walks me upstairs.

I pause in my doorway, hesitant to enter the room. Shane reaches and lays his hand on the side of my face “What is it?”. I can hear the concern in his voice.

“Nothing it just, he was in my room.”

Shane pulls me into a hug and I buried my face in his shoulder “He’s gone. He can’t touch you, I won’t let him.”

“I can’t do this anymore Shane. I can’t sit around and wait for them to kill me. If they are going to do something why don’t they just get it over with.”

“Don’t talk like that, you can’t talk like that” he pulls me tighter against his body.

“I know,” I pull out of the hug and place my lips on his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, but I don’t want to hear you say anything like that again. Deal?”

“Deal.”

We enter the room together. I look around the room finding my closet. “Shane, didn’t I close the closet?”

“Yeah,” he too is looking at the closet.

“Then why is it open.”

“I don’t know. You should look inside and see if anything is missing.”

I walk over to the closet and notice the empty spot on the top shelf. A spot that held all my secrets and true feelings. The spot where my diary took residence. “My diary.”

“What?” Shane joins me at the closet.

“My diary, it’s gone.”

“Are you sure you didn’t just misplace it?”

“You saw me put it up there this morning.”

“Is anything else missing?”

I look around the room. “Everything seems to be here, except my perfume. It was on my nightstand and it’s gone.”

“Alright, let’s go downstairs and tell agent Morgan.”

“Okay.”

Shane takes my hand and we walk back downstairs.  Along with Morgan there are two other agents. “Agent Morgan.”

“Willow, Shane, these are agents Thomas and Miller,” he gestures to the men standing beside him. One of them is tall and has brown hair. The other is shorter and has blonde hair. They are both wearing the same tuxes and sunglasses as every other agent I have met. I guess they are DEA standard issue. “Was there anything missing from your room?”

“One of my diaries and the bottle of perfume from my nightstand.”

“One of your diaries?"

 

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 24.05.2018

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