Intimate Stranger (Editing)

Chapter 7: Katie

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Part Seven

Friday, February 12, 2010

Shaking, I picked them back up, and stared at them, stunned. Pictures in hand, I swung my head in my friends' direction and frowned. "Is this some kind of joke?" I demanded. "Do you guys think this is funny?"

"What?! No!" Mary exclaimed, appalled that I would accuse them.

"No way!" Followed Sam, eyes wide.

Sabrina replied, bluntly, "Nope."

"We didn't do anything," Mary assured me. "We're just as... stunned as you are."

Slowly, I sat down on my bed. "H-h-how..." I stuttered, unable to get the question out: How did these get here? "Who took these?" I wondered, aloud.

There was a nervous silence, where no one knew what to say. "So... you didn't take them then?" Sabrina asked me, stupidly.

"Oh, yeah, I took them," I rolled my eyes. "That's right. I took naked pictures of myself in the shower, and then I just wrote creepy stuff on them and shoved them in my journal for safekeeping," I said, sarcastically.

"You don't have to be mean," Sam said, staring at the floor. "We just wanna help."

"Fantastic job you're doing," I replied, sarcastically again.

"Katie..." Mary started, "If you didn't take them... and we assume no one in your family took them...."

Sabrina finished for her, "Then that means someone was in your house..."

And it hit me. The shower. I had heard someone in my bedroom, taking pictures of me. Oh God. I almost puked at the thought.

Suddenly, there was a loud clanging sound, and it scared all of us, making us jump in surprise. "What the fuck was that?!" Sabrina shouted.

I knew what all of us were thinking - That it was the person that took the pictures, lurking around outside. But I only thought that for a moment.

"I think I know..." I whispered. I stood up from the bed, still holding the dreaded pictures, with shaky hands, and leisurely made my way to the sliding glass door, that lead to the balcony.

I moved the curtain over an inch, and sure enough, Trace stood on my terrace, an enormous grin on his face.

I swung the door open, and marched towards him. I had a hunch that it was him who took the pictures. That silly smile on his face just gave it away.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" I demanded. His smile vanished, and he frowned when he realized something was wrong, and saw the pictures in my hand.

"Who is it?" One of my friends questioned. I couldn't tell which voice it was I heard.

I turned to look at them. "Its just Trace."

I chorus of "ooooh"s filled the room.

I turned back to Trace. He ignored my question and asked, "Hey, what are those?" He questioned, glancing at the pictures.

"Yeah, like you don't know," I said, glaring.

He glanced into the room, and saw the three girls hunched over in the corner. "What's going on?" He looked concerned. He brushed passed me and walked right into the room.