Don't Let Him Get You

Chapter 13

The weekend passed quickly with Kiara mostly staying at home. The gang visited her for a while on Sunday, as they were all studying for different tests. Kiara had a chemistry test that coming Wednesday and she wanted to be completely prepared for it.

Lillian and Ronan were relieved that she had only sprained her ankle and not broken anything; although they were both adults with professions where they saw a lot of injuries, the thought of Kiara being badly injured weighed heavily on them. They didn't really ask her about the incident, but they knew that she was uneasy about what happened.

"Kiara, are you ready for school? I have to drop you off a little earlier than usual!" Lillian yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Kiara jumped up from her bed after quickly slipping on some socks. She grabbed her backpack and her Oxford shoes. Her white blouse billowed around her form as she tried to quickly yet neatly tuck it into her high waisted jeans; she almost slipped down the stairs a few times. She was still wearing the tensor bandage but was no longer limping. "I'm ready!"

"Alright! Come and grab your lunch and some breakfast. You can eat it in the car or at school." Lillian grabbed her large purse and her thermos of steaming coffee. They rushed out of the house and into the car.

As they drove to the school, Kiara flipped through some cue cards for the chemistry test as she ate some of the breakfast parfait Lillian made. She mumbled under her breath memorizing the different laws of thermodynamics.

"Are you ready for the test today?" Lillian asked.

"Mostly. I'm just trying to make sure I remember all of the laws and equations." Kiara sighed as she sank back into the car seat.

They pulled up to the school. "I'm sure you'll ace it! If you're anything like your dad in chemistry, there is no chance of you failing." Lillian smiled encouragingly as Kiara gathered her things.

"Let's hope so," Kiara softly sighed as she stepped out of the car.

Lillian drove off after shouting a quick 'good luck,' leaving Kiara standing on the sidewalk in front of the school. She stood for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts about what Lillian said—if you're anything like your dad. Kiara remembered her parents well, especially how kind and smart they were, so whenever anyone mentioned her resemblance to her parents, she always hoped they were being truthful and not just polite.

Although it was fairly quiet that morning, Kiara didn't hear the camera shutter as it captured multiple shots of her standing in front of the school. The car sat in the parking lot and the window was rolled down with a space big enough to get a clear shot. The photographer continued to stare at her, especially when she shuddered and glanced at her surroundings.

Kiara froze as she felt a familiar prickle at the nape of her neck and the hair raise on her arms. She was being watched. Looking around, she noticed the other people walking into the school, but no one paid any attention to her. She turned in a circle but there was no one. This feeling of being watched had been a constant companion for a few weeks. She shuddered once more and scurried into the school, hoping the feeling would dissipate once she was inside.

Kiara put her things into her locker, leaving her history books in her bag. She walked to the student lounge near her history classroom. Some students sat around one of the larger tables working on an assignment. One of the girls looked up and smiled at Kiara recognizing her from the play rehearsals. Kiara smiled back before settling onto one of the stools at the tall tables.

Her feet swung as she read over her history homework. The parfait sat partially eaten in front of her, the granola growing soft from the Greek yoghurt. Her concentration was interrupted as a group of younger boys loudly settled into some of the couches. The boys were talking about the new video game that was coming out on Friday. "—skip to stand in line."