Toziette (Henry Bowers)(English version)

Chapter 14

The more days went by, the more comfortable Jane was with Henry. She saw him three times a week on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and the more classes went on, the more she got to get along with him. There was still a distance between the two teenagers, but Jane understood the boy a little better and was less and less afraid of him.

No more of the gang had approached her, and aside from Patrick's glaring looks at her, she hadn't had any problems in high school. Henry had told her that he made sure he was never alone in high school, which was reassuring.

A routine had become established in their classes, they didn't talk much, she would sit at the desk, explain the math lessons and start doing her homework while Henry did his exercises. They were taking a break in the garden, where Henry was smoking and drinking a beer, while Jane watched him do it. Sometimes they were humorous, but more often it was in silence.

That Tuesday evening, Jane left earlier, because her father couldn't come and get her. He had a dentists' convention, to test new tools and drugs. She didn't really know what it was, but she knew he hated drug reps, and didn't like leaving his assistant alone in the office for too long.

Jane enjoyed walking around Derry, she could take advantage of the outside air and use Stan's birding lessons to recognize birds. But tonight, Jane felt watched. The sounds of nature sounded different from usual, the crackling of branches, the rustling of leaves in the wind, everything. Everything seemed different.

She wasn't used to walking this road, which probably explained all the differences she noticed.

After walking for a while, she was joined by a cat, who let himself be petted before jumping, when he heard a branch crack and run away. Jane watched him walk away, quickly, as if he was running from something. She stared at the point where he had disappeared until the branch creaking became more numerous and closer. She jumped in turn when someone emerged from the bushes the cat had come through.

Patrick Fucking Hockstetter.

"Hey ! Wouldn't that be my favorite loser?"

She hadn't dreamed earlier. The boy was in front of her, blocking her way, a big smile plastered on his face.

He started to walk towards her.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other, tell me." His pace was slow, but the gap between them narrowed considerably with each step. "At the same time, the guys don't give me a second to myself." He stopped at a reasonable distance, Jane hadn't dared to move. Running away was useless and might just annoy Patrick. "Because of them, I haven't even been able to come and say hello since the last time." His smile widened, it was terrifying.

Jane was paralyzed and regretted not having fled at the same time as the cat.

"Are you from Henry's?" He casually placed his hands in his pockets, and leaned down so that their gaze was on the same level.

Jane tensed even more.

"No. I don't even know where he lives."

She was lying, badly.
Very bad.

The boy laughs. Laughter devoid of emotion, that he always had in this kind of situation.

"It's funny. Because he really lives very close to here, and you don't. "

He began to approach again. Jane wanted to cry, and she was trying as much as possible to hide her fear, not wanting to give him that satisfaction when she told him.

"Hockstetter, if you take one more step, I scream."

Useless threat, since there was only one house around, and it didn't matter who lived there, when they saw that Patrick was involved, they would turn a deaf ear.