Unseen Strings

Chapter 2

"A visit once in a while." JJ folded his arms.

"Oh and when did she tell you this?" She looked annoyed.

"When she drove me home from the airport." He smacked his lips. "Call her." He turned his back and waved his hand before disappearing out of the door.

"Airport?" I wondered out loud.

"Yeah, he has to travel occasionally." Laci stated nonchalantly:

"For what?" I couldn't help but be nosy.

"His work." She went back into the kitchen and began to put stuff away.

"What does he do?" I felt curiously rising.

"I'm not sure, but I know he has to travel for it, and when we lived at home he was only there for a little bit at a time. Mom always had to wash his fancy clothes...like suits and stuff." She threw the plastic bags in her plastic bag drawer. "I think he has like...real jewelry too."

"He must do something fancy." I shrugged.

"I guess." She turned to me. "Now, wanna explain why you thought JJ was an intruder and you went at him with an umbrella?"

"Well..." I began. "Come with me." I beckoned her and she was quick to follow me.

I shoved my door open and pointed to the rose and the crumpled up note I had thrown on my nightstand.

"Oh Rosie," Laci cooed, "not again." She trudged into my room and picked up the crumpled ball. As she gently pulled it apart, her eyes scanned over it. "Rosie... I'm sorry," she began.

I just held my head down.

"And we thought he was gone for good this time..." Laci began.

"Six months..." I felt my heart drop, "it's the longest he's ever left me alone....and a little piece of me hoped it would've been forever..." I lied to myself, it was only my heart that believed that. My mind had been correct.

Laci didn't say anything as she came up to me and enveloped me in her arms. "It'll be alright," she patted me lightly. "We just will make sure to lock the doors and lock the widows," she smiled at me as she grabbed onto my cheeks. "Besides, it's not like he's ever been violent, right?" She still beamed.

"Yea..." I could feel my heart in my stomach.

"Go on and have a rest," she cooed, gently guiding me back into my bedroom.

I just shook my head at her and crashed down onto the pillow. Sounds filtered their way through my door and I knew she was cooking. Pots and pans were banging around and I heard the flicker of the gas stove as she turned it on. The flickering stove light cast eerie shadows, a stark reminder of my mother, Ana Sofia. She was a constant presence in the kitchen, her silhouette illuminated by the gas flame. Though she was often loud and boisterous, wrapped in her oversized dresses, I missed her. The tension between us had grown since my "little problem" began—the mysterious letters addressed to "Angel." They arrived sporadically, each one a chilling reminder of the unseen force that stalked me. My mother, more than anyone, was disturbed by these unwelcome intrusions. She always asked who they were from and why they came, but I never had an answer and that annoyed her more. When I turned 18, I received a box, it was just a simple one...it was black with a pink bow tie on it. My mother found it on the stoop,

"Angelina!" Mama shouted from downstairs, "Tienes una caja... ¡otra vez!  (You have a box...again!)"

I went down the stairs and took the box from her hands. I did not have to look at it, as I knew who it was from.

"¿Aún no sabes de quién son? (You still don't know who they are from?)" her arms folded and her eyebrows knitted.

"No..." I began to answer, "I do not know exactly who it is..."

She stared at me with a scrunched up face.

"Mama leave her alone." Carmen walked up behind her, " let the girl have a life!" She jostled the woman.

Mama turned around and smacked her on the back.

Carmen yelped and I managed to make my escape back up the stairs.

There was not a card or anything on it, but after I opened the box, there was a little envelope with "Angel" on it, and something was carefully wrapped in paper. As I pulled the envelope open, the letter read in neat letters,

"Welcome to adulthood, my sweet Angel. I look forward to seeing you in a more... intimate light.."

A shiver ran down my spine as I unraveled the paper. My heart pounded as I recognized the sheer, black lingerie. Its lace and red roses were a stark contrast against my skin. It was completely see-through...as I stared wide-eyed, the door opened, and I rushed to conceal the package.

"So, anything good?" Carmen mused as she crashed upon her bed.

"N-No," I turned my face away, shame filling me. It was a new level of intrusion, a blatant disregard for my boundaries.

"Why are you so red?" She laughed out loud.

"D-Don't worry about it!" I rushed out, closing the box and shoving it beneath my bed.

As Laci hummed in the kitchen, my mind returned to the present. A sense of dread washed over me as I stared at the window, praying it would remain closed.