You Made Me Fall, But That's Okay

Chapter Twenty-Six - I've Got My Eye On You

‘Laura! Laura, time to wake up! Get up now! Rise and shine! Come on, lazy bones! Up you get, Miss Gallagher! We’re going shopping!’

Groaning, I turned over in the bed, facing my back to the annoying person trying to wake me up. I just wanted to sleep longer … Just a few more minutes … That wouldn’t hurt. ‘Leave me alone, Ryan.’ I mumbled sleepily.

The person laughed heartily, grabbing my shoulder and shaking it vigorously. ‘This is Gabby, not Ryan. Come on, it’s ten o’clock. We all know how long it takes you to get ready. Oh, and someone left some mail addressed for you … Rodney found it at the front door this morning … Pretty odd. Anyway, hurry up. We’re dying to see what’s inside the envelope. Get up and open it. I’m going to pour water over your head if you don’t get up. Chelsea, grab the jug. Okay, gonna count to three. One, two -’

Grumbling under my breath, I pushed my head up from the pillow using my elbows to look at the white envelope placed beside me. Why on earth did someone leave mail for me if I was at Katie’s? Didn’t they know where I normally lived? How did they know I was at Katie’s? Maybe it was something from Ryan, but he would’ve texted me, right? Extremely confused, I dug my finger into the paper of the envelope and ripped it open. Inside was a tiny note with a message written in block capitals.

ONLY ONE COLOUR, BUT NOT ONE SIZE; STUCK TO THE GROUND, YET EASILY FLIES. PRESENT IN THE SUN, BUT NOT IN RAIN; DOING NO HARM, AND FEELING NO PAIN. WHAT IS IT? – THIS TIME YOU CAN FIND THE ANSWER OUT FOR YOURSELF, SWEETHEART. HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR SLEEPOVER.

‘What the hell?’ I muttered, reading it over again. Another riddle? What was the answer? This was actually pretty creepy … and I was getting worried. What normal person sent other people riddles? Travis wasn’t that weird, or smart … He didn’t even know that I was staying over in Katie’s, so it had to be someone that did know … One of Ryan’s friends? Were they trying to freak me out, or something? They were sure doing a good job if that was the case. This was my second riddle in less than twenty-four hours. Why were they sending me riddles? The first one was about silence. Now this?

Nicole reached over and grabbed my note curiously. She read it out loud, her frown growing deeper and deeper as she read another word. ‘Laura, who on earth sent you this?’

‘That’s just pure weird …’ said Katie, looking at me worriedly. ‘It’s like a freaky version of a Valentine’s card … but it’s September. Whoever sent you that can’t be normal. That’s a riddle, isn’t it?’

Brianna nodded slowly, taking the note as she put on her glasses. ‘Y’all know what it means, though, don’t you?’ We all shook our heads, so she rolled her eyes. ‘My dad always tries to solve these riddles. I mean, he’s a pure geek. I’ve definitely seen this one before. The answer is a shadow. Shadows are one colour, not one size and they’re always on the ground when it’s sunny and mainly not when it’s raining. They just fly along the ground behind us, or whatever … It’s obvious, right?’

I could feel myself starting to panic, so I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It didn’t work. I was doomed. ‘Okay, this is freaky. Last night I got an e-mail with a riddle in it last night. It’s answer was silence. Now this is shadow. Do I have a stalker? Shadows follow people no matter where they go, right? Oh gosh, I’m being followed … This is horrible –!’

‘What on earth are you talking about? This is so cool!’ said Chelsea suddenly. ‘I’ve never known anyone with a stalker! I wonder who it is … Maybe it’s some nerd with a crush on you. Or you know that guy who dresses in black all the time? What’s his name? Davin Harris? Even his name’s weird … I heard he writes really creepy poems, too … It could be him. Imagine if that dude had a crush on you? I’d be so embarrassed for you -!’