The Perfect One

Chapter 18

The sound of the phone banging on the ground was what brought everyone rushing to me. I was frozen, struggling to breathe, looking at all of them frantically.

Tia was the first one to notice the phone lying on the ground. She picked it up as everyone looked on. "Hello?"

There was no response for a second, but then her expression changed. "Adam?" She breathed.

The next moment, Dad had snatched the phone out of her hand and Mom found her arms around me, walking me away.

I don't know how long I sat on the sofa, my eyes simply scanning the room. I could faintly hear Dad's voice talking to my friends' parents, who eventually left. Tia was the only one who stayed behind.

Finally, I whispered. "Mom? Can I have some water please?"

Her expression showed obvious relief. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get it." And then she went away leaving me alone with Tia. But I didn't say a word and neither did she.

Mom came back with the glass of water and I gulped it down. She rubbed my back. "Did he say why he called?"

I simply shook my head in response.

"Your dad spoke to Patrick. Apparently, he's called before and came to he house as well."

I looked at her, shocked. "He's here?!"

"So it seems."

The panic must have been evident on my face. "Kirsten," Mom said firmly. "He will not be able to touch you. We'll make sure of that." And then she went away, leaving me alone with Tia.

There was silence yet again, but then Tia came over and sat down next to me. "His voice hasn't changed much." Her voice was soft. "I wonder what he wanted."

I couldn't hold myself back and flung my arms around her, tears making theair way down my cheeks. She didn't say a word, simply hugging me back. After I while, I withdrew, feeling like I could talk about it. "What does he want now? After all that, why is he suddenly back?"

"I don't know." Tia shook her head, looking worried. "But I have a feeling we will find out." She put her arms around me again. "We're all here for  you, Kirs. He won't be able to hurt you again."

~*~

I didn't hear from Adam again. It was no suprise since Dad had the number blocked. He didn't even visit out house again or try any other way of contacting me. 

I slowly began to calm down and the inital cautiousness I had went away. I was back to normal by the time school reopened, looking forward to Junior year. 

I woke up with a new resolve that day, intending to make some long-awaited changes. I was up early that Monday, surprising Noah who came into the room only to find me entering the bathroom. His expression was priceless. 

Then he laughed. "Glad you're awake. Come down soon." 

I took a quick bath and then wore my chosen clothes. I had picked out the outfit for today with Tia a week ago. It was a white halter neck top with knee-length jeans as well as a silver heart necklace. I left my hair open and wore wedge sandals. 

I was feeling quite cheerful as I ate breakfast. The first thing I knew I had to do was accept Jason's relationship. I still had some negative feelings towards Vanessa, which wasn't fair of me since the girl had always been nice to me. I wanted to make things right between us, even if it meant suppressing my feelings for Jason, in hopes of removing them completely. 

Noah was waiting for me in the car. "Hey," I said, when I sat inside,

"Finally!" He gave a dramatic sigh of relief.