Destory Her

Wrong

On the walk, Julian found a small pizza place, and the two went inside.

It was slightly crowded, so Julian waited on line, and Scarlett sat at an empty booth and waited for him.

Her mind wandered and she found herself staring out the window. A pretty, tall and slim woman walked along the street, walking an adorable furry white dog wearing a pink wool sweater. Behind her, an extremely overweight man wobbled along, chewing on a bag of potato chips.

She started thinking about her homework, too, when she suddenly felt a vibration in her pocket.

She glanced up, too see if it was Julian, trying to be funny by texting her while she was in the same room. But his attention was completely focused on getting to the front of the line.

She peeked at her phone.

im watching u too, bitch.

The number had an unusual area code. She stared at the message for a long time. She glanced back at Julian. He still faced forward.

She decided not to reply. She began to slide her phone back into her pocket, when it buzzed once more, with another message.

im closer than you think. ;-)

                                                                                 * * * * * *

 Eva sat stifly in the passenger seat of the Audi that technically belonged to Max's father. She planned on heading to his house that day, and she finally wanted to tell him about the stalker messages, and who she was nearly certain was behind them.

  Max climbed into the driver's seat, closed the door and secured his seat belt. He started out of Lakewood High's parking lot.

"Are you coming to my house?" he asked Eva.

"I suppose, if it's okay with your parents."

"Why wouldn't it be?

Eva blew out a sigh. "Max, something a little weird happened."

Max suddenly stopped the car.  He turned to face Eva, his face slack with concern. "What happened?" he bellowed.

"I-I got some really weird, harassing texts," Eva mumbled, her hands over each other. "And the other day, whoever it was, sent me a picture of you and me at the ice skating rink, as if they were hiding somewhere."

"Are you serious?" Max asked. "Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"It's  Bella. I have no doubt, and she texted Aubrey, too. She's a creep."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Max suddenly sounded frustrated. "I would've made sure Bella didn't do it again, if it was really her-"

"I didn't want you to freak out," Eva cut in. "I know it's probably not  a big deal, but-"

"It absolutely is a big deal." Max clenched his jaw. "Stalking? That's nothing to joke about. If someone sent you a picture of us, it means they followed us to the rink." He turned away and began driving again, slowly. "You should have told me the very same day it happened, Eva. I love you, do you realize that? I want you to be able to talk to me about any and everything."

  Eva suddenly felt guilty. "I'm really sorry, babe."

"And what if it wasn't even Bella?"

Eva glared at Max. "You sound like Aubrey. You two don't know her the way I do. She's crazy."

"But I highly doubt she would follow us to the ice skating rink." Max shrugged. "Next time something happens and it bothers you, I want you to tell me. We're partners, aren't we?"

"Yes, Max." Eva looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, babe." The rest of the ride played out in silence. The Audi pulled into Max's garage, and the two headed into his home.

Neither of his parents were home, but the smell of coffee filled the air. The cream colored carpet of his enormous and flawlessly clean living room was soft under Eva's toes after she removed her boots and neatly placed them by the door.

Max took his coat off, grunted loudly, and slung it over the sofa. "Babe, you want something from the kitchen?"

"I'm fine." Eva headed up the cream carpeted stairs and to Max's bedroom, a place she had gotten to know so well.

As Max fumbled around his kitchen downstairs, Eva made herself at home. His walls were a deep, boyish navy blue. There were framed photos of him everywhere, one of them when he was only ten, holding a baseball bat, since there was a time when Max had been very much into baseball, but those days died. There was another photo of him in a football jersey in the seventh grade, with a random boy beside him.

For a guy, his room was exceptionally clean. His bed was mad with bright linen sheets, and there were no stray clothes laying around. Max's impeccable neatness was one thing that drew Eva into him.

She sat on his bed, grabbed his television remote, and flicked it on. A movie trailer for some action movie played on screen. She found herself scrolling aimlessly through her phone.

Suddenly, it buzzed in her hand with a new message.

lol, ur so fucking stupid. just u wait, bitch. wait until i fucking kill you.