"Uhm..can I go to the nurse?" I ask, feeling myself about to get sick.
"Yes, just go," Mrs. Mussleman says with concern. I sling my bag over my shoulder and quickly bolt out the door. However, I don't go to the nurse. Instead, I run my way back home. Taking the short cut once again, I run through the trees and down my street. I manage to make it through without falling; however, as I'm running down my street, I bump into someone.
"Hey, Demi. What're you doing home so fast?" the man says. I stop dead in my tracks, wondering why the man knew my name.
"It's okay, it's just me," he says, and I turn around; it's Wilmer.
"Oh, umm, wasnt feeling well," I say, wiping the tears from my eyes. I continue to walk up my driveway when I notice he is still following me.
"Mind if I come in? I've been meaning to talk to you," he says, holding the door open for me.
I look into his chocolate brown eyes and find my lips saying,"yes." I unlock the front door and then lock it again once we are both inside.
"Cold day, huh?" he says, walking into my living room and putting his cost on my couch.
"Yeah, freezing," I agree awkwardly.
Wilmer takes a seat besides me and then his face becomes serious.
"Now, I would like to tell you I have some news concerning the case, but we still have nothing. My team and I are working very hard, but it's difficult when we have little evidence to go on," he says to me.
"Then why are you here?" I ask, knowing he's stalling.
"Haha, you're a smart girl, Demi. I'm actually here to apologize. I didn't mean to stir a fight back at the house and I'm sorry for any pain I may have caused you. I was only trying to warn you. I saw another girl at the house with Joe and he seemed very close with her; he was cheating on you"
I feel myself start to tear up and I try to fight it.
"I just love you Demi and I care about you so much. C'm'ere," Wilmer says, extending his arm out to pull me into a hug.
For some reason, I believed his kind words and fell into his arms and start sobbing. I feel him pull a strand of hair out of my face and he begins to rub my back.
"Ssshhh, it's okay. I'll never do that to you. I'll protect you," he says soothingly.
I then look up and begin to wipe my eyes.
"Thank you for telling me," I say into wilmer's eyes.
"Anything for you. You deserve the best," he says, squeezing my hand.
After a moment of silence, Wilmer stands up and says,"Well, I should probably get going; they need me back at the station. Call me if you need me."
I then stand up and walk him to the door, hugging him before he goes.
"Bye," I say.
"Love you, Demi."
Once Wilmer leaves, I am left alone in the big house, which makes me think about how this is one of the last days I will be leaving here. Someone called us yesterday to say they were interested in buying our house, so they would be coming later this week and possibly signing the papers. It all was happening so fast. Piece by piece, all that I associate with Eddie was going away; soon, we'd be left with our memories of him alone.
Wanting to calm down a bit from the stress and realizing it was way past lunch time, I heat up some Ramen noodles and head off to my room to lay in bed. Left to my thoughts, I begin to recount the day in my head. I try to quickly play through the humiliation that occurred during the schools hours, not wanting to think about that again, and then begin to relax when I think about Wilmer. And to think I was worried about him but trusting of Joe...it just shows how blind I was. It now seemed that Wilmer wasn't the dark and creepy one. In fact, he was the one who was very open and truthful all along, unlike Joe. I find myself praising, almost worshipping like a God, Wilmer; until, that is, I realize something strange.
What was Wilmer doing in my neighborhood if he didn't know I was coming home early? He knows Dallas isn't home at this time, and clearly he knows I don't get home that early because he made a remark about how I was out of school at an unusual hour. So the question still remains: why was he there? I begin to think of the possibilities. Maybe he was on a run. Maybe he was going to wait for me to get home. Maybe he was going on his daily walk through town. There were so many possibilities, but the likeliness of them being true seemed slim. Still, not wanting to ruin my dreams of his innocence too, right after the same thing happened with Joe, I try to convince myself otherwise. At the same time, however, I wanted to know the truth of the situation. So, I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a card I had slid in the frame of my mirror. I dialed the number it gave and held the phone to my ear.
"Hello?" the voice says. "Hey, it's Demi. Can I ask you something?"