"What?" Laura seems stunned by what I tell her. Her mouth hangs almost to the floor, and her eyes almost pop out of their sockets because they are so wide. "He called you? Just before you came out here?"
I nod grimly, biting my lip. I'm not sure what to say exactly, so I decide to play it safer. "Yeah, he told me basically what he said in his text."
A bead of sweat rolls down the back of my neck as I internally beg for Laura to not ask further questions. I don't want to tell her about what else he said just yet. She shakes her head, like she cannot believe what she's hearing.
"Have you informed the police yet?" she asks when I glance behind us again, playing with the strings of my sweater. Maybe there is a good enough reason for my paranoia...I mean, I feel I'm handling this rather well. Other teens would probably go crazy just thinking about any of it.
I finally look back and answer her, hoping she'll leave the topic alone now. "No, I haven't."
Laura shakes her head again. I internally groan when I realize this conversation will probably continue the whole walk home, and maybe even longer.
"Mel," she starts. "You seriously need to go to them about this. It's been two weeks that you've felt someone watching you! This person, no matter if it's just a cruel joke, needs to be caught and punished. You can't just ignore it and be paranoid for the rest of your days because believe me when I say that they'll never stop if it keeps getting a rise out of you."
I don't answer. What am I supposed to say to Mom after she's already been stressing over work. She doesn't need to worry about if I'm being followed, even though I still believe it's a cruel prank. I can't go to the police without her finding out; it's just not possible. And then, there's the threat he left before hanging up. What would he do if I went to the cops after he specifically told me not to?
"I don't think I can, Lau," I reply. "If Mom finds out..."
"If your Mom finds out, she can help you!" Laura interjected, squeezing my shoulder comfortingly.
Forgetting that I hadn't told her about Mom's job, I mutter a curse word under my breath. "I don't know Lau; I don't want her to be worried." I decide to tell her about Mom's job later, when it feels like the appropriate time.
Laura looks at me incredulously. "Are you kidding? She should be worried Mel! Besides, if you don't tell her, then I will. You're her daughter and she deserves to know if something is going wrong!"
I sigh, giving in. "Fine. I'll tell her if I get threatened again, alright? If this is just a prank I don't want her to get too worried about it."
Laura nods. "You're still going to the police. I'm going to come with you to make sure you report this crap."
I internally begin to panic as we turn on to the main highway, which will lead the both of us to the station. My estimate is that we will be there in less than ten minutes. I try and stop her from dragging me there by saying things like, "Lau, I really don't think this is worth reporting. It was one text and a phone call and--"
"No buts Mel," Laura cuts me off. "We're going, and that's that."
We walk for five minutes without saying anything. My heart beats fast in my chest as I keep replaying what he said to me over and over in my mind, but I know there isn't any way to convince Laura to not do this. I watch the bland-colored cars speed past us, heading to bigger towns like Miami with a lot more to do in them than this dump I call home.
My attention is quickly redirected back to Laura, who finally speaks."Do you still have that text on your phone?"
Pulling out my phone from my pocket, I reluctantly flick through my messages to make sure I still have it. I let out a shaky breath when I see the conversation. I want to tell her no, but I can't lie. For one thing, she'll see right through it, and for another, I know Laura is only trying to help. I sigh, "Yes, I do."
"Good. We're going to need that as evidence."
We head into the station a few minutes later with my cell in hand. I feel nervous. For some reason, I know that somewhere, the man who called me earlier is watching me, waiting for me to back away and listen to his warning.
"What can I do for you two kids today?" an officer asks from behind the front desk. Her hair is pulled back into a loose bun, so some strands of hair frame her face. She looks at Laura and me expectantly, waiting for one of us to speak.
Before I can answer her question, Laura butts in, cutting me off. "We're here to report a stalking case."
My heart skips a beat at the label she gives the man. I never thought of him as a stalker, considering I only have received one text and call, but I guess that it does make a lot more sense than anything else I could label him.
The officer looks at us both grimly and nods. "Alright, this way please."
She stands up and takes us to the back of the station, where a man in uniform sits at his desk, typing away at his computer. His brown eyes reflect the bright screen as he works.
"Officer Jenkins," The woman says, trying to draw his attention away from the computer.
The man, Jenkins, looks at her and then to the two of us. His eyebrows furrow in confusion when he looks back at the woman. "Who's this?"
The woman glances to the two of us again before answering. "These two ladies want to report a stalking case. I thought they'd best be in your hands, since you've dealt with these kinds of cases before."
Jenkins nods understandingly and pulls his chair away from the computer, motioning for us to sit in the chairs on the other side of the desk. "Please, sit."
I feel that it is more of a command than anything else, so I sit.The woman who led us to his desk gives a curt nod and heads back to her desk in the front, giving me a small smile before she leaves.
My head snaps back up to the Officer Jenkins when he says, "So, what is this I hear about a stalking case?"
I take a deep breath, exchanging a glance with Laura, silently asking if she can tell him everything. Laura shakes her head in response, motioning for me to speak. I knew she'd have me do the talking, but it was worth a shot.
With my hands shaking under the table, I begin. "Last night, while I was working on homework...I got a text from a blocked number." I avert my eyes, and stare at the ground. "I still have it if you want to see the message."
Jenkins nods. "Yes, I would like to actually."
I pull out my phone, which shakes in my hand, and pull up the text. Slowly, I hand him my cell. His eyes narrow as he reads the text. After a few moments of intense silence, Jenkins hands my phone back and says, "When did you receive this?"
I look over at Laura, who replies. "It was around two in the morning." Then she adds, "I know because I was also texting her at the time."
Officer Jenkins nods, grabbing what looks to be a case file and scrawling down a couple of notes. "Did anything happen recently that could be related to this incident?"
My breath catches in my throat as I think about earlier today, when I saw the man outside the school, and the times I had seen him watching me while I was out with Laura, or just by myself. "Um...yeah, I do."
Laura nods encouragingly, and I realize that I haven't told her about earlier today. I curse under my breath, knowing I'll get an earful later, and say, "This morning, I'm not sure if it's relevant...but I saw a man on the street. He had a hood over his face so I couldn't see who he was, but I knew that he was staring at me, and in the past two weeks, I've noticed the exact same person. Sometimes, he has a camera. I know that I saw him snap photos in my direction more than a few times on different occasions."
The officer takes more notes as I speak, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. When I finish, Laura is shell-shocked, probably because I hadn't told her about this morning.
"Then, before I left the school at the end of the day, I got a phone call. It was him. He started to taunt me," I add.
The officer looks back up at me, his milky brown eyes holding no emotion. "Do you remember what he said?"
I glance at Laura again, who has tears threatening to run down her face. With guilt steadily building in my gut, I reply to the officer's question. "He said that he wanted me. I threatened that I would call the police and...he warned me not to come, said I wouldn't like the end result if I did."
Now, I can't even look at Laura, who's clenching her fists under the table, turning her knuckles white. I should have just told her before we came here; maybe she wouldn't be so shocked now.
The officer nods after a while, and stands up. "I'm sorry to say that this isn't enough evidence to confirm that you're in danger, miss. One text and a few sightings of a man who you claim has been taking photos of you isn't enough to pursue this lead. If anything else happens, call us. But other than that, block the number, ignore everything unusual, and resume your normal activities."
Laura seems even more furious now, her eyes meeting Jenkins' with a ferocity I'd never be able to concoct myself. "Are you joking?" she hisses, "Not enough evidence? This man is threatening her and you're just going to leave her to get hurt?"
Jenkins shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but this isn't enough evidence to prove that she most definitely being stalked."
Laura stands up and says, "So what? Does she need to be abducted or killed before you believe it?"
"Laura," I say warningly before she says anything she'll regret. "C'mon, let's just go."
Laura bites her lip and stomps away from the desk. I smile apologetically at the officer before running after her. "Laura, wait up!"
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