"I hope I'm not intruding," Xavier says quietly, looking awkwardly to the ground.
Shaking my head, I smile even though I'm actually terrified. My stalker made it perfectly clear that I am to stay away from Xavier, but here he is, and here I am. I know that I can't be near him, especially not socializing with him. I can't let anyone else get hurt on my account, but for some reason, I can't seem to tell Xavier to go away. I'm not sure if it's because I need a friend right now, or it's the fact I may have feelings for him.
You can't have feelings for him Melanie, and you know it. It will only give your stalker another person to hurt, my conscience says.
"Come in," I murmur, ignoring the voice in my head. My grip on the knife handle doesn't lessen as I watch Xavier slip past me. He waits while I close the door, trying to maneuver myself so he cannot see the knife behind my back, the one I would have put through his chest if he was someone besides him or my mother. Although, I can't be sure he isn't my stalker. I mean, it's more than a coincidence he'd show up at my front door right after I got a text taunting the fact that I forgot to lock the window last night.
I turn back to Xavier, who's looking sheepishly around the house. As I back up to the counter, I slide the knife across the laminate as quietly as I can. I think he either notices and doesn't say anything, or is completely oblivious to the fact I had just been holding a sharp kitchen knife in my fingers moments before.
Discreetly, I cross my arms over my chest to cover up what I'd just done. Then, I say a little too harshly, "What do you want?"
Xavier looks startled, "Well, I just thought you might want to talk. You kind of ran off on me the other day..."
I run a hand through my hair, wondering if I should just kick Xavier out. Mom will have a fit if she finds him here when she returns from her walk. Her words echo through my mind again, warning me not to open the door for anyone.
Oops.
I open my mouth to speak, but no words seem to come out. I'm not sure what to say or do. A sudden thought pops into my head. How does he know where I live? I don't recall telling him the last time we had seen each other.
Before I can interrogate him about the matter, he says quickly, "I saw you the other day. That's how I knew this was your place. Sorry, I should have asked if I could stop by the last time we saw each other."
My eyes narrow. He seems too suspicious to keep around here, but on the other hand, I'm desperate for a friend. Sometimes this house feels like a prison I can't escape from no matter how hard I try. Plus, there's the threat to worry about; I have to see if it's legit.
"I can go if you want," he says quietly.
I snap back to attention and quickly shake my head. "No, it's okay. Do you want to sit?"
•••
A half hour later, we're in the living room, chatting like old friends who had just reunited. The first few minutes were awkward and sometimes intense, but I eventually warmed up to the idea of talking to him. He could be pretty comedic when he wanted to be, and kind at other times.
Only, even as I talk with him now, I still feel a little uneasy. What if this boy really is the person who has been following me for weeks...who killed Laura? If I ever found out it was actually him who murdered my best friend, I'm not sure what I'd do. The only thing I do know is that I would make sure he paid for hurting her.
"What are your hobbies?" he asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I run a hand through my hair and blush a little, "I like to...write novels and short stories."
Whenever I would tell someone this, they would ask me what kind of novels I like to write, but then look at me as if I was insane and ask me why I would do such a thing. Xavier is apparently not like them, because his reply isn't like anyone else's.
"Really?" he laughs. "That's so cool! I have a sister who's the same way."
"That's awesome," I reply, a smile breaking over my face. "What's your sister's name?"
He smiles too. "Ashley. She goes to the middle school, and she'll be going into grade eight soon."
"That's great," I say, remembering my seventh year. It had been rather chaotic, but with Laura there, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. She always seemed to lighten the room she walked into, no matter how dark. The more I think about it, the more I think the saying I hear often is correct. The good really do die young.
"Skylar?"
I look to the source of the voice. Xavier's eyebrows are creased in worry, and he looks like he wants to come across the room and give me a hug. "Are you okay? You zoned out there."
I nod, wishing I could say more than that I'm fine. Even though I just met him, I want to tell him more than I should. I think it's because I have no one else to talk to but Mom, but I can't even seem to trust her. She's seemed different lately, almost distant. It causes me to wonder if Mom knows more about my stalker than she's letting on.
"I'm alright, just tired," I say, yawning for effect. He seems to believe me, because he goes back to his relaxed position of leaning the back of his head on the couch.
"So...you go to the high school?" I question, trying to bring up a decent conversation. I glance to the clock to see when Mom will be home. She's usually gone an hour, and it's been forty minutes already. Soon, I'm going to have to kick Xavier out before Mom finds out he'd been here.
"Yeah," he starts. "I'm just finishing up grade ten now."
I raise an eyebrow in surprise. He's in the same grade as me. I could have sworn by his older look that he was at least grade eleven if not twelve. "Oh? How is it?"
Xavier shrugs. "It's okay. There's a lot of homework involved though...how about you? How's homeschool?"
I freeze, trying to think of something to say. I haven't been homeschooled a day in my life. How am I supposed to answer him? What if he wants me to explain how it works? "Um, it's pretty good, although I hate not having much of a social life."
Who was I kidding? I didn't have much of a social life a couple months ago either.
Just as Xavier is about to reply, the door swings open, revealing my tired-looking mother. She doesn't see Xavier at first, but soon does when he stands up and introduces himself. I groan under my breath, knowing what she's going to say when he's gone.
Right after Xavier tells her his name; she turns to me, her eyes reflecting fury. "Skylar, who is this? I told you no guests while I'm not here."
I mutter a profanity that she can't hear. Not knowing what to say to her, I stay quiet. What am I supposed to tell her when I don't really know why he showed up in the first place?
Xavier looks a little uneasy, and says, "I'm sorry, Miss. I'll just leave now."
Mom doesn't lose her smoldering gaze. She watches him walk past her and out the door before turning to me. "Melanie, what the hell were you thinking? You don't know that boy! He could be--"
"Mom!" I interject. She just said my real name, and Xavier had just walked outside. What if he heard? "Just stop, alright? It's like you don't want me to make any friends! Xavier, he-"
"Did you invite him here? Do you even know his last name?"
"Yes, I know his last name! And no, I didn't invite him, but that's not the point!"
Mom snaps, "It is the point, Melanie! How in the world do you think he found out where you lived unless he was the person who killed Laura, huh? He would've had to have been watching you!"
I make an aggravated noise before pushing past her. Mom tries to make a grab for my arm, but I'm out the door before she can reach me.
"Xavier!" I call as I see him walking across the street. "Wait!"
He turns sharply at his name. "Skylar."
He starts to make his way over, while I do the same. I have to ask him how he knew where I lived again. I need to see if he was telling the truth earlier. Xavier doesn't seem like the type to be my stalker; so really, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.
"What is it?" He seems worried.
I attempt to catch my breath as I speak. "Please, how did you know where I lived?"
Xavier shakes his head. "I told you earlier. I had seen you go inside the one time while I was walking past your house. Is that why your mom was so angry?"
"No," I quickly say. "Sorry, I just...I had to make sure."
"About what?" He frowns. "What would you have to make sure about?"
His deep green eyes lock onto mine, and I seem to lose the breath I have. "N--Nothing. Maybe I'll tell you sometime."
Xavier tilts his head. "Are you sure you don't want to say it now? You seem worried about something."
"No, I'm sure."
Xavier studies me for a moment. It's like he's trying to reveal what I'm hiding without saying anything. I attempt to keep a neutral face, but fail miserably.
Finally, he says, "Do you think I could get your number? So we can talk later without your mom, you know, freaking out?"
I don't know how to reply. The fact he asked me for my number makes me believe he isn't my stalker, because my stalker already has my number. Then again, he could be trying to trick me.
Only time can tell.
_________________________________________________________________________________
13.1K reads...wow. Thank you guys so much for reading, voting, and commenting on this story so far! I really appreciate it!
A new chapter of 'Deadly Obsession' comes in a couple hours!
New update of 'Find Me' comes Friday!
Please Comment/Vote/Follow/and go check out 'Deadly Obsession'!
xXAmy_CXx