I ended up in front of one of the luxurious stores on Madison Avenue while I was walking endlessly with no destination in particular. I decided to go inside to look for something good to buy. It would usually make me feel better when I go shopping. It would normally work. I looked around as soon as I've entered but no one assisted me. I called the store clerk I saw, but she shot me a disapproving look as she gazed down at me. I got irritated by her odd reaction and also wondered because every time I would enter any high end stores, there would always be someone running to assist me, even the manager since I was not just a VIP customer but a VVIP. It got on my nerves that the stupid woman wasn't moving her big ass to assist me. Infuriated, I walked or rather, I marched toward her, but stopped in my tracks and winced when I saw myself in the mirror. The reflection I was seeing was nowhere near of how I normally looked; The classy and sophisticated chic. It was pretty much the opposite. I was wearing a pair of customized tattered fitted jeans, a simple white oversized shirt, and black converse canvas shoes, which I'd only wear during my charity events—Truth to be told, it wasn't that bad, but what ruined it all was my shoulder length hair that was tied in a messy ponytail and my face was bared from any cosmetics and looking so damn pale because of my very recent fever, so I looked like a lost teenage girl who went inside a very luxurious shop without knowing it. No wonder they were ignoring me. Honestly, it was my first time to ever go out looking so out of fashion and not even presentable enough to get any attention from the store clerks. This is all Cole's fault and that stupid psycho who keeps creeping me out with those emails, I thought inwardly. I needed a distraction and now I'd found one. I raised my chin up and glided toward the woman who already turned her back on me. Now, she's gonna have it. No one ignores Sydney Wood! No one!
"Hey!" I hissed and grabbed her shoulder harshly. She turned around, surprised to see me. "When I call your attention, you should rush to serve me, hear me?" I gave her my most intimidating look. She looked baffled at first, but gave me a fake smile afterward.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," she replied innocently. "I didn't see you. What can I help you with?" She went on with her innocent act, denying the fact that she ignored me on purpose and she didn't even look the least apologetic, which got me even more irritated. What a bitch, huh...Let's see how bitchy can you be and how far can you last. I gave her my sweetest, yet wicked smile.
"Follow me and hold everything I choose. Be attentive," I ordered and walked toward the expensive bags. The woman eyed me warily, but still followed me. I had picked a lot of stuffs already when my phone rang. I answered it without looking who the caller was since my mind was focused only on my target. "Hello?"
"Where the hell are you? I called you at your place and your helper said you went out." My heart skipped a bit as I recognized Cole's voice. He sounded angry, though. I calmed myself first before I spoke.
"Where I am right now doesn't concern you. Stop bothering me," I replied bluntly. I went out to cool off, but the insensible jerk kept on bugging me.
"Sydney, I told you to rest. Why did you go out?!" My temper flared, hearing his angry voice and his bossiness.
"Fuck off!" I shouted angrily and dropped the call. I was so frigging pissed and got pissed even more when I caught the store clerk glaring at me in a displeasing manner. I grabbed the most expensive bag and throw it in her face, but luckily she caught it before it landed on her face.
"Miss, please be careful. This item is very expensive and if you get this item even a tiny scratch—" I grabbed another item and threw it at her and this time she wasn't that lucky so the purse landed on the side of her face. "Aww!"
"Oops! Told you to be attentive, didn't I?" I said smugly while giving her an evil smile.
"You brat! You should go out," she said angrily and grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the store. "I know you won't buy and you're just wasting my time!"
"Get your scrawny dirty hands off me," I said calmly, but I shoved her hands off me and then I pushed her hard, enough to send her ass on the floor. The manager came running as she heard her staff's screeching scream.
"What's going on here, Ruth?" she asked, then turned her glance at me. "Miss Wood?" She acknowledged when she finally recognized me after assessing my appearance for a few seconds. I was a frequent customer and one of the valued customer at their shop so in spite of being a bit surprised by my unusual disheveled look, she still recognized me.
"M-m-iss W-wood?"
The young woman called, Ruth, looked at the manager then at me with a confused look while getting up from the floor. She skimmed my face more intently then her face turned pale white like a chalk. I grinned evilly before I faced the manager. "I think you should train your staffs not to be rude to customers or this shop will end up losing its valued customers. I'll be having a chat with the owner some other time to complain how awful the customer service here," I said, derisively.
"I sincerely apologized for Ruth's rude behavior, Ms. Wood. She's just new here. Please try to understand and overlook this just once. I'm asking you this as a favor." The manager begged and elbowed Ruth. The Bitchy turned Pitchy. I smirked. She was just my perfect distraction.
"I-Im so s-sorry, Ms. Wood. I didn't know---"
"Shut the hell up! You, a pathetic loser, looked down on me and you even dared to drag me out of this shop like a damn beggar. Do you know how pissed I am right now?"
"I'm really—"
"I said shut up! I'm not in the mood to shop here anymore," I hissed and turned around to walk off, but the manager stopped me.
"Ms. Wood, please wait! We'll give you a discount—"
"Ha! Do I look like I need your fucking discount?" I glowered at her. I just realized being tall was advantageous as I intimidatingly stared down at them. "The next time I come here, that is, if I would ever come again, I would love it if I won't be seeing her—I pointed my forefinger at the teary-eyed, Ruth—in this shop again." After saying my piece, I turned around to walk out of the shop, but halted when I saw Cole fast approaching me, but he just walked past me and stopped in front of the two women who were staring at him with admiration. I frowned and glared at them, but no one seemed to be interested in me anymore.
"I'm sorry ladies. Did my girlfriend bother you? Sorry about the ruckus. She's not feeling well today." I was too flabbergasted to speak after hearing him. What the hell! He said I'm his girlfriend?! Did he say I bothered them?! My nostrils were flaring at the moment.
"Ah, um, not really, Sir." The manager looked like she didn't know how to explain the situation.
"Are those the items she wants to buy?" Cole asked again while looking at the few bags I randomly picked.
"Ah, y-yes, Sir," replied Ruth and glanced in my direction. She cringed when I shot her my blazing eyes and looked away.
"I see. I'll buy those then," he said afterward, which angered me. I marched toward him and grabbed his arm to face me.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm doing some shopping, I guess," he answered in a sarcastic tone, which made me more annoyed.
"I said I wouldn't buy them anymore!" I grumbled out of frustration.
"So?"
"So, why are you buying them?!"
"Because I want to?"
"I don't want them anymore so don't frigging buy them!" I whined like a child and even stomped my feet.
"Sydney, I'm buying, not you. So don't fuss about it," said Cole, sounding a bit irritated. He handed his credit card to the cashier, who had watched our arguments with awe.
"You—I pointed my finger at Ruth—if I still see you here next time, I'll ruin you," I said calmly but my eyes were smoldering. I hastily walked out of the shop before they could all react. I was ten meters away from the shop when Cole caught up with me with the shopping bags on both of his hands.
"Sydney! Hey, wait!" Cole called out, but I continued on walking fast. I unwillingly stopped when Cole halted in front of me, blocking my way. I just stared blankly at him. "What's your damn problem?" He looked calm, but I could see that he was becoming impatient.
"You," I said in a matter-of-fact tone and moved past him again, but he grabbed my arm. "Aw! Let go, jerk!" I wriggled my arm free from his grasp, but he tightened it.
"I know you're fucking mean, but you just can't go around and bully everyone you meet just because you can and just because they can't defend themselves from a rich and spoiled rotten brat like you." My hand reflexively went up to slap him and honestly I wanted to slap my face as well because my eyes were starting to water. I unknowingly got hurt from what he said, and from his tone of voice. He was mad at me and I didn't like it. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but since I met Cole, I became such a crybaby and overly sensitive. I shook my head to clear my mind and before Cole could waken from his temporary shock from my slap, I pushed him off me and when his grip loosened up, I took that opportunity to run away. I was just glad I wasn't wearing my usual high heeled shoes or I might have broken my leg from running so fast. After running for roughly six minutes, I stopped at Grand Army Plaza, panting from running nonstop and teary eyed. I harshly wiped the tears that was threatening to fall and continued on walking at a slower pace then I saw a hidden bench across the street near a vendor store and decided to rest for a bit. There was no one there and since it was getting dark, Cole would surely not see me. It appeared to be a perfect spot for hiding, so I sat comfortably while wiping the mixture of tears and sweat on my face with my hanky. I was surprised when someone suddenly sat next to me after a minute past. I automatically raised my head to check who it was but the stranger pressed his big hand over my eyes so I wouldn't see him and his other hand gripped my neck in a threatening manner. I gasped in fear, but I didn't move.
"Don't scream or I'll break your neck." A strikingly familiar, yet cold voice spoke quietly in my ear, making me shiver. Cole?! My head screamed his name, but somehow I was terrified of him. No doubt it was Cole. I recognized his voice even without looking at his face. However, his voice was icy cold and deadly dangerous like he meant what he said, so I nodded my head. "Good girl," he whispered and patted my hair. I got goosebumps all over with that simple gesture, but I remained quiet while thinking of how to escape. The bench I was sitting on was a bit secluded and even though I knew there were people from afar, before I could scream and ask for help, my neck might be broken by then. Is Cole that angry? He sounded very different... Lucy said he's a dangerous guy who is violent and got kicked out of school because of that and he is a drug addict as well... I guess it's true and now his true color is showing up because I made him mad. I shivered at the very thought. "Listen, I want you to kno—" I swiftly moved away from him when he got distracted by a car's honking sound and ran off like crazy without even glancing at him. I almost got hit by a cab when I crossed the street toward the 5th Avenue. Thanked God the cab halted before it could run over me. The cab driver yelled at me when I got in, for almost getting myself killed, but looked worried when he saw my pale face.
"Are you OK, kid?" The middle-aged, Afro-American man asked and stared at me through his rear mirror.
"Y-yeah. P-please drive," I answered shakily, almost a whisper.
"Where to?" he asked and eyed me warily.
"54 East 64th street. Hurry up, please." The driver didn't ask for more and just drove to the address I mentioned. It took just 2-3 minutes since there was no heavy traffic. I gave him a hundred bucks and jumped out of the cab as soon as the car stopped in front of my place.
"Hey, Miss! Your change." The driver called out, but I just ignored him and ran toward the front porch. My eyes widen when I saw Cole, sitting on the porch steps with the shopping bags lying beside the front door. I turned around to run again, but Cole jumped from the top of the steps and easily caught me.
"Let me go, y-you psycho!" I screamed, but Cole covered my mouth with his hand. I got horrified and struggled to be free, but his strength was overpowering mine.
"God, Sydney, stop screaming already. What the heck is wrong with you?" Cole's voice sounded different from earlier, but still I couldn't stop myself from shivering out of fear.
"What's going on there, you two? Is that boy bothering you, Miss?" The cab driver looked at us as he got off his car. I felt relieved. Cole released me and stared at me with a mixture of confusion and worry. My heart was torn when I met his sad gray eyes. Immediately, I shook my head to clear my mind and ran toward the cab driver. The kind man placed his body in front of me protectively. "I guess she doesn't wanna talk to you, boy." Cole ignored the cab driver and focused his gaze only to me.
"Sydney, I know you're upset right now, so I'll leave you alone." He looked at me for a few seconds and sighed when he saw my scared reaction then turned around to leave. Finally, I was able to breathe well when I saw him get in his car and drove past my house.
"Did you fight with your boyfriend, girl?" The cab driver looked at me with an amused look now.
"Ah, um, no. Anyway, thanks and keep the change," I said and before he could answer I ran toward the steps and went inside my home quickly. I felt quite relieved when I was already inside the safe zone of our house.
"Rita," I called when I saw her before I stepped on the stairway. She looked shocked when she saw me. I couldn't blame her since I was completely in disarray and sweaty at that.
"Yes, Miss?" she asked while her eyes were roaming around my sweaty face and disheveled clothes. If I wasn't trembling with fear in that moment, I could have slapped her for staring at me rudely. The girl didn't have proper manners at all, but I thought I'd let it slip for the meantime. She got lucky that I wasn't in a good condition to scold her or be mean to her or whatever. I just didn't have the strength to do anything. Even though I was sure that she was the one who told Cole where I was since she was the only person I told about my whereabouts earlier just in case my mom would call but I didn't tell her to give it to anybody. She was just plain stupid as ever and I wasn't in the mood to deal with her.
"Get the shopping bags outside and send it back to Collin Harrison's place. I'll give you his address later after I take a shower, got it?"
"Ah, um, should I deliver it to him personally or send it through a Courier service?"
I rolled my eyeballs in an utter annoyance. I wondered how my mom hired this kind of stupid maid. She just didn't have any common sense at all.
"Go figure it out yourself, Rita. I hope by doing so, you'll become smarter even at least the size of a pea," I said and left Rita looking dumb as ever. As soon as I entered my room, I directly went to the bathroom and when I glanced at myself in the mirror, I cringed at the sight of me. I looked terrible. My face was so pale and stained with tears and sweat while my hair was chaotic like someone pulled my hair in a cat fight. My ponytail had already loosened and some curly strands hanged on my face in an even more messy way. I heaved a mouthful of air from my lungs and stood under the shower without taking my clothes off. I lazily turned on the shower and tilted my face up to meet the cold water on my face while I tried not to get my hand with a cast, wet. The cold water dripping on my face felt so good as it washed away the sticky sweat on my face and body. Then I remained there, standing like a statue while the stream of water flow continuously on my head, down my face, and all over my body, washing off the mixture of emotions I felt. I was both confused and scared and I didn't know what to do. I was just glad that my mom wasn't around when I came home. It would surely cause her to worry and I didn't want to bother her again about my problem. Worst part was, there was no one I could talk to. I had no friends that I could really talk to without getting my story publicized in the whole campus or in social networking sites. My foolish heart begged that I should go and talk to Cole, but it would be insane since he was the main reason of this turmoil I'd felt. I shuddered as I remembered the incident earlier. Cole acted differently when we met outside like nothing strange happened between us at the Grand Army Plaza. Does he have a split personality or something? I thought to myself. It could be possible. Oddly, my heart tightened at the thought of Cole being a psycho. I'd admit he'd been kind to me in spite of my rude treatment toward him. I even got him suspended, but so far all he did was being kind to me and just this morning he even took care of me when I was sick. Ugh! This is complicated and I'm going crazy thinking about it! If Cole is mentally unsound, then I almost had sex with a lunatic and it's even my first time! I turned off the shower when I started to sneeze and shiver from cold. I just realized that I'd been in the shower for almost half an hour and I wouldn't want to catch a cold. That would be bothersome, so I dried myself up, then grabbed my silk robe and draped it around me before I went out.
====####====
I just finished drying my hair with the hair blower when my phone buzzed. I went to my bed and saw that I've got some few text messages, 3 missed calls, and an email. The texts were from the girls, checking me out and a text message from Harry, saying he was sorry. The missed calls were from my mom, Harry, and Cole. I was guessing Jacque called to check about my condition. I mentally reminded myself to call her back tomorrow morning before I go to school. Well, for Harry and Cole, I didn't give a damn. Men were lunatics aside from being idiots, I believed. Lastly, I checked the email which was sent just a few seconds ago. My eyes widen in a mixture of anger and fear, but my anger was greater. I've had a rough day and the email was just the icing on the cake, ironically speaking, of course. My life just couldn't get any better... I thought bitterly. I read the email although somehow I knew it would get on my nerves, I still checked it nonetheless. Curiosity kills the cat; they would say...
From: Someone hating Miss Popular
Subject: DID YOU ENJOY YOUR DAY?
T0: Sydney Wood
I SEE YOU'VE ENJOYED YOUR
STROLL TODAY AND DID YOUR
BITCHY LIL THINGY. I WOULD REALLY
LOVE TO TEAR YOU INTO SWEET LIL
PIECES JUST AS YOU LOVE BULLYING
THOSE POOR LIL ONES BUT DONCHA
WORRY MY SWEET LIL BITCH... I WILL
SOON...
There was an attachment and curious as always, I downloaded it. It was a short video clip of myself, pushing the store clerk earlier. My brow furrowed as realization suddenly hit me. How did this psycho know so much about me and what I did today? Only Cole knew... Come to think of it... The emails all started after I met Cole! And he's the only one who calls me, Miss Popular! Shit! I've even seen him around while I was having my routine run. He is a frigging psycho who stalks me, threatens me in emails, and acted like he cares at times when in fact, he hates me and wants to torture me! I dropped my phone on the floor and curled up on my bed. What should I do?
============
Hello dear readers!
It's a been a long, long while ever since I updated this book. I apologize about that. I had been busy and honestly, I wanted to focus and use my short free time to update my other book, "My boss is freaking ex" since the majority of my readers like it more. However, I'll do my very best to update this book as well. I hope you'd enjoy the new chapter. Happy reading!
PS-I was too lazy to proofread everything, so there's still a lot of errors. Please ignore it. I'll edit all the chapters when I get more free time. Also, please don't forget to vote. Thanks a million! :)
xoxo,
K. <3