16.
November 10th 2005
“So, what you doin’?” Nick asked in an excited voice.
Everything he said and did was overly excited lately and I suspected he was trying to compensate for the fact Kevin left. When he noticed I wasn’t going to pay him any attention, he gave me a death stare and suddenly his face was mere inches from mine. In a reflex, I hid the phone in my hands behind my back, shooting him a terrified and angry look.
“Dude!” Nick smiled, “Are you actually sexting?”
I didn’t want to admit that I had no idea what that was, but I think I got the main point, and I felt my face getting warmer as it got more and more red. I wasnt sexting, not in the least, but wouldn’t it be convenient if Nick thought I was? It would surely explain why I didn’t want him to look on my phone.
“Maybe…” I drawled with a shy grin.
It worked as I watched Nick’s eyes get big and an enormous smirk appeared on his face.
“Wow! Oh God, you sly dog! So there is more to you than meets the eye! That is great news, man! I’m so happy!”
“Yeah, that’s great,” I muttered, “you mind keeping that between us?” I asked, although I knew it already was a lost cause. I tried to keep my tired mind focused on Nick’s excited rattle of words when I suddenly felt the phone vibrate behind my back.
“… And I didn’t even know miss Barbie Doll was into that sorta thing!”
I would have kicked his ass for making a comment like that, if all my attention hadn’t been absorbed by the text message displaying on my phone’s screen.
Get out of the building… now.
I stared at it for a long moment, Nick’s speech entirely forgotten. The now familiar sense of panic intensified as I tried to decide what the text meant. It seemed completely foolish to comply, but at the same time, it would maybe even more idiotic if I didn’t.
“I need to go,” I muttered to the floor in a choked voice, not daring to look at Nick as I fled the conference room.
“Where are you going?” Nick’s voice called after me.
I didn’t look back, by now I was practically running. I tried to ignore the wild scenarios popping into my brain.
I shouldn’t be surprised that Peter knew where I was, because he always did. I couldn’t hide from him, no matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I wanted to. He was always there, spying, lurking, not making any move, and just making sure I knew he was there. The mind game had gone on for months and was driving me over the brink of madness. His messages were usually casual, not expressing much, but they still managed to set my teeth on edge and settle a fear deep within me, as they described in a somewhat upbeat manner what I had done from day to day. I wished, prayed with all my might for it to end, for the nightmare to be over, like I had wished and prayed for so many nights before.
Warily, I looked around when I finally exited the building. I didn’t have to wait long. A strong hand clamped around my upper arm and I was jerked back into the side-alley behind me. Instinctively, I whirled around, shoving at whoever was behind me. The guy stumbled back and for the first time in 4 months, I got to have a good look at him.
“It’s you!” I exclaimed in shock, stumbling back myself.
It couldn’t be him! I hadn’t have to deal with him in… in almost 7 years really.
Peter Robins smiled knowingly, “Not who you expected, I presume?”
I didn’t say anything as I tried to process what was happening. Peter was dangerous; I had known that for a long time. But he was also locked up in prison.
“Y-You can’t be here!” I stammered weakly, taking a few steps back until my back was pressed against the brick wall behind me.
Robins frowned and narrowed his dark eyes, “Oh, you mean the jail thing!” he finally said, a hand flying up in realization, “Yeah, I got out.”
Yeah, no shit, I thought, but kept silent. Peter licked his lips and stared at me eagerly. The whole thing made me very uneasy and though it wasn’t physically possible, I shrunk deeper into the wall. “What are you doing here?” I squeaked. It sounded pathetic, but I was proud for managing to get out anything at all.
“You know, it was really unfair what you did all those years ago,” Peter growled, but he didn’t sound angry. His voice was challenging, a small smile twitching on his lips. “You had no right to put me down like that.”
“I had every right,” I hissed suddenly. “And you know it!”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you; you shouldn’t have gone to the police, Bri.”
“Anyone would have, after what you tried to do!” I defended, fairly pissed now. Was this really what it was all about?
“You can’t blame me for that! I was just… I didn’t mean…”
Peter stammered and for the first time, I could tell he was just as desperate as I was.
“You’re sick Pete,” I whispered, “Just leave me alone. Stop following me, just… just go.”
That was apparently not what he had been waiting for and I watched his expression go from pleading, to absolutely livid. He suddenly pressed himself against me roughly, causing my head to slam back against the wall. Blinking, I willed the world to stop spinning as I felt Peters hands encircling my throat. He was beginning to squeeze tightly and my vision blurred, but I didn’t look away. The manic look in his eyes was compromised by tears and I gave him a pleading look.
“Don’t do this, Pete,” I croaked, my voice little more than a whisper.
“Damnit!” He swore and finally let go, “You know, if you didn’t… if you hadn’t…”
I gasped for air, finally averting my gaze to the ground as I doubled over. My throat burnt and I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to get enough air into my lungs again.
“I wouldn’t hurt you Brian, I would never do anything to hurt you,” I heard Peter cry, but he sounded far away. I only managed to raise my head before he crashed into me again, “Seven years! Seven incredibly long years! How could you do that to me?”
I clenched my jaw, looking directly at him, but didn’t say a word. He knew why I’d done it and yet he still was unable to control his urges, just like he had been all those years ago.
“You know,” he continued, uncontrollable now, “I waited for you, but you… you never came. It broke my heart!” he screamed and for a second, I was afraid that he was going to strangle me again.
“You did hurt me, Pete. I can’t forgive you for that,” I said.
It sounded final, exactly as I had meant it to be. I didn’t understand why Peter couldn’t get the fact that what he’d done was incredibly wrong. I watched him shake his head vigorously, determined.
“No, you’re wrong,” he said, “you’ll understand, I know you will.”
By now, I had basically figured out what he wanted from me, and the nauseous sensation in my stomach grew worse as I looked at him. “Leave me alone,” I repeated, my voice unbelievably steady compared to the rapid pounding of my heart. “I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”
“You’re wrong, Brian,” Peter told me again, bringing his face mere inches from mine, not much unlike Nick had done only ten minutes before, “You’re wrong and I know why.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It’s because of them…” he said and my eyes got big in fear, “We can never be together as long as they’re here.”
I barely noticed him letting go of me. I barely saw him step back and looking down on me. I barely heard his footsteps as he walked away. I slowly sunk down against the wall as I realized what his words meant.
Baylee…
Author's Chapter Notes:
We are finally getting somewhere!
yes, Peter is definitely a creep
can you tell from this chapter what happened seven years ago?
I dare you, I double dare you :)
yes, Peter is definitely a creep
can you tell from this chapter what happened seven years ago?
I dare you, I double dare you :)
