Out of the Blue

Threats in Abbeydale

Lea’s POV

I walked out the house and pulled the newspaper out of the mailbox while a folded sheet of paper fell out. Caylah went out the house and took the newspaper. I unfolded the paper and saw a death threat written on it. The paper had droplets of blood – the message was written with blood. A photo was stuck on the heading of the paper.

“Lea – get inside. Nathan’s waiting for you”

I put the paper in my pocket and walked inside.

“What took you so long? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine”

Nathan gave me a soft look before following me to my room. The boys ran downstairs still having slumber in their eyes. I locked the door in my room and closed the windows.

“Why did you wanna see me alone?”

Nate sat down beside me on the bed as I took out the piece of paper. He unfolded it and looked at me wide-eyed.

“You have a stalker, Lea – how long have you been getting these?”

I tucked a lose strand of my hair behind my ear.

“This was the first time – but I never thought I would receive this kind of threat”

He looked at it again.

“Who do you think it is?”

“No clue. But somehow – do you have any enemies?”

“Not a single one”

The boys ran inside holding a crowbar in their hands.

“We heard the private talk and shall we see the stalker’s letter”

Nathan handed the paper to Tom. They dropped the letter after reading it for five seconds.

“Why does it say ‘I’m going to kill you Eleanor Collins’?”

We both shrugged and picked up the paper.

“The truth Lea – tell us the truth”

I took a deep breath and played slideshows on my mind. I’ll tell you this so you could know. Lately – since we were in Bolton I’ve been followed by a strange guy. He’s been following me around – starting from my high school – my graduation – my summer vacation – my hangouts with the girls – et cetera. But when we got back to Abbeydale it got worst. Even when were in LA, while I was talking to Cheryl and Logan – the same guy was sitting on a booth alone looking at me. When we were in Nottinghamshire – I was followed by him everywhere: While we were out shopping – at the park – and at the airport. Until now he’s following me. This wasn’t a normal stalker – it was different.

“Lea – we’re talking to you”

“Guys, just forget about it. It’s not much of a big deal”

“Yeah it is – Lea, you’re being followed by a creepy stalker – this is dangerous”

The look on Tom’s eyes was different. He was looking worried, he was looking… strange. I scanned all of them. Jay was focused on his phone while Max, Siva and Tom were thinking about something. Nathan held my hand and took the paper from my hand.

“You should take some self-defense. Take Caylah with you – I heard she was trained for something. We’ve seen her skills before – they were different, more different than anything we’ve ever done”

“Tom isn’t it a bit dangerous taking a girl with someone who is being followed by a dangerous stalker. But…”

Nathan stopped Jay from going further from what he said.

“Wait a minute – I’ve seen this writing before”

I was sitting outside alone – the sun was burning into my skin. It was a good feeling, though. This was the same grass me and Nathan used to sit on when we were eleven. Nathan went out the house and sat down beside me. He was edging his arm around my shoulder until I stopped him from doing it.

“Don’t do it please – I want this to be like the moment when we were only two-week-friends”

“Okay – if that’s what you want?”

He looked up at the cloud I was also watching. We remained silent until someone rang the bell on the gate.

“I’ll get it – go back inside with Caylah and the others. This might be your stalker”

I walked inside and closed the door lightly which was slightly ajar. It was giving me chills as he opened the gate – every second he would move it made me more nervous.

“Who’s Nathan talking to? Is it your stalker?”

Nathan’s POV

I opened the gate and saw Jacque standing there smirking. She looked different – it wasn’t a normal look on her but a different look – a strange look.

“Hi – I know you’ve seen me before but if you don’t remember, I’m Jacque. The girl from fifth grade”

“I know you – why did you bother to come? And how did you know someone lives here”

She took a deep breath and looked at me.

“It’s been the greatest news in town and when I found out I wanted to see Ellie. Is she here?”

“Yeah – c’mon inside”

“No. I’ll just wait out here”

I called out Lea for a couple of times – she went out after several calls.

“Hi – you might remember me”

“I totally know you – Jacque, right?”

She nodded and gave her a smile.

“Is it alright if I come in? I’ve already felt comfortable going inside when you appeared”

They both walked inside with me following behind them. There was something weird about Jacque. I can tell by her eyes she didn’t hate Lea anymore but what I’m worried is about the stalker. Who was the stalker?

Jacque left before when it was seven. Jay was also suspicious about her actions. Lea and the girls ran upstairs and into Paige’s room.

“Did you see how Jacque was looking at Lea? She was like ‘I’m-gonna-kill-you”

Tom looked at all of us while putting the plates on the sink.

“I thought I was the only one who noticed – I guess the rest of you did too”     

We gave each other a strange look. Silence filled the atmosphere until the girls broke the silence rushing down the stairs.

“Guys, have you seen my phone?”

“No. You were holding it, remember?”

“I know but I let Jacque borrow it before she left so she can type in her number”

Jay took the phone from the table and handed it to her.