My (Not So) Charmed Life

Stress and Success

I got home in a daze, realizing only as I walked up the front stairs to my door that I had no interest whatsoever in facing my family. I had no idea of what to do and I found myself sinking to the steps and burying my head in my hands. 

The stress was beginning to get to me at this point. Between the kidnapping, the threats and the paranoia that I was constantly feeling, the idea that Ryan probably hated me was making my head feel like an overly full balloon.

As I thought about everything that had happened within the last month or so, I began to cry, releasing my emotions in a very noisy, and unfortunately snotty, way.

I heard approaching steps, but ignored them, hoping that whoever it was would walk right on by without bothering me. It was probably some lady walking her dog or something.

When the footsteps got to me, they stopped and then restarted, getting closer and closer until I felt a presence take a seat next to me on the stoop. After a moment, whoever it was scooped me up and started to walk.

Terrified at having left myself in such a vulnerable situation, my head jerked up and I began to kick and fight. But instead of Sammy or Petram or someone else, I was met with the sight of Ryan holding his hand over his cheek. Apparently, I punched him in the face. Great, one more reason for him to hate me.

"Relax, Liza, it's just me! Calm down, okay?" He sounded calm, which surprised me. Shouldn't he drop me and be upset that I just freaking assaulted him?

He kept walking, and I realized that he was walking in the direction of his house. I wriggled on his grasp, not wanting to explain to Sylvia or anyone else why I was on this depressed condition.

"Sylvia isn't home, okay? It's just me and you right now," Ryan said softly. I hated how he was able to understand what I was thinking all of the time. I would give anything for a glimpse into his head, yet he could somehow read all of my actions without me verbalizing them.

Once we got to his house, he snapped his fingers, and a bundle of clothes appeared. He handed them to me and ordered, "Go upstairs and take a hot shower. Then I want you to put these on and come downstairs." I looked at him in confusion.

"Why can't I just zap them on?" I didn't feel like even moving right now, let alone going and dragging myself into a shower.

"I don't think that you should be using magic in the state you're in. I don't want to end up being electrocuted again," he said teasingly.

"Fine," I said, trudging up the stairs as he directed me to the bathroom in his bedroom.

As soon as I entered the bathroom, I was struck with terror, remembering how petram had managed to record me at my house. What if he did it again and kidnapped me while I was showering? The idea was mortifying as much as it was terrifying, and I all but ran out of the bathroom.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ryan looked baffled.

"I, I can't take a shower! They know when to find me! He's going to kill me!" I realized that I was a confusing mess and that Ryan wouldn't understand what I was talking about, but right now, I was scared and I didn't know what to do.

"Okay, breath Liza. How about I sit right here and wait for you to finish?" He was sitting on his bed, right near the door to the bathroom. "Nobody can get past me to hurt you, okay?"

"Okay," I repeated quietly. I went back into the bathroom, but I was still nervous as I took off my clothes and folded them on the counter before turning on the shower and stepping in.

The hot water cascaded down my back, and I forced myself to think only about how nice it felt. For a few minutes, I was determined not to think about any of it, to just relax and let the scalding water do its job.