we're not dating

part seven - i warned you

It's been over an hour since Nine came in, and we were sitting at the table watching the tapes. Honestly, I wasn't sure why Nine decided to come back. Earlier in the morning, when she was bringing me the videos, she clearly noticed that I wanted to be alone while watching them, so she left. And yet she came back. This didn't make any sense to me, but whatever. Debbie and Nine were talking about the tapes and the loft, but I couldn't really concentrate. Neither on what we were watching nor on what they were saying. I was thinking about the fact, that Debbie remembered what happened that night and that we were going to talk about it. Like, actually talk about what happened and about our feelings. And before Nine came in, Debbie said something about her confessions from that night being real. What did she mean by that? Because there is no way in hell, she actually likes me back romantically.

I couldn't sit still. I kept fidgeting with my fingers, playing with my rings, and shaking my leg. Debbie noticed that and put her hand on my thigh, squeezing it. I knew she was trying to reassure me that there was nothing to be nervous about, but that wasn't helping. Debbie as a person has always made me nervous. The way she talked, walked and looked. The way she gave orders and was always confident in her decisions and words. She was that person who got everyone's attention whenever she entered a room. She was the boss, and that was attractive as hell. And so, every time she said my name, got closer to me, or touched me, my whole body covered in goosebumps and my breathing sped up. And yes, I did know her for over twenty years, and I did share a home and a bed with her. At some point, touching and hugging became the most natural thing to us, but that doesn't mean I stopped feeling that way about her. Every single move she made towards me, sent shivers down my spine. So now, as I was sitting there, all nervous about the conversation we were about to have, her touch wasn't making it easier at all.

About 5.p.m we finally got to the tape from yesterday. Right after we left to go to the bar, the door to the loft opened and someone came in. A blonde, 5.41 feet tall, slim someone. Stella. She must have been watching us leave because she decided to break in right after that. Well, she didn't technically break in. She had a spare key. There were only three keys to the loft – one for Debbie, one for me and one for Tammy, for when Debbie and I were out of town. So she must have stolen one of them and duplicated them. She went through the whole loft, got into every single room, and scanned them attentively. She then went down to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of whiskey, and got closer to our photo wall, where we would hang up all the photos of ourselves that we liked. She took down those pictures, that Debs and I were on, and started tearing them into pieces. She spent about two hours there, vandalizing the furniture and spraying all of those sick slogans on the walls. Stella then looked all around the living room and smiled, admiring her work. Fucking psycho. After that, she left. Debbie was shaking watching this, so I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. We were all speechless. She really, truly hated us, and she obviously had huge mental issues. As long as she was walking out there, free, we weren't safe. "That was fucking sick." Nine commented after closing the laptop. Debbie got up and went to the window. "Debs?" I said quietly. No answer. "Debbie, talk to us." She turned to face us. "What do you want me to say, Lou? That I'm fucking terrified? She's completely unstable, she's a psychopath and she hates us. She would kill us if she could. She was stalking us. She knew where we lived, she knew when we left the house. She was fucking observing us, and she still might be." She raised her voice and was basically yelling these things out right now, tears streaming down her cheeks, her breath quickening. I stood up and got closer to her, taking her face in my hands. "Debbie, breathe with me. Don't look away. Breathe." I wrapped my arms around her tightly and started whispering calming words into her ear until she started to breathe slower again. I pulled away and looked into the eyes. "We have everything we need to end this. This tape is the perfect evidence. I will go to the police station now and show them what we have, okay?" She shook her head and sniffed. "What if she is out there waiting for you? What if she'll hurt you before you even get in the car? I don't want you outside this hotel room as long as this bitch is walking free." "Okay, I'll call the officer, and ask him to come here then, alright?" I caressed her cheek and she nodded.