StAlKeRs

Three

I walked into my bedroom and closed the door softly behind me. I locked my shoes off and threw my shawl on the arm of the chair I had in the corner. When I turned around I froze. There in the middle of my bed was a single rose with a piece of paper. I slowly walked over to my bed and picked the paper up, and read it. 

*You looked so stunning tonight, baby. I wish I would have been the one to take you to prom again. I'm sorry for everything. I hope you can forgive me one day. I love you. xx*

Tears were now running down my face and no doubt taking the mascara with them. 

**It was him at the park. Stu was the one watching us from the bushes** 

I walked over to the window and looked outside but didn't see anything. I locked the window and drew the curtains closed. Then I walked to the closet and changed into shorts and a tee-shirt before going to the bathroom to wash my face and take my hair down. After I finished everything I went to bed, setting the rose on my desk along with the small note. 

The next morning I woke up and walked downstairs to see Sidney cooking breakfast. "Good Morning. How was last night?" She asked as she turned around. I yawned, "It was fun. You should have came," I said. I grabbed a coffee cup, filling it with the already made coffee. "So... You and Randy--" Sidney said, giving me a quick look, brows raised, a smile on her face. "What?" I asked. "I saw you last night!" She said.

 "Saw us what?" I asked. She looked around and in a low whisper she said, "kiss. I saw you two kiss in his car!" My eyes widened, "Oh, my god! You were spying on us?!" I asked. "I heard his car pull in and when I looked out the window--" she trailed off. "Well, then if you were watching you would know it lasted not even a second. It was like kissing my brother! We agreed never again. Besides--" I said, walking to stand beside. "Randy likes you. Well, more like love you," I said, bumping my hip into hers. 

"What? No. Come on. Randy's just my friend. He's a sweet guy," Sidney said. "Yeah, he is a sweet guy. A sweet guy who has the hots for you," I laughed. Her face had a soft pink tint to it as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Are you blushing?" I teased. "Shut up! Get plates out," she said. I laughed but did as she asked. The time 3:45 rolled around. I was ready for work and Randy was honking his horn. I grabbed my bag and keys then headed out the door.

It was Randy, Karen, and I working. Karen was a little creepy, always saying weird things, popping up out of nowhere. There was a rumor she was a Satanist and practiced dark magic and sacrificed animals. I had just checked someone out, Randy standing beside me up against the counter, when I looked up to see Karen staring at us from the back of the store. I jumped a little and looked away. Randy turned around and flinched a little. "Is she on all shift?" I asked. "No. She only works until seven," he said. I looked back to see she had moved closer and was now in the horror section. "She scares me more than Billy and Stu," I mumbled, looking at Randy. 

"Only an hour left and we'll be--" Randy was cut off by a small scream that left my throat. Karen had moved quickly and silently to the counter and was staring at us. Randy turned around with a nervous laugh. "Hey, Karen, need something?" He asked. She just looked between us without saying a word. Her dark eyes that had been covered in heavy black eyeliner and mascara were boring into us. "Is it okay that I leave early?" She asked. Randy and I nodded our heads before I cleared my throat. "Yeah. No, go ahead. We're good," I told her. She turned around and walked to the back of the store. Once we heard the backdoor open and close we let out the breath we both had been holding. 

Randy was in the back doing inventory while I stayed up front flipping through a magazine. The bell above the door chimed and I looked up to see a tall figure wearing a black jacket, hoodie up and a hat under the hood. I went back to flipping through the magazine while the person walked around looking at the movies. It was only ten minutes after he had walked into the store that he set a VHS tape down on the counter. I looked down to see Friday the 13th and stood straight. "Nice choice," I said. I rang up the movie, slipping it in a bag, writing the due date back on the receipt and slipping it in the back too. "That will be 6 dollars for two days," I said. 

He pulled out his wallet, pulled out a ten, and handed it to me. When I took it his hand brushed against mine. A strange feeling coursed through me but I ignored it and opened the register and pulled out four ones, handing them back to him. "Have a good night," I said. He grabbed the bag, walked to the door, pushing it open, looked back at me and said, "Thanks, baby." My head shot up and looked at him but he was already out the door. 

**There was No way. He wouldn't--he wouldn't risk coming here. Would he?** 

The next few hours all I did was think about that feeling I got when he brushed his fingers against my hand, his voice, even his smell. It was all too familiar. It scared me to think that he and Billy were still around here, watching Sid and I. But Sidney hasn't been having the same feelings as me and she hasn't gotten any strange calls or notes, at least she hasn't said anything about it. I decided against telling Randy. I knew he would only tell me it was all in my head. That I was still traumatized about what had happened to us. And maybe he was right; maybe I was just making things up in my head. 

But what if he was still here? Was he just waiting for the right moment to kill me? Was he and Billy planning to wait until our dad started to go out of town again? If he did start to feel comfortable about leaving us alone would they take advantage of that? Would dad come home and find us hanging from a tree, gutted, just like Casey Becker's parents had found her? There were too many questions going through my head. I didn't get to sleep until almost three in the morning.