Fixing Me ∞ Hood

Chapter 65 - Stranger

These past few weeks I've been feeling so conflicted. I want him, I really do. I love him more than I love anything in the world. But I made a deal in order to keep him safe. Agreeing meant that I had to stay away from Calum, and the only way I knew how to do that properly was to push him away.

My actions are confusing, even to myself. I don't know why I'm doing what I'm doing, I don't even know who I made the deal with. All I know is that Calum and everybody I love was in danger and I needed to keep them safe. I still do. It started with a few anonymous texts a week, then they starting sending some pictures with the texts and then it went on to threatening phone calls. Every single text or call was about this person hurting my family if I didn't do something for them. So, I did what I had to do. But with every passing day, it just got harder and harder.

I sit in the room that no one else in the world knows about. The room surrounded by cold concrete walls. It's gotten to a point where I don't even bother to turn the heating on, there's no point. I deserve to be miserable and cold.

This place is usually my get away. Whenever I ran away from foster homes, I came here. It's the only place where I can be alone since no one else knows about it. Well, only one other person did know about it. Jamie. He's dead now, so, like people say - two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

Jamie paid for everything when it came to this little studio apartment, as in, fully paid everything off. I don't have to pay for a single thing. Not the electricity bills, gas bills, nothing, except for food and other essentials needed.

I've made this place mine. I've painted things on the brick walls using spray paint, graffiti mostly, but it all means something. This place in my own little getaway, but right now, it just doesn't feel right. It feels sad and lonely.

The room is silent until my phone starts buzzing on the wooden table beside the bed. I stare at it as the vibrations echo off the walls. I know all too well that this is another call from them. I was right, all those weeks ago, when I thought that there was someone other than Castigo coming after me.

With shaking fingers, I pick my phone up, dreading the cold voice on the other side of the line.

"I thought we had a deal." The male voice hisses lowly.

"We do."

"The deal wasn't for you to crawl back to your little runt of a boyfriend."

"I'm doing all that I can-"

"It's not good enough." The man says sharply. "The deal is off. You better watch your back. Hope you said your goodbyes."

I try to argue but I just end up crying to the sound of the dial tone. Without hesitating I jump off the bed, phone in hand, and run out of my studio apartment. It is the only place I have to be alone, but I've found that I don't like being alone.

As I punch the button and wait for the rickety, yet stable, elevator to come up from the bottom floor my phone buzzes in my hand. As I look at the message my stomach drops, making me punch the elevator button more rapidly and harshly while feeling edgy just standing here.

Blocked ID:

Hope you can run fast, otherwise you'll be too late...

Underneath the message is a picture of the boys playing video games in the Hood's lounge room with pizza boxes and soft drinks cans littering the table in front of them. They look relaxed, like they would any other time they're together, except they don't know that there is a stranger standing outside the window taking a photo of them and plotting ways to hurt them.