May Kill Me

Twenty-Five

"Oceane!" Jonathan cried out again, waving his hand at me. 

Oh my god! 

"Jonathan, get back! I mean it! I'm going to scream!" I was already reaching for my cell phone as he was rushing at me, an urgent expression on his face. 

I didn't wait for him to reach me before I dialed my mom's number: I might not be able to outrun Jonathan, but I could tell her where I was and who I was with if I were to go missing. I had to leave a breadcrumb trail. 

"Hello?" Mom picked up, sounding a bit breathless. 

"Mom, I'm by the parking lot. Jonathan is here!" 

"What?" 

"Jonathan is here. He came chasing me. It's the parking lot by the woods." I replied breathlessly. 

"Don't hang up; I'm on my way!" 

"Oceane, what is happening?" Jonathan stopped, eyes wide and eyebrows raised so high they looked like they might disappear into his hairline. 

"My mom is on her way with security!" I yelled back at him. 

I wasn't sure about the last part. The Christmas market wasn't exactly known for its rowdiness. I don't know if we even had security.  

"Security? What? I want to talk to you. I heard from Chris you're back. He saw you and your mom shopping at the Whole Foods..." Jonathan was cut short by my mom's cries, which I could hear revibrating through my phone. 

She looked frazzled and angry with Samantha rushing after her looking confused. 

Kate was not too far off, her phone out already, pointing straight at me and Jonathan. There was use for her influencer-wannabe skills after all. 

"You stay away from her! Samantha, call the cops!" Mom practically barked at her friend, who was breathing heavily as she was trying not to slip on the snow in her high-hilled winter boots that looked like they were built for looks rather than practically. 

"What? What should I tell them? Who is this?" Samantha blinked between the three of us baffled, clutching a phone in her gloved hand.  

"This man," Mom paused dramatically and pointed a finger at Jonathan, "Is a very dangerous stalker. He has been harassing and stalking Oceane incessantly ever since she broke up with him. He's so pathetic he had to follow her all the way to New Glasgow and terrorize her there." She concluded as if she was making a cause before the jury. 

"So," Samantha paused before continuing, "Do I tell the police there's a stalker present?" 

"YES!" 

"No!" 

Mom and Jonathan cried out simultaneously, making Samantha clutch her phone tighter. 

"I'm not a damn stalker, okay! And will you stop filming?" He turned to Kate who still had her phone aimed at him. 

Kate had zero response. 

"Look, I'm not here to stalk or terrorize." 

"Oh, sure!" Mom snapped at him impatiently. 

"I swear! I'm here because I wanted to talk to O... I mean Oceane." He looked at conveying the same seriousness he usually reserved for the debate team.   

"Well, you can talk to her through the bars of a prison cell if she even wants to talk to you-" Mom spat back. 

"I know who the stalker might be." Jonathan cut her off impatiently. 

The silence that followed was deafening. 

"So I shouldn't call the police?" Samantha asked. 

***

"Can you stop filming me now?" Jonathan growled at Kate who still had her camera aimed at him. 

The five of us were stuffed into a booth, back at the diner where we had brunch. 

"Back already?" The same waiter who served us earlier came around with a notepad to take our orders. 

"We'll have five coffees," Mom said with a polite smile, eyes never leaving Jonathan. She looked at him as if he was a rabid animal, barely able to stop herself from taking him down.  

"And fries," Kate added, camera still trained on Jonathan. 

"Great, five coffees and fries are coming right up," the waitress seemed disappointed that a party this large placed such a small order. 

"I thought you were working on losing some weight," Samantha said. 

"Oh my god, Mom, can't believe you just said that..." Kate shook her head in disbelief. 

"Okay, enough of this shit. First, I won't keep talking until you shut off the camera and move to a different booth." Jonathan leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. 

I knew he meant it. 

"Kate, put your phone away. Mom, I need to get to the bottom of this, and as much as I appreciate everything you've done... I need to understand what's going on." 

Kate paused but finally put her stupid phone away.  

"Oceane, I've made the mistake of not voicing my opinion when you were dating Jonathan. But now, I can't let this happen again. How do you know if what he's going to say is true?" 

"I'm not going lie, Mrs. Becker. I'm just as interested as you are in outing and stopping this person. But I'm not going to be treated as a criminal or filmed by a chubby teen." 

"Hey! Are you fat-shaming me?" Kate cried out angrily. That was the most emotion I've seen her show since I met her. 

Jonathan raised his eyebrow, making it clear he wasn't going to take what he said back. 

"Okay, we're not going to get anywhere with this. Let's move to a different booth," Samantha exhaled heavily, being the voice of reason.  

"If you need us," She turned to me, "We'll be right here." 

I wasn't sure where the 'right here' was as the entire place was packed, and every booth was taken. 

"No wait a minute..." Mom ratteled.

"No, Rebecca, this is between the two of them. The sooner this resolves, the sooner Oceane will be able to feel safe."  

 It took several minutes for the three of them to pile out of the booth.

Jonathan waited quietly, arms still crossed over his chest. 

"If you need us, we're right here," Mom said sternly, her words meant to also serve as a warning to Jonathan. 

"It's time we get to the bottom of this and stop this fucker." Jonathan pulled out his cell phone.