Deadly In Love

Chapter 10: Notes

The following Monday, I walked to school with Banner. He wasn't mad anymore, and everything was going well, just as it had been before. When we arrived at school, we went our separate ways, and I met Tina at her locker. We asked for a few minutes, me catching her up on Banner and her telling me about her new crush, Mark (Banner's friend) and begging me to ask him to set them up. She told me to give her my bag, and when I did, she pulled my phone out of it.

“Can I text Banner about it? Please?” Tina begged. I sighed as I took the phone back.

“I'll text him. Tell me if this is ok.”

You: My friend Tina likes Mark, can u ask him what he thinks of her?

Banner: ofc, just know they'll never be as cute together as us

I rolled my eyes reading that text, and Tina jumped up and down holding my arm. She was yapping about how cute Banner was, and about how much she wanted Mark to like her. Then Mark walked by and she suddenly became nonchalant. I laughed at her and went to my locker down the hallway.

I turned the dial to enter the code to my locker, and pulled the tab down to unlock it. As it swung open, a small paper fell out. I bent down and picked it up to read it. It said: I will kill you, be careful…I’m always watching…

I stood in shock at the letter for a second, then flipped the paper over, and what I saw shocked me even more than what I had seen on the front. Brian Richards.

I shoved the note into my pocket. The death threat. I walked to my homeroom, a look on my face as if I had seen a ghost. Several people asked me if I was ok in the hallway, and I just nodded at them. My stomach was twisting and turning inside of me all day.

The next day, I met Tina at her locker again. This time, she was crying, mascara smudged all over her face. A couple people stared at her while they walked by. As soon as I saw her, I rushed over.

“What happened?” I asked. She hugged me and planted her face into my shirt, getting my shoulder all wet and smudging my shirt with makeup, and maybe a little snot.

“He doesn't like me. And not only that, when Banner asked him about me, he laughed. He LAUGHED!” She said, through tears. I gasped. I wanted to go find him and slap him. I quickly got angry.

“How dare he! You don't deserve him.” I said, patting her head. Her curly hair wrapped and unwrapped itself around my fingers as they moved up and down.

“That's not even all. He genuinely thought Banner was joking. And did I tell you Banner slapped him?” She said, dropping my jaw. I quickly pulled out my phone.

You: Banner, why didn't you tell me about what happened with Mark?

Banner: I didn't have the chance, and I didn't think to text u, sryyy

You: what even happened? Tina explained very vaguely through tears. And how does she know??

Banner: idk how she knows, probably just gossip, but I asked him for his opinion on Tina and he started laughing, so I slapped him

You: Why did you slap him?

Banner: cuz Tina is ur friend and he was being rude, gtg bye

“Awe, that's cute,” Tina said. I had forgotten that popshe was there, and she had been looking over my shoulder the entire time. I nodded and put my phone away. We said bye to each other and I went to my locker.

As I arrived at my locker and looked at it, the memory of me finding the note in there came flooding back. I shook my head, as if trying to shake the memories off, and opened my locker. This time, nothing fell out and I thought that there was nothing there, and it was just a one time thing.

I bent down to grab my books on the bottom shelf. Upon standing up, I noticed a note on the inside of the door. It had been taped up. Meaning that someone isn't just sliding notes through the vents in my locker. They opened it. Brian had been in my locker.

My heart sped up along with my thoughts. I didn't want to tell Banner about the notes because I didn't want to cause a problem. They probably didn't mean anything anyway. It's just a stupid prank.

I slowly pulled the tape off of my locker door, a sticky ripping noise following. I pulled the paper close to my eye level to read it. It said: Death is near, and so am I. I'd be careful if I were you. Stop causing trouble and you're safe.

Causing trouble? I stood confused for a second, rereading the note a few times. I didn't know what it meant. I flipped it over, and there it was again, Brian Richards. In a red pen, which somehow made the note slightly creepier. I stuffed the note in my backpack and went to my homeroom, the same weird feeling in my gut from yesterday.

During the first half of the day, I just stared at my desk, zoned out and not hearing a word any of my teachers were saying. When the bell rang, I would just robotically stand up and begin walking to my next class. At lunch, I just sat and ate, not listening to the conversation going on among my friends.

“Lacy? Lacy! Hello? Earth to Lacy!” Tina said. I hadn't been listening, so I only noticed she was calling me when she tapped on my shoulder.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” I said, still only halfway back into reality.

“We were asking you if you and Banner are going to the dance. Are you ok?” Tina said, a concerned look on her face. I turned my head to face her.

“I'm fine. But what dance? Since when is there a dance?” I asked. They were all shocked that I didn't know about the dance.

“It's in two weeks, that Friday. It starts at 7 and ends at 9. You have to go with Banner!” Olivia said. A smiled and chuckled a little bit.

The next day, I stayed at Tina's locker as long as possible to avoid having to see another death threat. It was starting to scare me more and more. When she finally told me I should go so I wouldn't be late, I hesitantly walked to my locker. I took a deep breath.

I lifted my hand to enter the combination, then pulled the tab to open the door. A small paper fluttered out. I slowly picked it up, my hand shaking. When it had fallen, the backside was up, where Brian Richards was written.

I slowly turned the paper around, bracing myself for more trauma. My eyes widened as I read the letter, more terrifying than the other too. It said: You're running out of time. Just stop what you know you need to, or you're DEAD. The word dead was in all capitals and underlined three times. I decided to go into the bathroom before homeroom to mentally cool off. I stood over the sink, leaning against it and watched my lip begin to quiver in the mirror.

Tears began building up in my eyes. I wiped my eyes, trying not to let myself cry.

“It's probably just a prank anyway. I'll be fine” I told myself, wiping away a tear that was now beginning to trickle down my face. I took a deep breath, and as I exhaled, I froze. I remembered Banner telling me that Brian wasn't allowed to see guests because of “the past.” What had he done in the past to be locked up by a family as sweet as Banner’s. I know Banner would never let them lock him up like that without a good reason.

My breath started to get shaky and uneven. As I started shaking and crying even more, Cassie walked into the bathroom. She took one look at me, and without thinking came running over to me. She stood behind my left shoulder with a hand on each one.

“What happened? Are you ok?” She asked. It was almost like she had forgotten about our fight. I turned around and hugged her, resting my face on her shoulder. She smelled like strawberries. I forgot about our fight for a moment too, and started talking to her.

“Banner secretly has a twin. He…he sent me death threats to my locker.” I said. My eyes immediately widened as I realized what I had just told her. I covered my mouth.

“I know you hate me, but I didn't mean to tell you that. It's supposed to be a secret. Nobody knows about the death threats, not even Banner. Please, please keep this a secret. Please.” I begged through tears. My entire face was wet, and even some of my hair. There was a wet stain on the top of my shirt. A few drops scattered my shirt too. Cassie's shoulder was wet. She nodded.

“I promise. And I'm sorry about telling Marlee your secret. But I promise not to tell anybody this one.” She said, reassuringly patting my shoulder. I had no choice but to trust her, but I had a gut feeling telling me that if she told anyone, I was screwed.