You Made Me Fall, But That's Okay

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

He was here. He was actually following me. Was he near me now? Feeling the hairs stick up on the back of my neck, terror washed over me like the tide flowing over a sandy beach. I glanced over my shoulder nervously, and jumped when I saw a person behind me. It was Rebecca, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. She raised an eyebrow and impatiently placed a hand on her hip. ‘Are you finished in there yet?’

‘Yeah, sure. Are you in here alone?’

Rebecca gestured towards what seemed like a skimpy little vest. ‘Oh, yeah … Just wanted to come out here and buy my dress for Chris’s party. Dan’s in soccer practice, or something. I can’t remember what he was talking about … Um, do you think this dress looks nice?’

‘That’s a dress?’ I said, my eyes widening. ‘Won’t you be freezing?’

She laughed. ‘What are you like? Laura, the more skin – the more boys. You should try it some time –’

‘No, Rebecca. I don’t think I should try that. After all, I do have a boyfriend. Oh, and aren’t you my best friend’s boyfriend?’ I said sarcastically, annoyance bubbling up inside of me. ‘If I were you, I’d cover up – otherwise my best friend might just guess that you’re interested in someone else.’

Rebecca narrowed her eyes. ‘Well, I’ve got to try this on, and you’re standing in the only free changing room. Gonna get out?’

Without saying another word to her, I stepped out. Just as I was about to walk out of the store, one of the staff called me back to hand me something that I had left behind outside the changing room. When I looked at what she had given me, I frowned. This wasn’t my purse. Curious, I opened it to see if there was anything inside to tell me who it belonged to. There was only a tiny piece of folded paper inside, though. I carefully unfolded it and examined the strange picture of an eye drawn on it. I turned the paper so I could look at the other side and found the words “Dear Laura, get the answer?” scrawled across it.

Then I realised what Mr Riddle was doing. He was telling me the answer – an eye. So he wanted me to be quiet, he was following me and now he was watching me. I shuddered and quickly shoved the paper into my pocket before leaving the bag on one of the many shelves in the store. I nearly sprinted out of the doors and headed in the direction of my friends. But, in all of my haste, something caught my eye. Someone in a black hoody was tearing out of the store I had just came out of. I turned around to watch him, and without even thinking about it, I was soon chasing him towards the elevator.

He was Mr Riddle, and I knew it for a fact. No one walked around a mall with their hood up. Also, he was walking out of the store I had just left and that certainly wasn’t just a coincidence. No man walked into that store unless they fancied some feminine apparel, as the store only sold clothing for girls. Mr Riddle wasn’t even carrying a shopping bag, so he definitely wasn’t that type of man. It was so obvious – therefore, I was going to get him.

Confronting Mr Riddle seemed such a good idea as I ran down the mall after him. If he was caught, he might just be scared out of the whole stalker thing. If he still kept it up, I’d just report him to the cops and then I’d have nothing at all to worry about. My life would be nice and normal for a change.

But what if this would make things worse? What if things turned out badly? What if he tried to hurt me? I was chasing after some screwed up creep, but was it a good idea? Would he try to take me away? Would Ryan be able to rescue me if anything happened?

I had no time to think about that, because I was stepping into the elevator behind Mr Riddle. It was just the two of us in the elevator, and the only thing that could be heard was the quiet melody playing in the background. Trying my best to be calm, I casually reached over and pressed the button to ascend two floors, giving me more time to talk to him if he decided not to leave on the first floor. Mr Riddle shuffled his feet awkwardly. Moving back over to a corner of the elevator, I tried to look at his face, but I could barely see a thing under his stupid hood.