Emily and I had met at a small bookstore and sat outside on small chairs. We had talked about lots of things like, how Mrs. Hazelwood was way to strict in our Literature classes, how Emily hadn't had a boyfriend in four months, and she was wondering if anything was wrong with her. We had come to the conclusion that Jessica, (our favorite T.V. show) had cheated on Bradley with Carson. This outraged Emily, she had wanted Jess and Brad to be together forever. I, however, was actually hoping they would break up. But, enough time had passed, and we reached the inevitable question - 'What to do about Jace'. "I think you should call the cops on him. He's not gonna go away until he gets what he wants from you, Meadow" I sighed at this. I hadn't been able to fall asleep last night, I was far too busy with trying to figure out how to get rid of him. "I'm pretty sure I thought of every possibility. I was up all last night thinking. I even thought I could move to Scotland, but that's too expensive. Trust me, Em, there's nothing I haven't thought of." We sat in silence for a few moments, both of us thinking. My ringtone interrupted the silence. I got out of my chair, took a few steps away, and answered.
"Hello?"
"Where are you?" It was my mom's voice.
"Ummm, some old bookstore with Emily, why?"
"There's a boy here to see you." My heart lifted, thinking it was Harry, then sank remembering Jace knew where I lived.
"Uh okay, I- I'll be there in a minute."
She hung up. I turned and looked at Emily."My mom said there's a boy at our house. She didn't say who." That was all I needed to say to get Emily out of her chair. She grabbed my arm, and we started walking as fast as we could. My house was only a few blocks away, and I prayed the whole way that it wouldn't be Jace.
We reached my house minutes later, but there were no cars in our driveway. Great.
"You can go home. I'm sure it's only Harry." I reassured Emily. She nodded and gave my hand a squeeze to comfort me. I watched her figure go farther and farther away until I summoned the courage to open the front door. I wondered what my house looked like to other people. Right as you walk through the door, there are two rooms, one on each side. If you open the right door, you'll think you walked into a tropical forest. That would be my mom's yoga room. She had spent almost a year trying to make it look like you had walked into paradise. On the door to the left, had floor to ceiling shelves, filled with loads of books. The was my favorite room. On the empty side of the room, there was a small bed, and next to that, there was a desk with a computer, a cup filled with pens and sharpies, and a small potted bonsai tree. Sometimes, I would sleep in this room, instead of my own. That's why we put a bed in here instead of the couch that used to inhabit that space. Back outside those two first rooms, there was a short hallway, lined with pictures of me and my mom, and also some of my nature pictures I had printed out. At the end of the hallway, you reach the living room. The T.V. screen faced the hallway, so you could see what shows people were watching as you step in the door. The back of the couch was also pointed in the same direction, so you could see the back of my head as I watched Food Network or whatever else I found interesting. Two chairs, filled with so much stuffing, they looked like they would burst any second, straddled the couch. I stopped before l stepped in, afraid of who I might find, although I knew who it was. I took a long breath in, held it for ten seconds, and let it out, imagining that the breath I let out, was all the nerves I had. This was an exercise I had learned from my mom. She was always doing calming things, like yoga, drinking tea, massages, long bubble baths. I, however, didn't have the time to do these things. Of course I inherited her ability to freak out over the smallest things, but, unlike her, I didn't know how to handle it. Anyway, back to the situation. I breathed a few more times, then pushed myself out of the hallway and into the living room. Jace. I knew it. He was practically laying all over our couch, definitely taking my moms advice and making himself at home. However, my mom was nowhere to be found. Jace looked up from his lounging around, and an evil smile crept across his dark face.
