Tainted

Chapter 29: Romeo Take Me

The adrenaline still courses throughout my viens as Jesse and I run, his idea of course but with all of my new found energy I didn't entirely reject the idea, plus we got home an hour before my mom will so we're set to do what we want for a while. My body plunges forward as we finish the last mile and in a record time for me as well.

"A  twenty three minute 5k," Jesse huffs as he begins his cool down stretches, "I'd say that's pretty good, for a girl," he glances my way with a sly smile to see my reaction.
"You're so sexist!" I exclaim and without thinking I grab my water bottle and squirt some on him just for him to grip onto it making more water squirt everywhere but mostly on me.
"Are you kids done messing around?" Naomi's voice knocks us out of our minature water fight as we see John and Naomi come our way.

"Well it's about time, we thought we lost you guys back in the woods," Jesse smirks at John who just shakes his head with a small smile.
"Na, we thought you guys were running a 10k so we were taking it slow," John exclaims and my face deforms for a moment.
"That's you guys taking it slow?" I ask with a quizzled look on my face.
"You do realized we were trained in the military right? and by his father?" Naomi points out while motioning to Jesse who looks completely recovered from our previous run and ready for another one.

"No but I have realized I could really go for a popsicle right about now," I exclaim and quickly skip up my driveway that we finally reached. Sliding into the garage with Jesse by my side I quickly open the fridge only for a frown to form on my face, "We're out of popsicles," I whine while pouting.

"Well do you got ice cream?" Jesse asks while leaning against the fridge.
"Yeah but I really felt like a popsicle," I pout while looking up at him. He only wears a small smirk as he shakes his head slightly and grabbing onto my hand to pull me back out of the garage.
"We got one more thing to do," Jesse huffs and John and Naomi follow without any complaints.

Hopping into Jesse's car John and Naomi take the back while I sit in the passenger's seat. Suddenly Taylor Swift comes on in the radio and just as Jesse's about to change it John shouts, "No!" We all turn back to look at him as he begins to play his fake guitar, "Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone I'll be waiting...!" he sings and I turn my head to Jesse in shock.
"What the hell?" he mouths at me as a humorous smile dances along his lips.

As we drive to a nearby gas station with John singing Taylor Swift at the top of his lungs I can't help but catch a glint of the car behind us that seems to be tailgating us. Glancing in the rear view mirror I notice the driver that wears his hat low, covering his all black hair and pale face. Suddenly I get a feeling in the pit of my stomach and I don't know if it was from the adrenaline leaving me or the run but the strong urge to throw up everything I've eaten quickly consumes me.

That can't be him, he has different colored hair and a different car, the list in my head forms and I quickly realize that all of the traits that make it impossible to be him can be switched up. He can always dye his hair, he can always get a new car, but there's one thing that makes it distinctly him, he's following us.

"Pull the car over!" I scream at the top of my lungs and suddenly Jesse is swerving to the side and is on the side of the road unbuckled and hovering over me.
"What's wrong? Are you okay!?" Jesse shouts as he holds my face in his hand.
"I think he was following us," I whisper barely audible enough for him to hear.
"What?" Naomi questions from the back seat.

"I think my father is in that car!" I point to the car that is slowly passing us, the hat still covers his face and it seems the air becomes stiff and stale as we all stare at the car that lures next to us. The silence dances around us for a moment as we all process what just happened, I try to imagine what would've happened if I hadn't sat in the front seat and seen the car behind us, would he have followed us into the gas station and confronted us or watched from afar? The next thought that crosses my mind makes my stomach churn with anxiety and my heart to fall, how many times has he been watching us and we failed to notice? He could've easily been a spectator at the beach, or a visitor in the school. Not to mention how he might be lurking outside our house at night or stalking my mother in the hospital.