To My Dearest Enemy

Jillian DeVitto

October 27

There was nothing Alana could do to get JD to stop stalking her. JD wasn't going to stop. There was no hiding and no point in running. JD was everywhere and nowhere all at once. Alana sighed as her phone rang in her pocket. She wasn't in the mood for pretending to be happy for Nolan. She pulled her phone out and glanced at the caller ID. She was wrong, it wasn't Nolan; it was Matt.

"Hey." She said as she accepted the call.

"Hey. Are you at work?" Matt asked.

"No, I'm, uh, headed home from Cattaraugus." Alana stated.

"Why are you there?" Matt asked.

"I was hiding in my closet all night and didn't sleep and JD texted me this morning so I just ran and kept going. They're not going to leave me alone. They're following me everywhere." Alana broke down in tears as she spoke.

"Hey, relax kid. Are you walking?" Matt spoke calmly.

"Taking the train and walking from Knollwood." Alana stated. It was the only ticket she could afford.

"I'll pick you up in Knollwood." Matt said.

"No, you don't have to." Alana sniffled.

"No, I will. I'm in Haverford right now. It's fine." Matt replied.

"Haverford? Why?" Alana asked.

"I went to a therapist. We'll talk about it later. Cya." Matt said, before hanging up. 'Therapy?'

———

Ethan felt beyond guilty for causing Alana to have an anxiety attack; he was pissed at himself. She was a wreck because of him, so he felt obligated to follow her, to make sure she was okay. He made sure to stay far back so she didn't know he was following her, but he ditched her when she arrived at the train station. He took an Uber home and made it home just in time for dinner. It didn't matter if he was late, his parents wouldn't mind, but Erin would be annoyed.

"Ethan!" Ethan looked up from his bed as he heard Erin calling his name.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Mail." Erin stated as she walked into his bedroom with an envelope in her hand.

"From who?" Ethan curiously stood up. Erin examined the envelope.

"Jill. Why would she send you mail?" Erin raised an eyebrow.

"She's grounded and didn't know how else to contact me." Ethan snatched the envelope and looked at it. The 'J' and 'D' in Jill's name were in bold. JD. 'Clever bitch.'

———

"I told you that you were going down." Jill slurred as she watched Hunter drink another cup. He grinned as he slammed the cup down on the table.

"You have one cup left, I have four. You're not gonna make a come back." Hunter stated. He had the advantage of being sober when they started

"Yes I will." Jill leaned on the table for support as Hunter rolled his eyes and bounced a ping pong ball, landing it in the cup. Everyone around them cheered and laughed. Jill grabbed the cup and chugged it before dropping the cup and coughing.

"You good?" Hunter asked as he walked over. Jill nodded.

"I just need to lay down." Jill said.

"Come on." Hunter grabbed her gently by the arm and began to lead her through the house. Jill suddenly felt weak and needed to stop walking and lean against a wall.