Mom cranks up the radio and we’re both singing and waving our arms before you know it. I’m singing “Dynamite” like an idiot, waving my arms and just letting go when I notice a sleek black sedan gliding silently along behind us. The song ends, but I barely notice. Halfway through the next song, she glances over at me, finally noticing my silence.
“What’s wrong, Vanessa? Why so quiet?” I don’t answer, my eyes glued to the sedan. “Vanessa? Something upsetting you?”
The sedan follows us the entire way. It shouldn’t seem too surprising—we were on the highway after all—but something about the sedan bugged me.
“Okay. You can tell me later.” The radio turns down a bit, and I feel a bit guilty. I could’ve said I was fine…
Our exit comes up and we head down the ramp. The black sedan follows. I start to panic. Why is the driver, male or female, tailing us? Who is it? When had he/she started following us? Do we know the driver?
I try to convince myself that it’s just a coincidence, nothing to worry about, but I know that that’s not true. I know, somehow, that we’re in trouble. A gas station comes up and my mom puts on the turning signal, and I realize two things in that moment: 1) She’s stopping for gas and 2) The stalker will also stopping for gas
I look back at the black sedan, and the turning signal is on. Whatever this dude’s planning, it can’t be good. We can’t stop.
“Mom,” I try to keep my voice steady. “How badly do we need gas?”
She looks at me in surprise, but answers me anyway. “I have enough to get home if that’s what you mean.”
“Then don’t stop.”
She stares at me blankly, and turns the wheel towards the gas station.
I lose it. “MOM! DON’T TURN! LISTEN TO ME, DAMMIT, DON’T TURN!”
She jumps, and jerks the wheel to the other side, swerving at the last possible second back onto the highway. To my relief, the black sedan had already turned to the gas station.
“Vanessa,” her voice was shaking. “What the hell is wrong with you? How dare you talk to me like that? What on Earth has—”
“The black sedan was following us.”
“The black sedan? Vanessa, you’re not making any sense. What—”
“Yes, Mom! The black sedan! The shiny black sedan that has been trailing us for the past 15 minutes!”
I take a shaky breath and look out the window, tears prickling in my eyes. We never argue like this. I hear my mother take a deep, unsteady breath, but neither of us says anything. Then, without warning, she slams her fist down on the steering wheel. Tears leak from the corners of her eyes, and she angrily brushes them away.
“Can’t I do any goddamn thing right?” she says, her voice trembling. “I get pregnant at 16, marry a man when I needed one, not when you needed a father, then end up leading a stalker to our house!” She sniffs, and wipes her eyes on her sleeve. “Why? Why? Why?!” She presses a hand to her mouth. “I’m a terrible mother. I’m the worst mother. I should die. You’d be better off without me.”
The whole time I’m sitting there shocked. Just…shocked. But those last words hit me like a bomb.
“STOP.” I say this so loud the tears stop falling from my mom’s eyes. “Don’t ever, ever say that again. No mother, no woman, nobody could have been a better parent than you have been to me. You’re brave. You’re strong. You’re beautiful. You’re everything I need and more. If you died, I would just go commit suicide. Or become a lunatic. One of the two.” I take a deep breath. I need to get this out before we get home. “What happened today was NOT your fault. How could it possibly be? Some freaky stalker thought he could scare us. Fine. He can go... Oh. My. God.”
YOU ARE READING
The Awakening
HumorA mom with a terrible secret. A stalker that will stop at no ends until he gets what he wants. A legacy so powerful, it can destroy everything and everyone 15-year-old Vanessa Holsen holds dear. Can she put an end to it, even if it means sacrificing...
