when we collided [e.s.]

Fifteen

It's 11 pm when I walk back into the apartment. Cassie is sitting on the couch, eating with Ben and Jerry. "Cherry Garcia. You must be reeling," I say in a low voice. Cassie turns around with smeared makeup and messy hair. I wonder what Andrew did to her. "Audrey," she breathes, muting the romantic comedy currently playing on tv. "Is it Andrew? Because I swear to god if he hurt you-" "No," she interupts. "No, it's you Audrey. You were right, I'm so sorry," she says, throwing her arms around my neck. I'm taken off gaurd by this but hug her back. "I didn't know if you were coming back or where you were and I thought I lost my best friend," She whispers. "Cass, it's okay," I say, pulling away. "So, where did you go?" She asks, wiping her eyes. I sigh. "I went to Ed's. And trust me, it was hard to leave. But I guess I just needed to know I still had a friend," I smile. "Well I made your bed. And I finally did the laundry, like you asked. I'm so happy you're back," Cassie smiles, hugging me again. I smile, she's so cute. I know there are times when I hate Cassie so much I could kill her, but she always comes through in the end. "Hey, I thought you and Andrew were supposed to go to Isle of Wight this weekend," I say, walking into my room and setting my bag down. "Turns out he had family stuff. It's whatever, we'll go another time," Cassie frowns, dumping some of her dirty clothes in the hamper. That's the thing with her, she kind of just leaves things scattered across the floor and then picks them up whenever. But who am I to judge, I do it too. "Oh. Sorry," I say, unpacking my things. "But what about you? Where have you been all weekend?" She asks with only half interest. "Well, I went shopping with Ed Saturday and then we went to a really fancy dinner to meet a music producer. It kinda sucked though, the guy was a total dickhead," I say, putting my makeup bag on my shelf. "Oh, fun," she murmurs. When I look over at her she's texting someone. Typical.

I wait for Cassie to fall asleep before I tape the piece of lined paper that has Ed's song on it on the wall. It's low down, almost under my bed, but far up enough so that I can see it when I'm trying to fall asleep. It's almost 1 am, and I've basically been sleeping all day, so I'm not all that tired. I decide to rent a movie and finish off the Cherry Garcia. Oh man, I have classes tommorow. Shit. My phone buzzes. It's an unknown ID. I feel my face go completely red as I read the text to myself.

I'm still working on finding you. I think I'm getting closer. Can't wait to see you -Ian.

My breathing gets shallow. God am I fragile. I think I'll be okay, I just need to try and calm down. He must have gotten a new number or something because I blocked the old one. My fear slowly turns to anger, and I feel my blood start to boil inside me. Ian may have ruined my life once, but he can't do it anymore, and I can't give him the power. On a split decision, I hit call. Oh my god what am I doing? "Audrey," I hear excitement in his despicable voice. "You better stay the hell away from me okay," I try to say sternly, but it comes out very breathy. "Audrey, you're my girlfriend, and nothing you say can change that," he replies, a smile in his voice. There's a pause as I catch my breath. "How did you find me?" I ask, so low it's almost inaudiable. "What, you think I'm some brainless idiot? I know how to work a computer, and asking around in a small town isn't rocket science," he snickers. There's another pause as he waits for me to say something but i'm so utterly terrified nothing comes. "I will find you. And when I do, you can be sure I'll beat you until your on the floor begging for me to kill you," he whispers. Tears streak my cheeks. "You're not going to find me," I try to say sternly, but it comes out muffled because my nose is now so stuffy I can barely breathe. Be strong Audrey. "Oh come on Audrey. I'm already in the same city as you, and, how long did that take?" He broods. I hang up. And then I go straight to bed.