LIA'S STALKER

The first letter from X

Dear Lia Van Cartier,

You’ve ruined my life, so I’m going to ruin yours. I’m going to reveal all the secrets kept against you and I’m going to destroy you. You thought that everyone loved you, didn’t you? You thought everyone was your friend. Sweet, little Lia, darling, beautiful Lia… they only took advantage of you, Lia. And I’m going to show you. When I’m done with you, you’ll be begging for me to kill you. And I will.

Talk to you soon, Lia.

X

Lia Van Cartier held the note in trembling fingers. It was written neatly in block letters on a perfectly square piece of paper. She’d found it slipped into her locker.

“It’s a prank, Lia.” She told herself, her voice shaky. Her hands were actually trembling, she realized, and she bit her lip, her shaking fingers tucking her long strands of brown hair behind her ears. “Just a prank.” She whispered, and she slid the note under her old, battered copy of the Stephen King book Pet Sematary.

She took a few deep breaths then plastered a smile on her face. “Just a stupid prank.” She repeated, one final time, before walking to the library, for her spare. Along the way she felt uncomfortable, and kept spinning around to see if someone was watching her. “Paranoid.” She muttered, cursing the note-giver.

She finally reached the library, and felt relieved. “Thank bloody god.” She sighed, as she hurried over to the aisle with the Stephen King books. Since she was a young girl, Lia had been obsessed with Stephen King.

In year three, while the girls in her class did book reports on Charlotte’s Web and The Faraway Tree, Lia did hers on the Stephen King book IT. The teacher had been horrified, and contacted Lia’s mother who simply shook it off as a phase. A phase that still hadn’t passed, mused Lia, pulling out the book A Good Marriage.

She curled up, her back resting on the aisle, and flicked it open to page 407, and immersed herself in the book. After an hour passed, the bell rang, and Lia decided to go find her best friends Brittney and Darcy. Almost complete opposites, Brittney was a tall Caucasian, with tanned skin and long blond hair. Darcy was short, pale Korean girl with dark hair cut short.

She found Brittney chatting while leaning up against her locker. “Hey Brit.” She smiled, Brittney flashed her a smile,

“Hey Lia, what’s up?” she asked, eyes twinkling with their usual mischief. Lia grinned back,

“What are you planning?” she accused Brittney, who laughed,

“My parents are going to be out of town so I’m holding a party!” she told Lia.

Lia smiled back. “I’ll just invite myself.” She told her friend.

“Course.” Replied Brittney. Lia said good bye to Brittney and went to her locker. She unlocked it and then sucked in a deep breath. A white square of paper was placed on top of her books. Shaking fingers undid the folded paper and she read the note, with a growing sense of dread.

Dear my innocent, darling Lia,

I can guarantee, this isn’t a joke, and I can also guarantee you aren’t paranoid. I’m watching you, Lia. I’m always watching you. And I will destroy you. I hope you enjoyed your book today- I was fond of The Good Marriage myself. It’s good, isn’t it? I’m just wondering why you didn’t borrow it? You’ll tell me one day. I know you will. You’ll tell me anything and everything. You’ll be MINE Lia. Always. I was thinking… maybe we could have a little fun role-playing. You can be Bob from the Stephen King book 'The Good Marriage' and I’ll be Darcy, and I’ll push you down the stairs and shove a plastic bag and dish wiper down your throat. I’m looking forward to it.

Talk to you soon, Lia.

X