My Personal Stalker

Chapter 31: New Beginning

Chloe's POV:

I'm staring into the garden that is slowly awakening. The birds start to sing as the first rays of sun hit their feathers. The wet grass is shining brightly.

I just sit there in front of Joe's window taking all of it in. There are soft footsteps approaching me but I don't turn around to see who it is.

"Have you slept at all?" Joe whispers while sitting down next to me. He takes a quick look at his girlfriend who is still sleeping peacefully.

I shake my head not wanting to break the silence. My whole body feels numb and tired from crying. My bones are aching, my skin dried out from my salty tears. But still, Noah was right. I am going to be okay... maybe not today but at some far point in the future I can picture myself being happy again, even without Noah in my life.

"I'm done." I whisper mostly to myself.

"What do you mean?" Joe questions.

"I'm done chasing him. I gave him one last chance and Noah chose to leave me again. It took me a while but I've realized that I can find my peace with it. I don't need him in my life." It has been a while since I've felt so at peace with myself. I can finally let Noah go and start to move on.

Joe doesn't answer immediately. He stares out of the window too, before speaking up. "Maybe you're right and you're better off without him. Now, you can both move on, find someone new and live happily ever after."

As much as I don't want it to, his answer starts to bother me. "Why did you have to say it like that? So you just want me to act like all of this never happened?" Joe's lips form into a smile. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because I know you both... probably better than you even know yourselves. And that's why I can say one thing for sure. Neither one of you is ready to move on and leave all of this behind."

"That's ridiculous. I told Noah that it would be over as soon as he walked through the door and he still did."

"So...? You've both said before that you never wanted to see each other again but something tells me that you did more than talking in that storeroom."

My cheeks are heating up again. "You're an idiot if you think that there is any possible future between Noah and me."

"Okay, so I'm an idiot but I'm still right." Joe chuckles and stands back up. "Anyway, I'm going to wake my beautiful girlfriend and make us some breakfast."

I wave my hand dismissively as Joe walks over to Aileen and wakes her with a gentle kiss. "Morning," she whispers.

"Morning, Angel. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

I wait for Joe to leave the room before turning around. "You didn't really sleep, did you?" Aileen smiles, shaking her head carefully. "So what do you think? Is Joe right about Noah and me?"

"Honestly, I don't know Noah that well but my best friend, Chloe Anderson, never gives up no matter how hopeless the situation might look."

I can't help a smile from crossing my face as I cuddle up next to Aileen. "Sometimes it's better to give up, to save yourself a lot of trouble."

"But sometimes you have to get through the trouble to find something special."

-

We sit there in silence eating Joe's pancakes when my phone vibrates. I rip it out of my pocket as fast as I can.

Mark: Hey, I know we haven't talked in a while and you're probably still angry with me but would you maybe meet up to sort everything out between us?

Me: I don't know if that's such a good idea...

Mark: Please give me a chance to explain!

I look up from my phone to see Aileen raising her eyebrows at me. "It's just Mark." I state.

Joe's head shoots up immediately. "What does he want?"

"He wants to meet up to talk." I answer unsurely.

"You're not really thinking about going, are you? Mark doesn't deserve your forgiveness and who knows what he's going to do." Joe's full attention is fixated on me.

"I don't know. It would be great to hear his point of view... And Aileen could come with me, right?"

"There's no way I'm letting the two of you get near him. Mark could be dangerous and he's a cheater." Joe grabs Aileen's hand pulling her closer to him.

Aileen chuckles before speaking up. "You know that I love it when you get jealous but there is really no reason to. We won't let Mark lure us in or whatever scenario you're making up in your mind."

"... and he's not dangerous. I've known Mark for years. He would never hurt a girl physically." I add trying to calm Joe down.

"I still don't think you should go."

Aileen leans in closer and places a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek. "Please...?" She asks innocently.

Joe looks at her, his expression softer than before. "I'm just worried about you... but if you think you can handle him I won't stand in your way."

"Thank you!" She kisses him again before jumping up from her seat. "Come on, Chloe. Let's get you ready."

-

"I don't even know what to say to him." I whisper to Aileen on the bench next to me.

"You don't have to say anything. Just hear him out." She gives me a reassuring smile as Mark approaches from the other side of the park.

I stand up to take a closer look at him. He is wearing the very same shirt he wore to our first date in my favorite restaurant. His hair is put neatly into place and he is wearing the cologne I bought him for his birthday. "Chloe, I'm so glad to see you... and we have company." Mark forces a smile.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just here to keep Chloe from doing anything stupid." Aileen chuckles. I poke her in the ribs before she can say anything else.

"Anyway," Mark continues, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know that there is no excuse for the way I treated you and if I had the possibility to turn back time, trust me, I would. But I can't... So all I can do is to try to make it up to you and beg for your forgiveness."

Mark has really stepped up his game. He has always been a pathological liar but humbling himself to get what he wants is something he has never done before. In his eyes I can see that he expects me to fall for his act. So I will do just that.

I will play the innocent, naive puppy he wants me to be, his perfect little girl with no self-esteem. And when he least expects it, I will crush him without mercy. I hate the person he had turned me into while we were together and now it is time for payback.

I smile at him like a lost puppy that has finally found its home. "No, you don't have to apologize. It was my own fault. If I had been a better girlfriend, you would have never slept with someone else."

"Um, excuse me?" Aileen spat out.

Mark ignored her completely. "I know, baby. But I can help you become a better girlfriend to me." He opens his arms for me to run into.

Asshole. Prick. Idiot. Douchebag. I think to myself but I still follow his movement and let him hold me tightly.

"That's enough!" Aileen rips us apart. "We're leaving right now!" She shouts and pulls me away.

—

❗️Important❗️
Hey loves, I still have a lot of ideas for this story and I can't really decide if I should just add a few more chapters to this book to come to an end or if I should write a sequel. What do you think? And would you read another book about Chloe, Noah, Aileen, Joe and Mark? ♥️