Broken Nightmare

Chapter 2

  I walked in the door and locked it as I took a deep breath. Without knowing it, I leaned against the door to catch my breath. I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that this man, that I've never met before, was chasing after me, yelling at me to 'stay out of it'—whatever that meant. What was he talking about? Nothing ever happened in my life that was exciting enough to have someone tail me down with threats. People didn't even know my name at school. Without knowing it, I felt myself go to my brother's bedroom.

My big brother and I have always been tight. The down side to that was he was overprotective. He always had to intimidate all my friends—boys or girls—not to hurt me. Sometimes, they got scared out of being my friend that way, because Liam was, after all, the wrestling champion.

I found my way up the stairs like a zombie and swung open Liam's door without knocking. Of course, he was hunched over his desk staring menacingly at his Calculus text book. My dad worked a deal with him that if he kept straight 'A's, he could join wrestling. I guess he didn't realize what he got himself into because he was always huddled around his desk. I stepped into his room and, without hesitation, plopped on his bed. He swiveled around in his massive work chair and faced me.

Before he could say anything, I mumbled, "You would not believe the day I've had."

Liam studied my face with a concerned look before blubbering, "What happened? Are you alright?"

Remembering where I found him, I looked up at his concerned face and let my words settle with some forced laughter in them, "Aren't you supposed to be doing... whatever it is you are doing?"

His face softened a little, then let out a light laugh, followed by his reply, "Nah. This is just calculus. Who needs this crap in their life? I mean, seriously? When will I need to know about Taylor Polynomials? They teach us stupid things is school. So, talk away."

I let that one slide, looking back at what just happened and knew he could help me.

I let in a deep breath and, knowing he was probably going to get mad at me for not letting him drive me home, I told him about my run-in with this dangerous stranger. His face hardened with my every word, and by the time I was finished, it felt like I was sitting before a wild bull. Trying to delay the lecture I was about to get, I handed him the lanyard I swiped with keys dangling from it. I had almost forgotten about them. I tried to use it as a way of getting out of trouble from Liam.

"I hoped he had an ID on it or some way of verification so I could tell the police or something, but no such luck. I think I just gave him more motivation to find me."

Liam took the keys and stared at me. His face was stoned with anger as he spoke, "El, are you hearing yourself right now? You just got attacked! And for something you don't know what for. I know you're going to scream at me, but I'm not going to let you walk home alone again."

"Well, lucky for me, you are not my father, so, sorry, but this is a free country, Liam. I'm going to do what my heart so desires." I responded, matter-of-factly.

"I'm serious, El." He responded, a fire burning in his eyes.

"So am I, Liam. I'm not going to sit back and let this guy steal my life. You know this is what I love to do, and I'm not stopping."

"I know you never like to lose arguments, but this one is important. Please. This is the one thing I'm going to ask of you. I'm begging. This guy is dangerous, and we have no way of verifying who he is. Just wait until we find him, okay?"

I sighed at the concern in Liam's face, "Liam. It was thanks to you I got out. How bout this? You can come with me on my daily runs, and when I want to walk, I will have you on the phone at all times. Deal?" I knew I wasn't going to win this one because it had to do with my safety, but I wasn't just going to give up like that.