Page 16 of Marked By my Stalker
I really wish he’d take the phone off speaker.
Jack glances toward me, gauging whether or not I want to answer.Spoiler, I don’t. I really don’t.I really, really don’t.
“Hello?” my mother presses.
Dear God, the words are gonna spill from my lips like a wildfire I can’t help but spread. I just know it. I’m not good with secrets. Never have been.
“Hey, Mom.”
Her voice stills, quietly conveying that she can’t fathom why I’d be with Jack. “Kera?”
“Yup, right here,” I answer, my voice thin, carried by the heat still emanating off my skin from Jack’s touch.
“What’s going on? Why are you two together?”
“Oh, umm… I was just…” I glance up at Jack hoping to find the words in the strong line of his jaw.
“I brought her to the mountains to photograph the horses, Lin. She’s okay.” His voice is calm and steady, like it always is.
“Horses? Why are you two hanging out, and why are you in the mountains? Jack, she shouldn’t be in the mountains. There are cliffs in the mountains. She could fall off or a bear could attack her.”
A squirrel darts across the gravel near the truck as silence stretches tense and bristling. Even the wind seems to pause.
“Mom, stop. We’re taking pictures.”And touching each other inappropriately.
“I don’t understand,” she presses. “Why are you two hanging out? You hated the idea of a bodyguard, Kera.”
“I did,” I stammer. “Still do.” I stop talking before I say something stupid.
The pause on the line stretches longer this time, like she’s grasping the subtext but refusing to believe it. “Okay, well… I guess I’ll drop my bomb then. I’m at your dorm. I thought it would be fun to stop by and see my Kera bear.”
My heart stalls. For what feels like an eternity, my chest is empty of life. I glance up at Jack, worry stitched into my eyes.
“That’s a long drive, Lin. When did you leave?”
“Oh, I left early this morning, but stopped a few times. That’s when I sent Kera those pictures I’d saved on my phone.” There’s something off about her tone that I don’t like. It’s ominous like she knows something. That, or now I’m paranoid. “Anyway, I’m just sitting here waiting for you, chitchatting with your friend Penny.”
Oh God. My stomach tightens.Why does she do this? Why does she insist on inserting herself into every layer of my life? I’m an adult! I’m in college! I can take care of myself!
“Where’s Brick today, sweetheart? He have a football game tonight? We could go watch him together.”
I swallow hard. “He does, but I’m not going. I was, ugh,”I need to rip one of these Band-Aids off,“I found him sneaking out of another girl’s room this morning.”
“Honey,” she presses, “you overthink everything. I’m sure it was innocent. Brick is a good boy. He helped fix your dad’s old truck up. Guys like that wouldn’t waste their time if they don’t care about you.”
My chest tightens and I glance up at Jack, ready for him to take the reins. Thankfully he does.
“I was there, Lin. He’s been manipulating her. He’s a jerk.”
“No,” her voice rises as though she’s going to choose this to stick her teeth into, “he’s a helpful guy. He’s good for you. Plays football like your dad did.”
“Mom,” I sigh as a hawk caws overhead, “Brick isn’t dad, and he was most definitely sleeping with some other girl. I saw it with my own two eyes,” I say, my tone rising, ragged and rough.
I love my mother, but I don’t know how to help her anymore. She’s stuck, fixated on the past, desperate for me to do everything the way she sees fit despite the fact that it’s rotting me from the inside out.
Jack pulls me against his chest. “Everything is good here, Lin. We’ll head back into town and meet you for dinner. There’s a place right around the corner from the university that’s good. Italian place with a big orange flag waving outside. You can’t miss it. We’ll call when we’re twenty minutes out.”
“Okay,” her voice cracks with something ominous I can’t place, “I’ll see you then.”
