Confessions

“Do you know the number!?” Shae was still glaring at me as I continued to stare at my phone.

A rush of memories flooded my head, memories that I’d pushed to the black abyss of my mind since high school. But they began to resurface, clouding my vision, my heart drumming louder and louder�"

“Stella!” Shae’s concerned voice snatched me back into reality. “Are you ok? You were shaking!”

I glanced down at my hands, my phone was laying on the mattress having fallen from my trembling.

“Sorry,” I managed to whisper. “I was just shocked that someone found out, that’s all.”

I tried to pull my most convincing grin, but Shae knew me too well.

“Don’t bullshit me, Stella,” she said seriously. “Who the hell is that?” She nodded towards my phone.

I couldn’t lie to her, not anymore, not about this. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Do you remember when I told you about my last year at high school in Sydney?” I asked, hoping she didn’t.

“Oh, yeah of course,” she raised an eyebrow. “You were bullied and then you went all Emo or something.”

I half smiled at the memory of telling her that lie. Shae then casually took a huge swig of wine, waiting for me to get to the point.

 “It wasn’t exactly a bully,” I spoke each word carefully, trying to fight the tears. “Someone was stalking me.”

Wine was propelled across the room from Shae’s mouth. It landed across the mattresses and almost hit the balcony windows.

“What!” She spluttered in shock. “Someone was stalking you! What the hell Stella, why didn’t you tell me!?”

I dropped my eyes down from her alarming gaze, ignoring the wine sprayed across my outstretched legs.

“I’ve never told anyone,” I muttered. “Not even my parents.”

We sat there in silence for a moment before Shae spoke up.

“How bad was it?”

“At first, not bad at all,” I looked up then, meeting her gaze. “I would just receive text messages throughout the day saying things like ‘how’s your day, Gorgeous’.”

I took an almighty gulp of wine for confidence. Shae just sat there waiting, I’d never seen her sit so still.

“Then the messages got creepier,” I felt the wine warm my insides as it slid down my throat, giving me that little bit of extra courage. “They started to really freak me out, like someone was watching me, even in my own house.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell your parents about this!?” She looked outraged, which was understandable as she didn’t know the other half.

“The school had hired a new Art teacher for the last semester of school; Mr Craig. He was middle aged and came across as a really nice person,” I managed to say, surprised by how easily the words were coming; must have been the wine. “One day after class, I stayed behind to work on an art piece, when Mr Craig made a move on me.”

Shae almost choked again, but managed to keep the wine in her mouth this time.

“He pushed me up against a wall, and tried to kiss me,” I quickly grabbed my glass and gulped some more confidence down. “I tried to push him away of course, but he was strong. I then resorted to kicking him in the balls which luckily gave me enough time to duck under his arm and run away.”

“Please tell me you told your parents about this!” Shae’s crazy eyes were back and I knew she wasn’t going to like what I was about to say.

“As I ran home, I got another message,” I swallowed, this was one that had been etched into my head.

“What did it say?” Shae’s voice quivered, obviously detecting my terror.

“It said…” I paused, unable to hold back the tears any longer. “Say one word you little b***h, and I’ll kill you.”

Shae gasped in horror, clasping her mouth with her hand. “It was your art teacher!?”

The tears cascaded down my cheeks as Shae pulled me into a tight hug.

“Oh God, he wasn’t your teacher all year was he?” Shae said suddenly, making the connection.

I shook my head against her shoulder.

“I changed classes the next morning,” I sniffed, controlling my tears. “I never even saw him again. I avoided that area of the school for the rest of the year. But the messages continued, even after changing my number almost every week, he’d still manage to torment me. It got to the point where I refused to leave the house, and sometimes even my room. I gave everyone I knew the whole Emo story so they wouldn’t get suspicious, because I knew he was watching.”

I felt a shiver run through Shae’s whole body. I pulled away from her and wiped away a stray tear.

“After finishing school, I came here to Brisbane, virtually disappearing. I told my friends that I was moving to Perth, as far away from Brisbane as possible,” I spoke clearly now, the worst was over. “I never received a message again.”

Shae shook her head in disbelief and then froze. I followed her gaze to my phone, before we looked up at each other; obviously thinking the same imminent words �" until now.

“Stella,” Shae smiled then. “You don’t even know it’s the same person.”

Her reassurance wasn’t convincing at all.

“Shae, the message said Gorgeous. That can’t be by coincidence,” I replied, my heart dropping as the realisation hit me once again, he’d found me.

“Ok, so what if this Mr Craig guy found out your phone number? Doesn’t mean s**t!” she almost laughed. “You can get anyone’s number off the internet these days! And who doesn’t have a friend with a ‘dirty little secret’?” she mocked, and she was probably right. “He wouldn’t have a clue where you are, all he has is a stupid little phone number. Oh and I know a guy who is super tech savvy who can put up this defensive firewall thingy to block any unwanted messages.” Shae smiled, proud that she sounded reasonable and maybe even a little intelligent for a second.

“Do you really think he’d do that? It’s not illegal or anything is it?” I asked casually, completely relaxed now.

“Nothing’s illegal for Shae Clearwater,” she winked at me. “This guy’s had a crush on me since I cut in front of him while in the coffee line one day. He’ll be happy to help,” she wiggled her eyebrows before clicking on the remote to continue the movie. I chuckled at her sudden mood change now that we were on the topic of guys. She always knew how to make me feel better, that was for sure. I grabbed the wine bottle and topped up our glasses, they were definitely well-deserved drinks after a day like ours.

Author's Note

Australian English :)

Reviews

[Daydreamer54]

I would say she should get another phone number, but i don't know if that'll help if the guy knows where she is all the time. *shivers* I thought the boyfirend situation would have been a bit better compared to a middle-aged pervert teacher. She shoyld have told someone sooner....can't wait to see what happens next!

[Lauren Jade]

Yes she should, but in saying that she's tried that many times before - internet these days :| - perhaps this tech guy has a new way of stopping him. Do you mean the stalker should have been a boyfriend instead of the teacher? I really wanted to incorporate a middle-aged man into the mix... he's definitely not your normal teacher which will be revealed in coming chapters. The stalking is soon to be taken to a whole new level... but I won't say anything more as I don't want to spoil it for you :D Thankyou for your comments!!! I love hearing what readers think x

[Daydreamer54]

Yeah i meant that the stalker should have been an ex-boyfriend. but your take on it makes itinteresting. ^^

[Courtney]

That art teacher really is a freak. I love how the story just keeps getting better!