Intruder

Well, I have a normal story, except the fact that I was murdered, and my killer remained unknown for... And driven by who knows what, to kill innocent, little me. What could I have done to deserve my fate that day? No, it wasn't my wrongdoing, they played

 

For the next couple of weeks, everything was great. Kat didn't bother Chris anymore, and I think me hanging on him all the time had something to do with that too. My life was great. I had nothing to worry about. I was going to graduate, probably marry Chris, and go on with my life. I had big plans for my successful future. But my first step, was graduating. And to do that, I had to go to school. Well, I was fine with it. Until I saw Kat one day talking to Chris.

I watched from a distance her put her hand on his shoulder and flip her hair. I stood there, it was a moment where it was like a car crash. I couldn't look away. I watched her and Chris laugh and walk down the hallway together. Then, the rush of anxiety came back. I stomped off to find Ellen and blow of my steam.

"She is flirting with him again!" I screamed down the hallway at Ellen. Everyone around my looked at me. I ignored them. Ellen's face turned hard and she grabbed my shoulders.

"Anna, you need to go up to this chick and kick her sorry butt!" she yelled in my face as serious as she could be. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yeah, right. I'm not going to beat her up. What else should I do? Don't even say ignore her!" I spun around and started walking to my locker. Ellen kept up.

"No way. Just go up to her when she is talking to Chris and kiss him right in front of her. See what she does. Anna, she needs to realize he is your man." I clenched my hands into fists and stomped. I bit my lip and thought of something to do.

"I don't want to cause a scene. I should just kill her right in the middle of the hallway!" I screamed. Once again, everyone stared. I couldn't help myself. Kat drove me crazy every time I saw her even look at Chris. I knew what she wanted truly behind her bratty face. I saw her little mind working in her head to think up anything to get Chris to like her. I bet it even drove her crazy when he didn't act how she expected him to. I did trust Chris, I just didn't trust her.

"I'm telling you, just tell her off." she said. Andrew came into my sight and smiled at me. I half-heartedly smiled back and watched him scoop up Ellen. Then. I whipped out my phone and texted Chris:

 

She better be away from you in ten seconds!

 

I punched the buttons of my phone violently to relieve my anger. I had lost sight of Chris, but if I would find her by him again I knew I would really lose it.

"Hey, Anna!" I heard behind me. I spun around to see my friend, Bethany, running up to me. I put on a smile and drew my attention to her.

"Hey, can you help me with math?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. What do you need help with?" I asked. I pushed my other problems out of the way. They would have to wait.

During the day, as I saw Chris, I would automatically go up to him and wrap myself around him. He didn't think anything of it, just that I missed him. I did, of course I missed him, but I was also protecting him. As we walked down the hallway, I flipped my long, black hair and looked at everyone passing by.

"See you later, Anna." Chris said and pulled for me to go to his class.

"See ya'," I said and kissed his cheek. I spun and made my way in the opposite direction to my class.

"See anything new?" I asked Ellen when we passed in the hallway.

"No," she answered and we both continued walking in opposite directions. I was on a mission. There was no way I could have Kat hanging all over Chris. It had been going on for almost a month, and I wasn't having it anymore. I didn't care if it started drama, I had to put a stop to it.

I sat in my quiet class, looking down at my red nails I scraped along my jeans. Mr. Alenn was sitting at his desk on his computer. We had homework, but I didn't feel like doing it at that time. I just planned to do it at home. Ellen sat behind me, scribbling things on her paper. I hated the quiet room, it was so quiet you could hear whispers in the other classroom on the other side of the wall. How could she do this? Everyone knows Chris and I are together. Does she think she can do whatever she wants? Her father sure isn't helping her. I remembered her father. I remember one year, when I was six, I came to her magnificent house for a pool party. Her Dad bought her everything. She was always spoiled and fake.

I turned my head slightly and whispered as softly as I could, "Did you see Jack?" I saw Ellen's head slowly look up to me.

"Yes," she whispered and looked at me. I nodded and looked back to the front. I closed my eyes slowly and took a breath. My heart suddenly ached. Everything was wrong. I tugged on the necklace Chris had given to me for our three-year anniversary. It felt so wrong. Deep in my heart, deeper than the pits of its deepest and darkest darkness. Deep where only one other person knew about it. I held a secret. A secret of the life I really wanted. I didn't accept it,to me it was too small and pushed away too much to even exist. But in all reality, it was there. No! That was long ago. It is completely over, there is no hope to get him back. I screwed up. He never forgave me and never will. I shook the thoughts from my head like I always had. My expressions lightened from its darkness of my memory. I pushed it all away.

The bell rang, making me jump into the air. I gasped and caught my breath as everyone else hurried out of the room.

"Wow, Anna." Ellen laughed. I smiled and shrugged. We walked together out of the classroom and to our next class together. This was the time Andrew and Chris usually met up with us. We stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for them both. We watched each person walk past us. My eyes flickered from one face to another as they walked by, looking at both of us.

"We are going to be late if they don't hurry up." Ellen said. I nodded and looked around the section of lockers that lined the walls next to the stairs. Then, Andrew came around the corner and hugged Ellen. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. I knew immediately something was up just by the way he looked at me.

"Where's Chris?" I asked Andrew. He looked at me, then, flicked his eyes to the corner he just came around. I felt like something in me died. My body stiffly carried me over and I peeked around the corner. I looked out into the hallway and saw Chris's head. I looked past all the people walking around him and saw someone else standing in front of him. Only the two of them were standing still. I felt my stomach turn when I saw Kat talking to him. Chris was smiling, and she was smiling her magnificent smile of white teeth that must have been to a hundred teeth-whitening appointments just to get them like that.

Then, I saw her hair flip. My eyes widened and my teeth grinded together. Ellen came up behind me and peeked under my head around the corner. She gasped and watched with me. Kat grabbed Chris's shoulders and whispered something in his ear. He smiled and she ran her fingers down his arm.

"Oh no..." Ellen whispered. Finally, Kat handed Chris a piece of paper and turned to walk towards the stairs. The same stairs Ellen and I were leaning out from to watch. We both shot backwards against the wall and looked at each other.

"Anna! Don't kill her just yet! Just confront her or something, you don't want a scene remember? Anna?" she whispered frantically. I said nothing. I stared at the wall and concentrated on my breathing. I felt like crying. I felt like punching her, but I knew I couldn't. Then, she came around the corner and walked past me down the stairs. I looked up at her with cautious eyes and she smiled at me. She actually smiled. That freckled face in the blonde hair smiled at me. Then, she pranced away down the stairs and out the doors. Ellen scoffed.

"I can't believe she actually smiled at you. She has some nerve!" Ellen said. Andrew said nothing, he knew to stay out of girls' drama or get hurt. Another body came around the corner and put an arm around my tiny waist. Ellen looked between us with wide eyes. I squinted and turned to him. I shoved my hands in his pockets and pulled out the piece of paper Kat gave him. I read the numbers on it.

"Her phone number, huh?" I asked Chris. He looked at me and opened his mouth, about to explain. I wasn't mad at him as much as I was mad at Kat.

"Anna, it's okay. You don't wanna' cause a--" I spun around and ran down the stairs. My feet moved so fast I was at the bottom of the two-flight staircase in almost three seconds. I threw my books down onto the floor and swung through the doors. I heard Ellen, Andrew, and Chris chasing after me.

I ran outside and spotted Kat walking with her friends. I stomped up to her.

"Anna!" I heard behind me. Then, Kat turned and saw me coming after her. She stopped and stood her ground, looking at me pathetically.

"Who do you think you are?" I screamed in her face. Her friends were too shocked to say anything, they just watched.

"What do you mean?"

"What makes you think you can give my boyfriend your number and get away with it? What makes you think you can flirt with him and get away with it?" I yelled. I was so angry I could feel tears coming on. My body shook with anger and stress. Kat's eyes flickered from me to the people behind me.

"Anna stop!" Chris shouted and walked next to me. He grabbed my arm, but I shook him off of me.

"Chris is my boyfriend! So leave him alone!" I screamed.

"What would he want with you when he has me waiting for him to say the word any time any place." she sneered. I felt my nails dig into my palms my fists were so tight. I grit my teeth and growled.

"Please stop!" Chris yelled. Ellen ran up next to me and put her hands on her hips. She stared at Kat.

"He can have more with me, anything he wants, actually. You have nothing to give. Who knows, you could betray him like you did with... What's his name? Jack?" Kat sneered again. Her freckled nose wrinkled as she looked me up and down. Ellen gasped at her.

"How dare you! You!" I leaned forward, and Chris grabbed me. Kat laughed at me, her friends weren't so amused. They stared at me. I fought my way out of his grasp and planted my feet on the ground firmly. The bright sun hit my eyes and I squinted at Kat.

"Stay away from Chris. I'm warning you now!"

"Chris, I don't know what she's talking about." Kat whimpered to Chris. He looked between her and me.

"Katherine, you better leave him alone. I'm sick of seeing you flirt with him. Why don't you go back to flirting with all the other guys you flirt with each day? I will not tolerate you again!" I yelled and spun around.

"Oh, but I bet Jack sure will." Kat mumbled. I froze dead in my tracks. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I balled my hand into a fist and spun around, bringing my fist with me to meet her face. Crrrraaaack! Right in her freckled nose. I punched her square on. Everyone around us gasped. Chris looked at me in anger. Kat fell to the ground, her hair over her newly-crushed face. I spun back around and walked down the sidewalk towards the parking lot.

"Anna! What have you done? Why did you do that! How could you?" Chris screamed and hollered behind me. I ignored him.

"Oh, my gosh! I can't believe you just did that!" Ellen cheered behind me as well. Andrew couldn't believe what just happened.

"Anna, stop!" Chris shouted, which caught my attention, but I didn't stop. He finally grabbed my arm and held me in front of him. He looked down at me, not with the caring eyes I saw each time he did, but now with new ones. Angry eyes. I stared up at him helplessly.

"Anna, what is wrong with you?" he asked me. Then, I noticed the pain rushing to my knuckles. I locked my jaw closed and held my hand against myself. "You aren't even listening!"

"Yeah, huh! What else was I supposed to do? Let her be all over you? I don't think so!" I screamed at him. He shook me.

"You probably broke her nose! You could get expelled!" I looked up at his dark eyes. Disappointment filled my body. He took her side.

"She crossed the line, Chris." Ellen said to support me. Chris glared at her. Still, Andrew said nothing. "Calm down!"

Tears built up in my eyes. I turned away and continued walking down the sidewalk with my sore hand against my stomach and my other hand over my eyes.

"Wait!" Chris yelled.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, but my voice cracked. I heard small footsteps run after me and arms wrap around my shoulders. I elbowed the person, thinking it was Chris.

"Ow!" Ellen squealed. Without looking up, I pulled my arms around her and hung onto her. She held me tightly.

"It's alright. You are just overwhelmed. Chris will calm down, and Kat will probably... not calm down. But, Chris will. It's all okay, Anna." she whispered. I sniffled. My hand hurt, Chris yelled at me for punching Kat, Chris basically stood up for her. I was reminded of my horrible dark secret so tender to even mention. If she was trying to break me down, she did. She said exactly the right thing to set me off. She deserved it.

"I'll drive you to my house. We can relax today." Ellen said and looked down at me. I nodded and let her walk me to her car. I slid inside and wiped off my face. I sniffled and caught my breath as Ellen pulled out. I looked in the distance at Chris and Andrew still standing on the sidewalk, watching us leave. Even further, I could see Kat being pulled up by her friends from off of the ground.

"You have to admit, Anna, that was brilliant. I am very surprised! You clocked her one good time and she was down and out!" Ellen yelled as she drove. My expression didn't change. “Don't be upset, Anna.”

“Chris...” I whispered and looked out the window.

“Don't worry, this is will blown over tomorrow. He will calm down, you will calm down. Just don't worry, Anna, you did what you had to do,” she said and squeezed my hand.

We got to her house and walked inside. The bright sun hurt my sensitive eyes and I realized how tired I was from crying. My eyes blinked lazily and my shoulders slumped. Ellen's parents weren't home so we had the house to ourselves.

“I'll make us a snack,” she said and smiled. I nodded and turned on the TV. I wrapped my arms around myself and curled my knees up to my chest. I took a deep, shaky breath to calm myself. My knuckles were scraped and bruised on my right hand. I held it against me.

“The only thing we have that would be good is peanut butter. Oh! You need ice for your hand.” She ran back to the kitchen and messed around in the kitchen. Things banged, things fell onto the floor, drawers slammed, then, she appeared back in the living room with a towel full of ice. I held it on the back of my hand and shivered, sucking on the spoon of peanut butter in my mouth.

“We need some snacks...” Ellen said and rubbed her chin. I watched the wheels turn behind her face.

“I'll go get them.” I told her. Her attention snapped to me and I waited for her objection.

“No! You can't do anything. You must sit here and relax all day. I am gonna' take care of you, Anna. I own you anyway for punching Kat.” she laughed. I rolled my eyes.

“Please, it will let me clear my head a little--”

“You can do that while I go.” she said. I squinted at her.

“Ellen, let me go, gosh! Then, I can get exactly what I want for us both. I need like, ten minutes of alone-time.” I begged. I pouted at her and she sighed.

“No! I am going and you are staying here. It's my car.” she smiled. I squinted and accepted defeat.

“See you in ten minutes then--”

“No! Not yet, I'm gonna' wait a while before I do. Take a nap or something.” she said. I was tired. I sighed and took another spoonful of the peanut butter.

“Alright.” I said and fell back on the couch. Ellen put on a movie and sat in the recliner. I didn't think I didn't think I would fall asleep that fast, but I ended up passed out after probably twenty minutes.

When I woke up, the jar of peanut butter was empty and Ellen was snoring on the recliner. I moved my hand and looked at it. It looked horrible. I could still move my fingers a little, but it was sore and thumping violently. I looked at the clock, Ellen's parents were going to be home soon. I looked over at the keys hanging on the rack on the wall next to the door, then back at Ellen. I got up quietly and took them from the rack. I knew she would freak out later, but it would pass.

I got into Ellen's car and started it up. I had driven that car many, many times before, it wasn't new to me. I put it in reverse and drove down the road to CargoMart, which was about two blocks away.

I drove down the rows of houses, looking at each one to keep my mind blank and strong so I didn't think about what happened. Up ahead, I saw flashing lights. I squinted and looked down the road ahead of me and saw police cars and ambulances. My mind thought with such a circumspect, I forgot it was even there. My mind paid so much attention to what I saw, I forgot everything that happened. I drove past slowly and looked at the house people surrounded.

Coming out of a sweet, yellow house were paramedics and policeman rolling out a stretcher out of the front door. I carefully squeezed past the ambulances and police cars parked on the side of the road and looked at the crowd. I knew whose house that was. The old, yellow house with the white shutters belong to a lovely, old lady name Mrs. Filman. And as I looked at the stretcher, my heart sank. A lifeless body was placed on it with a sheet over it. I gagged and held my mouth. I snapped my head back to look in front of my car and refused to look again. I held back everything I felt. I pushed everything back that went terrible that horrible day and concentrated on the road. I pushed the memory of that wonderful lady who always gave Ellen and I candy when we were kids playing outside.

I dug such a whole in my heart and buried my feelings six feet into the chambers filling my heart. Then, I covered them with anything I could and told myself some other day I would pull them out, and promised I wouldn't dig them back up that day.