Blood Storm

Stalker

It had been a week since I’d first started school at Rockport High, and I was beyond happy that this was the only year I’d spend there.

It wasn’t horrible— just dull. As I sat in my microbiology class, I listened to Mr. Kendrall drone on as I stared at my text book. I wasn’t paying attention, really. It wasn’t because I was ignoring my studies— these were all classes I’d taken before in Asheville, and since there were only about 3 more months until graduation, it was all very repetitive for me.

Madeleine snapped her fingers at me, her brown eyes irritated. Madeleine was a newfound friend of mine, I supposed— she was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met, almost to the point of it being nauseating at times. I jumped, looking up into her chocolate brown eyes.

She was pretty. She had sandy blonde hair, lightly tanned skin, and pretty features. The warmth in her face was what made her so beautiful, though— she didn’t have a harsh word or feeling for anyone she’d met.

“Are you day dreaming again?” She mouthed the words, glancing up at Mr. Kendrall and hoping not to get caught.

“Sorry,” I mouthed back to her.

In reality, I was though. This was my last class for the day before I would see Jax again.

Jax had become an everyday part of my life in the past week. He picked me up for school every day; and then took me home at the end of the day. I wondered sometimes how he made so much time to spend with me while also working on the city coucil, but I supposed when you’re worth that much money, you sort of make your own rules.

We usually spent our mornings quiet in the car together now, he gave me time to wake up, and usually brought me breakfast. He never ate with me, but the reminder to put food in my stomach was always welcome. He would kiss my cheek before I went into class for the day. When he picked me up, sometimes we’d sit halfway down my driveway and talk about things. We would talk about my memories of my dad. What my childhood was like. He didn’t share many of his own memories like that with me, but from what I could gather, he wasn’t that fond of his life growing up. He would talk to me about music and books and art that he liked, and that was always nice. His face would light up when he would talk about it, and it always made me happy to see him talk about the things he loved. Sometimes we went to the library— he didn’t read, but he’d watch me as I studied and even offer his help sometimes, although mostly he was playing with strands of my hair or sitting so close to me it was difficult to focus.

My time with him was beyond pleasant, and I felt like I actually had a life here in Rockport, even if Jax was center stage for me. I was starting to feel a little less empty now. We hadn’t quite talked about what it all meant, though— the passion between us. The electricity in the air when he touched me. We had just sort of settled for not quite crossing the line to make us together, but there was no way I’d call us friends, either.

The bell rang shrilly, and I jumped in my seat, snapping out of my reverie. Madeline laughed beside me.

“I wish I could get good grades and not pay attention in class,” she pouted, grabbing her books off of her desk. I gathered my things, shooting her a sarcastic glare.

“It’s a lot more boring than it seems, I promise.”

“What are you doing today? More rendezvous with Jackson Cross?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I sighed. It hadn’t taken any of the students here more than a day to notice that the powerful and influential Jackson Cross had taken an interest in me. They all knew who he was, and sort of spoke about him like he was a God. Madeline called him “the most eligible bachelor in Rockport”, although he’d actually only moved back to town two years ago, I’d found out. Jax’s power and influence was known to pretty much every Rockport resident, which got me a lot more attention than I wanted when we were seen together.

“I have some homework to do. We’ll probably go to the library for a while,” I told her.

We stood up from our desks, and she actually stamped her foot. “But it’s Friday,” she whined. “Don’t you want to come out to the diner with us?”

I shook my head, giving her a smile smile as we started to exit the classroom. “I’m good, Mad, but thanks. I really, really don’t want to be around Jason again.”

She laughed, and I cringed. Jason Peters was a student at Rockport High that had taken an obsessive liking to me, and it was almost annoying. He followed me from class to class. He was strange, too— sometimes it felt like he was literally going to drool on me. Something about him always just seemed off. He reminded me of the creepy guy in lifetimes movies that always kidn*pped the girl and left her in his basement.

“Fine,” she retorted as we headed towards the senior parking lot. “Have fun with your male model. I’ll see you Monday?”

I nodded. She swept me up into a warm hug, which I returned, even though my eyes were already searching the cars behind her for the black Mercedes that had become one of my favorite things, because of who it always held.

Jax was leaning up against his car, a smirk on his handsome face as he noticed that my eyes were searching for him over Madeline’s head. He winked at me.

I pride myself out of her arms and stumbled eagerly over toward Jax. I didn’t think I would ever get over the pure joy I felt when I saw him waiting for me.

His blonde hair was messier than usual today, cascading over his forehead like a waterfall. He was also wearing sweatpants and a long sleeve thermal shirt. I wondered what he’d been doing today that had caused him to ditch his normal business attire.

“Your chariot awaits,” he chuckled, opening the passenger door for me.

We chatted about my day as we drove to the library, and as we got closer, my excitement seemed to pick up. My time with Jax in the little back corner of the library always felt so.. intimate.

“So, to be clear, you have no weekend plans?” Jax asked me.

“Well, no,” I paused. “Why?”

He flashed me his brilliant, gleaming smile that always successfully made me feel like I was in cardiac arrest. “Just wondering.”

We pulled up to the library then. It wasn’t long before we were inside and my now favorite librarian was pulling me into one of her famous hugs that always made me feel just.. good. I’d had several more conversations with Penelope since I’d met her that first day, and I found it hard to believe I’d ever found her anything but charming. I felt guilt now for questioning her age, when it couldn’t have possibly mattered less to me now.

“Colette!” She greeted me warmly. Jax was behind me, and I had definitely noticed that he and Colette seemed to have been friends for a while. He was comfortable around her, perhaps even more so than he ever was around me. “My darling girl. Aren’t you just a sight for sore eyes?”

I pulled back and beamed at Penelope. I couldn’t ever seem to help it. Her warmth was contagious to me now. I couldn’t help but wish sometimes that she had been related to me, somehow. With her dangling gemstone necklaces and fingers dripping g with rings, she looked more like a gypsy than a librarian. “You’re too sweet to me, P.”

Jax chuckled behind me. “Colette wants to do some studying. We’ll be in the back if you need anything, Penelope.”

Jax and I made our way back to the cozy little reading nook in the back corner of the library where we had first met. Away from the front desk, the seclusion always started to kick in— along with my nerves. My stomach rolled as I sat down on the floor by the coffee table and started pulling my textbooks out of my backpack.

Jax slid onto the ground next to me, per usual. He was quiet and thoughtful as I started skimming over my study materials, and I tried with all of my might ignore the sparks flying in the air between us. It wasn’t always easy, ignoring my constant pull to Jax— we were like two magnets that you tried to keep close, but seperate as a kid that kept smacking into each other with brutal force.

Honestly, most of the time, I didn’t know how he wasn’t bored out of his mind just sitting and watching me study. But his face never seemed restless— he always seemed so immersed in watching me do trivial things.

I tuned him out. Or tried to, anyway. I tried not to think about his perfect lips or his beautiful smell. It worked for a few minutes— I was able to study for about a half hour and get about half way through my study guide before he touched me and made everything I’d just learned fly out of my head.

I was actually pretty immersed in my reading when he leaned over and practically pressed his lips against my ear to whisper to me. I jumped, blood rushing to my cheeks to give me away.

“You look distracted, you know,” he mumbled softly.

I laughed. “Aren’t you here for the sole purpose of distracting me?”

My words seemed to intensify the situation for him. And then I made a grave mistake. I looked over at him, meaning to throw him a sarcastic grin, but instead, I came face to face with his deep obsidian eyes and his perfect lips, just inches away from mine.

I froze there, unable to tear my eyes away. My stomach fell. I was breathing heavily enough for it to be embarrassing, but I didn’t care.

Every time we got this close, Jax’s eyes seemed to be torn, like he was having some internal debate. Only today, things were much different. He was much less in control today— his black eyes had no calculated set to them. They were bottomless and passionate.

Jax’s phone rang in his pocket, snapping both of us out of our stupor. He pulled away from me quickly, almost as if he were thankful for the interruption.

“Cross,” he snapped. I’d heard him use this tone before.

I couldn’t hear what the person on the other line was saying, despite my eavesdropping.

“Hold on,” he gritted is teeth.

He looked over at me, giving me a tight smile. My heart skipped a beat or two when he reached over to brush my hair away from my face, his fingers leaving a trail of shockwaves on my cheek.

“I’ll be back in just a minute. I have to take this.” He whispered.

I sighed, pulling my attention back to my study guide as Jax’s figure disappeared between the bookshelves. It was all so very cryptic, his mysterious “business” calls. I was being overly sensitive and I knew that, but it still didn’t change that I hated the interruptions.

Bored, I decided to swap subjects. I combed through two more of my study guides once before getting frustrated and closing my textbook.

I knew it was selfish to be upset when his phone interrupted us, but I always was, just a little bit— although I’d never admit that to him. I knew he was a busy man. It was easy to study a little when he was next to me. When he was gone, it was constant anxiety of when he would be back. I didn’t understand my feelings anymore, but at least I knew I had some. I definitely had.. feelings.. for Jax.

About ten minutes went by before I decided to get up from my spot and go off to find him— or at the very least, see what he was doing. His phone calls didn’t normally last this long, and it definitely made me curious as to if something was wrong.

I walked through the dark rows of shelves towards the front of the library as the soft noise of Penelope shuffling through papers started to grow closer.

“P?” I asked, rounding the corner. Penelope jumped slightly, and then gave me a warm smile when her mind registered that it was just me.

“He went out the side door, dear,” she smiled knowingly. “It’s on the back right of the building, behind the autobiographies.”

I smiled back at her, a little embarrassed that she knew I was looking for Jax and also that I was following him around like a lost puppy. “Thank you.”

“Watch your step, though, dear. The steps out that door are steep.”

“Will do. Thanks, P.”

I weaved my way around to the side door and opened it with a grimace. You could definitely tell that this exit wasn’t used very often. The corner was covered in dust and the door groaned when I pulled on it.

I stepped out into the cold, the brisk wind nipping at my nose and cheeks. I shivered, hunching my shoulders in as I looked down at the very steep— and very wobbly— three steps that led down to the concrete of the alleyway next to the library.

I looked around, examining the trash cans and wood pallets and piles of old chain link fencing— wondering why Jax would choose to come out here instead of the clean little stoop out front, but the fact that I didn’t see Jax at all kept me from wondering too much about his decision making.

I walked and stood in the middle of the alleyway, looking down towards the end of it that faced the front of the library and frowned. Where could he possibly have gone? I knew he wouldn’t just leave me here without saying anything. He knew I didn’t have a car, and the Jax I knew that was obsessed with keeping me safe wouldn’t let me walk alone or in the cold. After a moment, I decided to pull out my phone and text him.

Me: Where did you go? P said you went out the side door, but I don’t see you. Everything ok?

I sent the message and sighed, staring at my phone screen with disdain. I hated to seem like I was desperate for his attention, but honestly, I really didn’t want to walk home in the cold and rain, so I justified with myself that that was why I was texting him.

A rustling behind me had me jumping out of my skin, and then a calm settled over me when I realized it must be Jax.

“I was wondering where you went—“

My voice trailed off as I turned around and saw that it definitely was not Jax.

It was Jason Peters.

Stunned, and a little bit terrified that he had caught me alone in an alleyway, I spoke. “W.. what are you doing here?” I demanded.

Jason Peters was not an attractive boy, by any means. He had muddy brown hair and a smattering of freckles over every inch of his pasty skin, that always seemed slightly clammy and over excited. He had lackluster hazel eyes that seemed more of a murky brown than hazel at times. He was on the shorter side, for a guy— just a few inches or so taller than me, but he was broad and bulky, with big meaty hands.

He gave me a strange smile, his eyes scanning around us and immediately putting a pit in my stomach. “Just admiring the scenery,” he smiled, his teeth showing. They were crooked and yellow. “I was walking by and saw you standing here alone.”

Something in my body had been telling me since the day I met this boy that he was not right. Not safe. Not normal. I had been able to ignore it until now, but every survival instinct in me was telling me that this boy had me cornered and I needed to go back inside.

“Yeah, great. Lots of trash and stuff to admire out here,” I said nervously. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just be going in now.”

I moved to step past him and onto the staircase, but he stepped to the side and blocked my path. “Aw, come on, Colette. Can’t you just spend a little time with me?” He licked his lips, and my knees started to shake. Run, Colette. Run.

“You’re in my way. I don’t really have time, Jason. I’m studying.” I gulped. I was trying my hardest to distract him from the fact that terror had seeped into my bones and I was thoroughly creeped out.

I tried to push past him again, and this time he caught my arm, squeezing painfully. “Ow! Stop that!” I yelled.

“Come on, just spend some time with me. You think you’re too good for me?” He teased.

I was just getting ready to open my mouth and let out a loud scream for help when Jax’s voice growled from behind me, and relief soared through my body.

“If you don’t want to lose that hand, I suggest you remove it,” Jax snarled.

Jason’s eyes narrowed and he dropped his hand from my arm as Jax wedged himself between the two of us. His scent washed over me and completely soothed me, apart from the throbbing in my forearm. Instantly, I felt safe.

But I was sure I wasn’t. Jax was angry. So angry that his entire frame was trembling. I watched with wide eyes as Jax glared at Jason, as if he really wanted to kill him with his own two hands.

“I won’t tell you this again, so make sure your brain comprehends it, boy.” Jax spat. “If you put your hands on her again, I will rip them off. Are we clear?”

My mouth was hanging slightly open as I watched Jason slowly cringe away from Jax. Part of me was extremely thankful that he was coming to my rescue, and another part of me was terrified— because I was sure he meant what he was saying.

Jax reached around and wrapped his arm right around my waist and pushed us past Jason, helping me up the stairs and through the door to the library.

As soon as we were out of the alleyway, I instantly felt better. I gasped in a breath and realized that I had been holding my breathe the entire time.

I turned around, staring at Jax in confusion. His face was stern still, but his eyes softened when he saw my uncertainty. “What was that?” I whispered.

“A warning,” he grunted. “And one he had better believe.”