Run Away Child

Stalker?

“Girl, you look stunning!”

“Sophia, Jordan is going to freak out!”

“He better!”

I walked over to Liza and gave her a hug. I thanked her again and we left. Mirza dropped me off and I carried the bags in. I texted Jordan saying I was home and I am going to order the food. He said that he already ordered it and that he would be there in a minute.

I brought the bags to the room and sat down. I heard Jordan walk in.

“Sophia?”

“I'm here. But I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh really?”

“Close your eyes.”

I walked to the living room and stood in the door frame. 

“Turn around.”

He turned and looked at me. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. 

“Oh my God. Best surprise in the world.”

“You like?”

“babygirl, I'm obsessed.”

He walked over and pulled me into a hungry, passionate kiss. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around him. He carried me over to the bedroom and lied me down. I ran my fingers through his hair. 

“We can't do this right now babe.”

“Why not?”

“Well for one we have food on it’s way and two I don’t want to do it right now.”

“Alright.”

He got up and so did I. He couldn't stop staring at me. My shirt was tight and showed off my boobs. The jeans followed my curve exactly. We went to the living room then sat down. 

“So why did you cut and dye your hair?”

“It felt right. I wanted a change so I did this and I love it.”

“So do I.”

“I know. So does your friend in your pants.”

He chuckled.

“Seriously. As soon as you saw me you got hard.”

“You are my biggest turn on and you know it.”

“Exactly.”

We lied on the couch for a little while and watched TV waiting for our food to show up. Soon we heard a knock on the door and I got up.

“I’ll get it. You get the plates.”

I walked over to the door and opened it. 

“Hello postmates for Jordan?”

“That’s us.”

“Alright, sign here and here is your food.”

I took the paper and signed it. I handed it back to him and took the food.

“Thank you. Have a great rest of your night.”

“You too.”

I shut the door and brought it to the table. Jordan walked over with the plates and we ate our food. It started getting late so we put the rest of our food in the fridge. I walked to the room and changed into some shorts and one of his hoodies. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth then lied down. I started to drift asleep when I felt his hot bodied self climb into bed. 

I shifted over so he had room and so I could roll over and cuddle with him. We fell asleep and I fell into a deep sleep. Jordan woke me up which was a shock.

“Sophia, wake up.”

“What?”

“Time to get ready for school. I made coffee.”

“This is a first. Since when did you start waking up before me?”

“I decided that I wasn’t going to be a lazy morning person and that I want to start being more productive. Now time to get up.”

“Okay.”

I got up and walked over to my bags. I wanted to wear one of my new outfits. I grabbed a floral crop top and black ripped jeans. I threw on my Nike’s and walked out. I went to the bathroom and did my make up. I went to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee.

Jordan walked in and he smirked at me.

“You are trying to make us late aren’t you.”

“No, I wanna look good for my boyfriend.”

“Well your boyfriend would rather see those clothes on the floor and you in his arms, nakey.”

“Well your girlfriend wants to go to school.”

I gave him a kiss then walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I went to the living room and waited for him. 

“Head out to the car. I'll be out in a second.”

“Okay.”

He threw me the keys and I walked outside. I looked around and saw Kyle and some of the boys.

“What are y'all doing here?”

“Waiting for the two of you.”

“He’s going to be out in a second.”

I walked downstairs and went to Jordan’s car. Kyle walked over.

“Your hair. It looks really good.”

“Well thank you.”

“What did Jordan say?”

“At first he didn’t say anything. But he loves it.”

“Gross and that’s good. You look different.”

“I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone.”

“Well you look good.”

“Well thank you.”

Jordan came running downstairs.

“Keys.”

“Here you go.”

I threw them to him and he got in the car.

“Alright y'all, time to head out.”

We got in the cars and went to school. Jordan parked the car and we got out. I grabbed my bag and walked to the doors. Jordan walked over and put his arm around my shoulder. We got a lot more people staring at us than usual but that was normal.

I saw some of my girls and they called for me.

“Sophia! Come here.”

“Alright. I’ll be right back.”

I walked over to them.

“What’s up?”

“First of all you look amazing! And secondly we have a new flavor.”

“Thank you and let’s go to the bathroom.”

“Duhh.”

“Jordan wont stop staring at you.”

“Girl, everyone is staring at her.”

“Duhh, she is the hottest girl at the school.”

I laughed.

“Thanks for the hype but I am not the hottest girl at the school.”

“Keep lying to yourself.”

We walked into the bathroom and I hit the vape. It was ‘Fruit Punch’ and it was decent. I walked out and walked back to Jordan. We walked around the school a few more times before I left to go to class. There were a lot more people looking at me than normal.

I got to my class and sat down. I started working on my pages and put my earbuds in. I was listening to music when I saw a male figure walking over to me. He put his hand on my desk and I pulled one out.

“Yes?”

“Yo, what’s your name?”

“Sophia.”

“Hey. My name is John.”

“Hi?”

“I couldn’t help but to notice how beautiful you are. Could I get your Snapchat?”

“Nah but you can have my boyfriends.”

He chuckled.

“Who’s your boyfriend.”

“The quarterback. Jordan Hernandez.”

His face went white.

“My bad. I’ll back off.”

I chuckled and put my earbud back in. For the rest of the hour I listened to my music and every once in a while I would look over and see John looking at me. The bell rang and I walked over to him.

“Stop staring at me.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Really? My homegirl would text me every two minutes telling me that you were staring at me. What’s your deal?”

“I was just thinking about how beautiful you were.”

“Well stop. I have a boyfriend.”

“He’s temporary. Y'all are going to break up soon anyways.”

“Considering the fact we bought an apartment together and live together I doubt it.”

“What?”

“We live together. We aren’t breaking up anytime soon.”

I walked away and went to my next class. I sat down and started working. I didn’t take my earbuds out and I got straight to work. I finished all of my work so I sat there for a little while waiting for the bell to ring. I asked to go to the bathroom because I needed to take some stress out.

I got in the bathroom and went into a stall. I pulled out my vape and hit it a few times. I heard the door open so I stopped. 

“Sophia.”

It was a male voice. I walked out and saw it was John.

“Why are you in the girls bathroom?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“In the girls bathroom?”

“I'm serious. I needed to get you alone.”

“What do you want?”

“Sophia I have had a crush on you since freshman year. I never said anything because I was considered a loser then and I didn’t know how to approach you.”

“John, I didn’t know who you were until today. I know nothing about you and I have a boyfriend. I'm happy now leave or else I'm going to call for a security guard.”

“You do that and I’ll tell them you were vaping.”

“They can search me.”

“Sophia, give me a chance.”

I pulled out my phone and started texting Donnie who is my favorite security guard.

“Yo Don. There is this dude in the girls bathroom harassing me. East hall. Please help me.”

“I’ll be there with another security guard in a minute. Get in a stall and hide from him. Or keep up the conversation and get it on video.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

I turned my voice recording on and put my phone back in my pocket. I left the mic sitting up so it picked up our conversation.

“John, I don’t know you.”

“Yes you do. We have been going to school together since seventh grade. I’ve had a crush on you since freshman year.”

“So you follow me into the girls bathroom to tell me that?”

“It was the only time I saw you alone. You are always with Jordan or one of your little crazy friends.”

I laughed.

“What’s funny?”

“The fact that you think that they are crazy. I'm the craziest out of everyone. Those are my girls and that is my boyfriend. I'm sorry you have feelings for me. But that does not give you a reason to follow me into the bathroom.”

“I’m sorry but I need to talk to you.”

He went to touch me.

“Don’t you dare.”

“Why not?”

“I have a boyfriend. So don’t touch me.”

Donnie walked in with another security guard. I pulled my phone out and hit pause.

“You really called security.”

“And caught our conversation on video.”

Donnie grabbed him and dragged him out of the bathroom. The other one walked over to me.

“Are you okay?”

“I'm fine. Let me grab my bag and I’ll go to the office and tell them what happened.”

“Okay. I'm going to walk with you and tell your teacher what happened.”

“Alright.”

We walked to my class and while he talked to the teacher I grabbed my things. Katie grabbed my hand.

“What happened?”

“Dude followed me into the bathroom and now I have to make a statement.”

“Are you okay? Did he touch you?”

“No but I almost punched him. He tried making a move and called you guys crazy.”

She laughed.

“He didn’t realize that you were the craziest out of all of us?”

“Apparently not. He said he has had a crush on me since freshman year.”

“Weird. Be safe.”

“I will. You too.”

I pulled out my phone and texted Jordan.

“Hey Jordan I have some news.”

“What happened?”

“A dude followed me into the bathroom…”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm at the office.”

“Do you have proof?”

“Recording of us talking in the bathroom and the security guards walked in and dragged him out.”

“Good. I'm going to be there in a minute.”

“Stay in class. I'm just going to go home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes I promise. Stay here.”

“Fine. I love you and be safe.”

“I love you too and I will.”

I walked into the office. I walked straight into the principal's office and shut the door.

“What can I do for you?”

I set my phone on his desk.

“A junior named Jonathan, I don’t know his last name, followed me into the bathroom less than five minutes ago. I texted security guard Donnie and told him. He came in and saved me before John touched me.”

“Sit down. Do you have a recording or anything?”

“Yes. I took a voice recording of our conversation.”

I opened the recording and played it for him. You can clearly hear me telling him to leave and him refusing. And our whole conversation and the security guard coming in. 

“Alright umm. Type out your statement and do you want to press charges?”

“No I don’t. He’s a student. I don’t want to mess up his chances of getting into college or anything like that. I just want his schedule changed so he doesn’t come in contact with me and a security guard in each hall of his class. So he can't leave and do something like this to another girl.”

“Alright. I'm going to call your family.”

“You can't. I have a restraining order on my mother, I don’t talk to my father anymore, and I live in an apartment with Jordan Hernandez.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“Yes. We live together now. I told him to stay at school and once this is resolved I would like to go home.”

“That is perfectly fine with me. This will not be marked in the absence book because this is a serious matter.”

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem.”

I typed out my statement and did everything that I was supposed to do. The bell rang and Jordan stopped by to talk to me for a minute. As soon as he entered he wrapped me up in a hug.

“Are you okay?”

“I'm fine.”

“Good. I don’t want to have to lose my scholarship for getting into a fight.”

“No. Not going to happen. I'm fine. I have to finish my statement then I'm going home.”

“Okay. I’ll see you there later. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He kissed my forehead and left. I turned around and finished my statement. It took around an hour to complete everything but once we were done I was allowed to go home and if they needed anything they were going to call me. I started walking out of the school when I saw some of the boys. 

“Hey Sophia! Nice hair.”

“Thanks.”

“Where are you going?”

“Home. I just had to make a statement saying that a student followed me into the bathroom and harassed me.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. He didn’t touch me.”

“Wait it was a dude?! Does Jordan know?”

“Yes he knows and no he isn’t going to do anything about it. Neither are you guys as a matter of a fact.”

“Fine. But we aren’t letting you walk home. The last time you walked alone you took off and didn’t want to come back.”

We all laughed and I got in the car. They dropped me off at home and went back to school. I went to my room and sat on the bed. I dropped my head in my hands and just cried. I changed into some shorts and a hoodie. I decided to throw on some fuzzy socks and lounge around the apartment. 

I went to the living room and sat down on the couch. I decided that I wanted some food so I ordered a sandwich and chips from a sandwich shop. It got there pretty quick so I ate that while I watched some TV. I looked at my calendar and saw that I worked tonight. I called my boss.

“Hey Sophia. What’s up?”

“I got off of school early today. Is there any chance I could come in early and get more hours?”

“Yep. You can come in now if you want?”

“That works for me. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Alright.”

I hung up and went to get changed. I got dressed and walked to work. I told Jordan where I was going to be and he said okay. I walked to work and when I got there I walked to my manager's office.

“Hey Robbie.”

“Hey Sophia.”

“Where do you need me?”

“First thing you can do is restock the shelves and start inventory.”

“I’ll get right on that.”

“Sophia, can you shut the door?”

“Yeah.”

I stepped into his office and shut the door.

“You know my kid goes to your highschool. He told me that you guys didn’t get out early today. So what happened?”

“A guy followed me into the bathroom at school. He harassed me but I texted my friend who is one of the security guards to come get him. I got it on video and everything.”

“So your principal let you leave early?”

“Yeah. And I saw that I had work today so I called and asked if I can come in early to get it off of my mind and do something productive.”

“Well I'm sorry that happened. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

“I'll be okay. But I do have good news.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I finally moved out. I now live in an apartment with Jordan.”

“That is good news and I am proud of you.”

“Thank you. I'm going to get to work now.”

“Alright.”

I left his office and took a deep breath. I walked to the back and started putting boxes on a rack. I then pulled the rack around and restocked the shelves. I was walking around and I was lost in thought. I was putting all of the arts and crafts things on the shelf when I heard Robbie on the Radio.

“Sophia, front of the store please.”

“On my way right now.”

I walked to the front of the store and I saw Robbie standing there with a police officer.

“Are you Sophia Jones?”

“Yes sir. How can I help you?”

“This is about what happened earlier today. Would you like to step outside and talk about this?”

“I guess.”

“Right this way.”

We walked outside and I kept my cool. He asked me several questions about what happened and he wanted to see the evidence. He talked to me for about thirty minutes and he said that he got everything that he needed and that if he needed to talk to me further he would call me. I walked back inside and I told Robbie what happened. I told him I was just going to go back to working.

I finished restocking the shelves and started working on inventory. I went to the back and started counting all of the stock that we had. Robbie told me that he was sending someone to help with inventory and that I needed to tell them where to start. He came back there and walked over to me.

“Are you Sophia?”

“Yep. Are you new?”

“Yeah I started yesterday. My name is Daniel.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. So where do I start?”

“You grab the scanner and you scan each item. It automatically takes inventory in the scanner. Start in the back and only do half of the storage, alright?”

“Yes ma’am.”

I chuckled and handed him the scanner. I walked to my end and started working. I was working on my eleventh shelf when he called for me.

“I need help.”

“On my way. Which section are you in?”

“Section eighty-one.”

“Okay.”

I ran over to where he said he was. I saw him standing there confused.

“What’s the problem?”

“How do you exit this section in the scanner?”

“Here.”

I took it from him and showed him how to do it. 

“Better?”

“Yeah thank you.”

“No problem. My first time I had no clue what to do.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?”

“I turn seventeen in four days.”

“Wow. You are younger than I thought you were.”

“Why?”

“Well I was going to then ask if you were single but with you being a minor already says no.”

“Well not only am I a minor, I have a boyfriend.”

“Ahh. Again, glad I asked first.”

“Well I'm going to finish my side.”

“Okay.”

I walked away and continued my side. I was working for several hour before Robbie called for me.

“Sophia, office please.”

“On my way.”

I set my scanner down next to the door and walked to his office. 

“What’s up?”

“Have you taken your break?”

“No, I just worked through it.”

“Why?”

“I'm almost done and I figured that I would take a break when I was done.”

“Take a five minute break. Please.”

“Fine. Only five minutes.”

I walked outside and pulled out my vape. I took a hit and held it in for a moment. As I released the smoke I let my chest sink. I started to relax and for the first time today I felt fine. I looked over and saw Daniel smoking.

“You also on your break?”

He looked over at me.

“You scared me.” He saw that I was vaping. “You shouldn’t be vaping. You are seventeen.”

“It calms me down. I don’t need to but it just calms me down and relaxes my nerves.”

“Same here.”

We stood there for a little bit in silence.

“You said the age gap. How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“Just that you said that you have never done inventory before.”

“I lied. I wanted you to come over so I could ask you out. But you said seventeen so I immediately realized that could have been a case.”

“True.”

“What about that boyfriend.”

“What about him?”

“What’s his name?”

“Jordan.”

“How long have you been together?”

“Two months.”

“I know this seems creepy but I'm not trying to be. I'm just trying to make conversation.”

“I figured as much. We just moved in together yesterday.”

“But you two are in highschool?”

“Long story short my mother and I got into a heated fight, it wasn’t the first time, but she threatened to kick me out, I told her to do it so she did and I left. I stayed with my best friend for a week and he said that we should move in together and we did.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Where is he now?”

“He is at school. I left early because something happened and I really don’t feel like getting into it.”

“Okay.”

I saw a car pull up that looked familiar. It was Jordan.

“Apparently he isn’t at school.”

Jordan got out of his car and he had an iced coffee in his hand.

“That is your boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“No wonder you are with him.”

“What does that mean?”

“He looks intimidating.”

I started laughing.

“Hey pretty lady.”

“Hey.”

“Got this for you since you said you were going to be working all day.”

“Well thank you.”

He handed me the coffee and hugged me. He kissed my forehead and looked over at Daniel. He pulled away and put his hand out. 

“My name is Jordan. You?”

“Daniel.”

They shook hands and Jordan looked at me and asked about what happened today.

“So do you want to talk about what happened today?”