Yours Always Book 1

5

"You’re kidding me, right? Who in their right mind would come into my yard and scare my family? Are you okay? What did they want? Are they still there?"

“I saw him first when I went down to the kitchen to get a drink, and then I saw him again when I looked out my bedroom window. The person ran off after I screamed. Oz is out back right now looking around," I replied in a shaky voice.

"I will be there in 10 minutes, Ivy. Try and calm down. We can check the security systems and see who it was. One camera points out back," he said.

"I don't see anyone outside, but there are footprints in some mud out back," Oz said, coming back into my bedroom.

Dean said, “Tell him not to mess with anything until I get there.”

I relayed the message and said, “I will see you soon,” before ending the call.

"Dean said he would be here in 10 minutes," I told my brother, who was now pacing back and forth in my room.

"Okay, I'm going to go let mom know. I told her to stay in her room when we both woke up to you screaming.”

“Okay, I’m surprised she listened,” I chuckled while wiping my face off.

I went back, sat down on my bed, and looked at my clock. It was only 3 in the morning, and I was now wide awake. I turned my phone screen on to look at the time and noticed another email that read:

Ozzy got so close, but that’s not how this is going to go, Baby. I won’t be scared off by your brother or anyone else. I’m not just going to leave you.

I got scared after the message. Was he still out there? I swore I had seen him run into the woods, but it could have been my mind playing tricks on me after what happened. Was he still outside my window somehow? I plucked up the courage to walk to my window. I peered down into the backyard once again and saw a tall figure standing in the shadows. "Ozzy," I screamed.

When I yelled for my brother, the person once again vanished. Oz ran back in, my mother in tow, and went straight to my window. "Ivy, I don't see anything," he said.

“He was there, Oz. I swear it.”

My mother sat on my bed and patted the spot next to her for me to sit down. She wrapped her arms around me. "Ivy, what's going on?" she asked.

I wasn't sure what to say to her. I was crying again and just wanted to wait to explain, so I only had to do it once.

Those last two emails got the better of me for sure. Whoever it was wanted me to see them, and they had been so close to my brother. It had me scared. What if something had happened to Ozzy while he had been out there investigating? I didn’t know what my life would be like without my twin brother there with me.

"I’ll explain when Dean gets here," I said. She nodded and went back to staring at the wall.

We were sitting in my room for another 5 minutes before Dean showed up. He walked straight up to my bedroom and scanned all our faces.

"Did you have your window locked?" he asked. I shook my head. Thank God the person didn't want to come in. I will have to remember to lock it from now on.

My bedroom was on the second floor, but it was quite easy to get into. I know because it was always easy to get out of. There is a tree right outside my window that makes it simple. "Colin is coming over along with Detective Wilson, my new partner. We need to file a case about this, and Oz, I need you to show me the footprints you found."

Oz led Dean out of my room, and Mom and I followed, heading to the kitchen. I grabbed myself a glass of water and drank it in one go, filling it up again when done. I took a seat in my regular spot, frozen in shock, until Colin showed up with another man walking in behind him. The man was older and very intimidating. He had black hair and green eyes, and just like the other detectives, he was tall and muscular. It was my first time meeting this man. Dean did say ‘new partner’. I’m sure it was because Mike’s wife was having a baby.

"Hello, I'm Detective Wilson, but you can call me Jacob. I'm Detective Walker's partner at the station," Wilson said, holding out his hand for us all to shake.

"Hi. Ivy Turner," I replied, shaking his hand and trying to put on my best smile.

"I know. Dean has told me all about his lovely family," Wilson replied.

That made me smile because I knew how we could be a pain in the ass. Oz and I have gotten Dean in trouble so many times with our mother, although my mother should have known what she was getting into by marrying a younger man. Sometimes Dean would even join us in our shenanigans.

Dean and Oz came back in and went into the kitchen. Detective Wilson asked, “Why don't you tell me what's been happening from the beginning, please."

I let out a huff and took a deep breath before I started telling my story to Wilson. I told him about the emails I had been getting. I also told him about the flowers and the notes I received with them. Then I told him what had just happened. I added that I had been feeling like I was being watched in the hope that it would help in some way.

By the time I was done talking, I saw that people looked angry. Mom was crying, but she was still mad. I could see it on her face. Ozzy was enraged and threw the vase of flowers that were sitting on the coffee table across the room. With Mom not knowing where they came from, she put the red roses in a vase for me earlier. Dean looked like he was deep in thought, trying to figure something out.

“It’s good that you told them about this, Ivy. Now we can get started on a plan to end it,” Colin said.

That got Dean’s attention, and now he looked angry. "You told Colin before you told me?" he said with a raised tone.

"I'm sorry. It just came out, but Colin only found out last night. It's not like this has been happening forever; it’s only been 24 hours," I said, trying to reason with him. He let out a huff and waved his hands in the air.

"You are my stepdaughter. It is my job to protect you, and you should have told me, Ivy!" he yelled.

"Yeah, Ivy. I can't believe you kept this from me," Mom chimed in.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you, Ivy, but I wish you would have told me as well. I'm your twin brother, and twins don't keep secrets," Oz said, pulling me into a hug.

“Ivy, I'm so disappointed in you right now. You need to tell someone when something like this happens," Mom said.

"This right here - this is why I didn't tell any of you. Mom, you're overreacting. Dean, you're pissed off, even though I'm allowed to keep things from you. Oz just broke a vase and ruined some flowers because of his anger issues. Thank God he didn't break someone's head again. For real, I'm allowed to keep my private life private," I said, pushing Oz off me.

Mom’s face did not change; she was still sad. Dean was now very upset, along with being pissed off at the situation. I knew I had hurt him, but I didn't care.

I left the kitchen and made my way back to my room. Tears were streaming down my face, and I just wanted to go back to sleep. I laid down and tried my best to fall asleep, but I was unable to, so I walked over to my window and looked outside. No one was there, but I locked my window anyway and then turned on my TV. I put on my favorite show and laid back down in bed to watch.

A few minutes into the episode, I heard knocking on my door. "Hey, Giggles. Will you unlock the door and let me in, please?" Colin asked.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to anyone right now," I replied in a raspy voice.

"If you let me in, I will give you twenty bucks," he joked, getting me to laugh a little.

"This is no time for jokes, Colin," I said, walking to the door and unlocking it.

Colin stepped in and handed me a twenty-dollar bill. "I wasn't joking, Ivy. Now talk to me," he said, taking a seat next to me. I hid my face behind my pillow before he snatched it away. "Do you have any idea who could be doing this?"

"No. If I did, don't you think I would have told Dean and Wilson?"

"Is there anyone new in your life?"

“Who's new? Everyone was new two years ago when we moved here after Mom met Dean, including you. I haven’t known anyone except Mom and Oz any longer than that," I said, sitting up. I couldn’t think of a single person it could be.

"Let me see your phone again. I should have done this earlier, but I'm going to try and track this IP address down at the station,” he said, grabbing my phone without waiting for me to hand it over this time. He said he was going to just track the IP address, but soon after taking it, he downloaded an app and started typing away on it. He then looked at his phone and showed me the screen.

I was able to see everything from my phone on his. All my text messages and social apps, like Twitter and f*******:, were displayed along with my contacts, pictures, and other files. "Now I will be able to see everything that happens on your phone, so I can see what's going on and figure out a plan. When he emails you, it will come to me as well," he explained. I wasn't 100% sure how I felt about the massive invasion of privacy.