obsessed

It was a sunny morning, but at the same time, it was cold. Most people would say they love when there’s sunshine, but for me, I preferred gloomy weather—clouds, rain, or snow. I don't know why, but since my mom passed away, I hated weather like this, especially today. Today, I hated everything about the weather, about today itself. Today was different, though. Unlike any other day, today my father was getting married—just one year after my mom passed away. I couldn’t believe it. But at the same time, I couldn’t really blame him. “Alice, ” Marsha, my stepmom, called. I turned around to face her, standing there in my bridesmaid dress with a bouquet of flowers in my hand. “Darling, your father has been looking for you all over. Where have you been?” She patted my cheek a little too harshly for my liking. You might think she’s a kind-hearted, gentle woman, but you’re wrong. She’s anything but nice. She’s like the stepmother in Cinderella, only two times worse. From the corner of my eye, I saw my dad standing in the doorway where we were standing. I pushed Marsha’s hand off of me and went straight to my dad, wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back, and we stayed like that for a while, silently. Before I could say anything, I saw my best friend, Anna, walking toward us. Some time passed, and after my dad took both of us out for the ceremony to begin, I found myself standing with Anna. “Are you sad?” my best friend asked, her voice full of concern. “I wouldn’t say sadness... more like disappointment, ” I stated, my gaze fixed on the ground. “Disappointment?” Anna asked, confusion crossing her face. She stood beside me, her blonde hair twisted into a bun with a few strands falling into her face as she sipped her orange juice—her favorite. “It’s only been a year since my mom passed, and he’s already moved on, ” I said, my voice thick with emotion, the sadness spreading across my face, though I tried to hide it all through the wedding. “He looks so happy, ” Anna said gently. “You should be happy that he’s happy. ” As much as I was mad, disappointed, or sad, Anna was right—he had grieved my mom's loss too. He deserved to move on. But I couldn't help how I felt. So, I decided to put on a mask—a smile for everyone to see, but inside, it felt empty. It wasn’t just the fact that my dad had moved on; it was also the fact that my stepmother was a nightmare. At home... I lay in my cozy bed, the cold from outside creeping through the walls. The chill woke me up in the middle of the night when a sudden cold breeze hit me. Chills ran down my spine. I quickly jumped up, hoping to close the window and avoid freezing to death. But as I shut it, something caught my eye—a shadow in the woods. It looked like a dog, standing still in the distance. "A dog?" I thought. What’s it doing there? And why does it feel like it’s staring at me? My heart raced with uncertainty. Was it cold? Did it need help? I decided it was probably freezing, so I threw on my coat and quickly made my way downstairs. Now, I should mention that my dad is a businessman, and we live in a quiet, expensive neighborhood. There aren’t many houses here. We used to live in a different home in the same area, but Marsha picked this specific house—one that felt isolated, surrounded by forests. It was peaceful, but also eerie in its solitude. I reached the front door, trying to peek through the side mirror, but I saw nothing. I quickly put on my shoes and stepped outside to check, but the dog was gone. “Huh, that’s weird. I just saw it standing there... did it need help? Maybe I was just imagining things. I just woke up, after all... ” I murmured to myself as I walked back inside. When I reached my room, I noticed something strange. My window was open again. I closed it, wondering if it was broken or if I hadn’t shut it properly. Was it just the wind? I lay back down, trying to shake off the strange feeling, but it gnawed at me. The next morning... I woke up to the sound of my alarm ringing. “Oh, s**t! I’m late again!” I mumbled, quickly jumping out of bed and scrambling to get ready for school. It was my last year in high school. Thank God. I threw on my clothes as fast as I could, grabbed my car keys, and rushed downstairs. I started my car and played my favorite song. It was a cold, cloudy morning. Something felt different, though. Maybe it was because of the wedding, or maybe because of the weird events from the night before. Whatever it was, I couldn’t shake the unease that lingered. I parked my car and went inside, where a few kids were hanging out. Grabbing my books from my locker, I froze when I saw something strange. A black rose, sitting on top of my books—again. The same black rose I had received every day for months. I thought Josh might be the one leaving them for me, but when I asked him, he was just as confused as I was. I was wrong, though, because the roses kept coming. I felt uneasy, my instincts telling me something was off. “AHHH!” I screamed as Josh suddenly appeared behind me. “Josh, what the f**k?” I demanded, startled. “Ahahahahaha, ” Josh laughed. “Did I scare you?” Josh was my boyfriend of three months. He wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t bad either. He had a crush on me for years, so I decided to give it a shot. But lately, I wasn’t sure. Last night we had argued when he went out with other girls from school without telling me. Now he was just scaring me like this. “Yeah, obviously you did. I’ve told you a thousand times not to sneak up on me like that, ” I said, turning away from him. He put his arm around my shoulders and tried to walk beside me, but I shrugged him off. “Oh, come on, baby, I love to tease you, ” he said, without an apology. Of course, no apology for last night. He never apologized. I hated that about him. As I walked faster, he continued behind me like a lost puppy. “Alice, you were the one who started it. ” I rolled my eyes. He always blamed me for everything, but when I did something wrong, he’d want to argue and fight. It was frustrating. “Alright, don’t talk! I’m heading to my class now, ” I snapped, turning away from him, deciding to end it. I was already planning to break up with him. Meanwhile... Someone was watching her—someone she didn’t know. The look in his eyes was desperate, almost as if he would steal her away from the world if he could.