obsessed

chapter 2

“I’m coming!” I scream as loudly as I can to my stepmother, who’s calling from

downstairs. It’s only been a few days since she married my dad, but she’s already

bossing me around like I’m some kind of servant. I hate her, I think, as I reach Marsha,

my stepmom.

“We need to talk to you, honey,” my dad says from behind me, scaring the heck out of

me. But I try to act as if I’m not caught off guard by his sudden appearance.

“Please, sit,” Marsha says.

I’m now at the dining table in the kitchen, facing my dad.

“I’m going on a business trip for at least 3 to 5 months,” Dad says.

“Oh,” I say, genuinely caught off guard by his words.

“Don’t worry, dear, Marsha is here for you. She will take care of you, but you need to

take care of her too, you know, caus—”

Marsha cuts him off by clearing her throat and giving him a look, like she was supposed

to tell me this. I don’t know what they’re about to say, but I feel it in my gut—something

bad is coming my way. Why is Dad leaving all of a sudden? He’s never gone away for

that long before. I don’t want him to go, especially now that Marsha is around. What’s

there to tell me?

“Alice,” Marsha starts, her voice hesitant. “Actually, your dad and I had decided not to

tell you this before we got married. The reason for why we got married so quickly…”

Okay, now I’m really scared. Why are they acting so suspicious?

“…is because I’m two months pregnant.”

She drops a bomb on me as casually as ever. What? Pregnant!?

“Wait, what? Why didn’t you guys tell me?”

“We decided not to, sweetheart. You need to respect that,” Dad says, his voice calm but

firm.

“How could you expect me to respect that?” I stand up, knocking the chair to the

ground. I look at my dad, who has a concerned look on his face, then at Marsha. She’s

smirking. She planned this all along.

“And you’re leaving for like five months! Leaving me with her?” My voice rises with each

word.

“Calm down, Alice,” Marsha says.

“I’m not talking to you!” I shout.

Dad stands up and tells me to keep my voice down, but I don’t. They didn’t give me time

to process anything. Anything at all. I’m completely shocked. First the wedding, then the

baby, and now Dad is going away for months. I bang my fist on the table, and before I

know it, my dad slaps me so hard that I know his fingers will leave marks.

My dad slapped me.

MY DAD SLAPPED ME.

“Keep your voice down, young lady, when talking to your mother,” my father says, his

voice cold. Tears start to fall from my eyes. He slapped me because of her. He slapped

me.

“She’s not my mom!” I scream again, running toward the door, clutching my phone. It’s

snowing now, and the scene looks so beautiful—nothing like my life. I step outside the

house and run. The neighborhood is so lonely, especially in winter. No one is around.

It’s so cold, and I don’t even have a jacket on. But I keep running, crying as I go.

I finally spot a bench under a streetlight and collapse onto it, crying.

“If only I had you here,” I sob. “I miss you, Mom. I miss you so much. Life could’ve been

easy if you were here—just you, me, and Dad. Happy, like the old times.”

Flashback

“Okay, stop running, both of you!” Mom calls out.

“Oh, come on, Mom, let us have fun!” I say, laughing.

“Yeah, come on, or you’ll have to race with us too,” Dad teases.

“Oh God, not again. Alice, be careful! You’ll fall!” Mom warns.

“I won’t!” I laugh, running as fast as I can while Dad chases me in the backyard of our

old house.

Boom.

“Ahhhhh!” I fall and hit my head so hard it starts to bleed.

My mom and dad rush to pick me up as I cry. They take me to the hospital, and I get

three stitches. But I also get so many toys and candies. Yes, it hurt, but not nearly as

much as it hurts now.

Back to Present

I smile through my tears, thinking of those happy times. I pull my phone out of my

pocket and text Anna to pick me up.

“I’ll explain everything later, but I need you to pick me up right now. I’m ***.” I text her,

but she doesn’t reply. She’s probably out at the club, partying or something, I think. I

can’t text Josh. I can’t go back home. Just as I’m about to call Anna again, I see a tall

guy across the road. He has AirPods in, wearing all black. I can’t see his face because

of the shadows and his black cap. He’s walking slowly, confidently, like he owns the

world.

He crosses the street and approaches me, sitting on the same bench where I’m sitting.

Every other bench is empty. Why does he choose this one? Maybe he feels lonely too, I

think. But then I realize—I probably look like a girl in need of help.

I wipe my tears and try to ignore him. I don’t dare look at his face, but he smells like

leather and smoke.

“Why are you all alone here?” he asks, as if he’s known me my whole life. That voice—it

sends chills down my spine. I turn and try to look at him, but I still can’t see his face.

The shadow, the cap… Suddenly, my mind races. What if he’s like Jeffrey Dahmer and

he murders me right here? What if he kidnaps me and calls my dad for ransom?

Who even asks that kind of question? I think, visibly scared.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’m just concerned,” he says, his voice calm.

All serial killers say that when they want to kill you, I think. I need to run.

I get up and run as fast as I can, not looking back. I finally reach a mart and go inside,

taking a breath of relief.

“f**k, I was about to get murdered back there,” I mutter, looking around. The cashier is

half asleep, ignoring me.

I wander down an aisle, looking for something to eat. “Oh, Ramen!” I exclaim, excited. I

make the ramen, and just as I’m about to sit down, my phone rings.

“Alice, are you okay? Where are you? What happened? How did it happen?”

“Calm down, Anna. I’ll explain everything. Just come pick me up. I’m at the city mart.”

“Okay, I’m on my way. Stay safe.”

She hangs up, and I smile a little. Why am I laughing? I’ve gone nuts.

Meanwhile

She got scared of me. She should be. I’m a monster—watching her, seeing her eat

those noodles. I just wanted to talk to her again. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t. I never can

talk to her.