My Resolution

Chapter 17

As the summer passed, I was able to settle into my new home and my new life. It had taken me a while to get used to living in a quiet home where I wasn’t constantly surrounded by activity. I enjoyed my newfound independence and was doing well in my classes. I had started going to the university gym every day. I wanted to keep up with my training, as well as I could, so I also joined a kickboxing class and started doing yoga. It was a bit of a culture shock living in a human city, but I adjusted quickly.  

I had met a few people in the class and at the gym but have not formed any close friendships yet. I still missed my pack and friends dearly, but the girls, at least, seemed to be coming around. Mara had sent me a few pictures when they were in Florida. Sloane had reached out toward the end of June and Tobi quickly followed. We all kept in touch via a group chat where we would randomly send each other pictures and anecdotes. Donovan and I would occasionally send each other memes or videos we had found online, but there wasn’t much conversation. I knew he had gotten into Penn State and was double majoring in finance and economics, but we didn’t talk about much else. I hope we will eventually be able to circle back to our friendship once more, but I know it will take time.  

I was still bringing out the glass orb every evening at home. I still hadn’t figured out what I needed to do to make it do anything, but I had taken to trying different things hoping that something would work. I had stuck the orb in the freezer overnight, but in the morning, it was just frosty and cold. I had dropped it into a glass of water, but that didn’t do anything either. I even filled the bathtub with water and stuck the orb and my head under the water, but still nothing. I was too scared that heat might break it, so I tried warming it up next to a fire, but that didn’t do anything. Nothing worked, but I kept trying. I had started researching human stories about the supernatural world, thinking I might get lucky and find some sort of inspiration, but I hadn’t found anything yet.   

It had been about four months since I came to the city; I was eating lunch talking to a girl named Marissa from my algebra class when another girl stopped in front of us.  

“Hey,” she said quietly with a big smile on her face, “pretend like you know me. This dude leaning against the wall over there has been watching you since you sat down. I noticed him staring at you from the time you walked in, and it's creeping me out.”  

I smiled and said “hi” while nonchalantly looking toward the guy she was referring to. I relaxed immediately when he waved. “Oh, that’s Matt,” I explained, waving him over.  

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” she explained.  

“Oh, yeah, no, thank you,” I said happily, “I’m Valerie. What's your name?”  

“Sierra,” she replied.  

“Thank you, so much, Sierra,” Marissa interjected, “that was awesome.”  

“Want to join us?” I offered.  

“Maybe another time, I’ve actually got to get to class. Be careful, ladies,” she smiled as she walked away.  

“Matt, why the hell are you being a creeper?” I asked as he approached.  

“Yeah, that’s totally my bad,” he grinned, “I wasn’t sure it was you at first, then I wanted to see how long you took to notice me. Hi, I’m Matt.”  

“Marissa,” she replied, “Hey, I have to head to class, too, Val. Call me later if you have any more questions about logarithms.”  

“I will, thanks girl,” I assured her as she left.  

“How could you not recognize me?”  

“I’ve never seen you outside the gym,” he shrugged.  

I considered the jeans, blouse, and loose hair I was currently wearing, versus, my usual, razorback tank top, stretchy aerobic pants, and knotted hair when at the gym. “Okay, that’s fair,” I conceded.   

“You clean up good,” he smirked.  

The small turn of phrase brought prom to the forefront of my mind, but I did my best to push it away. “Thank you. What are you doing anyway?”  

“Just had lunch. I wanted to ask you a question,” he said leaning back casually in his chair. He was always so damn confident.  

The first time I met him, I was trying to figure out how to adjust the resistance on the pendulum squat. The pack only used free weights and body weight, but I wanted to take advantage of everything the gym had to offer.  

“You look like you could use some help,” he had said, startling me as I was cussing the machine under my breath.  

“Nothing gets past you, I guess. Can you show me how to adjust this thing? It's like lifting nothing right now.”  

He laughed heartily. “Sure. This pin slides here and these knobs twist here,” he had explained pointing out the various parts of the machine.   

“Thank you!”  

“Hey, no problem. Let me know if you need help with anything else,” he chuckled and went back to his workout.  

I had found a few more times that week for various things; he just always seemed to be around. We had started halfway working out near each other, motivating one another, and exchanging tips on technique. He was a Kansas City native and a baseball player for the school. I had never seen him outside of the gym though.   

“Alright, what's your question?” I asked.  

“Can I take you out on Friday?” he flashed his toothy grin.  

“Take me out?”  

“Yeah,” his smile faltered, “like on a date?”  

“Oh,” I bit my lip, “I don’t date. It's just not my thing.”  

“Okay,” he quickly recovered his smile, “how about not on a date, but we can eat dinner near each other at the same table?”  

“But not a date,” I clarified.  

“Not a date,” he agreed, nodding his head.  

“Why not? Sounds fun.”  

“Excellent. Do you like Mexican?”  

“Hell, yeah. Love it.”  

“I’ll pick you up,” he started, but I interrupted.  

“I’ll meet you outside the athletic center.” It wasn’t anything personal, but I didn’t want anyone I barely knew knowing where I lived.  

“That works too.”  

“Good deal. I’ve got to get to class, but I’ll see ya,” I said, grabbing my water bottle and waving as I headed toward my next class.  

The rest of the week, I looked forward to hanging out with Matt come Friday night. We talked more during our workout sessions, and I finally felt like I might be building a new friendship.  

I met Matt in the parking lot of the athletic center at seven o’clock that night. He lived on campus anyway, so he was already waiting outside of his truck when I arrived.  

“Are you ready for the best tacos you’ve ever had?” he asked, opening the passenger door for me.  

“I am always ready for live-changing tacos,” I jested.  

“Alright, let’s do this,” he exclaimed, pulling out of the parking lot.  

We drove for about twenty minutes, before pulling into a parking garage in Westport on the Missouri side.  

“Where is this place?” I asked as we stepped out onto the sidewalk.  

“Just up around this corner.”  

As we approached, I saw people standing around the sidewalk in a haphazard line. “It's a taco truck!” I gasped.  

“It is a taco truck,” Matt laughed, “have you ever heard of ‘taquería sobre ruedas’?”  

“I haven’t,” I said, standing on my tiptoes trying to see around the crowd.  

“Well, you’re in for a treat.”  

I watched as red and white trays towering over with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and guacamole were passed from the truck window and carried away by smiling customers. I read the small menu over and over. I wanted to try everything.   

“How may I help you, miss?” the man at the truck window asked when it was finally my turn to order.  

“Oh, oh my goddess. Okay, so I want a taco de papas and two red birria taco, and a bottle of water.”  

“Sir?” he turned toward Matt.  

“And churros!” I interrupted, “Sorry. I’m done, now.”  

He and Matt laughed at my sheepish grin. “No worries, Val,” Matt said, before placing his order.  

I pulled out my wallet to pay for my meal, but Matt stopped me. “This rounds on me, beast girl.”  

“Beast girl? Seriously?”  

“f**k yeah! Between you being able to deadlift me, probably, and the way you react to tacos. I had my suspicions, but now I’m sure, you are a beast.”  

“I’ve decided that’s a compliment, so I’m gonna move past it.”  

“It was,” he said smirking and picking up our food from the window.   

We found a place to sit on a partial brick wall on the same block where the truck was parked. I dug into my tacos with no shame.  

“Mmmmmh,” I moaned, eating my birria taco. I could feel the stew juice running down my chin. Matt was smirking at me as I wiped my face with a napkin.  

“Would you like me to leave you alone with that taco?” he chuckled.  

“Hey, I could show this taco a good time,” I said before plunging it into the stew and taking another bite.  

We finished up our meal and headed back to campus. On the way back, we took the opportunity to get to know each other a bit better. He asked me about my family. Being careful not to expose my pack, I told him how I had lost my parents as a child and how I was taken in by a wonderful loving family. He told me about his parents and his much younger sister, who he absolutely adores. I was sad when it was time to get into my car and go home. I was really enjoying spending time with my new friend.  

I was distracted on my drive home, but about two minutes away, I noticed a car a few blocks behind me. I couldn’t say why, but my stomach knotted up. I turned right and drove down a couple of blocks, and the car followed. I turned left and the same thing happened. I pulled over in front of a building surrounded by streetlights and the car pulled over about a block behind me, but no one got out. I made sure my car doors were locked and searched for the nearest police station on my phone. I turned on the directions and drove off following the GPS prompts to the station. The car pulled out and was following me once again. When I pulled into the station, the car kept driving. I pulled right up to the door and ran inside the building.  

There was a lady sitting at a desk behind a window. I ran up to her and explained what had happened. I didn’t realize I was shaking until I looked at my hand pointing toward the door.  

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what else to do,” I trembled.  

“Okay, first, take a breath,” she said calmly, “you’re safe now, right?”  

I nodded, starting to feel stupid. I don’t even know that I was in danger in the first place. I was probably just being paranoid.  

“Now, let me get an officer out here. You have a seat,” she picked up the phone and spoke to someone as I sat down in one of the blue metal chairs.  

“Ma’am?” a tall man in a black police uniform came out through the door next to the window, “what’s going on?”  

“It’s probably nothing,” I said, finally able to calm myself. I explained to him that I had noticed the car and what I had done before deciding to drive to a police station. He listened intently to everything I had to say. “I’m probably wasting your time,” I finally finished.  

“Better safe than sorry,” he smiled, “Do you have anyone who can come get you?”  

“No,” I shook my head, “I’m a student at KU. I’m not even from here.”  

“Do you live on campus?”  

“I have an apartment nearby,” I explained.  

“I see. How about we get someone to escort you home?”  

“Can you do that?”  

“Of course,” he nodded.  

He had a unit nearby who came to escort me home. I watched for headlights to follow again, but the only other car I saw was the police car behind me. I didn’t see any unknown cars parked on the street outside my apartments, so I pulled into my space and turned off the engine. One of the deputies walked me to my door and assured me they would make rounds in the area tonight, but they hadn’t noticed anything suspicious, so I shouldn’t worry. That was easier said than done. I triple-check all my doors and windows before lying down in bed. I tossed and turned until finally falling asleep, but I woke up multiple times to check the doors and locks again. I looked outside several times, but I didn’t see anything suspicious.  

I still couldn’t sleep, so I pick up my phone and opened a few different apps. Giving in to myself, I finally texted Donovan.  

Me:  

-Hey! I hope you’re good.  

-I had the best tacos from a truck tonight.  

-You would die for these babies.  

I waited several minutes, “it’s pretty late here and he’s an hour ahead,” I thought, “he’s probably asleep.”  

But then my phone buzzed on my chest.  

Donovan:  

-Steal the truck and drive them over here, Valley.  

Me:  

-Don’t tempt me!  

Donovan:  

-What are you doing?  

Me:  

-Can’t sleep  

-You?  

Donovan:  

-Me neither.  

-Went to a party but left early.  

-Not my thing, go figure  

Me:  

-I just had dinner with a friend from the gym  

-No parties for me either  

Our conversation went on for a good hour. It was the first good conversation we had had in a long time, and I was savoring every single word. We both eventually agreed that we should get some sleep but promised to text later.  

At long last, I was able to fall into a restful sleep. I dreamt of Donovan that night. I climbed into his bed with him, he inhaled my scent deeply and wrapped his arms around me; I never felt more secure as I did at that moment.