Touch of Death(10)

My parents hadn't tried to stay together. I didn't even know my dad. According to Mom, he'd left right after he found out she was pregnant. She said being a teen parent was too much for him to handle. Like it was easy for her? She did the best she could, and I did my best not to complain when I couldn't have the things other kids my age had. Grandma and Grandpa had surprised me with the car for my birthday, and Mom had started giving me an allowance to cover gas money.

I sort of zoned out, but something moved by the bushes. At first, I thought maybe it was a bear. We had a resident black bear that liked to go through our trash sometimes, but then I remembered it was February. The bear usually only came around during the summer. I squinted to get a better look. That was when he stepped into full view. Green Eyes. Alex. We stared at each other, neither of us moving.

I didn't know what scared me more-the fact that he was standing there watching me or the fact that I wasn't calling the cops on him.





Chapter 7

Alex took out his phone and started texting. My cell vibrated on my nightstand. "You've got to be kidding." I shook my head at him and went for my phone. I flipped it open.

"Come outside."

I didn't want to text him back. He might take it as me talking to him. So, I flipped the phone shut again and went back to the window. He stared up at me. I slammed the window closed and pulled the curtains together. I let out a deep breath. This had to stop.

I didn't sleep well at all. I kept having nightmares about rats with green eyes. They chased me throughout the house, and all I had to defend myself was a stupid trash can. I was actually glad when the sun came up. I threw the covers off and got dressed. Mom was already drinking her morning coffee in the living room. We never sat at the kitchen table. Every meal happened in front of the TV. Some people may think that's weird, but it worked for us.

"You're up early," Mom said, putting a waffle on a plate for me.

"Couldn't sleep." I sat down next to her and saw she was watching the news. Normally, I'd change the channel immediately, but the reporter was talking about a rabid deer. I turned up the volume.

"Last night a deer terrorized the animals at Stanton Farm, leaving nothing but destruction everywhere it went." The camera panned out, showing a broken fence and patches of grass covered in a reddish black substance that could only be dried blood.

"Ugh," Mom said, "turn that off." She reached for the remote, but I moved it away.

"Hang on."

"The deer is assumed to be rabid or suffering from some other disease, as its stomach was extremely swollen and its mouth was dripping thick saliva," the reporter continued. "Cameramen were able to get these close-up shots." The screen switched to still pictures of the deer. The first one was of the deer's side. All bloated and discolored. That was bad enough, but the next one was the deer's face. Blood was caked on its cheek and white foam oozed from its mouth. I could just make out two stumps on its head. I turned away in disgust, thankful that I hadn't touched my waffle yet.

"Footage indicated that the deer was most likely hit by a car. It runs with a severe limp in its right leg, and there's a definite gash across its shoulder." That got my attention. I whipped my head back toward the TV. A video of the deer half running, half hobbling through the farmer's field was on the screen.                       
       
           



       

"Oh, God," I gasped. "I think that's the deer I hit."

Mom took another sip of coffee. "Impossible, honey. But speaking of the deer, your car is going to the body shop today."

I forced myself to look away from the TV. "Can we afford that right now?" I'd expected to be without a car for a while. Like months, not a few days.

"We'll manage." She moved her waffle around on her plate, avoiding my stare.

"You don't want me taking the bus to school, do you?"

She put her fork down and laid her hands on her lap. "After you had to call the police because of that boy following you around …  well, I'll feel better knowing you're not taking a bus that he could get on, too."

"I could get rides with Melodie or Matt." At least, I hoped Matt was still up for giving me rides.

"I thought about that, but what if they're busy? I don't want you getting stuck at school or having to take the bus." She brushed her hands across her pants. "I've already made the arrangements with the body shop. I'll drop your car off on my way to work today. The mechanic said it would be okay to drive it that short distance."

"How will you get to work?"

"Martha said she'd pick me up at the body shop and take me to the office. She even offered to drive me home after work, too." Martha was the only person at the office that Mom actually liked.

"You don't need to do all that. I can take the car to the body shop."

"Absolutely not. The car will have to be there for a few days, so you'd need a ride home. And besides, you're busy today."

"I am?" I didn't remember her asking me to do any chores around the house today. Saturdays were usually my lazy days.

"Did you forget you volunteered to help rebuild the community center? You said you needed more community service to put on your college applications next fall."

"Ugh, I completely forgot." I looked at my sweater and favorite comfy jeans. Not exactly construction site appropriate. I'd be devastated if my favorite lounging outfit got paint splattered on it or torn on a nail. I checked my watch. "I should go change."

"And I should get moving if I'm going to drop the car off before work." Mom grabbed her car keys from her purse by the door and tossed them to me. "Be careful. And look out for rabid deer." She smiled.

"Funny. Really funny." As soon as she left, I focused on the TV again.

The farmer was being interviewed. "It killed two of my sheep. Just attacked them. There's definitely something wrong with that deer. Something really wrong."

It couldn't be the same deer. Could it? I sighed and turned off the TV. I had to get changed. I put on a pair of old faded jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt I got at the one and only 5K race I ever ran. Stupid college applications. Why did they insist on their students being well-rounded? I layered Grandpa's old plaid coat over it. He used to leave it here for working around the house in the winter. But then his back started acting up, and he stopped doing work for us, so I had claimed the jacket for shoveling snow and things like that. Thankfully, we were having the mildest winter in a long time and hadn't had a snowstorm in over a month.

Melodie knocked on the door. We'd planned to walk to the community building together. I'd conveniently forgotten to tell Mom about that. I'd be home before her, so she'd never know.

"Why didn't you call me last night?" she asked the second I opened the door. I knew she wasn't going to let me answer, so I locked up while she ranted. "I stayed up until two A.M. Do you see the bags under my eyes? Not pretty. I used half a bottle of concealer, and I still look awful."

"You don't even wear makeup." Melodie had never worn makeup. Well once, but that was on Halloween. She hated the feel of it on her face.

"Fine, but I thought about it." She elbowed me, her hands shoved in her coat pockets. "So, what happened? I want details. Were you too exhausted from making out to call me?"

I wished. "Not exactly."

"Please, tell me you guys kissed. It's physically impossible to not have kissed after the number of dates you two have had."

"Trust me, it's not impossible."

She looked at the ground and shook her head. "Spill."

"Remember that guy I told you about? The one who was following me?"

"Did you kiss him?"

"What? No! Would you focus?"

She shrugged. "Sorry."

"Okay, well, his name is Alex. He showed up at the club, and he cornered me in the girls' bathroom. Matt got really mad. I've never seen him that upset. But I convinced him to take me home instead of pounding on Alex."

"You almost had two guys fighting over you?" She had way too much excitement in her voice.

"You're kidding, right? Alex totally ruined my date with Matt. We were this close to kissing." I held my index finger and thumb an inch apart. "And then Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Matt."

"Whoa! So, this Alex guy likes you?"

"If by ‘like,' you mean broke into my house, trashed my room, and left a dead rat in my closet, then yes, he likes me."

Melodie stopped short. "He did what?"

I nodded, not about to repeat any of that.

"You're the only one I've told. My mom thinks the rat got in my room because it was such a mess. I tried straightening it up before she saw it, but then I found the rat and …  well, Mom and Matt helped me get rid of it."

Melodie squeezed her head in her hands. "Information overload, Jodi. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I tried calling the cops on him, but he found a way around that. I'm not sure there's anything I can do to stop him."

We turned down the next block.

"What does he want? Has he told you?"