Here's A Story I'm Working On:

Chapter 11!
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      "Where's the gate?!" Bo shouted all of a sudden. Alex and I awoke and looked over at him; he was fast asleep in the chair still, his legs propped up on a table and his arms draping over the sides of the chair. Apparently, he talked in his sleep.

      "It's on the left side of the moon," Alex whispered, stifling a chuckle.

      "Moon," Bo repeated drowsily. "Where's the moon?"

      "It's next door to Mrs. Finnicum's house," Alex responded.

      "But she has,  dogs,  evil. Dogs, " he replied in a whisper, sinking back into a deep sleep. We couldn't help it; Alex and I burst into laughter then. Bo woke with a jump.

      "What's going on?" He asked. "What's so dang funny?"

      "Oh, nothing, nothing," I replied, trying not to laugh again. I looked over at the clock and noticed that it was 7:30 in the morning.

      "Hey, Bo, shouldn't you get going? I don't want you to be late for school." I said.

      "Aww, crap. I completely forgot about that," He replied. "I guess I better get going." He got up out of his chair and stretched. "I guess I'll see you guys later." He called as he walked out of the door.

      "Bye, Bo!" We both called out after him.

      I moved around in my bed, so that I was facing Alex.

      "Good morning, beautiful," he said with a sweet smile.

      "Good morning," I replied. "So what's on the agenda for today? Pissing off some more nurses, or hijacking some wheelchairs and having races down the hallways?" I asked, laughing at the huge smile that just spread across his face.

      "Hmm, why don't you just take it easy today?" He suggested. "I wouldn't want you getting into anymore trouble with those nurses," he said, smiling, "and besides, Bo brought me all of my homework last night, so I really need to get started on that so my dad doesn't kill me." He said with a frown.

      "Okay, that sounds good. I wouldn't want your dad to get pissed at me for keeping you from school. I still feel really bad about -"

      "Shh, what did I tell you? There's no way I'd go to school while you're in here." He said, cutting me off.

      "Okay, fine, whatever," I said, grumbling to myself. Alex made his way over to the small table in the room to do his work.

      Alex spend the majority of the day on his homework. Several hours later, my mom walked into my room, with a cheerful expression.

      "Hey, honey. How you feeling?" She asked.

      "Fine. Better than before." I replied.

      "Does your head hurt anymore?"

      "Just a little bit, but not very much. It's mostly just my stupid arm," I grumbled. She just chuckled.

      "Well, I came in here to tell you that they said your father would be able to leave in about a week, so we have until then to get the house and everything prepared for him." She said, with a look of hope in her eyes. I knew that what she wanted more than anything was to have the love of her life back, to settle things over and be happy again. At her words, I saw Alex glance over at her with a confused expression; I hadn't told him that my father would be moving in with us for who knows how long. Maybe he'd never leave. Maybe him and my mom would be able to work everything out. Maybe they'd remarry again - but I was just getting ahead of myself. I had forgotten about John. My mom was still married to him, and obviously since he was on the run, he wasn't about to sign any divorce papers. Also, if he heard anything about the chance of them getting re-married, he'd kill both of them in a heartbeat, I bet. I shuddered at the though.

      "Okay, mom. That's great." I replied with a smile.

      "I'm going to head back to his room. You need anything before I go?" She asked.

      "Nahh, I'm good." I replied, and she walked out of the room.

      "What was that all about?" Alex wondered when she was gone.

      "Oh, well,  my dad will be coming to live with us for,  for a while. I'm not really sure how long it'll be." I replied.

      "Oh, well, that's cool and everything," he said, still sounding kind of confused, "but it just seems kind of a weird thing for y'all to do after he,  well,  you know." He said, not wanting to say the words "He left you."

      "I know it does, but I believe he has good reason for why he left." I replied, and then continued to tell him about what my dad told me that night on my porch.

      "Hmm, I wonder what it means," Alex finally said after a few minutes of contemplating.

      "I don't know, but I plan on finding out. It sounds like something important,  like something,  bad happened."

      At that moment, Bo walked in the hospital room, carrying a bunch of candy and helium-filled balloons. "Heya, Milli!" He said.

      "Hey, Bo. What's all this for?" I asked, waving my hand towards the stuff he brought.

      "Well, I figured you guys could use a little pick-me-up." He said, dropping the candy on the foot of my bed. "And these," he said, handing the balloons to me, "are for you."

      I looked up at the balloons. One of them said "It's a girl!" and the other said "Over the hill."

      "Let me guess, they were running short on balloons, right?" I asked, laughing.

      "Yeah, but it's the thought that counts, right?" He replied, laughing along with Alex and I. We all sat down on my bed, and Bo filled us in with what was going on at school. Apparently, Anthony, the boy I sat next to in Spanish class, got suspended for kicking the teachers in the shins, and Jessica Wheeler, was "sulking," as Bo had put it.

      "Yeah, Jessica's acting all bummed out. She told me to tell you that she's been missing you, Alex." Bo said.

      I was pissed. I clenched my fists in anger, then instantly realized that was a bad idea. "Ow!" I yelped, as the action shot pain through my broken arm.

      "What's wrong, Milli? What happened?" Alex asked frantically.

      "Nothing,  nothing, just a sharp pain in my arm, " I replied. "So why is Jessica missing Alex so much?" I asked angrily. They both looked up at me, alarmed.

      "Not that I care," I mumbled to myself, "what's it to me if Jessica misses him?" I continued, staring up at the ceiling with my eyebrows furrowed.

      "You know, you're quite adorable when you're jealous." Alex mentioned then, much to my embarrassment. He leaned in to give me a quick kiss. "Don't worry about her, Milli." He said, leaning down for one more kiss. Bo was in the background making scoffing noises.

      "Okay, really, you guys, I just had a cinnamon roll, and I don't want it to come back up." He joked. I whacked him in the back of his head with a pillow.

"Hey!" he yelled. He and Alex then took the other pillows off the bed, and a huge pillow fight began. We were all screaming at each other and laughing, when a nurse came in and said, "I'm going to have to ask you kids to calm down." with an angry expression on her face.

      "She started it!" Alex and Bo exclaimed, pointing towards me. The nurse shot daggers at me with her eyes, then proceeded to walk out of the room.

      "You guys are going to get me in trouble!" I yelled through giggles.

      The rest of the day proceeded in the same manner; one of us would get too loud and the nurse would come in to yell at us, only to see us acting just as innocent as ever. Of course, as soon as she would walk out, we'd start right back up again.

"Hey, Bo," I said after he had finished his homework; he had been at the hospital all day, "shouldn't you be getting home? It's almost 11:30, and you've gotta get up for school."

      "Wait," he said after a second, "I thought they were going to release you tomorrow morning. Doesn't that mean you have to go to school?" He wondered.

      "Aww, crap. I guess I do." I replied.

      "Well, hey, can I just crash here tonight, and then we can all go to school from here in the morning?" He asked.

      "Okay," I replied, "as long as you don't mind taking me to my house first to find some,  err,  appropriate clothing." I said, looking down at my hospital gown.

      "Alright," he replied with a chuckle.

      I awoke early the next morning, wanting to take a shower before we left. After I got out of the shower, and got dressed - in the same outfit I had on when I got here - I went to my dad's room to wake up my mom so she could sign the forms for me to leave. When that was all taken care of, I said goodbye to my mom and dad, and me, Alex, and Bo went to my house so I could change and get my schoolbooks. Luckily, my teachers weren't going to make me make-up all of the homework I missed, because of the situation. We got to school, and everyone stared at me like I was some sort of celebrity; no doubt that had heard all sorts of crazy rumors as to why I was in the hospital. It didn't really bother me, though.

      We all made our way to English, Alex and I walking hand-in-hand, and then emerged into the classroom, where I saw Jessica shooting me all kinds of dirty looks. I just shot her a sweet, innocent smile, which made her go crazy. Alex and I took our normal seats next to each other, and settled in to wait for our teacher who always seemed to be a few minutes late. In a matter of seconds, Jessica was sitting in the empty desk across from Alex, positively beaming at him. I couldn't believe her nerve.

      "Hey, Alex!" She chimed cheerfully.

      "Jessica," he said, nodding.

      "So what have you been up to? Where have you been these past four days?" She inquired, as though she had heard that he was staying with me, and was hoping to hear it contradicted.

      Alex, who was starting to get irritated with her, said, "I was up at the hospital with Milli. Didn't Bo tell you that?"

      "He did," she said, looking down.

      "Then why did you ask me?" He replied, struggling to make his tone sound kind.

      "I was,  well,  I was just hoping that maybe he was wrong." She said, batting her eyelashes at Alex and shooting dirty looks at me again. That was it. I stood up then, unsure of what I was about to do. Alex, seeing the anger on my face, pushed me back down, because he heard the teacher nearing the classroom and didn't want me getting in trouble. Also, it probably wasn't the best idea to fight someone when I had a broken arm.

      The rest of the day dragged by slowly, and Jessica popped in as often as she could just for the purpose of shooting dirty looks at me. She was seriously pushing me to the edge.

      Alex and I walked through the crowded hallways to my last class. We received a lot of stares, not only due to the fact that there were so many crazy rumors going around about what had happened to me, but also because Alex and I were walking hand-in-hand. We saw Skylar walking towards us then. He took in mine and Alex's interlaced fingers, and a look of fury made its way onto his face.

      "What are you doing with him, Milli?" Skylar asked sharply.

      "I -" I started, but he cut me off.

      "Let go of my girl," he said to Alex, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me away from Alex.

      Alex's expression was one of pure anger. "Jennings, you have about 2.5 seconds to get your hands off of my girlfriend." He said, practically screaming it. Naturally, a large group appeared, anticipating a fight. Girlfriend? I thought to myself.

      Skylar let go of my wrist, unsure of what to do. He looked like he was about to jump at Alex, but Alex just walked forward, shoved Skylar sideways into the lockers, and kept on walking.

      After Alex had gotten far enough away from Skylar that he wasn't tempted to go back after him, he stopped and turned to me and said, "Sorry I got so mad, but I wasn't about to let him get away with that." He said, taking my hands in his.

      I just nodded. I had something else on my mind. "Your girlfriend?" I asked, looking up at him.

      "Well that's,  that's what you want,  isn't it?" He asked, looking worried and uncertain.

      "Of course! Of course,  I just,  wasn't aware we had made it official." I replied, looking down and smiling. He lifted up my chin with his hand and smiled at me. He cupped his hand around my neck, and played with a few loose strands of my hair.

      "Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend, Miss Johnson?" He asked in a sweet, playful tone.

      I placed my hand over the one he had on my neck and said, "I would be delighted, Mr. Channing." in the same playful tone. He ducked his head down and put his lips to mine; I pulled him closer to me and ran my fingers through his hair.

      "Alright, that's enough, you two," our teacher called out to us. He must have left the classroom to see why we weren't in there. We walked behind our teacher to our classroom, trying not to laugh the whole way there. The class passed in a blur. I didn't really even remember what he was teaching. Hmm, those pain meds must have knocked me out, I thought.

      The bell rang then, and Alex walked over to me, automatically taking my hand. Words couldn't express how very happy I was. Things truly seemed like they were going to work out. I finally got my boy, and my dad's home now. I sighed contentedly.

      "So, what are you going to do for the next hour?" Alex asked. I was supposed to go to gym class next, but since I had a broken arm, I was excused from that class. Alex still had his last class to go to, so I wouldn't be able to spend that time with him.

      "I'm going to try to catch Bo before he goes to his next class. I'll ask him for his car keys so I can go sit in his car and take a nap. My head is pounding and I feel exhausted." I replied.

      "Are you sure they didn't let you out of the hospital too soon?" He asked, sounding worried.

      "Nah, I'm fine. They said I'd probably have headaches the next couple of days. So that's normal. I guess I'll see you later then?"

      "See you later," he replied, leaning down for a goodbye kiss.

      I ran off towards Bo's next class, hoping I would catch him before he walked into the classroom. Thankfully, luck was with me. He handed me his car keys and I made my way towards the parking lot.

      The school looked almost,  eerie. I wasn't used to seeing the hallways so empty. I still had a while until I'd make it to the parking lot, so I quickened my pace a little. I suddenly had the horrible feeling that I was being followed. I walked even faster, then, anxious to get out of the creepy hallways of the school. My head was pounding so hard it seemed as if I could hear it in my ears. My body was suddenly weighed down with exhaustion, and I wondered how much farther I would be able to make it.

      I was almost certain someone was following me. I whipped my head around every now and then - trying to ignore the pain that that caused me - but never caught sight of anybody. You're just being paranoid, I thought to myself. With every step I took, my body felt like it was getting heavier and heavier. What was going on with me? I fought to keep my eyelids open, because they, too, felt like they were growing unbearably heavy. I couldn't keep them open much longer. I sensed someone's presence then, but I didn't know who it was. I couldn't see them. I was fighting with unconsciousness, and I could tell that it was about to win. The last thing I remembered seeing before falling to the floor was a set of brown eyes.

Babe!!! U're the BOMB!!!

U've got me holding ma breath! Suspense 100% pls next chapter n hurry up wit it plzzzzz

Thanks a ton, you guys! :]

Here's chapter 12, finallyyyyy.
Sorry it's such a late update; I had some serious writer's block going on.

I don't care much for this chapter, so I might do some editing on it later.
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      "Milli? Milli!" I heard someone shout. I couldn't tell who it was. Everything sounded so far away, and I couldn't make out any shapes or objects. I could feel the slight pressure of someone placing a hand on my forehead.

      "Oh my God, Milli!" I heard someone yell again, and I knew who it was that time; it was Alex, and his voice expressed so much pain and worry.

      "What happened?" I heard him shouting; apparently there were other people around. Finally, I was able to open my eyes all the way, and see that I was still lying on the floor, surrounded by at least twenty students.

      "Where's the murderer?" I yelled abruptly, jerking upright. Everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind, but Alex's expression changed to one of absolute panic.

      "Milli? Milli, honey, are you okay?" Alex asked frantically. "What happened?"

      "I,  I'm not sure," I replied, trying to collect my thoughts.

      "I'm going to take you to the nurse," He said then, quickly scooping me up, cradling my body in his arms. He motioned for the crowd of people to stand back, and then hastily made his way towards the school nurse.

      "Do you feel okay? What happened? Did somebody hurt you?" He questioned.

      "I'm,  okay. My head just hurts. And no, nobody hurt me. At least,  I don't think so, " I trailed off.

      "Tell me exactly what happened, from the moment you walked away from me." He demanded.

      "Okay, uhh,  I went to Bo's class and he handed me the car keys. I started walking towards the parking lot, and for some reason, I had the feeling that someone was following me. I started going a little bit faster, then faster and faster, and with every step I took, I kept getting more and more tired, and my entire body felt like it weighed a million pounds. My vision went blurry, and then I guess I passed out. The last thing I remember seeing before that was a set of brown eyes, " I said, my breathing creeping towards hyperventilation. I was so confused, and so scared. Had that been the murderer? Had he been following me around? Or did I just imagine it?

      Alex stopped dead in his tracks when I said that. "What color eyes did you say the murderer had?" He asked, with a frantic look in his eye.

      "Brown." I said solemnly.

      "Do you think that was him, then? Do you think he did something to you?" He asked, trying to sound calm for my sake.

      "I don't know,  maybe I just imagined it,  I don't have a clue what was going on with me." I replied. "But," I continued, "seeing those eyes,  it just felt so real, ya know?"

      I could feel Alex's entire body shiver. "I wouldn't worry about it, " I said, trying to reassure him. "Do you know how many people in this school have brown eyes? Maybe it was just a student or a teacher, checking to see if I was okay."

      "Are you sure?" He asked, his voice quivering.

      "Well, I'm not really sure," I replied, deciding I should probably be truthful, instead of reassuring, "something about the look in his eyes makes me think not. It was just so cold, so,  sinister." I looked up at his face, and it was frozen into a mask of fear and worry. "Hey, don't worry about it," I said quickly, hoping to ease some of his tension, "like I said, I could have just been imagining it." Although I'm almost certain I didn't, I thought to myself.

      "Hey! What's going on? What happened?" Bo asked frantically as he saw us in the hallway, me draped over Alex's arms.

      "She, uhh,  she fainted." Alex said, unsure of what really happened.

      "Can you just take me to the hospital?" I asked, "I want to go see my parents."

      "I don't know, Milli, I really think I should take you to the nurse first, "

      "Please? I promise, I feel okay now. I just want to see my mom." I whined.

      "Are you sure you're up to it, Milli?" Bo asked, with an expression of worry on his face.

      "I'm fine you guys, really. Don't worry about it." I replied.

      They agreed, reluctantly, and we all made our way to Bo's car. Alex placed me in the backseat, and scooted in beside me. Not able to fight the sleepiness any longer, and I leaned over and laid my head in Alex's lap, while he stroked my back in a somewhat reassuring way.

      We made it to the hospital in about ten minutes, and, even though I strongly protested, Alex carried me inside. He said he "didn't want to risk anything."

      "Oh, goodness! Is she alright?" A panic-stricken nurse exclaimed.

      "Yes ma'am, she's fine. Just a bit exhausted." He replied in a reassuring tone. "Could you tell me what room number Steven Johnson is in, please?"

      "Just a second," she said, running around to her desk and typing the name into her computer. "He's in room 110."

      "Thanks," Alex replied, and then he proceeded to carry me to my dad's room.

      "Oh my! What happened?" My mom asked.

      "She's okay, she's just tired," Alex explained, trying to calm down my frantic mother. He placed me in the chair next to my dad's bed.

      "Okay, what happened?" She asked. I explained to her what had happened at school; the way my head was pounding and how exhaustion suddenly overtook me. I told her everything, except that I might have seen the man who tried to kill me two years ago,

      "I think they might have let you out of here too early, honey. I'm going to go find the doctor and consult him about all this." She said, and hurried out of the room.

      When she was out of the room, Bo turned towards Alex and I and said, "So, what happened to this 'murderer'?" while trying to stifle a chuckle. Obviously, he had heard people talking about what I had said, and thought that it was funny.

      "That is not something to joke about!" Alex said out of anger, not thinking before he spoke. He looked over at me with a 'did-I-really-just-say-that' kind of expression.

      "Geez, settle down, Alex. What's gotten into you?" Bo questioned, looking at Alex suspiciously.

      "Nothing, nothing, " Alex said, trying to shrug it off.

      "I know it was something, or you wouldn't have flipped out like that. I was only wondering where this whole 'murderer' thing came from. I figured Milli just had a nightmare or something." Bo replied, raising an eyebrow.

      "Oh, well, that's all it was," Alex lied, hoping Bo would be convinced. "Sorry I flipped out,  I've just had a,  stressful day." He continued. Bo still looked skeptical; I could tell he didn't entirely believe Alex's story, but he didn't push the subject any further, because my mom walked in then.

      "Okay, I talked to your doctor, Milli, and I explained what happened," she said. "He thinks that it might have been caused by your pain medicine; he said it was probably too strong. So they're going to prescribe you a lower dose." She continued, looking like she didn't exactly agree with what the doctor had said.

      "Oh, okay," I replied.

      "Milli, can I talk to you out in the hallway for a second?" Alex asked.

      "Sure," I replied, getting up and following him out of the room. "What's up?" I asked him.

      "I wanted to talk about what happened,  do you really think that was the murderer that you saw?" He asked, his voice almost quivering with fear.

      "I'm not sure, Alex. It's been almost two years ago since,  since that incident, so I can't remember the precise color of his eyes."

      "But you screamed 'Where's the murderer?' So you must have had a strong feeling that it was him." He replied.

      "It was probably just because I was freaked out by the situation," I responded. "Then again, something about the look in his eyes made me really think that it might have been him. That it was him. But it couldn't have been him, could it? Besides, if it was him, he would have kidnapped me or tried to hurt me or something, so why didn't he? It must have just been someone else." I said, trying to convince myself more than I was trying to convince him.

      "Well think about it, Milli. He probably intended to do,  something,  to you, but he might have seen someone; a student or a teacher maybe, and they scared him off. He wouldn't want to risk getting caught. There's a very good chance that it might have been him."

      "But -" I started, but he cut me off.

      "I can't keep risking your safety like this, Milli. If something happened to you, if he did something to you, I would hold myself accountable."

      "But -" I tried to interject, but he kept going.

      "Because I've know about this situation, and I haven't done anything about it. Someone needs to be informed. Your parents, or even the police. This is serious, Milli. You have to do something." He pleaded.

      "I can't, Alex, I just can't! I feel bad enough about telling you the situation; I can't tell anyone else! What if he found out about it? He'd come after you, my parents, and probably Bo as well, and I can't have that. I'm not putting all of you in danger that way. I can't let anyone else know about this." I replied, feeling tears welling up in my eyes.

      "I understand that, Milli. I understand that you want to keep us safe, but you're in grave danger. This is a serious situation, and something needs to be done about it." He replied sternly, trying to get it through my head.

      "I can't,  I just can't do it. If I tell the police, he'll find out, and come after all of you. I couldn't bear that." I responded. "I can't lose you Alex, I just can't. I lo-" I started, but cut myself off, realizing what I was about to blurt out in my emotional state. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a tight hug, rubbing my back and trying to reassure me.

      "Don't worry, Milli, I won't say a thing," he whispered in a reassuring tone. However, I couldn't help but feel he was only saying that to calm me down. I had the feeling that he might go and blab the whole story as soon as he could. But I shouldn't think like that; I should trust what my boyfriend says. Boyfriend, I thought to myself. It was still weird referring to Alex as my boyfriend, but I couldn't be more elated by the fact that he was, indeed, my boyfriend. The very thought of it made a rush of joy wash over me, and I could feel the tension in my body disappear. Alex must have felt it as well, because he pulled me out of the hug, smiled, and walked back into the room.

      So for the next couple of hours, the four of us just sat there, talking about school, food, music, and just life in general. It made me happy that Alex sat beside me the whole time, with my hand in his, feeling completely comfortable with our relationship around others. It took me by surprise when I noticed the time. Bo and Alex must have realized as well, because they both got up to leave. I shoved myself up out of the chair I was in, then I realized I didn't have a clue where I was going.

      "Uh, mom? Where am I supposed to be staying?" I asked. Certainly I couldn't stay up here at the hospital, with no clothes and nowhere to sleep.

      "Oh, uh, I honestly hadn't thought about that," she said, while trying to figure something out.

      "Well, I guess I could just stay at the house, " I said, though I absolutely didn't want to. I didn't want to stay in that house by myself - my mom would be staying at the hospital with my dad - especially while John was running around on the loose.

      "Absolutely not! There's no way you're staying there by yourself under these conditions." She said, echoing my thoughts.

      "I'd let her stay over at my house, but my parents are in Mississippi visiting some family right now," Bo said.

      "She could stay at my house," Alex suggested, and, seeing the look on my mom's face that suggested that she was completely against that idea, he quickly added, "I'll let her sleep in my room, and I'll sleep on the couch. And my parents are home."

      "Well, " She said, pursing her lips.

      "C'mon, mom, it really doesn't look like there's any other option here," I said, trying to sound like that was really the only reason why I was trying to convince her.

      "Alright, fine," she snapped, clearly not happy, but having no other choice. "You," she said, pointing her finger at Alex, "go call your parents first and make sure it's okay."

      "Yes ma'am," he replied in a cheerful tone. Alex walked out of the room and into the hallway then, dialing a number.

      My mom kept looking over at me with pursed lips, clearly not happy with the situation. Bo stood over in a corner wearing a goofy grin and looking like he was trying hard not to laugh. I didn't even want to know which scenarios he was thinking of in his head.

      Alex walked back in the room a few minutes later and said, "My dad doesn't mind at all if Milli stays with us." I could tell that he was trying to fight a smile. He knew my mother wasn't exactly happy, and he didn't want to make things worse.

      "Alright, fine," she replied. "Please give them my thanks, Alex," she said in a kinder tone.

After we all received hugs from my mom and the doctor gave me my new prescription, the three of us made our way towards the parking lot. Bo walked over towards the driver's side of his car, while Alex and I made our way to the passenger side. We both stood there waiting for Bo to unlock the door, when we looked up and noticed him standing there staring at us.

      "What's going on?" He asked abruptly.

      "Wha,  what are you talking about?" We both mumbled out.

      He looked back and forth at our guilty faces; he knew something was up. What else would describe my behavior and Alex's sudden outburst?

      Finally, he spoke, his tone sounding angry and stern. "Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about. I know very well that there's something going on here, and I want the truth."

      Alex and I looked over at each other with the same question in our eyes; what should we do?

plsss next chapter, we 're waiting n patiently 2

awwww makes me wanna go out n get me a boyfriend

Heheh. :]
Here's chapter 14!

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Chapter 14

   I awoke the next morning to the smell of pizza and the familiar sounds of Halo 2. I opened my eyes groggily, trying to rub out the sleepy haze that covered them. I rolled over to find that I was laying on someone. Opening my eyes a bit wider, I realized that I was lying out on the couch, with my head rested on a pillow on Alex’s lap.

   “Good morning, beautiful,” Alex said softly, leaning down and kissing my forehead, causing his video game character to get shot a few times, much to Bo’s displeasure.

   “C’mon, man, you’re supposed to be helping me out here!” He whined impatiently.

   Alex just chuckled and looked over at me. “You want me to take you to your house now, so you can get some things to bring over here?” He asked while pausing his game, which earned him an angry glare from Bo.

   “Yeah, just give me a minute or two,” I replied, while I hurried off towards the bathroom. I was anxious to make sure I didn’t look like a complete mess. I examined myself in the mirror for a second, noticing that I didn’t look too incredibly horrible. My eyeliner was a bit smudged and my hair was sticking up a little, but it wasn’t that bad.

   I splashed some cold water over my face in an attempt to wake me up some more, then squeezed some toothpaste on my finger and ran it over my teeth.

   I skipped back to the living room where the guys were, and plopped down on the couch next to Alex, gingerly resting my head on his shoulder. He looked over at me, smiled, and kissed the top of my head, to indicate that he wasn’t completely ignoring me.

   “I see you finally came around, Milli,” Alex’s dad said as he walked into the living room, situating himself into one of the recliners.

   I just nodded and scooted away from Alex a little bit, uncomfortable with our closeness around his dad. He must have noticed the movement, because he let out a little laugh, and then threw a smile at me that clearly stated “I don’t care.”

   I sighed. It must be nice to have a dad as awesome as Peter. I wondered what my dad was like; for all I knew, he could be a stuck-up, judgmental prude, but that certainly wasn’t the impression I got from him. From what I knew of him, he was a very kind, gentle soul, regardless of what he might have done in the past.

   I absentmindedly sighed at the thought, and Alex looked over at me questioningly.

   He paused the game again and said, “You ready to go now?”

   “Sure,” I responded, heaving myself up off of the couch.

   “Where are you going?” Peter asked.

   “I’m going to drop by Milli’s house so she can get whatever she needs to bring over here,” Alex responded.

   “Mind if I come?” Bo asked, looking between Alex and I, as if he were worried about being intrusive.

   I didn’t want Bo to feel that way, not at all, so I instantly said, “No, of course not,” at the same time that Alex did. Apparently, he was thinking along the same lines as I was.

   “Here,” Peter said, handing a debit card to Alex, “I’m off of work tomorrow as well, and I fully intend on having another movie marathon again tonight. You kids go rent whatever movies y’all want. Oh, and stock up on the junk food too; we’re running low.” He said, glancing over at the coffee table covered in empty bags of chips and candy.

   The three of us just laughed as Alex took the card; why couldn’t all parents be that cool?

   We all made our way towards Peter’s truck, and I opted to sit in the backseat; I figured it was one little way of making Bo feel less left out. I truly felt bad that he felt that way, or, at least, he seemed to feel that way. I wanted to do whatever I could to make him feel part of the group; the way we used to feel when we were just three friends hanging out.

   About six minutes later, Alex pulled into the familiar driveway.

   “I’ll be out in a second,” I said as I climbed out of the back seat. I was just about to walk up the stone steps when I turned back towards the truck.

   Alex rolled down his window when he saw me walking towards his door.

   “Can you –“ I started, but he cut me off with a quick kiss. I smiled at him before continuing. “Can you come in with me? I’m still a little freaked out about… everything,” I said, shuddering ever so slightly. I didn’t want to go in there alone, after the whole incident with John. I was just too freaked out.

   Alex understood. He put the truck in park, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and hopped out of the truck. Bo followed suit, and Alex looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

   “I’m not letting you two go in there alone. Y’all can’t be trusted,” he said in a joking but serious manner. Alex and I just laughed; we knew he was right.

   Maybe it was just because I had thoughts of John’s tirade on my mind, but my house looked especially… eerie. There was really no other word to describe it. Alex and Bo must have been feeling that way as well, because they, too, looked around in alarm, as though someone was going to jump out and attack at any second.

   As we passed by the kitchen, I noticed that the blood on the kitchen floor had been cleaned up. Did the police crew do that? I wasn’t sure. I wondered if the blood in my room had been cleaned up; I had only been home once since that whole incident, and even then, I had only gone to the bathroom to get some clothes that I had left in there.

   We walked up the stairs, and I was aware of a few blood stains on the carpeted steps, but didn’t point them out.

   Sure enough, the first thing we saw upon entering my bedroom was a big stretch of red, sticky, almost completely dried up blood. It was right at the foot of my bed where I had landed when John threw me across the room, and the puddle was quite large in size.

   I looked over at the guys, and saw the look on Bo’s face; he seriously looked like he was about to throw up. He abruptly averted his gaze elsewhere, and I could tell he was trying very hard not to think about the blood or why it was there.

   Meanwhile, Alex stood beside him, absolutely fuming. “I swear to God, if he EVER comes near you again, I will kill that –“

   “Alex, settle down,” I interrupted, trying to calm him down. “It’s nothing, really; just a little bit of blood.” I continued, trying to shrug it off.

   “Just a little bit of blood, Milli?” He mocked in a bitter tone. “It’s a whole freaking puddle!” He yelled, looking completely enthralled, and calling John every bad name he could think of.

   I was surprised; never in my life had I seen him this angry. But now, he was beyond livid.

   “Uhh, Bo? Could you please go downstairs and get a mop and a water bucket?” I asked, glancing over at the blood on the floor, and then back towards Alex. Bo seemed to understand; the sooner the mess got cleaned up, the sooner we’d be able to get Alex to calm down.

   He walked out of the room then, leaving Alex and I by ourselves.

   “Alex, are you… okay?” I asked stupidly, not knowing what else to say.

“No, I’m not okay.” He replied in a venomous whisper. “He was this close to taking you away from me forever, Milli! There has to be something I can do about this. He nearly killed you, and he got away with it! Now, here I am standing before the scene of the crime, and it’s worse than I imagined. How could I possibly be okay?” He shouted angrily.

   I shrunk back at his words. I knew he wasn’t mad at me, but still, his yelling stung.

   “I… I’m… sorry,” I replied, not having a clue as to what to say to that.

   He met my gaze then, and his eyes softened a little. He unclenched his fists with some effort. He took a couple of steps closer to me, our body just mere inches from each other. He was still noticeably angry, and I could tell it took a lot of effort for him to be gentle.

   “No, Milli, I’m the one who should be apologizing,” He said in a strained voice. “I just couldn’t take seeing that,” He continued, waving an arm towards the bloody mess without looking at it. “After seeing you in the hospital, bleeding profusely, after seeing you crumpled up in pain, after seeing you in a comatose state, it was just a hard thing for me to see.

   “I just can’t bear being reminded of the one thing I would love to forget. I don’t want to think about the day that I almost lost you forever. I… I love you, Milli,” and as he said that, his eyes grew remarkably soft. He grabbed both of my hands in his, and pulled my body closer to him.

   Holy crap! Did he just drop the L-bomb? I wondered to myself. I stared back up into his eyes, blinking profusely, trying to get my thoughts together. I didn’t know what to say. Of course I loved him, I had for years now, but I didn’t know if he meant it sincerely, or if his emotions were just running away with him. Did seeing the scene of the accident make him realize just how much he cared about me, or was he just exaggerating in his emotional state?

   I didn’t know what to say back to him. I didn’t want to say “I love you too,” if he didn’t really mean it. He stared down at me, his electric blue eyes boring into mine, patiently awaiting a response from me.

   “Alex, I… I…” I tried to say something, but couldn’t form a coherent reply. I stood there sputtering nonsense for what seemed like forever, when luckily, Bo finally came back.

   “Oh,” Bo said as he saw Alex and I standing hand in hand, looking at one another. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he continued, with a small apologetic grin.

   “No, no, it’s okay, Bo,” I replied, more than thankful for his interruption. I glanced back at Alex, noticing the hurt expression on his face. Crap, I really messed it up this time, didn’t I?

   I felt immensely guilty; I knew he probably wasn’t expecting that reaction from me. But I honestly just couldn’t tell whether he meant it or not. I wasn’t going to rush into telling someone I love them, especially if I don’t know that they feel the same. I didn’t want to get hurt.

   Unfortunately, Alex was the one looking hurt, but I could tell that he was trying his best to mask his emotions.

   Bo set the bucket of water and the mop on the floor. “Uhh, I’ll go get some bleach out of the bathroom,” I said, needing to get out of my room for a second. Unfortunately, the bathroom was practically right next to my bedroom, so I was back in my room in no time.

   I poured some of the bleach into the water, and began cleaning up the mess, while Alex sat on my bed messing around with my guitar.

   “Here, let me do that while you get your stuff together,” Bo offered kindly. He looked at me with a knowing look; he knew that there was something up between Alex and I. Bo really was a lot more observant than I gave him credit for.

   So, as he cleaned up, I gathered a few sets of clothes together; I wasn’t sure how long I’d be there, really. I threw all of the clothes in my messenger bag, along with a hair brush and the other essentials, then sauntered back towards my closet to find something to wear for today.

   Since we were most likely just going to be lazing around the house all day, I kept it simple with a pair of jeans, my Anberlin band tee, and a pair of Converse.

   After walking out of my room towards the bathroom, I instantly heard Bo interrogate Alex. I wondered if Alex would tell him what really happened. I doubted that he would; he’d probably just make something up.

As I was looking at myself in the mirror applying some eyeliner, I once again had the horrible feeling someone was watching me. I looked to the right and out the window, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I was never sure why someone would put a window in a bathroom, but seeing as how this bathroom was on the second floor, I guess it wasn’t that bad.

   I went back to fixing my make-up, but couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone was watching me. I walked over to the window and looked out, still seeing nothing unusual. I decided that fixing my make-up wasn’t necessary, and walked out of the bathroom, anxious to get out of the house; it was really just creeping me out.

   So after I was ready to go, the three of us made our way back towards Alex’s truck, and I was thankful that Bo had called shotgun.

   “So, where are we going?” Bo asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

   “I guess we’ll go to that convenient store on the corner by my house, and then go to the movie rental store that’s close beside it,” Alex replied in an apathetic tone.

   “Okay,” Bo replied, glancing over at Alex in concern. Alex must not have told Bo what was wrong.

   About five minutes later, we pulled into the movie rental store. I got out on the passenger side, and when I slid out, I turned around and noticed Bo looking at me, with the question “What the heck is going on here?” clearly on his face.

   I just shrugged. We all walked in the store then, and was happy and slightly surprised when Alex walked next to me and grabbed my hand. I look over and gave him a genuine smile, and he clutched my hand a little tighter.

   “So what kind of movie are y’all in the mood for?” Alex asked.

   “Hmm, I’m kinda in the mood for a romantic comedy myself,” Bo said.

   “Seriously?” I asked him while trying to quiet the giggles that were threatening to escape my throat. I didn’t succeed; I burst into laughter, with Alex quietly joining in.

   “Hey, there’s ain’t no shame in that!” Bo said, trying to defend himself, but laughing along with us.

   We each picked out a movie; I chose Spiderman 3, Alex chose Mirrors, and Bo chose No Reservations.

   We walked towards the line, only to realize that there were about ten people standing in it already. Not wanting to waste any time, I turned towards Alex and said, “Hey, I’m going to run across the street to the convenient store and get whatever we need while y’all are waiting here.”

   “Okay,” Alex replied. “You know what to get, right?”

   “I’m with you guys practically 24/7; trust me, I know what to get.”

   He just smiled and nodded his head. I turned to leave, but Alex grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me in for a kiss. I looked into his bright blue eyes as I pulled away, suddenly feeling even worse for my moment of… indecisiveness… earlier.

   “Alex, I’m sorr –“ I started to say, but he cut me off by pressing his finger to my lips.

   “Shh. Don’t worry about it,” he said coolly, leaning down for another kiss. “I’ll see you over there once we’re done,” he continued, obviously not wanting to say any more on the subject.

   I got the hint and made my way towards the convenient store. I knew Alex’s dad didn’t care how much we spent; he was a hardcore junk food junkie. So I grabbed a hand basket and started piling in the potato chips, tortilla chips, energy drinks, candies, and sodas. It was a fairly large store, as far as gas stations go, so there was a lot more variety. I was standing on one of the end aisles trying to remember which kind of chips Peter liked better, when I felt someone’s presence behind me.

   I turned around abruptly, but didn’t see anyone, except for the cashier standing at the register. Why am I being so paranoid? I asked myself. I went back to looking through the chips, when I felt someone’s hot breath close to my ear.

   “You have good reason to be afraid; I’ll be watching you.”

   My body went rigid instantly, and I could feel the handles of the basket slip out of my sweaty, slick hands. It took me a second to collect my bearings, and by the time that I spun around to face the mystery person, they were gone.

   I looked around frantically, hoping to see who it was, but they were nowhere to be found. I looked over towards the store clerk, who was starting to look at me funny.

   “Did you see… uh… someone?” I asked, trying to control my shaky voice, but not succeeding. The clerk just shook his head, looking at me like he was worried I was about to snap. Truth be told, I felt like I was about to snap.

   I spun around abruptly, when I smacked into someone. A scream escaped my throat before I was even aware of whom it was.

   “Milli?” Someone asked in apparent concern. It was Alex. I finally lifted up my head to see that it was him I had run into. He was raising an eyebrow at me questioningly, while Bo was just looking at me like I was nuts.

   I couldn’t speak; I was still too scared. I closed the distance between Alex and I by enveloping him in a tight hug, grateful for the safety and protection I felt when he held me.  I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and I blinked profusely, doing everything I could to keep the tears from spilling out.

   He wrapped his arms tightly around me, aware of the obvious comfort that I so desperately needed at that moment. He stroked my hair reassuringly, and wiped away the few tears that managed to escape.

   “What on earth happened, Milli?” He asked me, once I was able to compose myself a bit.

   Aware that Bo was listening in with curious ears, I just said, “There was, uhm… this… this strange person.” I said, emphasizing the last two words, hoping Alex would catch on.

   He did, of course, and his entire body straightened up, while his eyes scanned the perimeter, as if the person were still lurking around here.

   “What’s going on here?” Bo asked, no longer able to contain his anxiety. Alex pulled me back a little, giving me a look that clearly stated, “Try to calm down so Bo won’t get suspicious.”

   I tried my best, and managed to stop the sniffles and compose my features into what probably looked like an apathetic expression.

   “Well?” Bo demanded, getting more anxious and impatient by the second.

   “It’s nothing, really, Bo,” I replied, trying to think of a way to tell him what happened without lying, “this weird person just came up behind me and said something weird, and then disappeared. It just had me really freaked out. Nothing to worry about,” I said, trying to shrug it off.

   “Are you sure you shouldn’t report that to someone?” He asked, not sounding convinced.

   “No, no, it’s fine… I was just freaked out for a second. It’s nothing major, I’m sure,” I replied, trying to keep my face composed so I wouldn’t give away the lie. Bo let it drop, but still looked worried.

   I felt so bad about lying to him, I honestly did, but what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t tell someone else. Obviously, this murderer was following me; he just admitted as much a few minutes ago, because I was dead sure that that’s who the ‘mystery person’ was. I couldn’t drag someone else into this situation.

   “Well, c’mon. Let’s pay for this stuff and get back home,” Alex said, anxious to get away from the store and back to the safety of his house.

   “Lets,” I agreed.

   So, we paid for everything, grabbed our bags, and walked out. A slight movement in the distance made me look over to my left, and there, I noticed someone standing at the bus stop. They were wearing what looked like a large, long, black cloak, so their body was hidden. I couldn’t tell whether they were lean or buff. Under the hood, I could see a pair of eyes, and a mouth that was twisted up in a sinister grin. They were looking straight at me. Tremors of fear shook my entire body as I got back into the truck.

____________________________________________________________ _________________

A/N:
Sorry these past two chapters have just been a bunch of fluff, really. I promise though, the story will definitely pick up in the next chapters!

dunno wat to say except am waitin patiently for ze next chapter

I so enjoy reading your stories. Thanks for your wonderful stories and your deep inspiration

1love

hm

Couldn’t finish the whole story but you’re good for sure. You have to realize there’s a lot of work and editing to be done before you get published- don’t tell me that you went on this adventure without the lure of that in the back of your mind.
A few things though.
"Look here, girl, I know who you are, and I know where you and your family live. If the authorities find out about this murder, I'll know it was you who snitched. You're the only witness. You tell them it was me, and I'll come back for you,  for your friends and family as well. You say one word about this to anyone, and I'll make your life hell."
He then pushed me down to the ground, lunging at me, with his knife aimed for my chest. I managed to roll over just in time to avoid being stabbed again. He had just fallen to the ground when I got to my feet. After one hard kick to his head, I took off running.

His threats actually seemed like he wanted to let her go then he lunges for her chest- bottom line, contradictory

Good read, good flow, good distinctive style- you may like a website that I know with a lot of critics- www.writingforums.com- I think you’ll be an instant hit