Love is a Death Trap (First in the Series)

~ 7 ~

Dear Mom,

Thankfully, since it was a Friday, I have the weekend to recover. And plan. Mostly plan.

When I got home earlier than Bim thought I would Friday night, she knew something was wrong. I was home even before Dad, and when he got home, he was just confused. Bim and I stayed in my room the rest of the night, me crying and trying to get the feeling of his lips out of my head, while Bim sat with me and talked, trying to help me clear my mind. We eventually fell asleep lying across my bed, Bim snuggled right up next to me.

The next morning, Bim explained to Dad what had happened, and his eyes took on this strange protective ferocity. We assured him that I was fine, and continued to eat his charred peanut butter toast in silence.

That afternoon, I got a concerned joint call from Lilac and Danielle.

"Are you okay? I saw you running out crying last night," Danielle started frantically.

"What happened? Did he do something to you?" Lilac asked, a bit quieter than Danielle.

"Guys! I will explain what happened. But, first, were you in on this?" I asked quietly. Nothing. Then I heard Lilac sigh.

"It was Danielle's idea. She pulled me into it. She wanted to convince you that William is a good guy, and that if you're going to fall in love, he's a pretty good option," Lilac said reluctantly. Danielle sighed.

"Yeah... I'm sorry Anne-Marcie," she said quietly. I smiled sadly.

"It's fine. You didn't know what would happen," I said. "I guess I have to tell you what happened now." I went on to explain, and both of them were outraged, yet in different ways.

"He kissed you without your permission?!" Danielle screamed. Thank god I wasn't talking on speaker-phone.

"Yeah..." I confirmed.

"Oh, Anne-Marcie, he must've terrified you!" Lilac said miserably. I nodded, even though they couldn't see me.

"Anne-Marcie, we will never do anything like this ever again!" Danielle promised, her voice angry, yet apologetic.

"Good," I said quietly. "I'm gonna go now. See you guys at school," I added before hanging up.

The rest of Saturday was uneventful. Sunday though...

I picked up the phone, expecting to see Lilac or Danielle's name. Instead, the screen displayed a number I didn't know. It had my area code, so I shrugged and picked up.

"Hello? Who is this?" I asked hesitantly.

"Anne-Marcie?" the caller asked. I froze and debated if I should hang up.

"What do you want, William?" I asked quietly. He sighed.

"To apologize. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that without your permission. Without knowing if you returned the feeling..." he trailed off. "Do you?" he asked after a pause. I hesitated.

"No," I replied firmly. "But I feel like I should explain. You seem like a very likeable person. The thing is... I don't believe in love. It's complicated, so don't ask. To put it simply, I'm afraid of love. The reason I ran away is because you terrified me," I finished quietly. We both stayed silent for a few moments before he spoke.

"I'm sure I can fix that," he said confidently. I was glad he couldn't see my face, because I'm sure it was a mask of pure confusion.

"Fix what?" I asked defensively. He chuckled over the phone.

"I'll get rid of your fear of love." I froze again, and suddenly my blood felt cold.

"You can't do that," I protested. "It's not possible." He just laughed.

"Don't worry Anne-Marcie May, you'll be cured soon." Then he hung up. I was left staring at the phone, dumbfounded that someone could be so stupid and arrogant. I scoffed in frustration and threw the phone down onto my bed. Then I flopped back into the comforter and ran my hands through my hair. I don't know what he's planning, but I have a strong feeling that I won't like it.

I can't be fixed,

Anne-Marcie May