Find Me

4 • Police

"What?" Laura seems stunned by what I tell her. Her mouth hangs almost to the floor, and her eyes almost pop out of their sockets because they are so wide. "He called you? Just before you came out here?"

I nod grimly, biting my lip. I'm not sure what to say exactly, so I decide to play it safer. "Yeah, he told me basically what he said in his text."

A bead of sweat rolls down the back of my neck as I internally beg for Laura to not ask further questions. I don't want to tell her about what else he said just yet. She shakes her head, like she cannot believe what she's hearing.

"Have you informed the police yet?" she asks when I glance behind us again, playing with the strings of my sweater. Maybe there is a good enough reason for my paranoia...I mean, I feel I'm handling this rather well. Other teens would probably go crazy just thinking about any of it.

I finally look back and answer her, hoping she'll leave the topic alone now. "No, I haven't."

Laura shakes her head again. I internally groan when I realize this conversation will probably continue the whole walk home, and maybe even longer.

"Mel," she starts. "You seriously need to go to them about this. It's been two weeks that you've felt someone watching you! This person, no matter if it's just a cruel joke, needs to be caught and punished. You can't just ignore it and be paranoid for the rest of your days because believe me when I say that they'll never stop if it keeps getting a rise out of you."

I don't answer. What am I supposed to say to Mom after she's already been stressing over work. She doesn't need to worry about if I'm being followed, even though I still believe it's a cruel prank. I can't go to the police without her finding out; it's just not possible. And then, there's the threat he left before hanging up. What would he do if I went to the cops after he specifically told me not to?

"I don't think I can, Lau," I reply. "If Mom finds out..."

"If your Mom finds out, she can help you!" Laura interjected, squeezing my shoulder comfortingly.

Forgetting that I hadn't told her about Mom's job, I mutter a curse word under my breath. "I don't know Lau; I don't want her to be worried." I decide to tell her about Mom's job later, when it feels like the appropriate time.

Laura looks at me incredulously. "Are you kidding? She should be worried Mel! Besides, if you don't tell her, then I will. You're her daughter and she deserves to know if something is going wrong!"

I sigh, giving in. "Fine. I'll tell her if I get threatened again, alright? If this is just a prank I don't want her to get too worried about it."

Laura nods. "You're still going to the police. I'm going to come with you to make sure you report this crap."

I internally begin to panic as we turn on to the main highway, which will lead the both of us to the station. My estimate is that we will be there in less than ten minutes. I try and stop her from dragging me there by saying things like, "Lau, I really don't think this is worth reporting. It was one text and a phone call and--"

"No buts Mel," Laura cuts me off. "We're going, and that's that."

We walk for five minutes without saying anything. My heart beats fast in my chest as I keep replaying what he said to me over and over in my mind, but I know there isn't any way to convince Laura to not do this. I watch the bland-colored cars speed past us, heading to bigger towns like Miami with a lot more to do in them than this dump I call home.