Veronica (teacher x student)

16

I freeze in place. This whole time it's been Erica stalking me. Driving past my house late at night, sneaking around a high school party, tracking me with an air tag. I make my way to the garage door and step out barefoot. I don't care about any shoes, I need to get out of here.

The entire property was surrounded by a tall fence that I knew I couldn't jump over so I need to somehow make it to the gate. Adrenaline burst through my veins as I come to fully realize the situation. I dead sprint as quickly as I can towards the front. My run isn't as fast as it would normally be but my hangover is slowing me down a little.

I run past the front of the house and start sprinting down the long driveway. Once I reach about 100 feet [30 meters] away from the house I hear a voice.

"Ronny! What the hell are you doing? Come back here now!" Erica began running to try to catch up to me. My eyes are dead focused on the gate, when I get close enough I see chains and a padlock on it. The gate is taller than the fence there's no way I could scale it.

I zigzag my path and change directions. I run towards a big oak tree.

"Where are you going?" Erica yells at me frustrated.

Once I reach the tree I grab two of the thick branches above me and lift myself up. I continue doing that until the branches look too thin to be stood on. I look down and a rush goes through my body. Erica stood at the bottom of the tree, she didn't even want to attempt at climbing. She looked so small from up here.

"Ronny, come down! I'm worried you're going to break something! Why are you even running in the first place?!" She continues yelling at me out of breath. I still give her no answer. 

"You're going to have to come down sometime," She tells me. I tell her two words that changed her entire mood. I don't know who I'm looking at anymore. Everything she told me could be a lie. She could be a murderer. I realize I ran out of options, there was only one true escape.

"I'll jump," I say no louder than talking. I see her eyes change from calm to stressed.

"No!" She yells louder than any other time, "Come down here now!" She almost screams. I can't see her face very well but I can hear her nose starting to snuffle.

"Please don't jump, Ronny. You are all that I have," she says, she sounds like she is crying. I feel bad, I've caused such heartbreak for her. I threatened my life all because of what? She stalked me a couple of times. I know she won't hurt me. Why am I so worried? I cautiously make my way down to the next branch. I see Erica's face light up, her tears glistening in the morning sun. Erica falls to her knees still looking at me. She can't be a murderer. I do know her. She is Erica, my Erica.

I have no other escape, besides she's right. I would have to come down sometime anyways. I slowly keep going down each step of the branches.

As soon as my toes touch the ground Erica pulls me into a tight and secure hug. Our bodies warm each other as they make contact.

"I'm sorry," I apologize, I feel like a fool.

"Everything is alright, all I care about is that you're safe," She whispers, "I'll drive you home now,".

We both get up and begin walking back toward the big house. Even though we agreed to stay away from each other, that plan still hasn't been taken into effect. My bare feet leave little wet marks on the concrete from the dewy grass. Erica opens the tall glass doors and I walk back in.

"The weather's getting chillier by the day. I might have to bring out my winter coat from hibernation," She jokes, "Hey, can you grab it for me out of that closet?" Erica points towards a door and I nod my head. I'm careful about my outside feet not to touch her nice carpet. The handle to the door was slightly scratched, it took some muscle to open it finally. There was no coat rack or pile of shoes. Instead, there were only stairs leading downward.

"I'm more sorry, my Veronica," A voice interrupts behind me.

My eyes lift to what I'm assuming is her basement. All walls were cement but decorated somewhat nicely. There were bookshelves covering them, filled with all sorts of things. There were mostly books but also papers, binders, and boxes. I feel the carpet pressing hard against my cheek. I lift my head to feel a rush of lightheadedness. My hand rushes to comfort my aching temple, a bandage meets my fingertips. When did my head get bandaged?

I slowly get up and use the bookshelves to support my weight. There is only one door in the room, I'm assuming that leads up to the rest of the house. I try to turn the knob but it barely budges. I bang on the door with my fist.

"Hey!" I yell, "Let me out! Help!".

I touch my bandages and wetness comes off of them, I look at the red staining my fingers. 

"Help! My head is bleeding!" a drip of blood runs down the side of my face, "HELP!" I scream louder. Before I can speak more, I collapse backward out of energy. A terrible migraine runs over my brain. My eyes start to swell with tears. I don't think I've ever felt this much pain before in my life, not even when I broke my femur in middle school. My ears begin to ring as the ache gets worse. I clutch my head with both of my hands, crying.

A soft hand begins to rub my back. I open my eyes, blurry with tears to find Erica kneeling over me. She's saying something, but I can't make it out over the ringing.

"I can't hear. I can't hear," I say in the middle of crying, "It hurts so bad," the tears continue to flow. I see Erica unwrap a needle and fill it up with some sort of medicine. I shake my head in defense, I no longer had the ability to speak. My arms try to carry my body in a crawl away from her. Erica's hands pin my arms down quickly and she injects me. The pain starts to stop but the tears don't. My eyelids grow heavy, but I try to fight the tiredness. My fighting didn't last long.

All I hear is a rumbling noise. My wrists are tied together and I can't move very far. Duct tape covers my mouth. My eyes lift open but I only see black. I'm confined into a small space, which I can only assume it's the trunk of a car from the noise. The car begins turning and my head slams into the soft wall. I try to break away my wrists but it's no point. I even try to untie my ankles but I can't, the space is too small, and I can barely bend my body.

I feel around for anything to be of use to me. I feel a small indent and put my hand and try to grab it. I pull on the indent and a noise clicks and light blinds me. I accidentally open the trunk and see we're on the freeway. It's got to be midday and I see a couple of cars behind us, one noticing and the driver looking very concerned. I reach for the handle of the trunk to pull it back shut, but I can't reach and I don't want to fall out going 70mph [~113kmph]. I notice the car beginning to slow down and I start hyperventilating. What do I do, I have no defenses, I can't run and it's not like I can act unconscious because I just opened the damn trunk.

We eventually pull over to the shoulder and a few cars fly past. I hear the driver's door open and close as they rush back to me. My eyes begin to water from the stress of it all. 

Erica appears and looks me in the eyes. She looks extremely nervous. She rushes trying to untie my ankles and rips the tape off my mouth very quickly.

"Get in the passenger," She instructs, my wrists still tied together. Her hand grips the back of my arm as she casually closes the trunk and leads me to the passenger side. I reach to open the door, my hands shakier than they've ever been. Erica pulls me back and opens the door for me, this was definitely not her car. Erica has a big SUV, this was a small rundown car.

"Get in the car, Ronny," She demands quietly. My breathing gets heavier as I choose my next actions carefully.