A North Carolina Autumn

Chapter Fifty-Three

4.10.2023

Christmas shopping normally stresses me out. It's always a guessing game when it comes to presents for family and friends. But with Rylie, it's surprisingly easy to shop for her gifts. I'd ordered some of them online, and they'd arrived early enough that I didn't need to stress about that.

Even though it's dumb to go out two days before Christmas, I'd done it anyway just to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I made sure to get enough candy for our stockings and Rylie's little brothers, and a few books for her before heading to pick her up.

Rylie had spent the morning getting things for the new puppy, determined to make sure my mom would have everything she could ever need. The puppy was ready for us to pick up as of yesterday, so he's next on our list.

I put the car in park before sending a text to Rylie, letting her know I'm here. A call comes through a moment later and I answer quickly, thinking it's her.

"Hi." I say with a smile. "You ready?"

"This isn't Rylie." The voice on the other end says, and my smile slips.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Who is this?" I say in what I hope is a friendly voice.

"You don't know me."

"Well, yeah." I chuckle. "Do you have the wrong number?"

"No. You don't know me, but I know you. We never got the chance to officially meet."

My smile completely disappears. "Are you going to tell me who you are?"

"Not yet."

"Not yet? You know what, I don't think you should call back." I reply, my patience running out. "Have a good day." I quickly hang up the call before they can say anything else and drop my phone in a cup holder as I let out a sigh.

"You okay?" I jump as the car door opens and Rylie pokes her head in.

"You scared me! I didn't see you come up." I laugh, putting a hand to my chest.

"Sorry," She giggles. "You did look distracted. Or frustrated."

"Both. I hung up on an unknown caller."

"Again?" Rylie questions, closing the door as she gets in.

"Oh," I'd nearly forgotten about the last unknown number that had texted and called. "Hold on." After a quick search, I figure it out. "Yep, again. Same number. I wonder why they keep calling? They still won't tell me who they are."

"Is it a guy or a girl?" Rylie questions, taking my phone to look for herself.

"Girl, I think. The connection makes it hard to tell for sure."

"I'm not a fan of that." Rylie says. "May I?" She turns the screen towards me, and I laugh when I see the red block button.

"Please."

Rylie grins and quickly pushes the button. "Great! Now I don't need to be jealous."

"You're jealous of an unknown caller?" I giggle.

"An unknown girl caller, Aspen. She probably knows who you are, otherwise she wouldn't be calling you over and over."

"It was only twice." I laugh, earning a glare from Rylie. "But you're right, we shouldn't take any chances."

"That's my girl." Rylie says, leaning over the console to kiss my cheek as it reddens at her wording. "I'm the only one that gets to be obsessed with you."

"I wouldn't say she's obsessed..." I joke before starting the car again.

It wouldn't take too long to see that I was wrong about that. Very wrong.