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Imogen Halstead (age 16)
Word count: 1066
TW: stalking, psychosis.
Imogen's POV
It's 2:58pm and I'm staring at the clock as it ticks away. Maths is the most boring subject in the world. It should be banned. I see gabby standing outside of the classroom staring at me through the window. Lucky thing. She always gets let out of gym class early...
The bell eventually rings and I waste no time in leaving this room. Thank baby Jesus for that. Gabby furrows her brows, "were you even paying attention in there?" She scoffs a laugh. I snort, "of course not" we make our way down the hallway and outside. She sighs, "my mom said she can pick you up and take us to the mall tonight, I think it's supposed to rain" Gabby suggests. I nod, "I'll ask my dad and let you know" I smile. We say our goodbyes and I walk over to the car park, already spotting my dads truck.
As I quickly cross the road I spot a man in a blue denim jacket and a red baseball cap staring at me with a cheesy grin. Uhhh... okay. I smile in return which satisfies him and he turns around to walk away. I don't know what was more horrific... the smile or the double denim look. Anyways...
"Hey kiddo" my dad sets his phone down as I hop into the passenger seat. I smile, "hey" I look over at him. He smiles, "home or the district?" He asks me. Usually I like to go to the district so I can help trudy or Voight with the paperwork, since I want to be a detective when I leave school too... but, today I want to go to the mall with some of the money I saved up from my part time job at a pizzeria downtown. I sigh, "home please, gabby said her mom can pick me up and take us to the mall later. Is that okay with you?" I enquire politely. He nods, "as long as you stay together, and you bring me a present home" he smirks. I sigh, "okay okay" I smile in return.
~
"Look at this..." Gabby holds out a beautiful summer dress. I nod, "it's pretty, but a little late for dresses..." I point upwards, signalling to the sound of rain pitter pattering off of the roof. Gabby smiles, "this looks comfy" she holds up, shoving an oodie towards me. I laugh, "woah" I stumble backwards. She sighs, "I wish it was summer still" she groans. I nod, "touché" raising an eyebrow, I hand her a cute t-shirt.
"Have you ever thought about getting your belly button pierced?" Gabby looks at me through the rails. I scoff a laugh, "you really think my dad would let me have one? He'd kill me" I raise an eyebrow at the preposterous idea. Gabby nods, "yeah maybe don't... I don't wanna' attend your funeral any time soon" she smirks. I roll my eyes, "how kind" I turn around to face the door.
He looks familiar. A man. The man from earlier... oh yeah! Oh yeah... he's still smiling at me like an escaped convict. Gabby walks up to me, "who the hell is that?" She frowns. Shaking my head, I watch the man, "I don't know, he was doing the same thing when my dad picked me up from school" I sigh. Gabby shoots me a side eye, "you mean he followed you here?" She turns me around. I pause, the severity of the situation now hitting me, but before I can say anything the man has disappeared. I let out a shaky breath as Ai check my phone, "maybe we should leave..." Gabby frowns.
"Yeah" I almost whisper as she grabs my hand, the pair of us leave the store and head towards the exit. She looks at me, "you okay?" She enquires. I nod, "yeah, I'm fine" I smile weakly. As we leave the mall we realise how long it's been since gabbys mom dropped her off, "should I call my dad?" I look at her. Gabby pauses, "I can call my mom, she won't mind" she suggests. I think for a second, I'm sure my dad would want to know about the man...
"I'll call my dad, just in case that guy comes back" I conclude. Gabby nods, "let's wait inside then" she suggests a great idea. I smile as I ring my dad, and much to my expectations, he says he's coming as quick as he can. Me and gabby stand in the entrance, making sure we're always in someone's field of vision...
~
I'm mindlessly talking with gabby when I see my dads truck pull up in the corner of my eye, "let's go" I cut her off, not wanting to spend any longer in this place. I quickly walk over to the truck as my dad rolls the window down. I don't even make it to the car door when what feels like a truck pushes me to the floor, "she's my daughter, believe me! You have to believe me!" A man yells. I feel my feet lift off the floor as a secure arm holds me up. Gabby screams as the sound of my dads door slams shut, he runs around, pushing my best friend behind him and I can't help but reach out for him.
What looks like Haileys car pulls up behind my dads, "put her down! Get off my daughter! Now!" My dad slowly pulls his gun out. The man turns me around, "she's mine, believe me. Jessica, remember me? Please..." the man begs. I hear a gunshot, and the man lets me go. Wasting no time, I run to my dad, not looking back. I hug my dad for what feels like eternity, whilst hailey arrests the man. Fortunately she shot the ground as a distraction, not the man.
~
The man was going through a psychotic episode, and for some bizarre reason, he thought I resembled his late daughter, Jessica. My dad hasn't let me out of his site, in fact, he hasn't let me out of his grasp. Hence why we are sat on the couch watching shrek. He looks down at me, "I love you" he smiles. I smile in return, feeling warm and safe, "I love you too" I rest my head on his shoulder.
