Francesca’s P.O.V
The next night, I decided to sleepover Jaz’s.
I couldn’t be in the same house as Joe; just seeing him made my cringe and memories came rushing back, beating my skull like a rock.
We had a girl’s night, just like we used to before I met Harry and Joe came back, before my life became confusing and painful, before it became this giant mess.
What do best friends do on a girl’s night? We just eat and watch movies, stalk our favorite band (which we weren’t able to do anymore considering it would be weird now that I’m dating one of the members), and vent.
Halfway through Mean Girls, we started our venting session.
“Okay,” Jaz began, “Luke and I have started texting, and he claims that he really likes me, but I don’t know what to do. He’s still dating Ashley, and I don’t want her to hate me. If she hates me then Adriana will hate me. If Adriana hates me of course Nathan will start hating me since he’s her boyfriend. Our whole lunch table will be quiet and awkward so the others will leave, and then you and I will be left alone. The entire school will hate us before you know it and….”
“Calm down Jaz,” I interrupted. “You’re just being paranoid.”
“Easily for you to say Jess, you have two boys insanely in love with you. You have the perfect boyfriend, or should I say boyfriendS; your whole life is perfect.”
“Perfect?” I laughed. “Jaz, my life is far from perfect.”
“You’re dating Harry Styles and you’re trying to tell me that your life is far from perfect? If I was dating Harry Styles I wouldn’t even be going to this school; I’d be going to private school and have a nicer car, my own house…”
“Jaz,” I stopped her again.
“What?” She was annoyed by now that I kept interrupting.
“Damn, and I thought Louis was the sassy one,” I joked.
She rolled her eyes.
“You’re my best friend, right?”
“Of course, was that even a question Francesca?”
“If you’re my best friend, you have to promise to keep this a secret, do not tell anyone.”
“I promise.”
I took a deep breath, and spilled the whole situation with Joe out to her.
Her face was frozen by the time I was done, “Jess, you have to go to the police.”
“Did you not understand a word I just said? I can’t.”
“You get raped on a daily basis; you’re not even safe in your own home. He’s going to end up killing you Francesca; you have to do something about it before it’s too late.”
“Just please, don’t say anything.”
“But Francesca…”
“PLEASE.” I begged angrily.
“Fine.” She growled.
I understand that she was just helping, but reporting Joe would not help this situation at all, just make things worse.
When Mean Girls ended, we watched the boys’ live tour dvd.
“Damn, I can’t believe you’re dating…that,” Jaz basically drooled at the behind the scenes part of Harry in nothing but his boxers.
“Me neither, trust me,” I chuckled.
It was strange watching my own boyfriend in HD on the television, especially since millions of other girls around the world do the same.
When movie night ended and it was time to go to sleep, we were too lazy to walk upstairs into Jaz’s room, so we slept on the couches in her living room.
I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn’t; there was too much on my mind.
Between missing Harry and Joe being abusive, my mind didn’t seem to take a rest.
Jaz fell asleep in 20 minutes, but I was still wide awake.
My thoughts were interrupted, though, when I saw a shadow outside Jaz’s window.
She had curtains up so no one from the outside could see inside, but we could see shadows of things outside.
“Jaz wake up, there’s someone outside,” I shook her until she awakened, as I shivered with fear.
“You’re just imagining things Francesca, go back to sleep.” She rolled over, cuddling with her pillow.
The shadow appeared again outside the window; the outline of it was a man.
“Jaz!” I shook her again, until she fully woke up.
“Francesca, calm down, there’s no one….” She stopped midsentence when she herself witnessed the body walk once again by the side of her house past her window.
We both froze and looked at each other, then stared again at the window.
“Should we call the cops?” Jaz asked, shaking.
I shook my head no.
We were probably just overreacting; it was probably just a neighbor.
But then the shadow appeared again, and it came closer and closer and closer to the window.
The shadow spoke, in a deep, manly tone. Neither of us recognized whose voice it was, so we assumed it had nothing to do with us and was a robber peeking to see if anyone was home.
Jaz stood up, about to turn on the light to show the robber that there were people home, but stopped right before she was going to flick the switch.
She turned around and looked at me with a horrific expression on her face, looking the same as mine when we heard the shadow say in his deep, raspy voice, “Francesca.”
