Hide and Secret (Wattys2015)

(4) Serena's POV

After getting abruptly ditched by Taylor, I stayed at Starbucks for a little while longer, forcing myself to sit there sipping my latte alone. It was a new experience for me. This was one of the first times that I had been alone, anywhere. I was normally surrounding by friends of all kinds. Being solo was intimidating to say the least. Yet still I remained there, for at least ten more minutes before getting up out of my chair and walking out.

The coffee break had been a nice reprieve from everything that had happened, past and present, but it had ultimately not made my troubles disappear. There's only so much a latte can do. I started to walk back to my house, which wouldn't take long considering that it wasn't that far away.

As I passed by an alleyway, about ten minutes later, a rough hand reached out and grabbed me, pulling me in.

I opened my mouth to scream, but then another hand positioned itself over my mouth, making me unable to speak. As I struggled to get free, I was dragged towards and pinned on a brick wall in the alleyway. It was only then did I get a clear look at the person's face.

My heart pounding, I made observations of him in bits and pieces. Steely grey eyes, unruly dark hair, skin as pale as moonlight. "Chuck?" I croaked, butterflies leaping around in my chest.

He gave me a wolfish grin. "The one and only. Heard you were back in town, Barbie." That was what he always called me. "Why'd you leave so abruptly? We were just getting started." He leaned downwards so that way he was in the perfect position to either whisper in my ear or start kissing my neck.

I tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "Chuck... Chuck, let go!"

He ignored me. "Now that you're back, we can finish what we began a long time ago..."

Chuck pulled me down so that I was lying on the ground, partially propped up by the wall. Cupping my face with his hands, he began to ruthlessly kiss me. What had once turned me on about him now made me want to throw up.

I continued to try and get free. "Chuck, we ended it before I left!"

"Just because your mommy caught us doesn't mean that we have to stop," Chuck grunted, as he moved onto my neck. A chill went down my spine, and not the good kind. I tried to scratch him, using my fingernails as a weapon, but Chuck quickly removed his hands from where they were caressing my face to pin my arms to the ground.

"Chuck, I want to stop! Let me go!" I wailed, tears streaming down my face. He wouldn't go all the way, would he? Not here, in a public area? But maybe he would... Who knew?

Chuck gave another sneaky smile, and I hated him so much for it. I took all the saliva I had and used it to hurl a huge spitball in his face. His eyes flashing with anger, he quickly wiped his face clean and began to kiss me once more, being more ruthless and relentless than ever.

Tears were still making their way down, like an endless waterfall refusing to stop. Chuck was still kissing me, and he showed no sign of slowing down.

"Hey!" A male voice called. Chuck's head shot straight up to look at whoever it was speaking, as did mine. I saw a built figure running towards us. It was Theo. "Let her go!" he called to Chuck, as he quickly made his way to me.

Chuck roughly grabbed my shoulder. "This isn't over," he hissed to me. Then, he dropped me to the ground and sprinted away.

Theo came over at just that time, helping me off the ground. "Serena, are you OK?" he asked, gently grabbing my arm to keep me steady.

Sniffling and still shaking like a leaf, I was only able to nod. I gave a small hiccup before speaking. "Please, Theo, don't tell my mother about this. She'd kill me!"

"For almost getting raped in an alleyway?" Theo asked quizzically.

I gave a small smile, refusing to elaborate. Theo didn't know about Chuck, because Chuck was before Theo and I had began dating behind Jill's back. But Mom did, and if Theo described Chuck to Mom, she'd certainly have my head.

Theo, realizing that I was not going to give him any more details, shrugged, and began to walk me home. His hand was gently place on my shoulder, as if he was trying to protect me. It was a sweet gesture.

Once we got to my house, Theo gave me an awkward little pat on the shoulder. "Hey, look," he said gently. "If you ever wanna talk, I'm here for you. I'm glad you're back."

I gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Theo quickly began to walk away, and once he did, my phone buzzed with a text. I opened it up and read it.

Theo's willing to keep quiet, but how will you shut me up?

I bit my lip. All the excitement had taken my mind off of this creepy stalker, one who knew everything about me, but the text had sent my brain right back to Paranoid Ville again. I quickly ran inside, as if that would protect me from this unknown cyber stalker.

Once I got inside, I saw Mom and Johnson waiting for me on the couch. "Honey, where were you?" Mom asked, trying (and failing) to conceal her annoyance towards me.

I winced as I remembered the fact that I was supposed to have been hanging out with Jill. And I couldn't exactly tell Mom that Jill had kicked me out of her house. Because then, Mom would ask why, and if I told her that Jill and I had a falling out, she'd try to be Super Mom and immediately go and fix it. But not for the happiness of her own daughter, nope. She'd try and repair my relationship with Jill so that way she had an excuse to visit that house more often. "Um, I was feeling sick, and I didn't want to annoy you, so I just... left."

Mom raised her eyebrows, her arm resting on the armrest of the couch, Johnson's arm snugged tightly around her waist. "Well, why did it take you so long to get home?" she asked once more.

I bit my lip, fidgeted, and tried to think of a very good lie. "I stopped to chat with a friend I found on the street and lost track of time." I supposed that was truthful enough. Taylor Thomas wasn't really a friend, but I had stopped to talk with her, and I had lost track of time while doing so.

Mom nodded. "OK... Now you should go unpack. Your stuff is in your room."

I nodded. "All right." I quickly left, wanting to get out of there quickly. My heart was still pounding.

Chuck was back... And I couldn't keep this a secret from Mom for long. Not with that creepy stalker around.