The Love I Lost

Chapter 14: Awkward Situations

I pulled Damon away. "I can't do this," I said breathlessly. Before he could say anything else, I threw on my shirt and ran out of the gym.

Two days had passed since I almost made the biggest mistake of my life. Okay, not the biggest, I had done a lot worse things in my life, but that would have definitely been one of them. Lily asked me what happened---after school, I went directly home after running from the gym---and I said nothing, which was almost true. Something happened, but not as bad as it could have been. I was playing hooky today and I even got my dad to believe that I was sick. In some ways, I guess I was. But I'd have to go back to school tomorrow---and band practice---and face Salvatore. Ugh, someone shoot me.

My pocket started vibrating from my cell phone. I glanced at the number. What the....How would he....I opened the phone and put it to my ear without saying anything.

"Hello, Elizabeth," came that oh-so-familiar voice. "I know you're there, I can hear you breathing."

It took me a while to actually use my vocal chords, and even then my voice was shaky and hoarse. "What do you want?"

"You sick, darlin'?" he tsk, tsked. "That won't do. Guess we'll have to play some other time."

"What do you want?" I nearly screamed.

"I want you, babe. Just you. Call you back when you're feeling up for the game, doll."

"Wait---" But he had already hung up. Angrily, I threw my cell phone at the wall, watching it shatter. That felt good, so I took a random figurine---a glass goose---from my desk and threw that, along with three other breakable items. I sunk to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

Why? Why did he have to come back? Why did he have to call and mess with my head? It was only a matter of time before he'd start making me scared to even leave the house. I would not let him do that again.

"Rachel! Rachel what's going on?!" I heard my father's footsteps running towards my door. He must have come home early to make sure I was okay. "Rachel, I heard screaming and glass---Rachel, honey, oh my God, what's wrong? What's wrong?" my father crouched down and wrapped his arms around my shaking body. I didn't bother to stop crying. He rubbed my arms, as if to get me warm. "Shh, shh, it's okay, it's okay...." He put both of his freezing hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look at him. He looked distorted through my tears, but I could see how worried he was. "Rachel---Elizabeth---what's wrong, honey? What happened?"
I glanced at my broken cell phone. "He called me...." I managed to through sobs.

"Who called you, honey? The Salvatore boy?"

I shook my head. "D-D-Drew...." It was all I could say before coming on with a new fit of sobs.

My father took me into his embrace again, his arms a hard grip around me. "I have to call the police."

"They can't do anything!" I yelled. "It's only been a year and a-a-a h-half! Four y-years he-he was s'posed to-oo stay...."

"No, I don't buy that," he said, his voice strained. "They can't just let him out after what he did...."

I couldn't reply to this. Instead, I stayed in my father's embrace like I was a four year old who had just woken up from a nightmare. I wasn't a four year old, but I had woken up from a nightmare.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I never told Greta or Lily about last night; I couldn't. I just went to band practice---my dad letting me skip school---with a gloomy atmosphere and a watchful eye.

"So," Abby said to me while tuning her guitar---she'd broken a string. "Are you and that guy at the Pandemonium together or what?"

I adjusted my mic stand. "Damon?"