Not a Night for Clowning Around

𝕋𝕎𝕆

"SARAH," THE WOMAN on the television said. "Is there something behind me?"

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "Don't turn around," she whispered.

I pulled my knees to my chest, my hands squeezing the bowl of popcorn. It was inevitable the ditzy protagonist would turn around, but I was still petrified. Like I had predicted, she slowly turned around and as soon as she did, there was a masked figure with a knife in his hands. Both, the protagonist and myself, let out simultaneous screams. I quickly grabbed the remote and flipped the TV off. Closing my eyes, I breathed in and out to calm my nerves.

"Is the pizza here yet?"

I let out a bloodcurdling shriek, tossing the bowl into the air. Popcorn flew all around the living room as the bowl fell to the ground with a clattering thud. I scowled at Jake who had an amused grin on his face. "You scared me!"

He chuckled. "It's not my fault you're a chicken."

Before I could retort, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." I swiped the bill my parents left for food and went to open the door.

"Large cheese with onions and mushrooms," the deliveryman said. "That'll be seventeen dollars and thirty cents."

I handed him the twenty dollar bill. "Keep the change."

"Cool, thanks." He was about to leave but stopped and turned around. "By the way, I think you dropped your mail on the porch." He handed me a sealed envelope before leaving.

I carried the envelope and pizza box inside to a very hungry Jake. "Thank God, I'm starving." He snatched the box from me and grabbed a slice. "What's that?" He pointed at the envelope.

"Beats me, the deliveryman said it was on the porch." I ripped open the envelope and read the letter inside. My breath caught in my throat when I read the first line.

Carter, my love,

"Carter, aren't you gonna eat?" The letter fell out of my hand and I looked at Jake with tear filled eyes. "Whoa, what's going—"

"He knows where I live," my voice cracked, the tears loosely streaming down my face. "Oh, God, Jake! He knows I'm here."

"Hey, come here. Everything is going to be okay." He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close.

~*~

"Thank you very much for your time," the officer said as she finished jotting in her notepad. "We'll find who this is and make sure it stops for good."

"Thanks, officer," Jake said.

"It's McNeil," she said. "Here's my number. Call me if anything else happens." She gave Jake her business card before leaving.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me.

I curled up on the couch, my knees pulled to my chest. "Terrified."

Jake sat down beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "As long as I'm here, nothing will touch you."

"I don't want to stay here," I admitted. My parents weren't due to get home for another few hours, and the last place I wanted to be right now was in my house.

Jake instantly stood up and put on his jacket.

I looked at him with disbelief. "You're leaving?"

"No, we're leaving."

I raised my eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"Clearly you don't want to be here, so let's go out and do something."

"I'm not interested."

He threw my coat at me. "Come on, Carter. Put on your jacket and let's go."

I reluctantly obliged and buttoned up my coat. "Where exactly are we going?"

"On a walk." Jake grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

It was a relatively nice night, considering we were nearing the end of October. The skies were clear, a gentle breeze swaying in our direction. If I wasn't so shaken up, tonight would've been the perfect night to do something fun.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Frowning. You're supposed to have fun right now," Jake chided.

"Easier said than done," I said under my breath. A gust of wind blew past us, so I subconsciously took a step towards him. Without a word, Jake slipped his arm around my shoulder as we continued walking. We strolled in a comfortable silence, enjoying the beautiful night sky and the leaves falling from the trees.

"This is nice," he said after a while.

"Yeah, it is." I paused. "Would've been more enjoyable if I had better company."

Jake gawked at me. "You wanna say that again?" He dug his fingers into my sides, earning a shrill scream from me.

I wriggled out of his grasp and sprinted away. I could hear the sounds of his footsteps not too far behind. I picked up the pace as I tried to outrun him. Upon reaching the end of the street we were walking down, I made a turn, then another, and then another. By now I was certain that I had lost Jake. The only issue was I got lost myself too.