Just A Fan (Book 1 of JAF series)

Chapter 18 A Troubling Situation

I'm standing in line at Target, trying not to blush. I've got some greeting cards I have no use for, a couple of bags of candy that I don't need, hair and makeup products for Kelsey. And hidden at the bottom, my CD. You'd think I'd just get one automatically, but nope.

I pull my well-worn baseball hat farther down over my eyes as I step up to the register.

I breath a sigh of relief as the CD goes into the bag without any comment.

I hurry home to open it and find Kelsey looking into the fridge in the kitchen.

"Hello there stranger!" I say, pulling out my laptop and feeding it the disk.

"Oh, what are you doing home?"

"I've got the day off. Hey, come see what I've got!"

"Maybe later."

"Kelsey, it's my album!"

"Cool, I'll look later."

Something's up. I get up and walk over to her.

"Kels, what's going on?"

"Nothing." She's still stooped over the fridge. Like she has since I came in.

"Hey," I pull her up to face me. Then I gasp.

An ugly brown and blue welt rings around her right eye.

"What happened?!?"

"Nothing, it was an accident!"

"Was Derek involved in this accident?"

"No! Leave me alone!"

I catch her arm as she tries to move past me. "Kelsey, talk to me, tell me what's going on!" I plead.

She storms past me and out of the apartment, grabbing her keys.

"For once in my life would you just LEAVE ME ALONE!" She slams the door with a loud bang.

"Kelsey!" I call, running after her, but she's already down the stairs and out the stairway door before I can catch her or say anything else.

I smack myself in the forehead. 'What am I doing?' I feel so stupid that I didn't see the signs sooner. She's been very private and silent. And I just thought she was busy and tired, not that her spirit had been broken. And if anyone should have noticed I should have, the memories come flooding back and I push them away, they are too painful to remember.

I pull out my phone and call mom, it goes to voice mail, as it always does.

"Hey mom, it's me. I miss you. Um... I'm worried about Kelsey, I really think you should call her... I love you, bye." I'm about to hang up when I remember something, "oh, my first album came out today, I'm going to send you one. I hope you like it."

I throw my phone down, feeling defeated. I turn my album on and take the laptop into the bathroom. I am in desperate need of a thoughtful, scalding hot bath.

By 2am I am officially in freak out mode. Kelsey hasn't come home yet and I can't get a hold of her. I'm just about ready to call the cops.

I finally texted Kelsey and told her just that. At 2:21 I get a text back.

K- 'At a friends house, chill'

I breath a sigh of relief. But I am too high strung to sleep. I have the urge to do something, anything.

But I don't know what's even open at this time of night, where it's safe for me to be. Probably nowhere. I kind of want to go bowling, not a clue why. But I can't go alone.