'Come on, Rose, hurry up and get in the car!' Imogen urges me, her voice laced with worry and determination, leaning out the window.
'I... I need to run home,' I manage to say between sobs, my voice choked with tears. 'Brad won't be able to match my speed anyway. I need the air, the space...'
Imogen's eyes hold understanding. 'Then go,' she says firmly, starting her car's engine. 'I'll meet you there.'
Nodding, I take one last glance at her before turning and dashing away toward the familiar streets that lead me home.
Overwhelmed with emotions, I continue running, my heart pounding. Anger, betrayal, and heartbreak collide within me, fuelling my determination to leave behind the shattered remnants of a relationship built on lies and manipulation.
My phone rings incessantly. Each call is a haunting reminder of the presence I am desperate to escape. I resist the urge to answer, knowing that any interaction will only feed Brad’s delusions of power. As I arrive home, trembling with fear, I tiptoe upstairs, mindful of not waking my unsuspecting parents. Closing the door to my bedroom, I collapse onto the floor, my tears flowing uncontrollably.
Hugging my knees tightly, I surrender to the anguish that engulfs me, allowing the tears to wash away the pain. My feelings for Brad, now tainted by his true intentions, intensify the ache within my heart. I had believed his words, his gestures of affection, only to discover it was all a lie.
My phone rings for the seventh time, but I ignore it until it beeps instead with a text message, casting a shadow of fear over me. I’m trembling as I open the text to read it, and my ears flatten with fear as I hear Brad’s car arrive in front of my house. I stand, slowly walk out onto my balcony, and read the message.
'I will punish you for what you did to me, my sweet Rose,' the text reads, each word dripping with malice. 'We are not over, and it will never be over. You are mine and no one else's. I'll always be watching you, whether in your dreams as you sleep, following behind you in a store, or waiting for you by your locker.'
Fear grips me as I gaze out over the balcony to see Brad staring at me from the driver’s seat with a twisted look of determination sending shivers down my spine. But before he can act on his threats, Xander's arrival in his silver car breaks the tension. Brad quickly drives away as Janie, frantic with worry jumps out of Xander's car, and rushes towards my balcony.
'It happened. My premonition was real?' Janie says breathlessly, with worry and urgency. 'Imogen called me in hysterics, so Xander and I came as quickly as we could,’ she says. Her eyes well as she looks me up and down, and takes my dishevelled state in.
I let my phone slip from my hand. The screen cracks as it hits the stone pavement on my terrace. I slump to the ground with it, feeling my heart crack into pieces.
Imogen arrives, parking behind Xander’s car, and runs to my front door. Janie follows her inside and up the stairs and into my room, and then races towards me and wraps her arms around me. ‘I’m so sorry, Rose. I wish you told me he had been hurting you,’ Janie cries. ‘Why didn’t you tell me when I asked you?’ she sobs.
Janie’s hand tightens over mine as she feels them tremble. ‘I wanted what you have with Xander. The love you have for each other is so unique and special. Every time you touched, kissed, or even gazed at one another. It was like watching magic being born. Like I was watching mountains move and time stop. Brad said he loved me, and I believed him, but the whole time he was manipulating me and telling me what I wanted to hear so that he could win a stupid bet to get money. The guys at the academy I rejected throughout the year made the bet out of revenge. I never wanted to date in the first place. I just wanted to spend all my time with you, like we’ve done our entire lives together.’
I feel sick to my stomach thinking about all this time Brad and I spent together, and how my feelings towards him had grown so strong. The ways he tried to seduce me and manipulate me. The pain of betrayal Brad has caused has me shaking, to the point I’m unsure if I can ever trust a man again. I stare out into the street, and see and hear another car approaching. I hold my breath out of fear, and only release it when I see it’s not Brad’s car, but a neighbours car a few houses up.
I turn around. My breath quivers as I leave my terrace and enter my room. ‘I don’t want to be in a relationship again. I’d rather spend the rest of my life alone than feel the pain and heartbreak I’m feeling right now,’ I tell Janie and Imogen and sink to the ground against the far wall.
Janie picks up my phone I left on the terrace and sees the disturbing message from Brad. Janie’s eyes dart from my phone to me.
Her grip on the device tightens. ‘Rose, I am here for you, no matter what. I won’t let you face this alone. And as your best friend, I will do everything in my power to protect you from Brad, even if I have to hex Brad into stone, then so be it,’ she says with determination. ‘Let’s pack your bag and get to Grammy’s house. We can go together in Xander’s car, since he’s here already,’ she adds.