by Isabel Fox
“I don’t think you can call an unknown number, can you?” I asked.
“Maybe? It’s worth a shot,” Amber maintained, sitting up. “Where’s your phone?” I passed it to her and she took it, entering the password and opening up my messages.
“Okay, here. Let’s just see. Maybe he’s stupid and answers with his name,” Amber said hopefully. I was less optimistic, but I still felt myself holding my breath as I waited for the call to connect.
“We’re sorry. Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and try again,” came the recorded chirp. Amber ended the call, disappointed.
“Okay, what next?” I asked, only half sarcastic. I wasn’t terribly certain about our odds of finding this guy by ourselves, but Amber was right. We didn’t really have many options. Either I could sit and wait or I could try and do something. At this point, doing something sounded a whole lot better.
“Text him! You were able to reply to his texts that one time,” Amber pointed out.
“What do I say?” I asked. “Hey, it’s Cassie, that girl you’re obsessed with? Listen, you gotta cut this out,” I suggested wryly.
“Just say “hello,”” Amber offered. I shrugged and sent the single line text.
“You didn’t put a smiley face or anything like that, did you?” Amber asked.
“Uh, no. I did not,” I huffed, slightly offended.
We waited in silence for several minutes. While we sat, the door open and James entered, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. His hair was still damp and the aroma of shampoo was strong.
“Uh, hey, Amber,” he said, sounding surprised to see his sister curled up on his bed with his new girlfriend.
“Hey James,” Amber said without looking up. She was furiously typing something on her own phone.
“Whatcha doing?” James continued, looking from me to Amber.
“Amber is trying to make a plan to catch my stalker,” I explained, gesturing to Amber with a wave of my hand. “Apparently she’s been watching a little too much Law and Order, or something.”
“Veronica Mars,” Amber retorted, still not looking up.
“I see,” James arched an eyebrow. “And did it ever occur to you that maybe this is a bad idea?”
“I fail to see how sitting and waiting for something worse to happen is a better idea,” Amber shot back, finally looking up. “We have to do something, James. The police haven’t helped at all so far. Cassie’s fed up. I’m fed up. You’re fed up. So let’s stop being fed up and give this a try.”
James closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. When he finally opened his eyes, he had a look of resignation on his face.
“What’s your plan so far?” he asked.
“Well, Cassie just texted the nameless stranger,” Amber began. “I’m going through her friends list and list of followers and what not. Cassie, you’re going to tell me if any of these people have been acting weird at all. Okay?”
“Uh, okay. Can I get some coffee first, maybe?”
“Yeah, fine. Let’s take this upstairs, then,” Amber agreed. The three of us trooped up to the kitchen where an unfamiliar guy was sitting shirtless at the breakfast bar, calmly eating what appeared to be a Pop Tart and browsing the morning paper.
“It’s just Seth,” Amber said quickly when James moved to step protectively in front of us. “He’s a friend.” Seth gave a little wave, his mouth full.
“And why is he eating Pop Tarts in our kitchen with only a pair of Dad’s pajama pants on?” James inquired.
“He spent the night,” Amber said as if this should be obvious. “And unlike you,” she added, nodding at my rumpled dress, “I found my guest some appropriate evening attire.” She walked over and gave Seth a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Hey babe. This is my brother, James, and my roommate, Cassie. You remember Cassie,” she said. Seth turned and gave me a big smile.
“Yeah, I remember Cassie! How’s it going? Nice to put a face to the name,” he said enthusiastically and without a trace of awkwardness, as if our last encounter hadn’t been while he was in the midst of a hookup with my best friend.
James leaned over and whispered to me. “You know him?” he asked, sounding shocked.
“Uh, we’ve never been formally introduced,” I said, flushing with embarrassment. James nodded, clearly still confused, then offered Seth a polite but brief handshake.
“So, Seth, here’s the deal,” Amber said quickly. “Cassie’s got a stalker. We’re trying to figure out who it is.”
“Amber!” James and I both exclaimed at the same time.
“Oh, don’t be so shy,” Amber rolled her eyes as she poured coffee into three mugs before passing one to both James and me. “You’ve got to get over it. It’s weird, and it’s unusual, but it’s not your fault. You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Yeah, don’t mind me,” Seth jumped in. “I’m just reading about these endangered birds.” He held up the newspaper which featured a large photo of a crane looking creature on the front.
“It’s really depressing. Their natural habitat has been absolutely decimated,” Seth went on.
“Sorry to hear that,” Amber cut him off before turning to face me. “Okay, Cassie. I say a name, you say next, unless they’ve been acting strangely or done anything notable that relates to you in recent history.”
“Got it,” I answered, taking a slurp of coffee.
“Robert Angelo?”
“Next,” I shook my head. “I went to middle school with him.”
“Marcus Bower?”
“Who?”
“Hunter Bunn?”
“I think he worked at the inn for a few months,” I struggled to remember.
“Noel Davidson?”
“High school. I think he got arrested a few months ago,” I recalled.
“For what?” James asked.
“Drugs, maybe?” I shrugged. “I don’t really know. Amber, is it really necessary for you to go through every single guy on my friends list? And what if we’re wrong, and it’s a woman?”
“Yes,” Amber insisted. “It is absolutely necessary. But you’re right, I should list women too. Equal opportunity for stalkers. I like it.”
Wishing I hadn’t mentioned it, I braced myself for more strolls down memory lane.
It was almost half an hour later before Amber was finally done. Close three fourths of the names she had read had been people I hadn’t seen since high school.
“You really need to clean up your friends list,” James yawned, clearly bored.
“If it will make the next inquisition go any faster, I’ll do it,” I groaned.
“Hey, it wasn’t completely worthless!” Amber insisted. “We established that none of these people have acted notably strange around you, or have had no contact with you at all. So we can probably eliminate them from our list.”
“And that leaves us where?” I asked as I poured myself another cup of coffee. I also topped off the mugs of Amber, James, and Seth, who was still sitting contentedly at the counter working on the paper’s crossword puzzle, paying us no mind.
“It leaves us with the answer that whoever this is, it’s either someone completely unknown to Cassie or someone who does a very good job of acting normal around her. Which I think we had already decided,” James closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
We were all quiet for a moment before James spoke again.
“You know,” he mused, “I’m sort of surprised he hasn’t contacted Cassie. You would think, with the object of his focus gone for an extended period, he’d get upset. He would want to know where she’d gone.”
“Well, enough people know where I am,” I pointed out. “You guys, obviously, plus Jenna and Brooklyn. The Walkers. So, quite a few people. He, or she, could have found out that way.”
“Still though. At this point, I think I’m more nervous when you haven’t gotten any messages from him. It makes me wonder what he’s up to,” James sighed.
“Hey, look. I guess Jenna sent me the screenshots from Robby’s conversation with “Unknown,”” I said, gesturing for Amber and James to come see.
You need to stay away from Cassie. She’s too good for you.
To which Robby had replied, Who is this?
This was followed by several messages in a row from Unknown.
Do you understand? Leave her alone. I don’t want to see your scummy self bothering her any more.
I’m serious. You think I’m joking? Just try seeing her again. I will absolutely destroy you.
Robby had replied again, trying to defuse the situation. Dude, back off. Sorry. I had no idea she had a boyfriend, or whatever you are. It was one date. Don’t think there’s going to be another one.
“Jesus,” Amber whispered as she read.
“There’s more,” I said grimly. I swiped to the next screenshot.
I can’t believe a lying worm like you would ever think you had a chance with a girl like her. Are you simple? The next message read.
Look, it was one date. It’s over. Now leave me alone.
This led to a torrent of furious replies.
Cassie must have felt sorry for you. She’s got such a kind heart. That’s the only reason I can fathom that she would want to spend even a second with you.
Remember, I’d better not catch you hanging around Cassie. I’m very protective, and I’d love an excuse to annihilate you.
Don’t even think you can talk to her without me knowing. I know everything about Cassie.
The messages went on like that for a bit longer, before unceremoniously ending after Unknown promised to remove Robby’s toenails if he ever looked in my direction again.
“So, James,” I said, trying to sound lighthearted. “Are you terribly attached to your toenails?”
Amber snorted at my weak joke, but James gave me a look that clearly indicated that he didn’t find it funny.
“You know, I’ve been wondering,” Seth said suddenly, looking up from his paper, “what if you were to do something to encourage him to reveal himself? Pretend you’re excited to know who he is, “I can’t be happy without you,” yada yada. Maybe then he’d stop with the games and show up. Then you’d know who he is, at least.”
Amber looked like she didn’t think this was the worst idea, but James shook his head vehemently.
“No way. These two playing detective is bad enough. I don’t think actively leading this guy on is the best idea,” he insisted.
Seth shrugged. “Maybe not,” he said agreeably. “But at least then it would be on your terms, not his. Hey, pass me the Coco Puffs?” he asked me, nodding his head at the cereal box by my elbow. Shooting Amber a look, I handed them over.
“Thanks!” he said as he enthusiastically dumped a generous helping into a bowl.
“So, Seth,” I began, watching him pour milk over the cereal and take a hearty bite. “Amber said you own an art gallery here?”
“Mm hmm,” he mumbled around a full mouth. He swallowed. “Over on Templeton Street. Me and a buddy are co-owners.”
I wondered briefly how old Seth was. He looked like he could have been anywhere from mid twenties to late thirties. James was apparently the same thing, though he took the more direct route.
“Gallery owner, huh? You don’t seem old enough to have been doing that very long,” he said.
“Nah, we just opened up last year. I’m twenty-eight, though, if that’s what you’re asking,” Seth replied with a smile, seeing through the question.
“What kind of gallery is it?” I asked.
“Pretty eclectic, really. We try and stick with artists from the area, or at least the state. But we have a little bit of everything right now. You guys will have to help me convince Amber here to do some pieces for us. We need some more young talent.”
“Amber, you absolutely should!” I exclaimed. Amber’s goal was to be a career artist, and while I wasn’t the most knowledgeable about the art world it seemed like having your work in a gallery was a good start.
“Definitely, Amber,” James seconded. “What about that project you were telling me about that you wanted to start, something to do with changing seasons?”
“That was just an idea. I don’t know if it would actually be any good,” Amber blushed, uncharacteristically shy about her work.
“Everything I’ve ever seen you do has been amazing,” I said truthfully. I turned to Seth. “You definitely want her stuff in your gallery. It’s fantastic.”
“It sounds like exactly what I’m looking for,” Seth said. “Amber, you’ll have to get in touch with me soon. We’ll talk, figure out a time for me to maybe head up your way and see some of your work.”
I nudged Amber playfully with my elbow. She responded with a sharp elbow of her own right to my ribs.
“Oww!” I exclaimed, massaging my side.
“That would be great,” Amber replied to Seth, ignoring me and my bruised ribs.
“Cool. Well, I’m off. Nice to meet you guys,” Seth said to James and me. “Amber, I’ll be in touch soon.”
With that, he slid off the barstool and left the kitchen, presumably heading to track down his shirt before he headed out.
“Amber!” James exclaimed as soon as Seth was out of earshot. “You brought some random guy home? To mom and dad’s?” He sounded half amazed and half amused.
“They don’t care. Besides, they were both in bed when we got home. And, need I point out, you had a bed buddy of your own last night.” Amber reached up and quickly tied her vibrant hair into a messy bun. “Well, kids, I think I might go sit outside and do some drawing, try and come up with some ideas. As you heard, I may have someone interested in displaying my work. Toodles!” Amber gave a goofy wave before sauntering off in the same direction Seth had gone.
“Well. Guess we’re on our own,” I said, turning to James. “Unless you had something else planned for today. Which is totally fine.”
“I do have plans,” James nodded. I felt a lurch of disappointment, but I didn’t want to start out day one of my new relationship with stage five clinger status.
“Okay, cool,” I said, trying to sound agreeable. “I guess maybe I’ll go read, or something.”
“But you haven’t heard my plans yet,” James said.
“Oh. What are your plans?” I asked.
“We’re getting breakfast. Somewhere that doesn’t involve strange, shirtless men and Coco Puffs,” James grinned. “Go get changed, I’ll meet you at the car in...twenty minutes?” he asked.
“Try ten. I’m starving,” I exclaimed. I started to hurry upstairs, but stopped short and hurried back into the kitchen. I stood on tiptoe and planted a quick kiss on James’s lips. Then I turned and rushed upstairs, my heart feeling surprisingly light, all things considered.
24
The rest of the weekend passed in a blur. By Sunday afternoon when it was time to leave, I was dreading returning to reality. I found myself already thinking longingly of Thanksgiving break, over a month away.
The temperature dropped steadily as we made our way back to Carlson. I watched the thermometer on the dash fall from fifty-four degrees to a chilly thirty-eight.
“God, I wish I’d checked the weather before we left,” Amber complained from her spot in the backseat. She shivered dramatically in her thin t-shirt.
“I think there’s a sweater in my bag, near the top,” I offered. While Amber rummaged through the bag I opened the weather app on my phone. “Holy cow, you guys!” I exclaimed as the data loaded.
“What?” James asked, glancing away from the road for a moment.
“It’s supposed to snow! In October!” I shoved the phone towards the backseat so Amber could see.
“Seven to eight inches? Where is this coming f
rom?” Amber wondered aloud. She took the phone from me and began scrolling. “It says it’s some kind of weirdly strong front from Canada and… something about atmospheric instability?”
“I don’t know what that means. But wow.” I tried to recall if it had ever snowed in Carlson in October. Other than a few freak flurries, I couldn’t think of a time it had.
“This says it’s expected to arrive on Friday,” Amber continued reading.
“Guess we’d better make sure we stock up the pantry, then. And maybe see about finding that snow shovel we had last year,” I thought aloud.
“I don’t think we still have it, remember? Brooklyn tried to go sledding on it and cracked it. I threw it out,” Amber reminded me.
“Maybe you two should consider staying with me,” James said. “My apartment’s closer to campus, and you could always walk if we still have class. No dealing with driving in the snow.”
Although he didn’t say it, I could tell James was also thinking about the safety disadvantages of being snowbound on the outskirts of town with my stalker running amok.
“Your apartment is too small. Plus Chris annoys me,” Amber retorted, referring James’s roommate who had once met Amber at a party and spent the entire evening talking about how stupid people were to pick art as a major. Amber had stayed quiet the entire time, then, when he asked her out, had turned him down by saying, “Oh, I don’t think you want to do that. See, I’m one of those stupid people who picked art as my major,” before stalking away. If she had only thought to pour her drink on him it would have been like something out of a movie.
“Hey, Chris has matured a lot since you met him. He’s not that bad, actually,” James said defensively.
“Still. I’m not staying at your place. I’d have to sleep on the couch!”
“Chris would probably let you bunk with him,” I waggled my eyebrows suggestively.
“I think he’s been pining for you ever since you told him off, actually,” added James.
“No!” was Amber’s only response.
We turned down our road and bumped along the uneven gravel. As we got closer to our house, my heart skipped a beat. In the driveway was an unfamiliar black car. James must have seen it too, because I noticed that he suddenly sat up extra straight, on alert.
