Disclaimer: This is a fictional story based on the style of VC Andrews. The basic idea is mine.
Summary: Spring finds out the true identity of her 'ghost stalker', and gets her first kiss.
A/N: Nearing the end of the first book in the miniseries! *whoops it up*
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: A NEW, SPECIAL LOVE
I stopped dead in my tracks, tensing. "Whoever you are that's following me, I swear, I've got a blackbelt in karate," I lied, clenching my hands into fists. "I'll kick your ass if you try to lay a hand on me."
"Ah, come on, Spring. I know you're no blackbelt."
I spun around, to confront my 'stalker'. "Uncle Owen? What are you doing, stalking me?" I exclaimed, letting out a slight sigh of relief.
"It's not 'stalking'," he sniffed, dismissively, almost appearing offended. "My parents sent me to watch after you, when you left. They don't completely trust your adoptive father, if you know what I mean."
I put my hands on my hips and scowled at him. "You had me thinking someone was out to get me! Especially after you left the camellias in my room!"
Owen shrugged. "I thought it was a nice touch," he said, nonchalantly, flipping his medium-length brown hair out of his face.
"I almost thought we were being haunted," I snapped, angrily, refusing to forgive and forget just yet.
Uncle Owen only sighed, smiling at me. "Come on, kid, lighten up a little."
"You make me think my life is in danger, and then you tell me to lighten up?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at him in incredulity.
"Generally, yes," he stated, shrugging again, shoving his hands into the pockets of his khakis. "Mind if I walk you home? It could be dangerous out at this time of night." He winked at me.
"Ok," I huffed, still unhappy with him, "but Grandmother and Grandfather have some explaining to do."
- - -
Needless to say, Daddy was not pleased when he spotted Uncle Owen walking me up to the front door, casually swinging his arms.
"You, you're his brother, aren't you?" Daddy asked, stepping onto the porch and shutting the screen door behind him. "What are you doing here? Doesn't your family live out in the sticks, in Virginia?" Daddy sneered, scornfully, hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks.
"Exactly, Mr. Danielson," Uncle Owen nodded, agreeably, ignoring Daddy's dig at his birthplace. "You see, my parents really took to Spring in the short time she was living in our mansion, and they wanted me to go and see how she's settled in, and report back to them."
Daddy scowled. "That seems awfully odd. You people do have telephones, don't you?" he barked, sharply, obviously unhappy that Uncle Owen had come to see us.
"They wanted me to go in person." Uncle Owen said, firmly, shrugging. "I don't make the commands. I just follow them, Mr. Danielson."
Daddy sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "Well, thank you for keeping an eye on her. I'll take care of her now." He motioned for me to come after him, his gaze hard.
I glanced back at Uncle Owen. "Good bye, Uncle Owen. Thank you for walking me home." I reached out and squeezed his hand.
Uncle Owen smiled amiably, squeezing back. "'Bye, Spring. See you later."
- - -
"So it was just your birth father's brother?" asked Brad, at lunch time the next day. "That seems kind of odd. Didn't you say he was kind of weird - you know, in the head?"
"No, that's Uncle Ryan. Uncle Owen just seems... I don't know, he seems regretful and sad." I took a brief pause and bit into my tuna salad sandwich.
"I dunno... Your entire biological family seems kind of 'off' to me." Brad sipped his Diet Pespi, slowly. "Like they're stuck in the 1950s or something."
"They're just old-fashioned people. I like them, and I hate to say this, but I miss Wedgewood School," I admitted, my face flushing just a bit.
Brad shrugged. "Aren't you going to go back?"
"I'm thinking of bringing that up to Daddy tonight," I said, finishing my sandwich and starting on my Diet Coke. "I'm going to ask him if I can go back to Virginia to spend the rest of the year with my real father's family."
"Well, I'd hate to see you go again," Brad said, offering me a sad, puppy dog look.
"I think you did just fine without me," I grinned, motioning to Cristina Ledezma with a nod of my head. "She seems really into you."
Brad laughed. "Cris and I are just friends, right now."
"Right now, eh?" I said, teasingly. I waved to Cris to come over and join us.
"Hey guys," she said, smiling winningly. "What's up?"
"We found out who Spring's stalker is," Brad said, his mouth full of food.
Cristina latched on to my arm. "Oh, no! Who was it? Did you call the police?" she asked.
"It was just my uncle Owen, from Virginia. My grandparents sent him to watch after me," I snorted, with a roll of my eyes. "They want him to spy on me and report back to them."
Cristina shook her head. "That's kind of odd."
"I don't know. My entire paternal family is odd," I sighed, drinking my Diet Coke.
Cris shrugged. "Most families are, Spring."
"Not quite like my family." I rolled my eyes and crumpled my brown bag lunch into a ball. "I'll see you guys after school."
I gave the two of them a small wave before hurrying off to my next class.
- - -
When classes had ended, and I went to find Brad, I was surprised to find that Cristina wasn't with him.
"Where'd Cristina go, Brad?" I asked, greeting him with a hug.
"She met up with some of her girlfriends," Brad said, almost seeming sad.
I smiled at him. "So, have you kissed her yet?" I teased.
"Spring," he scoffed, "don't be immature."
"How does it feel to be in love?" I persisted, as we got into his truck and buckled ourselves up.
"Well, being in love kind of feels like having a million Roman candles exploding in your heart," Brad said, with an earnest shrug, not meeting my gaze.
"Oh?" I stared out the window.
"Kind of like what happens when I look at you."
I furrowed my brow and gazed at Brad, my heartbeat slowly picking up in pace. "What do you mean by that?" I asked, shakily.
"It means that's how I feel about you," he repeated himself.
"What about Cris?" I asked, dumbly.
"She's a nice girl and a good girl, but we're just friends," he said, hands on the steering wheel. "She wants something more than I can give."
"What?" I asked, suddenly losing my capacity to form coherent sentences.
"My heart. She wants my heart, but you already have it." Brad turned the key in the ignition, signalling the end of the conversation.
I sat back in my seat, stunned into silence, my heavy heartbeat echoing in my ears.
- - -
TBC
Alex