Woo! Look who's emerged from the shadows long enough to update! Thanks to all the great people who's reviewed, and I love hearing the guesses! Woo! So, here you go! Enjoy and please, read and REVIEW! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lizzie restlessly paced the floor in her room. For the past few days she'd avoided being alone because being alone meant you had time to think and thinking was the number one thing she didn't want to do. But, today, she hadn't been so lucky. Today, Miranda was having dinner with her parents, and Gordo was at the doctors, something he preferred to do alone because of the examination.
She walked down the stairs, hoping her own parents might be useful to keep her mind off of the past few days. To her dismay, she realized her parents had gone out for the evening. With a sigh she leaned back against the door frame. She should have realized they would be out. She'd fought hard to keep her parents from finding out what had happened. Parents had that wonderfully annoying habit of becoming strangely overprotective when they knew something was wrong.
Lizzie moaned, even Matt was out of the house.
She walked around the couch and sat down. She idly flipped through the channels, but her attention simply wouldn't focus.
Rain fell outside and she sighed. Perfect, a dark evening to match her dark mood.
She'd managed to not thinking about everything, but now, alone with the rain, her mind began to revel in the danger she'd been in. Someone knew what her car looked like, that person had slashed her tires with a very sharp knife. They knew where her locker was and had hung a real dead frog in there. Also, even her home address wasn't safe, they knew where she lived, followed her home, taken pictures of her, and attacked Gordo.
With a start, she realized that they knew where she lived. Did that mean they knew she was home alone now? She stood up quickly, crossed over to the window and yanked down the shade.
The rain continued to splatter against the windows. Lizzie felt herself jump, then took a deep breath. She wasn't going to freak out, not here, not when there was no reason to. A loud crash of thunder sent her running upstairs. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she picked her car keys up off the dresser.
She ran down the stairs then outside. She squealed softly as rain drops splattered against her head. She climbed quickly into the car and waited for the engine to start up. Her head turned rhythmically with the windshield wipers as she sand along with the CD. Finally, she looked over her shoulder and pulled the car out then stared down the street. Where she planned to go, she didn't know, she was just going to waste her gas until she felt safe enough to drive home. She glanced at the locks and made sure they were all securely locked. As she stopped at the stop sign, she felt her heart leap into her throat as she jerked around, looking into backseat. She felt relieved and also stupid when she realized no one was back there.
She drove down the main streets of Hillridge to the other side of town, then she turned back around. She was driving down a street crowded with popular hang outs which looked surprisingly empty. She guessed not too many people wanted to deal with the rain tonight. She drove on, and saw a lone figure walking. Something was familiar about the walk, the certain slump, the way his head was tilted to the side. She eased the car to the side of the road and rolled down her window.
"Hey, Larry," she called over the storm. He turned around and peered at her. "Want a ride?"
He stood wordless for a minute and shrugged his shoulders. "I'll get your seat wet," he answered.
Lizzie smiled at him, knowing that he must be freezing, and he would really appreciate the ride. "Come on, get in." She leaned across the seat and popped open the door.
He ducked his head as he sat down. "Thanks, but you didn't have to."
"No problem. Are you going home?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, where do you live?"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Where are you going? And then, you can just drop me off where ever is closet," he stated, running his hand through his wet hair.
Lizzie glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Um, not really going anywhere, just driving. So, where do you live?" Larry told her the address and she smiled. "See it wasn't that hard."
He laughed softly and listened to the music. "So, the dance is on Friday. Good luck for your nomination."
"You're not going to cheer me on?" she joked. "Or did you vote for Kate?"
"Well, even if I did, I wouldn't tell you that since you're nice enough to give me a ride home," he answered.
Lizzie laughed and winced as a car with the blinding white headlights pulled up behind her. "Ugh, I hate when people have those lights," she muttered, adjusting her mirror. "Detour," she announced, turning suddenly down a street.
"Stunt driver," he laughed.
Lizzie laughed with him, then felt her laughter die away. The car was still behind her. She continued then took another abrupt turn, continued a little ways more then turned into a public recreational area parking lot.
"I don't think I know you this well," Larry smirked, glancing over his shoulder.
Lizzie knew from his facial expression and the way he was watching over his shoulder that he knew what she was trying to do. "Sorry if I'm acting a little paranoid," she stated, her eyes darting around.
"I understand. I've heard about what's been going on," he nodded.
"Damn," she muttered as she saw the headlight approaching. She jerked the car into reverse and peeled out of the parking lot.
"Do you have any idea who's doing it?" Larry asked, fumbling with his seatbelt.
Lizzie struggled to keep her eyes on the road as she kept feeling the impulse to look in the mirror.
"Just take me on home and you can call the police from my house," he stated.
"By the time the police show up, whoever it is will be long gone," she replied.
"You can't keep trying to avoid them, it's better to scare them away," Larry stated, glancing over his shoulder. "Don't you have a cell phone?"
"Not on me," she snipped, looking into the mirror, then down at the dashboard. Larry was right. She couldn't keep running. Her gas tank wouldn't allow her to keep running. "What's the quickest way to get to your house?" she demanded.
Larry quickly told her which way to turn and Lizzie took the corner. A violent jolt rocked the small car as she hit the curb with intense force. Larry's hand shot out and he grabbed the dashboard.
"Lizzie, it's going to be all right. Turn left."
"Do you recognize the car or the driver?" she asked, her heart pounding in her chest.
Larry leaned around the seats. "No, I've never seen it. Turn right." A bright light filled the car as the driver flashed his high beams. Larry jerked back around and rubbed his eyes. "It's the tall blue house with the flag," he stated.
Lizzie jerked the car to a stop and quickly climbed out after Larry. She followed him towards the steps as the car also came to a stop, only a few feet away.