I know this chapter is posted on the same day as the last one. But I've felt inspired lately. I hope you enjoy them! Remember to review!

Chapter Twelve:

I was in the garage when I realized something. I had just been kicked out of Ranger's apartment (or at least I thought I was), so where was I going to go? First of all I needed my stuff. I walked back into the elevator. When I got to the seventh floor the door was open and Ranger was stepping out to leave. I caught him off guard.

"I need to get my stuff." My voice sounded angry. I could feel the anger rushing through my veins. I was getting so mad that I could hardly see straight. He nodded slightly, seemingly unaware of feelings. It pissed me off even more.

I shoved him out of the way (no easy feat mind you), I walked over to the couch. My travel bag was already packed. Everything was good to go. I stared at him in disbelief.

"You packed for me!" I asked hysterically. What the hell!

"Ella did."

"Oh that makes things so much better. I can't believe this! I can't believe how badly you want to get rid of me!" I was really angry now. I was waiting for my head to spin.

"You can use the fourth floor. It's empty now." No way in hell.

"No! It's clear I'm unwanted here so I think it's better if I just go home!" So what if there was a homicidal manic after me. That was much better than staying anywhere near him!

"Babe," he said wearily. I stormed past him and went straight into the elevator. He looked at me sadly. I felt my heart weaken. No, I told myself. This is what he wanted.

"Hey Bombshell, where are you going?" Tank asked me once I stepped out of the elevator.

"Home. It's clear I'm not welcomed here anymore." I couldn't control the pitch of my voice. I sounded like Minnie Mouse.

He looked at me for a moment.

"Come on, I'll drive you." I climbed into the passenger side of his SUV. When we left the garage I started to rant.

"What I don't get is first he toys with me, making it seem like he wants me, but then sends me back to Morelli. And then when Morelli and I break up because of him, he'll keep playing games with me. So I try to find out where I stand and he tells me he loves me but he's just confused! And then, when I don't say anything back he denies me and sends me away! I mean if he actually loved me wouldn't he care enough to try to work things out between us?" I was foaming out the mouth.

"Wait, he said he loved you but you didn't say it back. No wonder he's upset!'

"Great so it's all my fault! Everything is always my fault! I'm so sick of everyone putting the blame on me!"

"I didn't say it was your entire fault. But you've got to understand something about Ranger. He doesn't open up very much. And when he does it's a very big deal to him. If he gets shut down, he builds a wall around himself. He tries to make it seem like it doesn't bother him. You just can't give up on him."

"What should I do then?"

"Tell him how you feel." That was the most helpful advice I had gotten in the past two days. Maybe in my entire life. We pulled to a stop in front of my apartment.

"Wow, thanks Tank. You give better advice than my friends."

"Don't tell anyone. I mean it Bombshell!" I laughed and shut the door behind me. I ran into my building before he could do anything more.

"Hi, Mrs. Bestler."

"Oh Stephanie! I haven't seen you around in a couple of days."

"I've been staying with a friend."

"Oh, how nice." It would appear to be, but no.

"Actually a man came looking for you yesterday."

"Who?"

"Well he didn't say his name but he was a big guy."

"What did he look like?"

"Well, he was tall, lots of muscles, brown hair, oh and he was white." Oh my God! It was Mueller!

"If you see him again don't let him in. He didn't go into my apartment did he?"

"No. I said you hadn't been here for quite awhile. Then he left. I haven't seen him around since."

"Thanks Mrs. Bestler." I walked out of the elevator and into my apartment. After a quick scan of the place, I rendered it safe. Thank God for that.

I checked my fridge for something to eat. Nothing looked very appetising to me. With nothing better to do I checked my messages. The first six were from my mother. I probably should have phoned her while I was away. She must have thought I had disappeared off the face of the Earth. The last message I had was an unknown number.

"Are you scared yet? Running out of places to go are you? Well don't get to comfortable I will find you. And when I do," he listed all the horrific details that would occur. "Sleep tight bitch."

I prayed with all my might that it was a wrong number. But who else then Stephanie Plum would get such message on her answering machine? Feeling extremely tired, I walked into my bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. Soon I was fast asleep. See not even messages from psychopaths could prevent me from sleep. At least that was the case today.

When I woke up several hours later it was dark outside. I checked the clock. It read 11:23. My stomach growled loudly. I got up and checked my fridge again, hoping the food fairy had come. She hadn't. My stomach growled again. What I could use was a chocolate bar. Licking my lips I grabbed my coat and keys. I didn't have a car but it didn't stop me from walking. I really needed a Snickers bar.

Panting and sweating, I finally marched into the 7-Eleven. Once inside I couldn't make a decision. They had Snickers bars but there were also Kitkats, Almond Joys, Reeses Pieces, and more. I grabbed all of them. When I got up to the cashier, he looked at me funny. What was I expecting? My eyes were wild and my hair was a giant ball of frizz.

"You look familiar," he said. I nodded tiredly.

"Wait a minute! You're Stephanie Plum! I can't believe it! You're like a celebrity! Is it true that you really burned down that funeral home?" I get asked this a lot. It annoys me more each time.

"No I didn't."

"Wow," he said looking at my purchases. "You must really be having a bad day." I quickly paid him and rushed out of there. Great, Stephanie Plum the big fat chocoholic freak. Oh, well. I had my chocolate, so I didn't care.

I started on a Kitkat while I was still in the parking lot. I knew the whole bag would be done once I got back home. While munching away I noticed a black truck pull up in front of me. A man got out of the car. Oh no, oh no, oh no!

"You're not going to live to see tomorrow." Mueller said. He punched me hard in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of me. I could hardly breathe.

"You like that?" Then he kicked me in the side. I shrieked in pain. He smiled. Couldn't the cashier see what was going on? Couldn't anybody! He pulled me behind the truck. I tried to wriggle out of his grasp but his grip was too strong. He dropped me.

"Get up!" I staggered to my feet. He slapped me across the face. My vision was blurred and I fell back onto the ground. I felt extremely dizzy.

"Stop," I croaked. It made him smile wider. In response he kicked me in the stomach. I threw up unable to handle the pain. I was surely going to die.

Bang! Bang! Bullets narrowly missed Mueller's head. He quickly fled back into his car. I crawled away as fast as I could. He missed running over my leg by an inch. Mueller peeled out of there. I watched Tank run over to me, with a gun in his hand.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Give me a minute." And then I passed out.