Her attention was on Carlos, I looked up at her as she eyed him while licking her lips. Joyce Barnhardt was more trouble than she was worth.

"What do you want?" her eyes lingered on Carlos before she turned towards me.

"Just in the neighborhood, thought I'll stop by for some dessert." her eyes went back to Carlos, I guess we had one thing in common. And I know she probably saw us through the diner window as she drove by. Or she might be a stalker who knows.

The hand that was placed on my left thigh flexed, and my legs were moved. Carlos placed a kiss on my neck and slid out of the booth, Joyce shifted towards him but he barely registered her presence and walked around her heading to the cash register. I shook my head at her and smiled toward Carlos as he talked to the waitress. I got up to go meet him completely forgetting that she was still there. This would have been the ending to an almost perfect day if she would not have shown up.

"You just keep showing up like bad pimples. Why are you really here Joyce?"

"Oh you're so full of yourself…"

I lifted my hand up to stop her from talking, "Let me stop you there, you were not just riding through the neighborhood. And from what I've heard, sweets go straight to your hips. You saw us as you were passing by and decided that you would continue this one-sided smear campaign that you have against me. Look Joyce, somehow you have not matured past age 8, but I have. You need to speak to someone regarding your childhood trauma because clearly you are not over being Big Red."

Her face paled and then reddened, " I know you came here looking to exact revenge. But you somehow forgot that I was not one of the kids that bullied you. You were my bully and I felt sorry for you. So the next time you see me please walk the other way, or better yet stop actively looking for me"

I left her standing there staring at the wall, I will not entertain her today. I met Carlos at the door and we walked out together not sparing her a second glance.

There are people who come in and out of your life. Some of them end up being your friends or acquaintances, and others reveal themselves to be an antagonizer. Joyce and I have never really hung out in the same circles, we attended the same elementary school before my dad transferred us to another school. She was a chubby red haired girl with big glasses and an overbite, she did not enjoy being picked on so she gleefully took it out on others. Others being me, she would take my crayons, stuck her feet out whenever I was nearby, and even threw anything she could get her hands on as she followed me home once. I would see her in passing as the years went by, but after a while I forgot about her, she was just another girl. It wasn't until junior year of high school, when Mary Lou and I were at the mall with the terror twins did we see each other again. Mary Lou was the only person I stayed in contact with from my old school. It took me awhile to remember who she was but she remembered me.

Mary Lou and I were in the food court feeding the twins after shopping when Joyce and her little two person posse came up to our table.

"I always knew you were going to be a teen mom." her friends cackled as Mary Lou and I looked at each other.

"Is she talking to me or you?" I looked at Mary Lou.

"I'm talking to you Plum." When I looked at her she had this smirk on her face and her eyes were filled with hate.

"First of all, you do not come up to a person and start making these little sly comments. Second, these are my little brothers, and third, I do not have to explain myself to a complete stranger."

"So the mighty Stephanie Plum acting like she is too good for us." She was stepping closer to me and I quickly placed Zaiden in his carrier while Mary Lou placed Stebastian in his.

"Look girl, I suggest you step back before you get your little feelings hurt. You come any closer to my brothers you will end up on your ass." She stepped back in shock when I got in her face.

"I...I...I" she stuttered.

"I..I...I...what?" I shocked her, clearly she was expecting me to bow down to her.

Mary Lou leaned over to whisper in my ear, "That's Joyce from elementary, you know, the one who bullied us." I looked towards Mary Lou and then back at Joyce.

"Ohhhh," I remembered her then, "You're Big Red." Now it was my time to smirk.

Her face turned the same shade as her nickname as her so-called friends giggled, "Don't call me that."

"Once a bully always a bully huh. Clearly I didn't think you were significant enough for me to remember you. So I suggest you and your little friends run along."

Since that day, I have seen her more than I would like to. She just keeps popping up wherever I am and tries and fails to kick up a disturbance in my life. I do not like bullies and I had to prove to her everytime that she could not bully me anymore. She is always there with her sly hateful comments and I always had my slick replies. I barely know this woman and she hates me for genes. If there was any person in my life besides Helen that I wanted to strangle, that would be Joyce Barnhardt.

The drive home was quiet, the outside world blurring together as he sped through the streets. There was soft jazz playing from the radio, I giggled to myself imaging Carlos in a lounge with a tumbler of cognac in his hand nodding his head to the music. The ride was so soothing, I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to Carlos carrying me into my room. He undressed me down to my underwear and placed the comforter up to my shoulders.

"I have to go." His lips were so close to mine.

"Stay?" I whispered back.

He kissed me and shook his head, "Have a meeting early, I'll be by to pick you up for the statements."

I nodded my head and hugged my pillow close to my chest. My eyes were slowly closing as he walked out of my bedroom. The sound of the door was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.

The next morning, I was up before my alarm clock. It was like one minute I was asleep and the next I was staring at the ceiling. My thoughts were all over the place, I was thinking about Carlos and dreading having to talk about what happened the other day. I smelled coffee before Carlos walked into my bedroom at the same moment that the alarm went off. He handed me a new black mug, I looked at it in confusion because I only had comic book mugs that I drink out of. I rose up and leaned against my headboard watching him.

"Moving in already?" I jokingly looked at him as he shook his hand and sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned forward trapping me in his arms as I took a sip of the coffee. I moan around the hot liquid, it was just the right temperature and sweetness. Carlos kissed the side of my mouth then tilted my head a little and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Ready?" I could see he was concerned about today.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Carlos climbed over me into the bed, lifting me so that I was placed between his legs and my back on his chest. He held me as I finished the cup of coffee while the television in my room was running the morning news. The volume was low but the news reporter was running the story again. They had witnesses to the bombing and talked to some of the local businesses in the area. We stayed in bed for a couple of minutes before I went to shower and get dressed.

I was standing in my closet staring at the clothes, I just reached my hand up and came away with a black linen strappy jumpsuit. I paired it with some black slip on loafers and a dark blue teddy cardigan. When I stepped out of the closet, my purse and a breakfast sandwich were waiting on the bed. I grabbed them both after placing my cell in my bag, I made sure all of the lights were off before meeting Carlos at the front door.

The drive to the precinct was quick, there were officers and one reporter milling around the front entrance. There was a section blocked off, the concrete was charred and a few pieces of the car were melted to the ground. I took a deep breath and looked at Carlos, I saw his jaw clench. He parked on the side of the building, he guiding me towards the back entrance. I saw Uncle Joe standing at the door along with a woman in a suit.

"Stephanie, glad to see you're ok. This is Ms. Reynolds, she's for the state office and she's a certified psychiatrist that will be sitting in on the briefings."

"Nice to meet you." we shook hands.

We were led down the hall to one of the conference rooms, only the sound of Ms. Reynolds heels could be heard. I tried to keep my eyes forward, but I could feel everyone stopping to stare as we walked down the hallway.

When the door to the room closed, I exhaled feeling lightheaded. I didn't even know I was holding my breath. I sat down across from Uncle Joe and Ms. Reynolds, Carlos stood behind my chair with his resting on the base of my neck.

Ms. Reynolds pulled out a recorder and an iPad, she aimed the camera towards my face, "Let's begin."