Chapter 3
A few weeks passed without any other incidences occurring, and so Jenny had started to relax and become herself again. Who ever was doing it had obviously become bored and gave up as she knew they would eventually. She was relieved to say the least, as it was rather hard to explain to Cutter why she had gotten a padlock fitted on her door and why she no longer kept a spare key out for him. A few times, he had been forced to wait outside her house if she was running late getting out of the ARC. But that all seemed to be behind her now, and she was glad that she hadn't mentioned anything to Cutter, not to mention Sarah and Abby; what sort of woman gets scared about a bunch of roses and a lousy phone call? She would have felt really silly if she had told them how worried she'd been.
One Sunday, she was curled up on her couch with a magazine on her lap; it was one of those rare moments in her life that she wasn't busy with work or Cutter or her friends - she had a few hours to herself, and she was taking advantage of it by doing absolutely nothing. Her laptop was on the coffee table and msn was on; she had been talking to Sarah on it earlier and hadn't bothered to turn it off. So absorbed was she in an article about whether leg-warmer's were making a come back (which she certainly hoped were not), that she jumped slightly as a message bleeped up. She put the magazine down and pulled the laptop towards her, and was confused for a moment, unable to believe her eyes. It was Cutter . . . she was certain that he didn't have an msn account . . . that was very odd . . . she added him anyway.
Ncutter02: just wanted you to know I think you're so hot x x x
She smiled warmly as she replied.
X0MissLewis0X: y thank u, wen did u get msn? X
Ncutter02: today so I could tell you I can't wait to run my lips over your bare skin x x x
Jenny hesitated for a second, the smile vanishing from her face. That was a tad full on for Cutter . . .
X0MissLewis0X: r u drunk?
Ncutter02: no, I was just thinking about you. I can't wait to screw you again
Jenny put the laptop down and stood up, surveying it with confusion. It wasn't like Cutter to be so . . . well . . . so forward. She picked up her house phone and called him, pacing back and forth.
"Hello?" he answered cheerfully.
"Hi," she said, rather breathless. "Are you on msn right now?"
"No, I don't have msn why?" he replied, sounding perplexed.
Jenny almost dropped the phone as realization hit her hard.
It wasn't him.
She stared at the computer screen numbly as another message bleeped up.
Ncutter02: there aren't enough hrs in the day for what i cud do 2 you
"Jenny? What's the matter?" Cutter's voice made her jump.
"Can you come and pick me up?" she asked desperately, all dignity flushed down the toilet.
"Of course I can, why?" Cutter demanded, sounding worried.
"Please, just come, I'll explain when you get here," she said, hanging up before he could ask any more question.
She looked back at the screen just in time to see another message appear, so obscene and so graphic that she put her hands to her mouth and gasped. Not wanting to see it anymore, she closed the laptop with a snap and backed away from it as though it was about to attack her. She went out into the kitchen and waited impatiently for Cutter to arrive, her thoughts running a mile a minute. Who would do something like that? Who would go to so much trouble to set up a fake account on msn? Someone who obviously knows she's dating Cutter, or they wouldn't have used him as a username. It was starting to really creep her out now . . .
She jumped violently as the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of Cutter. She opened the door, and as soon as she saw his face, full of concern, she broke down, unable to hold in the tears that had been threatening to engulf her since she had phoned him.
"What's the matter?" he asked desperately, putting her arms around her.
She couldn't speak . . . she couldn't bring herself to explain, partially because she didn't want to say it, but a small part of her still wondered if she was overreacting.
"What's going on?" he asked more forcefully, pulling away from her holding her by her shoulders.
She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice wouldn't come; what if he thought she was bonkers?
"Jenny, what is going on?" he demanded, sounding frustrated.
Instead of explaining it to him, she decided it would be better to show him instead. So she led him silently into the living room, and opened the laptop, standing back and letting him read the msn conversion for himself. She watched as his face went from confused, to dam-right furious as he got to the end of the conversation.
"Who is this?" he asked, pointing to the screen.
"I thought it was you - " she tried to explain.
"You thought I'd speak to you like that?" he exclaimed, sounding disgusted.
"No, as soon as they started talking like that, I knew it wasn't you. That's why I phoned you."
Cutter fell silent, staring back at the screen in deep thought.
"Has anything else like this happened?" he asked, sounding slightly calmer.
"A few weeks ago, someone let themselves into my house and set up roses for me in a vase. And they left a note saying 'I will love you forever' and then a text message off a private number saying something like 'I hoped you liked the roses but they're not as beautiful as you'. And they've phoned me once, but didn't say anything - "
"And you didn't tell me?" Cutter asked in disbelief.
"I just thought it was someone messing around . . ." Jenny explained, running her hands through her hair. "I thought I could handle it myself."
Cutter rubbed his forehead with his hand and was silent for a moment.
"I think we should call the police," he said eventually.
"No," Jenny replied immediately, shaking her head. "I don't want to make a fuss about it. They'll get bored eventually - "
"Jenny, some of the stuff they're saying to you," he said gently, gesturing at the screen again. "Some of it's really graphic."
"I know," Jenny sighed, "But I just think we should let it run it's course . . . there bound to get bored when they don't get a rise out of me."
"But - "
"No Nick; no police."
"So I'm supposed to do nothing when some nutter out there is upsetting you like this," Cutter argued, putting the laptop down on the couch and standing up.
"I'm not upset," Jenny insisted untruthfully. "I was just . . . in shock . . ."
Cutter surveyed her for a moment with a furrowed brow; she knew he was aware she was lying, but he also knew she hated to be mollycoddled.
"Alright," he nodded after a long pause. "But you're staying with me for a while. No arguments," he added when she opened her mouth.
In truth, she wasn't about to argue anyway; she would never admit it, but she was secretly hoping that he would ask her to stay at his place for a little bit. She was a bit too freaked out to be able to sleep here alone after what had happened; the person who was doing this knew a little bit too much about her life for her liking.
Later on that night, Jenny was in Cutter's house, cuddled into him on the couch watching Sex and the City that, for once, he didn't complain about sitting through. In her opinion, he felt a bit guilty about his reaction when he had seen the msn conversation, but to be fair on him, it didn't make comfortable reading, especially since that weirdo was impersonating him. He obviously knew her well enough not to fuss, however; he just provided her with silent reassurance, which was all she needed from him.
I hope everyone's enjoying this slightly chilling story!
Review if you can x
