Chapter 2 My Dripping Sleep

Falling asleep tonight is proving to be very

difficult. Even after two cups of Sleepy Time

Bear Tea, a couple Melatonin pills and a nice

hot bath in rose water I cannot seem to get

my mind to shut up about this whole Max and

Anon thing. Every time I close my eyes I

imagine a faceless person staring down at me

from the foot of my bed. It's not the fact that

Max is back in my life thatI am worried

about. It' the crazy person who has him and

the fact that they were in my room. They

know where I am and they are watching.

I wish I could talk to someone about this. To

anyone even Rob, but I can't. I have watched

enough NCIS New Orleans to know that if

someone says they know who you are and are

watching you, that you don't tell people about

it because they probably have a sniper just

waiting to blow your brains out. With a sigh,I

get up for the fourth time. Instead of getting

up like the other three times to go to the

bathroom I decide I will go for a run. Maybe I

can get my friend Jesse to go with me. He's

usually up around this time shooting hoops in

his back yard. I just don't want to be alone

right now.

After I get dressed I pick up my phone and

dial Jess's number. He, of course, picks up

right away. "Hey what's up?" He says between

labored breaths. "Not much, I just wanna go

for a run on the track at school you up for it?"

I say as I lace my shoes up. "Yeah sure meet

you there in ten." And with that, he hung up

the phone. Content with my plans for this

well.was gonna say evening but its early

Sunday mnorning now. I grab my keys and

head out the door.

When I get to the track Jesse is already there

looking through his phone leaning on the

hood of his car. "Race you," I say and give

him a hug. "Deal." He replies and starts

jogging to the track not far from where we are

standing. As I run I feel my heart start

pounding and my breathing quicken. With

Every time my foot touches the ground, I

imagine a bit of fear falling out of my pant leg.

The more I run the less terrified I become.

Soon, without noticing I had past Justin and

went around the track three times. It wasn't

until now that I notice my breathing

becoming labored and trained. Though I

know stopping will eventually help and I will

eventually have to stop, I am too worried

about throwing up.

I decided that I would run one more lap and

then call it a night. Since the sun was already

starting to show its face over the treetops and

Justin has long gone home around lap two I

finish that last lap and run to my car. Heavily

breathing, I find the water bottle I grabbed

before I left the house. It's cold and kinda

makes my lungs burn more but I love that

feeling. Just as I was putting my water bottle

back in the cupholder behind my seat, I see

something rustle in the bushes to the left of

my car through the corner of my eye. This as

expected, made my heart pump faster. It's

probably just a cat or a dog or something I tell

myself. Though me and my sub-conscience

both know what or rather who the movement

is. I waste no time to put my seatbelt on and

drive off.

I don't know how much longer I can take this

paranoia. It was different when they were

watching and I didn't know. I could go on

about my life not knowing that my best

friends napper is watching my every move.

This got me thinking about all the things I did

when I thought no one was watching...All the

things I did..All the THINGS I DID!!!!!

Anon probably has so much dirt on me that

even if they ended up giving Max to me they

ruin my reputation and I will have to

move towns and change my name to Barbra

Brown and get a husband named Phil because

Phil obviously goes with Barbra...I need to

calm down. I'm driving and this is not good to

think about while behind the wheel.

Once I get home it is already six o'clock. I've

been gone for three hours. I'nm finally tired

enough to go to sleep though. I just have to

get inside without Mama, Papa and most

importantly Rob. To do this I took my shoes

off before I got inside, and when I open the

door I only turned the knob what was needed

to unlock. I step in and lightly close the door

behind me. The house is deadly quiet all

except the faint drip of the coffee pot making

my Papa's morning cup of joe. I take the

stairs two at a time trying to get to my room

before I get caught. Once I get to my room

what I find struck me with horror. I usually

have my shoes paired with each other in a

cubby with a label. Running, Fancy, Sneakers

etc.. but now the three pairs of running shoes

where thrown in the middle of the room.

Anon knew I went for a run. They had to have

been the ones in the bush too.

After picking up my room my tiredness

subsides due to me being paranoid once

again. If I'm going to go after this Anon dude,

then I need to grow a pair. So with that in

mind, I sit in the middle of my floor and start

breathing. Inhaling love, peace and passion

and exhaling hatred, war, and laziness. After

a couple of minutes, I am already feeling

better. I then strip from my running clothes

and climb into bed. Maybe I can get a couple

good hours of sleep in before I have to be up

to see my parents.