At Any Cost
by: FrickNfrack
What will you do when you get lonely?
No one waiting by your side?
You�ve been runnin, hiding much too long,
You know it�s just your foolish pride...
(Eric Clapton - �Layla�)
CHAPTER 4
She wakes up in front of her house, slightly bruised and scraped, but none the worse for wear. Grinding her fists into her eyes, she wipes sleep away and sits up, looking around warily. She sees a flash of color next to her and looks at it. It is a yellow teddy bear, dressed in a small tuxedo like it�s prom night. It�s cute, but when she sees what it�s holding, she gasps. It is a small knife with what she hopes is a very good imitation of blood, like ketchup and water, smeared on the blade. There is what looks like a note pinned to the chest of the bear, and she moves in for a closer look. Her eyes grow large at the words:
Lyssa,
Hope I didn't scare you. Maybe next time we can rendezvous? I hope so; I was
looking forward to it... Ta-ta!
Lovingly,
Your Shadow Stalker
Her hands tremble when she reads it, and the note fluttered to the ground, as though pulled by some intricate force. She grabs the bear and note and stands up. Trying the door, she finds it�s locked and looks for her keys. It takes her four tries with the key before she can insert it in the lock, and then she opens it in one swift movement and bolts inside. The door is slammed, locked and double locked, and then she runs to her room.
Inside, she is comforted by the soft yellows and blues and greens and purples of her room. She painted it two years ago with her moms� help. The walls were pastel yellow with pretty light purple clouds. The space around the windows was soft green with small blue flowers.
She throws the bear and knife across the room so that it hits her closet door with a *thunk* and then proceeds to strip her clothing so that all she is wearing is her bra and underwear. She then buries herself under the covers, shaking uncontrollably. By the time she is under the covers she has started crying, and she wants to go back to a time when stalkers were non-existent and her mom was still here and she could walk down the street without running for her life and... *yawn* she could have a real boyfriend, and.... She is thinking all these thoughts when sleep overtakes her.
