Mr. Higginson was out of jail? Was that seriously what Alice was saying? There was no way he could have just broken out of jail like that… Wasn’t that impossible? I thought it was impossible… There was no way that psychopath was loose! This had to be some kind of stupid joke… Yeah, that was all it was!

River’s eyes widened so much that they were almost as big as Alice’s, and Rex’s jaw dropped so far that I thought it was going to disconnect and fall onto the floor. I only stared at them, not knowing why they were all looking so freaked out like that. It was actually pretty funny.

I burst out laughing, not being able to contain it any longer. I clutched onto my stomach and collapsed back onto the couch, my head back as I laughed and laughed.

Alice was looking at me as if I was insane, and I believed that Rex and River were looking at me the same way. But how could I not laugh?

“I think she’s finally lost it,” Rex muttered to River, but he didn’t even respond. But it wasn’t like I expected him to or anything. He sat down next to me, rubbing my back until I finally stopped laughing like a strange hyena. But it was just so funny!

Wiping a tear from my eye, I looked up at Alice. “Nice try, Alice, but you can’t scare me. After everything that happened with him, that’s definitely the last thing that would scare me! That joke isn’t going to work! Even if you got a cardboard cutout of him I wouldn’t be scared!”

But Alice didn’t smile like I thought she was going to. I thought she was going to laugh and plop down on the couch next to me and curse how she wasn’t able to trick me. But that was definitely not what she did. She still looked like she was going to freak out, so that immediately caused me to sober up. I definitely wasn’t laughing anymore. Why wasn’t she laughing? Why wasn’t she smiling and telling me that I had found her out? Why was she looking at me like she was terrified?

“I’m not joking, Delilah,” she whispered, and I could see that she was biting the inside of her lip. “John Higginson really escaped from jail!”

“It isn’t funny,” I snapped, my eyebrows furrowing at her now. This seriously wasn’t a funny joke and I wasn’t going to fall for it. “I’m not falling for it, Alice. Stop joking around.”

“She’s in denial,” Rex sang under his breath, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stared down at the ground almost awkwardly. I turned to glare at him, wanting to snap at him but chose not to. He wasn’t the one that I should have been angry at it.

“I’m not joking!” Alice cried out.

“Alice, stop it!” I almost growled.

Alice let out a loud groan, practically sprinting over to the TV and turning it on. She grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels until she finally landed on a news station.

I was greeted by a very familiar face staring back at me onto the screen. It was a picture of Mr. Higginson, his mug shot to be more specific, and the woman next to the picture on the screen was babbling on about something I was way too nauseous to listen to.

“John Higginson has been missing for the past two hours,” the newswoman said when I finally zoned back in. “He’s very dangerous and mentally unstable. He was put in jail a year ago for stalking a young teenage girl and for attempting to murder her and three other people. His whereabouts are still unknown and the authorities are still searching.”

“Now do you believe me?” Alice asked, pointing at the screen as she stood in front of me as her other hand stayed on her hip. “He really broke out of jail! He’s seriously out there! He’s really free and out of prison! They don’t know how he got out, but he did! He’s seriously out there somewhere, Delilah, and you can’t just brush it off like it’s some type of joke!”

Rex had to be right. I was in denial… How could I have thought that this was a joke? There was no way Alice would joke about something like this with me! Even back when we couldn’t stand each other she wouldn’t have done something like this!

What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to act? Where was Mr. Higginson and what was he planning? Was he planning on attacking me somehow? What was he going to do?

Oh, my goodness… There was no way this could have been happening! Mr. Higginson was out of jail? He had gotten out and now no one knew where he was? I was pretty sure I knew his whereabouts… Somewhere near me! He had to be somewhere near me, because I was the only thing he cared about! I was the only thing that was ever on his mind! What was I supposed to do?

Now I couldn’t breathe…

“Delilah, calm down,” River soothed, rubbing my back once again when I started to hyperventilate. “You have to calm down, okay? Everything’s fine; you shouldn’t freak out… Everything’s alright. Don’t freak out…”

“How can I not freak out?” I practically screeched, jumping up from the couch before I began to pace around the room like a crazy person. “My psychopathic stalker is on the loose! He could be anywhere right now! He could be right outside the school or even worse… He could be inside!”

“Calm down,” Alice ordered, grabbing onto my shoulders before shaking me roughly and forcing me to sit down on my bed. “Listen to River and just calm down, Delilah! Freaking out right now is not a good thing to do! That’s what he wants! He wants you to be scared! He wants you to freak out!”

“Well it’s working!” I cried, burying my face into my hands as I continued to shake. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying, but it was getting harder and harder as each second passed by. “I’m absolutely terrified! He’s free! He’s out and about and he’s free! He could break in here and kidnap me like he did at the fair last year! He could just break in here and kill me! He could do anything! He has the advantage!”

“No he doesn’t,” Alice snapped at me, shaking me by my shoulders once again. “He doesn’t have the advantage, Delilah! We do! We know he’s out there and we’re not going to let our guard down no matter what! You’re safe with all of us!”

“I’m not safe! I can’t be safe with him out there!”

“How the heck are we supposed to calm her down?” I heard Rex asked River, and it really sounded like he was worried and had no idea what he was supposed to do. But I didn’t even know what I was supposed to do either, so I didn’t really blame him. “I don’t even think she went this crazy when this happened the first time!”

“Maybe she should sleep,” River suggested, walking over to me and crouching down so his face was in front of mine. “I’ll stay with you tonight, okay? We’ll sleep in the same bed and I’ll keep my arms wrapped around you to make sure you’re safe.”

“As sweet as that is,” Alice butted in before I could answer him. “Where would I stay? It’d be a little awkward if I was in here with you guys, don’t you think?”

“Just stay with Rex,” River told her, gently laying me down on the bed now. “If Seth doesn’t like it, then that’s too bad for him. He can go and stay with Mountain in my dorm for all I care.”

Alice nodded, and as quickly as she had come in she had left, Rex trailing behind her. I didn’t know what time it was, but I didn’t really care at all. I just hoped that once I woke up, this would all be over and it would just be like a dream. I could only hope…

“Shh,” River soothed as he wrapped his arms around me, and I snuggled into him even more. He stroked my hair as my breathing began to go back to normal. “It’s okay… Don’t worry… Everything’s going to be perfectly fine. You’re safe, Delilah… You’re safe.”

When my eyes finally began to droop, my breath began to go back to normal. I was forgetting all about the crazy man who could have been outside my room right now. I forgot about all dangers that I could have had to face in the near future. All I cared about right then was that I was safe.

Even if that wouldn’t last very much longer.                                            

*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~*

                My dearest Delilah,

                I’m sure you look beautiful in your dress, but I am very happy to say that I’m probably going to see you in it tonight. I hope you have a wonderful time at the wedding. I really hope to see you there. It is a very big possibility, my love. A very big possibility…

                                                                                                                                It’s What You Do to Me, Delilah

Shaking slightly, I shoved the note into the box with the rest of them and kicked it back inside the closet. With my old stalker out from behind bars, what was I supposed to do about the new one?

When there was a knock on the door, I almost jumped. I was seriously scared now and I just didn’t know what to do at this point.

“You’re seriously going to go to the wedding?” Rex asked, his eyes going wide as I stepped past him and out my door. “You’re going to go to the wedding even though it’s going to be night and Higginson is still out there on the loose? Are you crazy?”

“I’m not going to miss my favorite teachers’ wedding,” I told him flatly, walking down the hall with him quickly following behind me. “I’ll be perfectly fine with you and River by my side. So you shouldn’t be freaking out or anything because it’s not a big deal.”

“Says the girl that was shaking and hyperventilating the other night,” Rex whistled, shoving his hands into his pockets as we continued our way to River’s dorm. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

I smiled. “Positive.”

“Alice is already in the car, so I’ll go there with her so she’s not all alone,” Rex informed me when we got into the main hall. “You can get to River’s dorm on your own, right? You’re not going to trip on your pretty, pretty dress?”

I rolled my eyes at him, knowing he was teasing me. There was no way I’d be able to trip in the dress that I was wearing, since it only went down to my knees and not all the way down to my ankles or anything.

“I can make it on my own,” I responded flatly, walking away before he could say anything else to me. Ever since I had heard that Mr. Higginson had broken out of jail, I was scared to walk by myself. But I knew I was safe in the school, because all the teachers and the staff knew about Mr. Higginson so they were on the lookout.

But I was so excited to go to Mr. Ridgeway and Ms. Vierra’s wedding. What would I call Ms. Vierra after she married him? Would I have to call her Mrs. Ridgeway? That would be way too weird for me… I always called her Ms. Vierra and it would be too weird to call her anything different…

But I could still barely believe that my two favorite teachers were getting married. It had been a year since I had found out that they were going to get married, but it was still kind of hard to believe. I guessed since I wasn’t around them that often anymore it just hadn’t sunk in yet.

When I knocked on River’s door and he opened it, I felt so much better even though I hadn’t even been scared before that moment. River just made me feel so much better no matter what.

“You look beautiful,” he smiled at me, wrapping me in his arms almost immediately. I smiled shyly at him, leaning forward and pecking him on the lips. “Like always.”

“And you look handsome,” I smiled, my arms wrapped around his neck. “Like always.”

“Come on,” River grinned, removing his arms from my waist and clutching onto my hand. “We’re going to be late if we don’t go now.”

I smiled at him again. “Alright. I’m right behind you.”

When we got to the car, we quickly piled inside. Rex was driving and Alice was in the passenger’s seat, so River and I got stuck in the back. I didn’t mind that much, but the last time I road in the backseat with River, we ended up getting into a car accident and River lose his memory…

Shaking my head, I tried to forget about all of that as I snuggled into River’s side. That wasn’t going to happen again… We were safe now.

When we got to the church, it was already dark outside. I raced inside as quickly as I could, but it wasn’t because I was afraid. I just wanted to see Mr. Ridgeway and Ms. Vierra before the wedding started, because I was sure I wouldn’t be able to talk to them for a while afterward.

“Isn’t this exciting?” I asked happily, pulling River into the church by his hand. “They’re actually getting married! This is just so cool!”

“I think you’re more excited than Ms. Vierra is,” River chuckled, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “But that’s not very surprising with you.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “Ha-ha.”

"I don't think we'll be able to see Mr. Ridgeway or Ms. Vierra before the wedding, Delilah," River told me once we finally fully walked into the church to see it jammed packed full of people. "We're probably going to have to wait."

Damn it. So much for that then... I guessed that we probably should have just gotten a seat then because it looked like if we didn't do that then, we'd get stuck standing in the back.  

"Oh, wait," I stopped, moving out of the way so I wasn't blocking anyone. "I left my purse in the car. Let me go get it."

“I'll come with you," River suggested, but I shook my head and smiled at him.  

"No, it's okay," I assured with a nod. "Alice will come with me. Won't you, Alice?"  

She smiled and nodded. "Of course!"  

We both let go of our boyfriends' hands and Alice took the keys from Rex as we both giggled and linked arms and exited the church. The only light that surrounded us was the lights that lit the parking lot, but that still didn't feel like enough for me. I wasn't scared, but I would have appreciated it if the parking lot had a little more light. I mean, it was a church, wasn't it?  

"Do you see the car?" Alice asked as we both looked around. The parking lot was a lot more packed than I thought it would be. "It's probably the best looking one here..."  

I giggled at her. She was probably right. It was Rex's new car that he had gotten after the accident, and since his family was so rich they were able to get him a very nice one.  

"It has to be here somewhere," I told her as I continued to search around as well. “Just keep looking.”

“There it is!” she pointed, smiling when we both finally spotted Rex’s black car. It wasn’t very far from the church’s entrance, so I kind of felt like an idiot. I knew Alice felt the same way as well as we trotted toward the car.

“We have to hurry,” I sighed when we finally got to the car. “The wedding’s going to start soon. Everyone’s already inside.”

I turned to face her to get the keys, but was caught off guard by the face she was making. Her eyes widened and her lips trembled, as if she was going to scream. I then noticed that she wasn’t looking at me, she was looking behind me.

I whipped around to see the face of the person I feared the most. I thought I would be safe if I came out here with someone, but I knew I should have taken up River’s offer. I should have let him come with me… I would have been safe with him! Alice couldn’t protect me, no matter how hard she tried!

Alice let out a scream, and the next thing I knew she was on the ground. Had she seriously fainted when I needed her the most? I knew that she couldn’t control it but still! I needed her! I didn’t want to be alone with Mr. Higginson!

Before I could let out a long scream, Mr. Higginson’s hand slapped over my mouth to muffle it. I began to struggle and try my best to break from his grasp but it didn’t work.

“Please don’t scream,” he pleaded, confusing me greatly. Why the hell was he begging me not to scream? Since when did he do that? He never did that before! He would have demanded that I shut up or he would have forced me to!

“Don’t scream?” I practically screeched once he removed his hand from my mouth. “How do you expect me not to scream? It’s you!”

“No, it’s not,” Mr. Higginson told me. “I’m not who you think I am.”

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? How crazy was he?

“You’re exactly who I think you are!” I shouted, pushing him away from me so I was now next to Alice’s unconscious body. “You’re Mr. Higginson!”

“Technically,” he waved away, confusing me even more. “But I’m not the one you think I am.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded, my voice rising about two octaves. “Tell me what you mean right now or I’ll scream at the top of my lungs!”

I was planning on screaming anyway, but at least this would give him a reason to tell me what was going through that crazy mind of his.

How was I not freaking out? I was in a way, but not the way I thought I would be. I thought I’d be screaming my head off while I cried and shook, but now I was puffing out my chest and staring him down. Why was I not afraid? It felt good, but it confused me as well.

“I’m not John,” Mr. Higginson informed me, raising his hands up in defense. “I’m his brother Keith. His twin brother Keith.”

I blinked, completely blanking for a moment. Mr. Higginson had a twin? There was no way that was possible… It just had to be Mr. Higginson messing with me! But I wasn’t going to be stupid enough to fall for it!

“Yeah right,” I scoffed, crossing my arms over his chest. “You can’t fool me, Mr. Higginson. You may have once been my teacher, but you definitely know that I’m not stupid.”

“I knew that you wouldn’t believe me so easily,” he smirked, stuffing his hand into his pocket and pulling out multiple photographs. He shoved them toward me, and my eyes widened when I saw what these photos were off.

Two Mr. Higginsons! Pictures from when they were babies all the way up to maybe a year before Mr. Higginson was arrested! He had a twin? There was technically another him walking on the planet? Holy crap! How did I not know any of this?

The most recent picture of them scared me the most. I could tell that Keith was the smiling one with the longer hair and Mr. Higginson was the one that was frowning with shorter hair. Oh, jeez… This was terrifying!

“Well… How do I know you’re not really just Mr. Higginson being Keith so I would trust him?” I demanded, thrusting the photos back in his directions. “I’m not falling for any of your tricks.”

“Fine, don’t believe that I’m not John,” he sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. “But at least listen to what I have to say. After you hear this, maybe you’ll realize that I’m not really John.”

I puffed out my chest and crossed my arms over them. “Go ahead.”

“My name is Keith Higginson,” he began, letting out a long breath before he continued. “And I have been in jail this entire time for my brother.”

My eyes widened. What did he just say? Did he… did he really just say that he had been in jail for Mr. Higginson the entire time? No… No way! That would mean… That would mean that Mr. Higginson was out free for the past year and no one even knew!

“I’m the one that broke out of jail,” he continued. “I couldn’t stand living in a place I didn’t belong anymore, so I broke out. I wanted to find you and tell you everything that John has been doing before I got caught and put back in jail. I wanted you to know what’s been going on. You need to know.”

I blinked, my breathing going heavy as well. Mr. Higginson had been out of jail this entire time… I had been alone so many times before!

“Go on,” I urged, crossing my arms over my stomach so I wouldn’t puke. “What do I need to know?”

“You’ve been getting notes, right?” Keith asked, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. When he noticed, he nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I thought…”

“What about the notes?” I croaked, clearing my throat after I had heard how horrible it sounded. “Is Mr. Higginson the one that’s been sending me the notes?”

“Technically,” Keith nodded, waving a hand in front of his face. “He’s the one behind it and the one that’s been saying what’s in the notes, but he hasn’t been the one writing them.”

My eyes widened even more. “Then who’s writing them?”

“John was able to get someone in your school to do it for him,” Keith now explained as he ran his hand through his hair once again. “He got someone from inside your school to write the notes for him and to give them to you. Someone named… Kendra. I can’t remember her name though.”

My eyes widened so much that I thought they were going to fall out of their sockets. Kendra? Kendra had been the one that was sending the notes? I was going to kill her! How could she?

“Harris?” I squeaked, biting my tongue so hard that it almost started bleeding. “Is her last name Harris?”

Keith’s eyes widened a little. “Yeah, that’s it.”

I was going to definitely kill her!

“She was the one that tampered with the tire of your friend’s old car, too,” Keith continued to tell me. “Under John’s orders, of course.”

My jaw clenched along with my fists, and I couldn’t wait to pound Kendra into a pulp. How dare she mess with my friends and me like this! That stupid little bitch! She wanted River to herself that much that she would become the crazy guy’s lackey? The stupid whore!

“I can’t believe this!” I shouted, breathing so hard that you probably would have thought that I had just come back from a twenty mile run. “That bitch is so going down! First she takes my fiancé and now this? She won’t know what hit her!”

“Actually, I think I will,” a new voice now said. I jumped, and so did Keith, when we saw the small figure emerged from the black shadows. There stood Kendra Harris, smiling wickedly at me. “But nothing will be coming at me, Delilah, because you’re going to be gone soon.”

She sounded like one of those dolls that came to life and terrorized people, and that absolutely terrified me. But what did she mean by that?

“And just how am I going to be gone soon?” I demanded, trying my best to hold my ground. I wasn’t going to be scared over a stupid little junior girl…

But instead of Kendra answering me, a new voice spoke instead. A new voice that caused Keith’s eyes to widen, a new voice that caused Kendra to grin evilly, and a new voice that caused my whole body to shake.

“Why hello, my dear Delilah. Long time no see, my love.”

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I walked out into my living room one morning a few days ago after finishing getting ready for school and the first thing I hear on my dad's sports channel is "Jay Harris." Well, I immediately freak out and Google it and it turns out Jay Harris is some sports guy. Boy, was I kicking myself for that.

The picture on the side is the "most recent" photo of Mr. Higginson and Keith. :D

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :D