It was nice to hang out with Aidan during school and not worry about Ashley and her minions threatening me. Even though Aidan and I got to know each other over the weekend, we got to be even closer than ever before. Now that everyone in River Wren High knew that I was involved with Aidan, people wanted to take pictures with me and even invited me to hang out with them at the mall.

Though the attention was nice, I wasn't used to it because I was someone who people didn't pay much attention to, and suddenly all the energy came rushing towards me. At lunch, Aidan and I sat next to my friends Vanessa and Ethan, and we all laughed at each other's jokes, and he also got to know them a little better. "So, Vanessa. Serena tells me that you're a big fan of my music?" Aidan asked before taking a bite of his cheese-less pizza. "Yes, I am. Might I say that your music is so amazing!" Vanessa smiled.

"Thank you!" Aidan smiled, wiping away some of the sauce that was on the corner of his lip. We continued with the conversations for a while, and then I felt my phone began to ring in my pocket. When I saw the Caller ID, it was an unknown number, and I was hesitant to answer, so I let it ring until it went straight to voicemail. I thought it was no big deal, that maybe it was a scammer or something, but the phone rang again with the same Caller ID, and I began to freak out inside.

"Serena, are you okay?" Aidan asked. "There's this weird number calling me twice. I don't know if I should answer it," I answered. Aidan reached over and took the phone, and answered the call for me. "Hey, stop calling this number," Aidan said before hanging up the phone and returning it to me. I let out a small breath of relief, but I still wasn't sure who it was that was calling me. "I'll be right back," I got out of my seat and started walking towards the bathroom.

I looked through my recent calls, and saw that the number had called me three times, one time I didn't feel the phone vibrate. Who is calling me? The door of the bathroom, opened and I heard the sound of familiar voices. It was Alexa and Ashley. "Who does she think she is? She's dragging my family's name through the mud!" I heard Alexa say outside of the stall. "I know, you've told me that multiple times," Ashley sighed. I peeked through the small crack in the bathroom stall and saw them doing their makeup.

"She's not going to get away with this. My mom is a good actress. She can give a convincing performance," Alexa said as she applied eyeshadow to her lids. "Trust me. She's not going to get away with it. With my daddy as your lawyer, that little brat will be back in your home soon enough," I was shocked that Aunt Mary had hired Ashley's dad to be her lawyer. He was a powerful man, the kind of man that could make things happen. I hoped that I would never have to return to that home, but now I was scared.

A sneeze was threatening to escape, and before I could stop it, it came out. "Someone's spying on us," Ashley said, putting down her lipstick, and I saw Alexa's shoes approach one of the stalls, and without a second thought, I jumped on the seat of the toilet and crouched down, hoping that Alexa wouldn't find out I was listening to their conversation. Alexa approached my stall, and my breath began to hitch in my throat. "It's nothing. Just some fubar," Alexa sighed. I waited for a few minutes before I let my feet fall to the floor. And when I was sure they were gone, I came out.

I looked down at my phone and saw that Aidan had texted me while I hid in the stall.

Aidan

Aidan: You alright? You seemed a little shaken up.

Serena: I'm not okay. I just heard Alexa and Ashley talking. My Aunt hired Ashley's father to be her attorney in the investigation. 

Aidan: Shit, I heard he's a good lawyer.

Serena: He is. But now I'm worried that I'll have to go back there.

Aidan: Don't worry, you won't. My parents have a friend who's an attorney and good with helping kids with these kinds of situations. And we will do everything we can to keep you safe.

Serena: Thanks, Aidan. 🙂

Aidan: No problem.