Chapter 11: THEN - The Safe Room

At first, I thought that Dad’s warning scared Peter off. I didn’t get a single message or call that night. I even slept well, happy that my parents hadn’t been mad at me for what I did. Considering how angry Dad was with Peter, I didn’t mention the kiss or the strange feeling I got from our drive out in his car. I just wanted the whole thing to be over so I could go back to normal.

The next morning, I threw Peter’s mix CD in the bin and sat out in the back garden in my shorts to catch the last of the summer sun before school started.

“Why don’t you put on a swimming costume?” Honey said, sauntering into the garden in her bikini. She sat down on the grass and squirted sun cream into her hand.

“Because the neighbours can see.” I glanced up at the windows all around us.

She just shrugged.

It was the last week of the holidays and despite the drama with Peter, I could tell Honey was getting bored. She and Oliver had split up again. Some of her friends were on holidays with their families. We hadn’t had a holiday abroad since I was six and we spent a week in a caravan in Spain. I still remember the tiny bunk beds and the smell of Mum cooking eggs in the morning.

I settled down on the grass and tried to empty my head of all thoughts. The next year at school was going to be hard. I needed to concentrate if I was going to get decent GCSE grades. No one expected Honey to go to uni because she didn’t care about studying, but there was a different kind of pressure on me. I was the ‘bookish’ one, while Honey was beautiful.

My phone buzzed.

Wot u doin?

It was him again. I sighed and ignored it, putting the phone on silent and closing my eyes. It was a quiet day. We sunbathed for a few more hours, then completed all the chores Mum gave us. I checked the computer and had a friend request on Facebook from some girl at school I’d never noticed before. After that we walked to Blockbuster and chose a movie to watch—Honey wanted to watch the American Pie sequel, but I lobbied for Atonement. Then we cried our eyes out watching Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.

“I have never hated a character more,” Honey said, wiping her eyes. “Why did she lie? What a bitch!”

I was only half-listening because I’d flipped open my phone for the first time in hours.

Saw you up the road. What did you rent?

Bet it was something dirty bcoz ur a dirty girl.

Haha, didn’t mean that really. I know ur a good girl, that’s why I love u.

I passed Honey the phone and she gasped. “He followed us?”

I got up from the sofa, needing to move, to let the adrenaline out. Every inch of my body felt grubby, like I needed a long, hot shower. He was out there somewhere, watching us walk to Blockbuster and back. It was only a ten-minute walk so he must have been close by.

“Shouldn’t he be at college or something?” Honey pointed out. “What’s he doing following two teenage girls around?”

I walked over to the window and closed the curtains. Then I checked the front and back doors were locked. My hands started to shake as I checked the back garden in case he was out there, lurking somewhere.

Honey followed me into the kitchen. “I think you need to call the police, Amber. This is serious. He’s still texting you.”

I took the phone from her hand and scrolled through the messages.

Saw the tight shorts u were wearing. I don’t like u wearing them for other men. Did u talk to anyone?

Answer me.

Did u talk to other men? If u did, I’ll punish you.

Amber???

Just the volume of messages raised my blood pressure.

“I… I can’t call the police,” I said. “He hasn’t hurt me.”

“I’m calling Dad at work,” Honey said. “He needs to come home. We can’t sit here alone.”

“All right,” I agreed. “You do that. You… you call Dad.”

I paced the room, legs wobbling. He was watching us. I pictured him hiding somewhere close to the Blockbuster waiting for us to go in, then waiting for us to leave and following us back to the house. I ran upstairs to my bedroom, straight over to the window, gripping the sill with my fingertips. He had to be out there. My gaze roamed the streets, searching for that blue BMW. Chest rising and falling, staccato-like, panic rising, sweat dribbling down my forehead.

“Where are you?” I thumped the window and half screamed. “Where are you?”

But there was no sign of him. Defeated, I sat down on the bed and wiped tears from my eyes. I opened my phone again.

I don’t even know why I like u, Amber. Ur nothing special. Just another stuck up ugly bitch. I hope someone rapes u coz u deserve it.

Honey’s footsteps raced up the stairs. “Dad’s on his way.”

She placed an arm over my shoulders while we waited for him, both of us intermittently checking the window for a glimpse of Peter.

“He knows what he’s doing,” I muttered. “He managed to follow us without us even noticing him. Maybe he’s done this to someone else already.”

“Maybe,” she said. “He’s such a creep. I can’t believe I ever thought he was cute.”

I tensed when the door downstairs opened but it was just Dad. We hurried down the stairs to find him red-faced and frazzled.

“I’m going to kill him!” Dad said, grabbing me and pulling me into his arms. “It’s all right, Amber. It’s all right. You’re safe now. Give me your phone.”

I didn’t want to hand over my phone because I knew he’d see how gross the messages were. But I did what I was told and saw my dad’s expression harden into rage when he read them.

“What are you going to do?” I whispered.

“We’re going to block his number, okay? Then he won’t be able to bother you anymore. I promise.” Dad squeezed my shoulder before tapping through the settings on my phone.

Once it was done, I let out a sigh of relief. Dad took us through to the kitchen to make us all a cup of tea.

“Your mum can have a word with his mum.” Dad flicked on the kettle. “She’ll get through to him, poppet. Don’t worry.” He paced the kitchen as the kettle boiled. “You might need to be careful for a while, but I’m sure he’s going to lose interest once he can’t message you anymore. I know this is scary, Amber, but short of me killing him, I think it’s the best solution.”

“Dad,” I warned. “Don’t do anything that’ll get you in trouble.”

He slammed a mug on the counter. “I wish I could do more, Ambs, I really do. I’m trying to take the sensible option here. The guy has a screw loose but as far as I know, he’s never hurt anyone. I’ve been asking around about him. I’m hoping he’ll come to his senses.”

Honey scoffed. “Yeah right.”

“You don’t think so?” Dad raised an eyebrow.

“No,” she said, her voice flat. “He’s just getting started. I’ve literally watched this movie a hundred times. We should just move, get the hell out of this place.”

I glanced over at Dad, watching his frown deepen.

“Your mother and I have jobs. You have school⁠—”

“I hate my school,” Honey said.

Dad pointed a finger. “You only hate that school because you don’t try.”

“Not true.” She folded her arms defiantly.

“This is about your sister, not you,” Dad said. “We make decisions as a family and there’s no need to overreact yet.” He poured out the hot water. “Amber, everything is going to be just fine. Your dad’s here now.”

Honey rolled her eyes and Dad pretended not to see it. Years later, I’d come to realise that Honey was right. But the extent to which she was right shocked us all, including Honey. No one predicted how bad it would get.