"It was hot, and Lisa Weyer, seventeen years old and fresh out of school, was one of the few kids relaxing in her house watching old horror movies.
She was camped out on the couch she and her dad had bought earlier in the year in shorts and a tank top. Her short brown hair stuck to her scalp even though the AC was blasting. After the first few days of intense heat she'd started to suspect it was broken, but her dad was too tired to look at it.
He worked the night shift as a security guard for a shipping yard and slept in most of the day. The only time they ever spent time together was during dinner, and after that he had to go. She was alone most of the time, which wasn't a problem for her.
Lisa was a tough girl, physically and mentally. She played soccer and was on her high school's wrestling team, which made her more then a little fit. As far as socializing, she wasn't what you'd call a loner. In fact, she had quite a circle of friends. But once school was out, most of them left the state for vacations. The only way she stayed in contact was through email.
***
Even over the high-pitched wailing coming from the TV I could hear my laptop chime from upstairs. I grabbed the remote and paused the screen before slipping off the couch and heading for the stairs. I took a two at a time and turned the corner at the top to my room. The laptop was sitting on my desk and the screen was lit up with a new message.
I pulled my chair out and sat in it, tapping the laptop mouse-pad and clicking on the message.
"Inbox (3)"
I sorted through some spam emails and a few responses from some friends before pulling away and starting back downstairs. Just as I stepped out of my bedroom the laptop chimed again. I turned on my heels and sat back down in the chair, resting my chin in my palm.
"Inbox (1)"
The subject was blank and I didn't recognize the email, but I opened it out of curiosity. The chance of it being spam was incredibly high but I did it anyway. When the wall of text loaded I narrowed my eyes for a second before shaking my head.
It was blank and not even a sender was listed. I rolled my eyes and marked it as spam.
I shut down the laptop and jogged back downstairs, staying planted on the couch until my dad came out a few hours later. He walked into the bathroom and started brushing his teeth while slipping into his uniform, looking exhausted. I jumped up to make him a few cups of coffee and called up to him.
"Hey! What do you want me to make for dinner? We have pork steaks and macaroni, if you want." I poured the coffee into his favorite mug and grabbed the creamer.
He groaned from the bathroom and I heard him spit into the sink. "Not enough time. Do we have cereal?"
I set the coffee cup down and opened a few of our cabinets before pulling out a box of Cheerios. "Yeah, we have a box, but are you sure you don't want me to make you something else?"
He walked into the kitchen and shook his head, sighing. "No, it's fine." He paused and looked at his watch before shaking his head again. "God damn... I'm already late."
He spotted the coffee and gave me a tired smile before taking it and gulping it down. I shrugged and started taking out the ingredients for the pork steaks. "Well, I'm going to have one of these. Get some Mcdonalds or something, okay?"
"Yeah, sure I'll try." He chuckled weakly and kissed my forehead before grabbing his wallet and car keys. "Don't stay up too late."
I smiled. "Of course not."
He walked out of the kitchen, the front door opening and closing behind him a few seconds later. I fixed up the rest of my pork steak and put it in the oven. It'd take at least 40 minutes before it was done so I brought my laptop down and sat at the island.
I opened up my email again and saw that there was something in my inbox, and this time there was actually a sender listed. I didn't recognize who it was from but opened it anyway. Since summer break I hadn't gotten all my friend's information and the chances of it being one of them were pretty high.
I started reading and squinted after the first few lines.
"dearest Lisa,
I've intensified to the point where waiting is no longer an option. Weve been friends for many years and I think now is the time to take things to the next level. youre my everything Lisa, and I can't stop this any longer. We'll meet soon.
i've been saving and I finally have enough money to come and visit you. I'll get ther e soon.. i've been staying awake at night because i'm so hapy about this.
nothing will stop me. Nothing. Youre my soul mate and I promose you that everything will be ok.
jack."
Sent by smileyjack534@yahoo.com. I scoffed and deleted the email. People were really getting creative with the junk they spread out, and the fact that I didn't even know a Jack made it stupider. It didn't take a lot of thought to guess it was from another ridiculous dating site. The fact that it looked like it was written by a 10 year old only made it worse.
I logged out of my email and surfed Youtube for a few hours then ate my pork steak and called a few of my friends before settling down and watching the original Dracula on the living room flat screen. It was around 11:48pm when my laptop chimed again and I opened up the flashing icon to see a IM request. I clicked on it and saw that it was from no other then smileyjack534.
"What do you want..." I muttered, scratching my head then clicking on the "ACCEPT" button. As soon as I did the messager popped up.
smileyjack534 Says: lisa.
lisaW272 Says: Hey, sorry, but I don't know you. You have the wrong Lisa.
smileyjack534 Says: youre
smileyjack534 Says: lisa.
smileyjack534 Says: i love you.
lisaW272 Says: Look, I really don't know you. I'm sure you're a nice guy but stop bothering me.
smileyjack534 Says: i love you lisa
smileyjack534 Says: i'm coming to you
smileyjack534 Says: we can be together.
lisaW272 Says: No, we can't.
smileyjack534 Says: we can
smileyjack534 Says: lisa.
lisaW272 Says: Alright buddy, blocking you.
I rolled my eyes and blocked him. Whoever his actual Lisa was, I felt bad for her. The guy was a little more then creepy. I logged off and set my laptop on the island. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock.
11:53pm.
I groaned and slid off my chair, grabbing the laptop and going back upstairs to my bedroom. I set the laptop back on my desk and stripped, changing into my pajamas and climbing into bed.
Just as my head hit the pillow I heard the laptop chime again. I opened one eye and rolled it before turning over and going to sleep.
***
My alarm clock's regular screech woke me up at 6:00am on the dot. I went through my usual schedule and changed into my jogging outfit before going downstairs and making a cup of coffee.
I finished it a few minutes later and set the mug in the kitchen sink for later, then left through the front door and started jogging down the sidewalk.
Early morning was the only time during the day when it wasn't scorching, and since no one left their house until 10:00 I had the path all to myself. I turned the corner and started making my way down to the beach where I usually stopped. The trip took roughly twenty minutes.
When my favorite bench came into view I sped up then stopped to sit in it. The bench had a great view of the beach and if I turned around the sunrise would be in full view.
I caught my breath and turned around, hugging the back of the bench to my chest and looking up at the horizon. It was orange-y red and the sun was just starting to peak up. After awhile I had to squint and looked away when it got too bright.
I took a few more deep breaths then stood back up, stretching and getting ready to jog back. Just as I was about to take off I heard footsteps and turned around.
"Lisa! I thought I'd never catch you!" Neil panted like he'd been running for days. I started laughing and he waved his hands irritably. "Go on! Keep laughing! At least I'm trying."
I covered my mouth and let out a few stray chuckles before answering. "What are you doing out here? It's six in the morning!"
He rolled his eyes and sat down on the bench, grabbing his jersey and fanning himself with the extra material. "I wanted to run with you, but clearly I can't keep up with Seabiscuit herself."
I pat him on the back and sat next to him. "You could have just called. I would've come and picked you up myself."
He let out a sarcastic cackle and shook his head. "Lisa please, you're draining my masculinity with every word."
I rolled my eyes and rubbed his shoulders while he got ahold of his breathing. "Come on, you're the picture of masculinity. If we looked close I bet you've even grown a few chest hairs."
He laughed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter how much body hair I have, because in the end nothing compares to Lisa Weyer. But at least I get to be the side-kick."
"Oh, come on." I groaned, bringing him back up into a standing position with me. I flattened out his ruffled jersey and looked down at him. "You're here now, so why don't you come back home with me and have breakfest?"
His face lit up and he looked around as if someone were listening, one brow quirked upwards. "Will there be... bacon?"
"Yes, there will be bacon. Now come on!" I started jogging and he stumbled slightly before jogging after me.
***
Neil and I had gone to the same schools ever since we were in kindergarden, but we'd never actually talked to each other until our Sophomore year in high school.
Things started with a bang, to say the least. He was getting tossed into lockers and we met shortly after I gave his bully a mean right-hook. They'd been in the pool locker room and it was pure chance that I'd been in the next room changing.
We started hanging out after that and I introduced him to my friends. Things went pretty smoothly, and for a guy that got picked on a lot, Neil was pretty positive. Exactly what I needed in life.
Positivity aside, his sense of security was pretty messed up. It didn't take long for me to notice the extra flinches and over-the-shoulder looks he fleshed out through school, and eventually I asked him if he wanted to hang out with me at the gym.
He said no, of course, but I knew he'd say that. After a week, he changed his mind and that's when we became work-out buddies. Neil wasn't exactly a fit guy, but not out of shape either. He was just someone who was right in-between. Thin, but no muscle.
Originally, I wondered if the gym trips were even worth it, but after seeing him look more relaxed then he had in years changed my mind. He was a good guy, and I liked seeing him happy...
...Almost as happy as he looked while spinning in my dad's favorite chair.
I rolled my eyes at him and went back to making our breakfest. Eggs, bacon, toaster waffles, the whole she-bang.
"This chair is amazing!" He called from the living room. "How fast do you think it can go?"
"I don't know, but if it breaks I'm telling my dad it was you." I answered, flipping one of the eggs over.
"Haha! I bet if I-" His voice cut out and I heard the chair squeak before a loud thud. I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Did you break it?"
There was a few minutes of silence before he poked his head into the kitchen. "Nope. No, not at all. Everything's fine. I don't know why you'd think otherwise, because everything is perfect in there. By the way, uh, when does your dad get home?"
I waved him off. "Oh for God's sake, just put it in the garage. I'll fix it later."
He nodded quickly. "Yeah, okay, brilliant. I'll do that right now."
He disappeared and I heard him wrestling with the chair before the garage door open. He appeared again a few minutes later and sat down at the island before letting out a big sigh. "Well I hope he never sees that."
"Don't worry, he doesn't love it that much." I chuckled, taking the cooking pan off the stove and scooping a few eggs and bacon onto his plate. His face lit up again and he immediately started digging in. I gave myself the rest then sat down across from him.
"So you want to hear something weird?" I asked, taking a sip of the milk we'd gotten out earlier.
He looked up, answering with a full mouth of food. "What?"
"Last night I got this weird email, and at first I thought it was just spam, but it was blank so I opened it, because why not? Nothing happened, but later on I got another one. And as it turns out, it was some guy's weird love letter to his girlfriend. I'll have to show it to you, because it was just so bizarre." I explained, finishing off one of the eggs.
He took a big gulp of his orange juice then raised of his brows again. "Was it signed or anything? Or was it just blank?"
I couldn't remember at first but then it came to me. "Jack. It was signed "jack." But that's not the weirdest part."
He squinted. "What do you mean?"
I chewed my bottom lip then thought of something. "Wait here, let me show you."
I slipped away from the island and ran up to my room to grab the laptop. I grabbed it along with my cellphone before going back downstairs, slipping back into my chair and started it up.
I pulled up the chat log and email from the computer's trash bin and handed the computer over to Neil. He squinted then started reading. By the time he finished and pulled back I could tell he was weirded out.
"Jesus Christ." He yelped, pulling away from the screen.
I frowned and took the computer back, but looked at him instead of the screen. "What?"
"The chat log cut off so I went to your email to get the rest, and God! Look at that!" He pointed at the computer. I pulled the screen back and looked at my inbox.
"Inbox (73)"
All of them were from the same address. Smileyjack534@yahoo.com. Rows of emails with the same subject. "talk to me".
"What's his problem?" I muttered, setting the computer on the island and running a hand through my hair.
"Jesus."
Neil took the laptop and I saw him block the address and delete the emails before handing it back to me. "Well, that should take care of him. If he shows up again you should probably get a different account."
I sighed. "It's not even creepy now, it's just annoying. But you're right. Let's just go watch a movie or something. My dad's going to be home soon and he'll probably stay out of the living room."
I slid off the chair and walked into said room, riffling through our DVD racks. Neil followed, hunched against the wall.
"Why should he stay out of the living room?" He asked, head tilted.
I smirked and nodded towards the floor near my dad's desk where tiny bits of wood were still scattered around. "He'd probably notice the chair."
***
Neil stayed most of the day and left around 5:00pm with my dad. It was fun having him around.
The chair incident never came up, and when it was time to leave my dad gave Neil a lift on his way to work while I stayed at home, cleaning up the mess that accumulated through the day.
As soon as everything was picked up and the living room looked at least semi-decent I grabbed my laptop and started chatting with various friends while the TV went on in the background.
Luckily, there weren't any emails from what's-his-face, so a majority of the time I was enjoying myself. So much, in fact, I didn't think twice when a IM invite popped up at the corner of my screen and accepted it.
Nothing popped up at first so I had a feeling it wasn't the same guy just using a different email. When nothing happened for the next fifteen minutes I just shrugged it off and continued chatting with my friends.
Two hours passed and I started yawning, eyes sore and ready for bed. I closed up the conversations with the few people I was still talking to and waited a few more minutes in case the new person was going to say hello. I hovered over their user name with my mouse and read the email. cA_Condor@gmail.com.
Just as I was closing out the window a chat screen opened.
cA_Condor Says: Hello?
My eyes widened and I leaned back into the couch, typing.
lisaW272 Says: Hey. I'm sorry, I don't recognize your email. Do I know you?
cA_Condor Says: No, we've never met before. I'm actually here because of a invite you may have received earlier.
I quirked a brow and felt my jaw drop a little. Well, the conversation definitely took a turn I hadn't expected. I quickly typed down a response and waited for him to answer.
lisaW272 Says: Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Listen, I don't know if he's a friend of yours or something, but please tell him to leave me alone.
cA_Condor Says: He's a colleague of mine. Not a friend exactly, but he does tend to.. rant to me about a lot of things. Most of which I'd rather not hear. His interactions with you came up in a conversation earlier today and I wanted to apologize on his behalf.
lisaW272 Says: It's fine, but I just don't want him bothering me anymore. I blocked him, so it should be okay.
cA_Condor Says: I'm afraid to say that blocking him may not work. As demented as he is, Jack does posses a decent amount of intelligence. He may be able to get around it. If he does, please don't hesitate to contact me.
lisaW272 Says: Damn. Well, you're in my contacts so I'll be sure to send you a message if he does. Also, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know him?
cA_Condor Says: We were colleagues in school; while I was getting my medical degree. We've drifted since then, but do occasionally see each other. He usuallys stops by while I'm working to talk.
lisaW272 Says: Oh, you're a doctor then? Neat. Well anyway, thanks for letting me know about this. Sorry to cut things short, but I have to get going.
cA_Conder Says: Of course. Goodnight.
lisaW272 Says: 'night.
I logged off, feeling better but still weirded out.
"Well, at least I have someone who knows him." I sighed. It was a small problem but the fact that it was fixed so fast was relieving.
One less thing to worry about."
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