Words Left Unspoken

Chapter Two

Later that night, I woke up breathless and crying. I was tangled in my quilts and sheets and my pillow was damp with sweat. I had seen the whole scary scene happen again in a more terrifying nightmare. In the nightmare, Josh had actually looked at me in the woods as he fell. I had watched him hit the ground and I hadn’t done anything about it. Then, when I started hitting Ginger, I just couldn’t knock her out. She just grew more and more bloody and stared at me with terrifying red eyes. She kept on saying in a low, scary, robotic voice, “It’s all your fault, Valerie Parker. All your fault!” I pulled myself out of that terrible dream and took in a deep, shaky, breath and ran my fingers through my hair. I turned to look at my Snoopy alarm clock and squinted at the red numbers. They blinked 12:07 AM. My throat felt hoarse and dry so I untangled myself from the sheets and climbed out of my bed. The cold floorboards sent a shock up my legs. I shivered and reached for my bathrobe. I tied it around the middle and tiptoed downstairs. As I reached up in the cupboard for a cup, the phone rang. I blinked and looked at my digital watch again, 12:08 AM. Who the heck is calling in the middle of the night? I blew out, annoyed and tired but walked over to the phone. The caller ID printed, Unknown Caller. Curiosity racked my brain so I reached over and picked up the phone. “Hello, Parker residence?” I cleared my throat as I waited for a response. Suddenly, a deep, male, voice filled my ear.

“Hello Valerie Parker. How are you?” The voice spoke in a low, husky, tone and a slow shiver ran down my spine like a spider and I spoke slowly and uncertainly.

“M…may I ask who this is?” The voice spoke again.

“Oh, just a…friend of yours, you might say. I’m a person behind someone you know but don’t really know. You may not know so much about me because I’m nothing to you right now, but Valerie, I know many things about you. You’re full name is Valerie Kaylyn Parker. Your birthday was just yesterday and you turned 17 years old. Such a fine age don’t you think, Vallygirl? Yeah, I know what your sweet boyfriend, Joshua McWhite calls you. Oh yes, and you’ve got beautiful, cascading, dark hair like a magical waterfall. Your best features are those sparkly emerald eyes, two of the fairest stars in all the heaven. They could stop an entire army of men, hmm? Oh, and those two gorgeous, model-like legs and perfectly shaped body. Then, you’ve got that breathtaking, sweet smile that makes me swoon every time they enlighten your face.” He chuckled softly and my heart thudded like a drum in my chest. How did he know so many things about me? Only my best friends would know my full name, my birthday, and…Josh’s nickname for me. And the way he described me, it made me feel uncomfortable. I suddenly felt uneasy.

“Why do I know so much about you, you might want to ask? Because Valerie Parker, I love you. You’re as glorious to this night, being o’er my head. As is a winged messenger of heaven, that my white-upturned wondering eyes are in love with.” Another shiver tingled my body as I realized why his words were so rhythmic and poetic, some of his words were spoken in Shakespearean. He was quoting from Romeo and Juliet, like we were studying in English. These were the words that Romeo spoke to Juliet in Act 2 Scene II, when he was watching her in the Capulet orchard while she stood overhead, on her balcony.

“Are…are you saying I’m an angel?” I whispered, confused a little bit.

“Yes, fair maiden, a very bright angel that has made even the moon sick and pale with grief because her maid, Valerie Parker, art far more fair than she.” His words were carefully spoken, smooth and poetic, wise and romantic, but I felt nervous and edgy.

“Um, I’m not sure who you are but I’d like to know what you want. Who are you exactly? How do you know so much about me?” I pressed on, a little bit more panicked.

“That doesn’t matter right now, fair saint. What matters the most is I love you and trust me, you will love me too at the end.” His voice grew rougher and harder at the end, filled with determination and if it wasn’t just me, a little bit of menace. “We’ll be just like Romeo and Juliet, through love, despair, trust, pain, and…death.” I felt uneasy under his words and yet, I couldn’t hang up yet. It was something about his deep and luring voice or something that kept me hypnotized to the phone. “It’s getting late, Valerie so I’ll call you back in the morning, ok? Goodbye.” Without another word said, he hung up. I put the phone down and sat down on a chair. I really should be happy to have a secret admirer but I’m not. This Romeo-like stranger was creeping me out. He knew so much about me and he seemed so sickly in love with me and I didn’t even know who the heck he was. My heart was pounding and I realized I had been holding my breath. I took a huge gulp of water and rinsed my cup in the sink. My head pondered the same question over and over again.

Who was this guy and what did he want?