Never Stop

12. Via

Chapter twelve

Via

2023

I make my way out of Dr. Carr's office and get to my shiny blue Chevy Malibu, whose name happens to be Sheila. She received her name from none other than Izzy. Stepping closer, something catches my eye. A folded paper sticks out like a sore thumb under my windshield wiper blade. Audibly inhaling a sharp breath, I open it.

I am thinking of you.

My spine stiffens, the hair on the back of my neck stands up, and I begin spinning around, looking over my surroundings. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I let out a sigh. Dr. Carr's office is down a quiet street, and it would be easy to spot anything or anyone out of place here.

Rolling my eyes in disgust, I crumple it and shove the discarded paper into my purse. This isn't the first random note I've gotten in the past few weeks. I've even gotten some creepy-looking flowers. Just last week, I found a bouquet of them lying inside my car on my dashboard after work. That one scared me the most, to know someone had gone inside my car. I always ensured my car was locked, and for me to leave it unlocked didn't add up. I've been more diligent about assuring my car is locked since then.

The strangest thing about it all is the color of the roses. They're always a deep red in the center, and the outer petals are jet black. They're fresh flowers, but the color always makes them appear dead.

I have a strong feeling I know who the sender is.

Clark, one of my coworkers, has been anything but subtle with his attempts to get with me. He always makes me uncomfortable, but this is extreme, even for him. Instead of addressing his attempts like I probably should, I choose the path of indifference. All in all, I ignore it. Hopefully, he'll give it up soon enough because this is just creepy now.

The first few times I found things, I brushed them off. However, as time passes, the places where I find them gets creepier making it difficult to ignore.

No one knows I am here right now, not even Izzy. How did he find me here? I visibly cringe at the thought of being watched and followed, and I can't help the eerie feeling of discomfort that races through me.

Moving quickly, I grab my keys, unlock my car, and hurry to get in. Once inside, I instantly lock the doors, looking around the street again for anything or anyone that seems out of place.

Not wasting time, I turn on the engine and blast the AC. The south Louisiana heat, even in the middle of October, is not for the weak.

It can be hard being back home sometimes. Everywhere I turn, I constantly remember what I've lost and that night. The break I got while I was away at college was nice. I've never felt the same as I do here and missed it more than I thought I could.

It's not the type of small town where everyone knows each other. Odds are that you've probably heard of them, but it's spread out enough that you can keep to yourself and remain a mystery if you choose to.

After a few minutes of resting my face on the AC vent, I powered on my phone before taking off. Ahh, five missed texts from Izzy; this should be good.

Izzy: "Via! You will either hate me or love me!!"

Izzy: "SOOOO! Do you remember Maverick's friend I told you about?"

Izzy: "WELL! I could go into a ton of details, but it's a little late for that. We're having a double date tomorrow night: me, you, him, and Maverick. I already checked your schedule on the fridge, and you aren't working tomorrow night, so no excuses. You can hate me or thank me later!!!"

Izzy: "Bruh, y aren't you answering my calls!?!?!?"

Izzy: "Wait! Why is your location off!?!?!?"

I feel the annoyance bubble up into anger, and I drop my head into my hands over my steering wheel. What is she thinking? In what world does 'I'm not ready to date' translate into 'please set me up on an extremely unwelcome, awkward double date with you and your boyfriend.'

Damn! I can't help but think Dr. Carr must have had some sixth sense that this was coming, as she just brought up the topic.

Izzy can be a bit much sometimes—who am I kidding? Practically, most of the time. She never seems to hear what I say. Correction, she hears it, but it doesn't register. I've always found this frustrating about her, but I know her heart. That part of her is pure, especially regarding me.

We have lived together since I was eighteen. Izzy's parents let me move in with them after that terrible night. Even after we left for college, we lived together in an apartment. Now that we are back home in Sugarland, we still live together, for now.

At this point, I can't imagine not living with her. She's been a part of that feeling of 'home' for me for years—the feeling that I lost whenever I lost my family. She became my family.

Izzy is the one person I've always known who is genuinely in my corner. She gets my sarcasm and my need to keep everything upbeat even when it's unrealistic, and she's honest with me—even when it's hard. She's the person who isn't scared to put me in my place and tell me exactly what I don't want to hear but always what I need to hear.

She and Maverick have been dating for close to a year now. As much as I hate to admit it, and I will never admit it to him because it would make his ego swell more than it already has, I like them together. He's the only guy Izzy has ever dated who truly appreciates her for the wonderfully remarkable ball of chaos that she is.

He's the only guy she's ever actually been official with. That in itself is a miracle. He can take a joke, although he's terrible at cracking them himself unless you're into painfully corny dad jokes. He makes her a priority and is patient with her. She lights up every time she sees him.

I have a feeling they will move in with each other soon. I've told her for the past couple of months that she doesn't have to worry about rent here and that I can handle it alone. I tried convincing her to spread her wings and fly right into his home. Every time we discuss it, she says she isn't ready, and I feel guilty about that because I know she's secretly saying she isn't prepared to leave me. She knows she's all I have, and I'm not too fond of the burden being put on her.

I read through the messages again.

Now, I'm unsure if I'm more annoyed by her making decisions for me that she knows I will hate or by her terrible grammar and obsession with punctuation marks. I know her intruding on my lack of interest in having a dating life is genuinely out of concern. She wants me to be happy and firmly believes this is the resolution—' The key to my happiness.' UGH!

Via: "I'm just leaving therapy with Dr. C. Be home soon. " I send this as I finally gather my thoughts and head home.

Izzy: "IS THAT AN AGREEMENT TO THE DATE!?!? " She texts back instantly, without hesitation.

Via: "It's a 'you've officially lost your mind, and I'll gladly give up my next therapy appointment so that you can go talk it out and try to find it.' I'm about to start driving; I'll be there in 10."

VIA: Oh, and Clark is persistent. I found yet another note on my dash today.

Izzy: Damnnnnnn. He is THIRSTYYYY.

"Thirsty". It's more like persistently creepy and annoying.

On these drives home after therapy, I tend to keep the music low in the background. I like to let my thoughts of what we discussed and how I felt while discussing it sort themselves out.

I pull up to our house and see Izzy's Mercedes and Maverick's big extra-wheeled truck in the driveway. Mav works in the oilfield on an oil rig, working away for weeks at a time. On the weeks he's home, he helps run his grandparents' ranch on the prairie in the back of town. His dually usually takes up over half the driveway. Today, he considerately left enough room for me. They must be trying to win me over.

As I walk in, the laughter I hear slowly fades. They're both in the living room as if waiting for me.

Maverick jumps up and says, "LIVI! Don't kill me!" He started calling me 'Livi' a few months back. What began as a joke that he could come up with a better nickname for me than Izzy could kind of just stuck, but only for him. No one else ever calls me that.

Maverick stands just a little bit taller than I am. He has long, wavy, light brown hair that's always in the way of his blue eyes. His square jawline always has stubble. Izzy hates it .

I laugh as I roll my eyes and set my purse down on the hall tree. I joined them on the couch, and Izzy came to sit next to me, wrapping her arms around me.

Izzy is stunning. She has gorgeously long legs, a tiny frame, deep green eyes, and beautiful natural blonde hair. Out of the two of us, She's the showstopper. I'm more. . . Girl next door.

"Scale of one to ten?" she asks with the cheesiest 'please don't hate me and understand I'm doing this because I love you' grin on her face.

This is our thing. Anytime we know we've upset the other, we make them rate it so we can know how to proceed. We've done it since we were kids. It's probably immature that we still do it in adulthood, but it works for us.

I sigh as I hug her back. "It was an 8. Now it's about a 3".

"I can handle a 3!" she laughs, raises her eyebrows, and nods. I don't think she was expecting me to be so calm. I think she expected more of a fight, but I'm not up for being stubborn today.

It's one date—no commitment—and a double date, at that. So, I'm not even fully required to engage. I could observe. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll observe. I'm good at that. If 'people watching' were considered a talent, it would be mine.

"Well, can I at least know this guy's name?" I ask jokingly as I throw my hands up and sigh in defeat.

Izzy laughs and turns to Maverick, who is in the kitchen now. "His name is Bear. He works offshore with my buddy Silas and me. He lives just a few towns over. He was originally from out of state. He's the same age as you and Izzy."

Bear . This instantly brings me back to my little sister Natalie and how I called her 'Natty Bear' since the day she was born. I feel a pull at my heart and tears that threaten to cloud my eyes, but I hold them back. It's just a name, just a date, and only one night. That's all they're getting out of me.

Dr. Carr will be pleased. She'll think that our talk must have worked wonders for me. I can't help but laugh to myself at that thought. Little does she know my best friend is hard to say no to. Because she will annoy the shit out of me, entirely on purpose, until I give in. I'm stubborn, but no one is that strong.

Honestly, what guy calls himself Bear?

I guess I have about twenty-four hours until I find out.