Page 3 of Heartbeats and Hashtags
My friends erupt in laughter.
“Okay, crazy cat lady,” Tanya teases. “At least give it one more shot. For me? I just love hearing about your stories, and I want you to be happy, Everly.”
She gives an exaggerated pout, knowing I can never say no to that face.
I give a theatrical sigh.
“Fine! One more round of swiping and matchmaking. I know you’re only saying this because you love swiping for me. I’ll set it up tonight, and you guys can have a go at swiping during coffee tomorrow, alright?”
Tanya grins, and Daisy claps her hands together gleefully. I give her a pointed look, and she looks innocently back at me, blinking her wide eyes.
“But if this one ends in disaster too, I'm signing up to be a nun.”
Daisy laughs and raises her glass in a toast.
“That's the spirit! To new adventures in love.”
“On second thought,” I begin backpedalling, “I am still getting these weird messages.” I wrinkle my nose. Tanya’s shoulders tense. I’m not sure if I should bring this up tonight or not. I know it makes Tanya uneasy, but I can’t keep it to myself.
“What are they saying?” Daisy asked calmly.
Since she has an online presence herself too, she understands that a few odd messages usually come with the territory. Tanya on the other hand is chronically un-online, vowing to never have an online presence for this very reason. You can’t blame her though. Her mom was a superstar mega-celeb who actually stepped out of the limelight because her “superfans,” more like “stalkers,” began knocking on their houses and leaving strange gifts. When she had Tanya, she decided she needed to put her family’s safety first and step down. Plus, I’m sure Mr. Park had a say in that, since he is a security business mogul.
I sigh. “It’s not too weird compared to the messages I usually get.”
“But I keep blocking this account that signs all the messages ‘EvBear.’” I shiver at the creepiness of it, and Daisy’s frown deepens.
“And no matter how many I block, they just keep popping back up again. They’re usually complimentary, but something about the way they’re phrased gives me the creeps,” I admit.
“Give us an example,” Tanya requests.
I take a deep breath. “OK, this one earlier said, ‘Everly, you are so beautiful. I am in love with you. I will always be. You are mine. – Yours eternally, EvBear.’”
The girls are silent.
Tanya lets out a low whistle.
“Well, that’s freakin’ intense,” she huffs. I laugh uncomfortably.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Daisy puts a gentle hand on my knee, I soften without realizing I was tense.
“Are you OK?” she asks.
Before I can answer, Tanya intervenes.
“Of course she’s not OK! Some psycho is sending her super creepy messages, and I know I’ve said this to you before, Ev, but please consider it for a moment. We can get you the best security there is. Besides, Dad loves you and would do it for basically free.” She sits the other side of me, mirroring Daisy and putting a hand on my knee.
“We only care that you’re safe, Ev. You know what happened with my mom…” Tanya doesn’t like speaking about the weird things that her mom had to deal with when she was just a baby.
I look her in the eyes. “I will seriously consider it. I promise.” I take a shaky breath.
“For now, honestly it just feels like an overreaction.” Tanya’s eyes narrow, but Daisy nods sympathetically.
“Youwillconsider it though?” Tanya prompts. I give her a small smile and nod.
“Thanks for talking to us about it, Ev. You can tell us anything, you know. And everything is going to be alright.” Daisy pulls me into a hug, and I breath in her clean scent of mint and flowers and try to smile. I just can’t shake the uneasy feeling that Daisy is wrong.
