"T-Thomas, why are you here?" I asked as a shiver ran down my spine.

"I came to wait for you so your mom could get a good night sleep, y'know? She works a lot. I just wanted to help out."

"Well, I guess that's fine... Did you tell my mom?"

"Tell her what?"

I glared at him. How could he be so ignorant and stupid?

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Now get out of my house, or else."

"Or else what? You gonna tell on me? Your mom wants us together, Elle."

"Not when I tell her what happened in the parking lot. Now, get."

I pointed to the door, wanting him to leave.

"I'm not leaving, Elle."

I opened the door. "Yes, you are. Or else I'm going to get the police involved."

He slowly walked his way over to me, his face close to mine and then he pinned me against the wall and held his hand over my mouth. "Elle, I always get what I want."

I just stayed there, terrified. I couldn't scream. I couldn't do anything.

There was something extremely wrong with him. Sure, he was always a bit obsessed with me, but not to this extent.

"Well, good night, miss Eleanor."

He walked out the door. I quickly slammed it shut, locked it, and ran to my room, trying to hold back my tears. My mom was already asleep, so I tried not to wake her. Once I was in my room, I started to sob uncontrollably.

Why me? Why my best friend's brother? Why don't I do anything about this?

When I finally settled down, I laid down in my bed. But I still couldn't fall asleep. Raging thoughts filled my mind. I laid there for about an hour or two, trying to relax. Just when I finally cleared my mind, the phone rang. I picked it up almost immediately. I really needed to talk to someone.

"Hello?"

"Eleanor! I'm so sorry to be calling you at such an hour. I couldn't wait. I just wanted to say goodnight.

I was so relieved to hear Brian's voice. But then I just broke down.

"Love, what's wrong? Did I say something?"

"No," I sniffled,"it's just, after you left, I got into my house and Thomas was there."

"Who's Thomas?"

"The parking lot..."

"Elle, are you okay? Did he hurt you."

I paused a moment,"No, well, he didn't hurt me, per-say. He just..."

I started to cry again.

"Elle, I'm coming over."

Before I could say anything, he hung up the phone.

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There was a knock at the door. That was quick. I scurried down the steps, trying to be as quiet as possible. I swung open the door and made immediate eye contact with Brian. Neither of us said a word. We ran to each other's embrace. He hugged me tight and I felt so safe in his arms. He rubbed my back gently and ran his fingers through my hair. He began to whisper gently,"it's going to be okay. You're okay. I'm here."

His voice was so reassuring. I began to calm immediately. I was about to pull away, but he stopped me. He scooped me up off the ground and carried me up to my room.

"You need to sleep, love. That's the best thing for you right now."

"But I don't think I'm tired. I just-"

"Elle, just relax. I'm here. I'll stay awake all night if I need to. I need you to know that you're safe."

I climbed onto my bed. I didn't go under the covers- I usually don't anyways- and faced the wall. I wanted to fall asleep as soon as possible. And before I knew it, I was asleep.

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I had vivid dreams that night. But they weren't the wonderful flying or fantasy type dreams. They were nightmares. One of the worst I'd ever had.

I woke up in a jolt and screamed a little. I sat up and looked over at the clock. It was only 3:30 AM. I then looked at the foot of my bed. I forgot that Brian was there and I screamed.

"Oh, sorry, Brian."

"No, that's fine. But I did enjoy watching you sleep. Did you know you snore?"

I fake laughed.

"So, do you usually wake up this early, Elle?"

"No. I just had a nightmare. It felt so real. Oh, and I'm sorry I screamed, too."

"That's okay," he squirmed his way over to me and leaned against the wall and wrapped his arms around me,"it was getting kind of quiet in here. So, can you tell me about your dream?"

I yawned and then cuddled closer to him. "Do I have to? I kind of want to get more sleep. Can I tell you about it tomorrow?"

"Sure. Good night, love."

He pulled me tight and then gently kissed me on the forehead. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

I didn't care. I was enjoying his embrace as I once again drifted off into a deep sleep.

---A/N---

Is this Thomas thing getting too "out of hand"? Because I'm starting to think that it's really stupid... :/