“You knew he liked you, right? Of course. He was always at the back, staring at your head during lectures, practical classes and all. Almost everyone knew actually, even some teachers.”
I sighed. It all came back to me last night. All the days he spent watching me in high school, but never really talked to me. He rarely did. He mostly watched. It really creeped me out, so I didn’t talk to him either. It got worse when he gave me that locket and said it’d look good on me. I wore it for one week, and he wouldn’t take his eyes off me. I was theonlything he stared at, and it didn’t bother him one bit that everyone knew he was ogling me.
My friends would tease me about it, and at one point, I didn’t enjoy it anymore. I refused to wear it for the next week, only to find a letter in my locker from him, demanding why I wasn’t with it. He was starting to scare the shit out of me, and I had to return it.
He’d taken it back without question, but no one saw him in school for four days after that. He was a mystery to everyone, and I loathed him a bit then because other guys refused to come close to me as they were low-key scared of him. The silent treatment he gave me also began to annoy me, especially when I started to feel something for him.
“Why did you ask? Have you seen him recently?”
“Uh—uhm, no. I haven’t.” Why did I lie? Why did I say no when he strangled me almost to death last night?
“Guess he’s still missing. Or do you think he’s dead?”
A bell rang from inside—Ma’am Jeena. It was time to get back to work.
“I don’t know, Blake. It was nice seeing you again. I gotta get back inside.”
“Yeah, sure. Go.”
I stood up. And stopped. I needed to confirm something. “Are you here for the holiday? You’re not staying long, are you?”
“No. I’m here because my grandma forced me to. There’s no way I came back to this hole willingly. I’ll be out of here by evening. I have important meetings tomorrow.”
“Right. You look very busy.” I smiled warmly. “It was nice seeing you again.”
“Nice seeing you as well.” He did a little bye-salute and smiled as I walked inside. I clasped my hands together in my mind and prayed to all the gods that he didn’t find out what I did in this town before he travelled back. I hoped his grandma wouldn’t remember to bring me up. Because if she did, and Blake Everett knew what I did for a living, I was dead.
Blake knowing was equivalent to everyone back in high school knowing—my nightmare. Everyone would know, that was if he still had their contacts, which I was certain he did. Why? Because he was Blake Everett.
A jerk.
“Thanks, dear. Hope to see you another time.” Mr Jorgen saw me out of his house and waved me bye. I gave him a tired smile and a small wave as I began to head home, my body aching for a rest. It was fifteen minutes past seven, and I’d assisted Mr. Jorgen in cleaning up his house and kitchen after his dinner. Half of the population in this town was old, and they needed other people to get their things done for them since their kids were too busy enjoying life to pay full attention to their needs.
It worked in my favour anyway, so I wasn’t complaining.
The streets were quiet, the faint murmurs from televisions and distant conversations barely seeping through the closed doors and windows of the houses lining the road. The street lamps flickered, casting wavering shadows on the pavement.
I absentmindedly counted the money I made today from the coffee shop. It was a decent amount, enough to make my heart race, but suddenly, that wasn’t the only thing making my pulse quicken.
A prickling sensation crawled up the back of my neck. My body stiffened, and I instinctively glanced over my shoulder. Nothing. Just an empty road stretching under the pale yellow glow of the streetlights. I swallowed, my throat dry, and quickly stuffed the money into my bag. My pace quickened, and so did my heart.
I began to hum—a nervous habit I couldn’t remember when it started, but it always came when I felt...watched. It helped mekeep the fear at bay, even if only a little bit. Was it five years ago the first time I’d felt this way? It had been that long since the sense of being followed crept into my life.
Then, it happened.
Footsteps.
A slow, deliberate rhythm behind me, just loud enough to be heard, as if the person wanted me to know they were there. My blood froze in my veins, and my tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of my mouth. Panic surged through me as I dared to turn my head, just a slight peek over my shoulder.
A shadow moved.
My heart leapt, and I nearly tripped over my own feet as I whirled around, fully facing the figure behind me.
Theon.
His eyes locked onto mine, cold and unfeeling, like it had always been. He stopped walking when I did, and when I didn’t move from where I was, completely frozen, he tilted his head.
It was such a simple gesture, but it felt like a threat. My heart stalled in my throat. What would he do to me? Would he kill me? Harm me? Why was he following me? It was scary how someone I’d written off as dead in my mind for six years was standing before me, alive andtall.
