“Hey, are you here?”
“N-No…”
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Liam’s voice drops from the cheery tone of a second ago. It’s like he can immediately tell that something’s wrong, even though I’ve only spoken a single word.
“There’s a guy following me.”
“What?” His tone is hard and sharp. “How far are you from my place?”
“About two blocks. I can see your building.”
“What street are you on right now?”
“I just took a right on Eleventh Avenue.”
There’s a thudding sound on his end of the line, then the rustling of fabric.
“I’m coming to you right now, Kendall. Just keep walking to my building and keep talking to me, okay?”
“Okay.” I let out a shaky breath.
My heart slams against my ribcage. A cold sweat breaks across my skin.
I hate this. I hate how scared I am. I hate how I can’t walk three blocks at night without being harassed by some creepy asshole just because I’m a woman.
“You too good to turn around and say hi to me?” The creep behind me’s voice gets louder. He’s getting closer.
“Is that him?” Liam growls.
“Yeah.” My voice breaks.
“That motherfucker,” Liam mutters. “It’s gonna be okay. How close are you now?”
I sniffle as I jog across the road to the block where his condo is.
“Just crossed the street to your block. I can see your front door.”
Just then, Liam’s front door flings open. He runs down his porch stairs and down his driveway.
The second I see him, relief washes through me.
He picks up speed, closing the gap between us. I jog over to him and he wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. “It’s okay. You’re safe,” he whispers.
A second later, he steps around me and darts past me. I turn and watch as he charges the guy following me.
The guy stumbles back, holding his hands in the air, like he’s surrendering. He’s almost Liam’s height, but Liam has probably fifty pounds of muscle on him.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?” Liam barks at him.
“Woah, easy, man.”
“You think it’s okay to stalk women?”
The guy shakes his head. “No, hey, I was just trying to be friendly.”
“What the fuck is friendly about following a woman you don’t know at night and harassing her?”
The guy hesitates and shakes his head, like he doesn’t know what to say. He stumbles back, falling into the brick building next to Liam’s.
