Christina laughs at something I barely hear, and I force a smile, nodding along. “Mm-hmm, yeah,” I mutter, but I can’t focus on her words. I can’t focus on anything except that horrible sensation of being watched.
It’s like something is crawling under my skin, prickling atthe back of my neck. My eyes flicker to every passerby, scanning faces, but they’re all strangers. Ordinary. Normal. So why do I feel like someone is following me?
“You okay?” Christina’s voice cuts through the fog of my thoughts. She’s studying me closely, the same concern from earlier creeping back into her expression.
I blink, then force myself to meet her gaze. “Yeah. Just… tired. Maybe I’m not used to being out anymore.”
Christina raises an eyebrow but doesn’t press. “You’re not fooling me, Dove. You look like you’re about to explode.”
I chuckle weakly, rubbing my eyes. “Sorry. I just… I keep thinking I see things.”
“Things? What kind of things?”
I hesitate, the words lodged in my throat, but Christina’s face softens, and I realize that I don’t want to hide it from her anymore.
“I don’t know. It’s just… this feeling. That someone’s watching me.” The words come out in a rush, the confession tumbling out before I can stop it.
Christina’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean? Like, someone is following you?”
“I don’t know.” My voice cracks, and I curse under my breath. “I keep seeing shadows. Shapes, people—nothing that makes sense. It’s like I’m losing my mind, Chris.”
She grabs my hand, squeezing it firmly, as though trying to ground me. “Dove, you’ve been through a lot. It’s normal to feel like your head is all over the place.”
I nod, but my mind is elsewhere. My heart is still pounding in my chest, every flicker of movement in the corner of my eye setting me on edge.
We keep walking, the quaint shops of Hollow Hills whizzing past us as I lose myself in the rhythmic sound of our footsteps on the snow-dusted sidewalks. Christmas lightstwinkle in the trees lining the streets, casting a warm, inviting glow against the cold winter night. But the beauty of it all seems distant to me, like it’s happening in a world I no longer belong to.
As we approach the park, the wind picks up, and the chill in the air bites through my jacket. I pull my coat tighter around myself, glancing down the road.
That feeling is back.
A faint noise, almost like footsteps—distant, but not far enough to be comfortable—cuts through the quiet.
I stop walking, my body rigid.
“Dove?” Christina’s voice sounds far away, like I’m submerged in water. I turn toward her, but I don’t say anything. My eyes are locked on something in the distance, and my heart slams in my chest.
There, standing under the bare branches of a tree by the streetlamp, is a figure. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Cloaked in shadows. I can’t make out the face, but I don’t need to. I know that silhouette.
I freeze, a chill running down my spine.
“Dove, what’s wrong?” Christina’s voice breaks through my haze, but I barely register her words. My eyes are fixed on the spot where the figure stood, and it’s gone. Vanished, like smoke in the night air.
“Did you—?” I whisper, my voice trembling, but when I turn to Christina, I see that she’s completely unaware.
“What? What is it?” She follows my gaze, scanning the street, but there’s nothing there. Just the soft glow of the streetlights casting long shadows against the quiet town.
“I… I thought I saw someone,” I say, my voice distant. “Someone I knew.”
Christina frowns, but she doesn’t press. Instead, she pulls me gently by the arm, urging me to keepwalking. “You’re freaking yourself out. Let’s go home, Dove. You’ve had a long day.”
But I don’t feel any better. I don’t feel safe.
As we walk in silence, I try to shake the unease, but I can’t.
I don’t know if it’s Ashton or if it’s just my mind playing tricks on me. But either way, I don’t feel like I’m alone.
28
