Before Kit could answer James, another text came in.
Unknown Number:hey this is holden ;)
Then another.
Darius:Whatever nonsense James just texted you, ignore him. He’s very drunk.
Nibbling at his chocolate croissant, Kit stared at his phone. How was this his life now? He spent so many years avoiding people. As soon as he saw his chance, he fucking flew off the grid. He’d treasured his old numbness, keeping him distant from people, because it was easier than feeling anything.
Maybe this wasn’t so bad. Kit texted Darius back first.
Kit:so you don’t want to tie me up anymore???
Darius:Okay, I guess he’s not THAT drunk.
Kit shoved another piece of flaky croissant into his mouth and considered his next reply—until light blinked in the corner of his eye. Quick, like a camera flash. Kit whipped around, nearly falling out of his chair, and saw—
Nothing.
The other Ladybug Brews patrons sat around drinking and eating and studying and working just like normal. Outside the windows, the afternoon foot traffic flowed the same as ever. Quiet pop music filled the edges of the café, seeming far too loud as Kit’s heart drummed ahead of the beat.
He had imagined the flash.
Even if it was real, why would he assume it was directed towards him?
Hunching in on himself, Kit examined his fellow café patrons again. Nearly all of them were tapping and swiping at various devices. That thirteen-year-old girl with braces could be recording Kit on her cell phone right now. That man with the sleeping toddler in a stroller could be flipping through photos he’d already taken of Kit. That woman heading towards the cafe bathroom could be making a quick exit now that Kit noticed her.
Someone was watching him. Kit didn’t know who, and it didn’t make sense, but he couldn’t shake that bone-deep certainty.
Paranoia laced every breath Kit took. He feared he would choke on it. He wanted to run and hide, but even that was dangerous. What if he left, and someone was waiting outside? At least here, the public setting gave him some protection.
Fuck. Kit couldn’t think.
James and the other assholes Kit kept meeting had really done a number on his composure. Fear was one of the emotions Kit had been trying to escape.
This panic was really their fault. Maybe Kit should make it their problem. Before he could think better of it, he opened a group text with James and Darius.
Kit:lol so this is probably nothing but. i feel like someone is watching me.
Sexy:what’s wrong?
Kit:i’m probably just being paranoid but. i saw a camera flash and idk if it was at me.
Kit:it’s probably nothing
Dots danced on the screen like James was typing, then stopped. Instead, a call buzzed in from Darius.
“Hi,” Kit answered quietly. The businesswoman at the next table gave him a dirty look.
“James is pulling up your location now,” Darius said. Footsteps and closing doors sounded from his end. “We’re picking you up.”
“He’s at that weird ladybug place,” James said from a distance.
“Are you at Ladybug Brews?” Darius asked.
Kit had never been so grateful for James’s obsessive location tracking. Very quietly, so the frazzled businesswoman wouldn’t murder him, Kit answered, “Yeah.”
Car keys jingled. “Perfect,” Darius said. “Don’t leave the café. We’ll be there in ten.”
