But then his gaze meets mine, and I melt. A set of sharp icy blue eyes stare straight at me, making me feel somehow both intensely hot and frigid cold. Rationally, I know that we’re surrounded by a room of people, a room of colleagues, and yet, at that moment it feels like we’re the only two people there as I shamelessly stare at him. The corner of his mouth kicks up into a smooth smirk, as if he knows exactly what he’s doing.
Something inside me swells and churns, making me suddenly very uncomfortable. The back of my mind pricks with a loose thread of recognition but I can’t seem to unravel it to the source. He’s mysterious but familiar. Warning bells are going off within my body, every instinct screaming at me. And yet, I’m completely unable to turn away from him.
He breaks eye contact first, turning his gaze to the front ofthe room as he continues walking. I hold my breath as he walks past to stand next to my principal. A lingering smell of pine and smoke follows behind him. He smells like a campfire. Comfort and unease wrapped up into a walking contradiction.
He turns and faces the staff with a small smile on his face. He looks as though he was trying to appear slightly uncomfortable and humble, but I can sense that it’s for show. The cocky asshole oozed confidence a moment ago as he strode past me.
Immediately, not a fan.
“This is Gabriel Parsons. He has years of experience working in corporate finance and cybersecurity, but he is also a licensed teacher, and when he read about Ms. Briggs going missing in the paper, he offered to fill in. We thought he’d make a great addition to the team here. So, please join me in welcoming him.” Erik starts clapping and everyone follows suit.
Mr. Male Model and Tech Business Genius smiles and nods, holding up his hand in a small wave. But then, his icy gaze falls on me again. It feels as though I’m drowning in his stormy sea, legitimately drowning as I gaze into those eyes. He reaches up a hand and brushes it against the dark stubble on his jaw as he smirks again. A warmth begins to spread through my core at the sight of his large, thick fingers.
Erik continues talking and as Gabriel turns to sit, breaking out eye contact and snapping me out of whatever trance I’d just been under. I take a deep breath and manage to pull my eyes away from the tall, dark, and handsome newcomer just as my phone starts buzzing in my hand.
An alert of a text message buzzed across my lock screen.
HUBBY: Hey babe. Sorry again about this weekend, I promise I’ll be better. How’swork so far today?
A pit forms in my stomach as I read the message. My husband had spent the weekend at his parent’s lake house. He was supposed to return home yesterday afternoon, but hadn’t. He claimed he’d had too much to drink to get home. We fought. It wasn’t fun. Our marriage has been a little rocky lately in general, but I can’t really fathom why. Things have just been…different…distant. I don’t know what the problem is, so I don’t know how to fix it. It’s been stressful. I worry my lip as I type and retype a reply, trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation.
And then I feel it—eyes watching me. A slow shiver creeps up my spine again. Lifting my head, my eyes clash with a pair of pale blue irises. He’s watching me closely, and he looks upset. Forgetting all about my text, I shove my phone in my bag and shift my eyes back up front where Erik is still droning on about measures and outcomes. I try my best to stay focused on the presentation, willing myself not to feel the heat of the eyes that were gazing upon me.
Eyes that I know, deep down, I’ve seen somewhere before.
FOUR
Allison
There’s something about the chill in the air as winter nips at the dying embers of nature that always makes me feel sad. Despite my pale skin, I’m a summer girl through and through. The decaying leaves, the cold air, the early sunsets all make me feel a sense of dread; as if I too will wither and fade away with the winter’s chill. It’s also the rainy season here in Washington. I hate the rain. It’s dreary. Bad for the soul. I’ve always wanted to move somewhere sunny and warm, but Brody thinks it’s important to stay near family. I don’t disagree. I justwish we lived somewhere warm, laid back, bright. Life would be so much brighter if I lived on the beach—I’m positive.
But, I still live in Washington, and despite the chilly evening air, today was oppressive, long, and draining. I just want to be able to breathe. So, I opened all the windows to try to get some ventilation. Whoever decided that PNW houses don’t need air conditioning was an ass. Wet wind whips through the open windows, causing the cream curtains to stir. Brody’s mother helped decorate our home so it’s neutral, sophisticated, and austere. At the time, I was grateful for her help with furnishing and decorating our home. We were young and broke and it seemed like a luxury we’d never be able to afford. Now, I look around and just see a bland house, lacking any real life. My house is as bland as my marriage. It’s a cream colored cage that I can’t seem to find my way out of.
The sound of my phone vibrating against the stone countertop pulls me from my thoughts. The screen lights up, illuminating the darkness of the shadow streaked kitchen.
HUBBY: Sorry babe, gotta work late. Don’t wait up.
I let out a long sigh. He’s been working late more and more lately. Coming home after I’m asleep and leaving before I wake up; the only sign he was even here is his dirty clothes in the hamper. I know some of it’s a lie. We’ve both been dancing around the unhappiness that’s seeped into our marriage, eroding our once ideal relationship into something neither of us truly recognize. As much as I don’t want to admit it—neither of us have been happy in a really long time.
ME: Thanks for the heads up. Love you.
I wait anxiously, staring obsessively at my phone. It doesn’t vibrate. No more messages come through. No response.
“Bullshit,” I mumble under my breath as I pad across the wide wood planks of the floor and grab a wine glass.
Overall, it had been a monumentally shitty day. After the meeting, I’d managed to spill coffee all down the front of my new blouse, the copier jammed and broke down when I tried to make worksheets for the following day, and the students were completely unruly. Guilt and annoyance gnawed at me throughout the day as my mind continued to drift back to the piercing blue eyes and sexy smirk of the man who had been the catalyst for this shitstorm of a Monday. I couldn’t seem to get the new substitute teacher out of my mind no matter how hard I tried. And I had definitely tried. And now, my husband can’t even bother to respond to me. I’ve earned a glass of wine…or two.
I’ve been drinking too much lately. It’s becoming a problem when I wake up with a clouded mind and a stiff body. But I can’t seem to stop myself. Anything to numb the sting of martial rejection. I take a long swig, letting the red liquor settle into my empty stomach and calm my churning nerves. The curtains flutter again as another gust of wind blows through. I have half a mind to rip them straight from the rod. But that’d accomplish nothing.
I am not weak. I am in control.
In the low light of the setting sun, something outside catches my eye. Movement among the darkness, nearly impossible to see in the deep shadows of dusk. I move cautiously closer to thewindow as a lump forms in my throat. We don’t live on a huge plot of land, but our house backs up to large evergreens and open space. One day, we planned to get a fence— when we had kids or maybe even a dog. That day never came. The wide open yard never bothered me. Not until right now.
Not until there was a man in a mask staring at me through my kitchen window.
His figure is obscured by the darkness of the shadows creeping across the yard, but he’s unmistakably staring straight at me. The glowing red mask burns through the low light of dusk, a sinister Devil staring at me from the shadows. There’s no true eyes, just empty black pits surrounded by glowing embers. Red Devil horns tip the top of the mask right beneath the hood covering his head. Rationally, deep down, I know it’s just an LED mask from some stupid Halloween costume, but panic spreads through me like toxic venom as I stare back at him. He cocks his head to the side and brings a single finger up to the glowing stitches that cover his mouth. My breath catches in my throat.
Before I can register what I’m doing, my legs are carrying me across the kitchen. The sound of my wine glass toppling and shattering crashes through the silence of the cold air but I don’t turn. I quickly grab my phone and bring it to my ear. Swiftly hitting the first number I have saved, I bring it to my ear.
