‘What? Why not?’ Darcy rises to her feet, a look of determination on her face.
‘What are you doing?’ I ask.
‘I’m going to tell him to get lost,’ she says, flicking her hair.
‘No. No, it’s okay,’ I say. ‘Look, he’s leaving. You can’t approach him. He might be dangerous. He could be violent.’
‘He looks like a homeless person,’ Darcy says. ‘Don’t worry, he’ll leave you alone afterIhave a word with him.’
My pulse is racing. I can’t allow Darcy to do this for me. What if he attacks her? But she’s already left her seat. She’s winding her way between the tables, heading for the door. I grab my bag and follow like a scared school child, while she’s already out the door and striding up the hill after him.
‘Hey!’ Darcy calls out to the retreating man. ‘Hey, you!’
My stalker throws a glance over his shoulder but he doesn’t stop or even slow down. Darcy begins to jog after him. I have no choice but to follow. Eventually, she catches him up and puts a hand on his shoulder. I gasp – convinced he’ll lash out. He stops and turns, his head down, his beard and cap obscuring his features.
‘What do you think you’re playing at!’ she snaps. ‘Who the hell do you think you are, following my friend around. You need to leave her alone.’
I come to a stop a short distance away from them, unable to draw any nearer. My hands are shaking, my heart is thumping, and there’s a lump in my throat preventing me from speaking. Being in such close proximity to this man is freaking me out.
The guy mumbles something unintelligible.
‘Do you understand what I’m saying?’ Darcy continues as if speaking to a child. ‘You need to stop following this person.’ She points to me and I cringe as the man stares up at me. ‘If you don’t leave her alone, I’ll call the police and report you.’ Darcy’s voice suddenly becomes steel-tipped: ‘and I can do much worse than that – believe me. I know people who can fuck you up.’
I inhale sharply at her words, and the man flinches, averting his gaze from mine, staring instead at his own worn boots.
‘Do you understand what I’m saying?’ Darcy says.
He nods quickly.
‘If I hear that my friend has caught so much as a glimpse of you again, you’ll wish you’d never been born.’
The man shakes his head and mutters something under his breath.
‘What did you say?’ Darcy takes a step closer, putting her face near his. I don’t know how she has the courage to confront a complete stranger like this. How she can be so… bold.
‘Darcy,’ I squeak.
She holds her hand up to silence me.
The man shakes his head again.
‘Tell me you understood what I just said,’ Darcy says to him.
He nods.
‘Say it,’ she demands.
‘I understand.’ It’s not the loud, gruff voice I was expecting. It’s calm and quiet.
‘Good,’ Darcy says. ‘Now piss off.’ She grins up at me as if what she just said was wildly funny.
Her levity shocks me more than her previous cold anger. How is she not trembling right now? She turns her back on him, takes my arm and we head back to the café. My coat is still inside, and the autumn wind slices straight through my shirt to my shivering skin.
‘That was mad,’ I say. ‘Weren’t you scared?’
‘He won’t bother you again,’ she replies.
‘Thank you, but how do you know that?’ I say, worried she might actually have made things worse. ‘What if he gets angry and tries to get some kind of revenge?’
