in the parking lot of the largest
bookstore in town. It was tucked into the side of an uppity open
air shopping mall. It was a glossy, national chain store with huge
floor to ceiling windows expanding to the second floor.
I perused the fiction section. I loved
everything about books from the way they smelled to the little
worlds contained between their pages. Passing through the sci-fi
section, white-blond hair caught my eye.
It was distinct, that platinum hair color.
I’d seen it before, today, actually, at the grocery store.
He shifted as he re-shelved his book. It gave
me a chance to glimpse his features in profile. It was him.
I was being followed outright now. No trees
needed.
I put the book I was holding down with a
shaky hand. In a city of over a million, what were the chances?
The familiar buzzing sensation went through
my body as I went on high alert. I slowly walked out from the tall
row of books. I ducked behind a display shelf of new releases
lining the second floor until I was near the escalator. I stepped
onto it and waited to go down, not wanting to even make the noise
of walking down the metal surface.
As I descended to the first floor, I watched
him. He glanced in the direction of where I’d been standing, and
then scanned the second floor with a little anxiety in his face.
When he saw me descending, relief washed over his features.
That was the look he left me with.
As soon as I got to the first floor, I dumped
my selections on a nearby shelf, and took off like a rocket out the
front door. I almost ran into a woman with bright curly red hair.
“Pardon me,” I croaked as I shouldered past her and into the
sunlight.
Once I was back in my car, I hit the major
loop around the city and went north, instead of south, which was
the way home.
I tried to make note of the tiny cars in my
rearview mirror like I saw in detective movies, but in the late
afternoon traffic it wasn’t practical and I didn’t think my
junkmobile would survive another fender bender.
I got home just as the sun was descending
behind the hills in the north. The presence in the trees was quiet,
but definitely there.
I bolted my door, and put the chair back up
against it. I checked my cell phone to make sure it had a full
signal and dug pepper spray out of the recesses of my purse and set
it on the table.
I sat on the couch and stared at the black
T.V. screen. I couldn’t tell my mom because she would freak out,
and I didn’t want to go home and have whatever was going on follow
me to her house. That left me with no one to tell. I was trapped,
alone in my head.
At some point, I would have to take action
instead of pretending weird things were not happening to me, but
not today.
I poured a large glass of wine and pulled out
my school reading assignment for the following Monday. Thank God it
was Friday. Maybe if I got drunk enough tonight, I could sleep away
at least part of the weekend.
***
The ringing of my cell phone woke me up the
next morning. I answered without looking at the caller I.D.
“Yeah?”
“Will you let me in please?” Gavyn’s voice
came over the line.
I was shocked out of my sleepy state. “Oh!
Yeah, just a sec.”
I hung up the phone and darted out of bed
toward the bathroom. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed I
looked like absolute crap. I brushed my hair, used mouthwash, and
splashed my face with water. Thank God my nightgown was short and
cute. I glanced in the mirror again. There was marginal
improvement, but I still looked pretty bad.
I opened the door and he strode right in. He
was wearing khakis and a snug t-shirt which hugged his broad
shoulders. He had the usual leather strap around his wrist. Even
though I had spent a lot of time with him, his obnoxiously perfect
good looks always caught me by surprise. “Good morning. I’ve been
knocking at your door for a few minutes, but I figured you were
asleep.” He appraised me. “You look cute.”
“No, I don’t.” I looked down at my
bookstore in town. It was tucked into the side of an uppity open
air shopping mall. It was a glossy, national chain store with huge
floor to ceiling windows expanding to the second floor.
I perused the fiction section. I loved
everything about books from the way they smelled to the little
worlds contained between their pages. Passing through the sci-fi
section, white-blond hair caught my eye.
It was distinct, that platinum hair color.
I’d seen it before, today, actually, at the grocery store.
He shifted as he re-shelved his book. It gave
me a chance to glimpse his features in profile. It was him.
I was being followed outright now. No trees
needed.
I put the book I was holding down with a
shaky hand. In a city of over a million, what were the chances?
The familiar buzzing sensation went through
my body as I went on high alert. I slowly walked out from the tall
row of books. I ducked behind a display shelf of new releases
lining the second floor until I was near the escalator. I stepped
onto it and waited to go down, not wanting to even make the noise
of walking down the metal surface.
As I descended to the first floor, I watched
him. He glanced in the direction of where I’d been standing, and
then scanned the second floor with a little anxiety in his face.
When he saw me descending, relief washed over his features.
That was the look he left me with.
As soon as I got to the first floor, I dumped
my selections on a nearby shelf, and took off like a rocket out the
front door. I almost ran into a woman with bright curly red hair.
“Pardon me,” I croaked as I shouldered past her and into the
sunlight.
Once I was back in my car, I hit the major
loop around the city and went north, instead of south, which was
the way home.
I tried to make note of the tiny cars in my
rearview mirror like I saw in detective movies, but in the late
afternoon traffic it wasn’t practical and I didn’t think my
junkmobile would survive another fender bender.
I got home just as the sun was descending
behind the hills in the north. The presence in the trees was quiet,
but definitely there.
I bolted my door, and put the chair back up
against it. I checked my cell phone to make sure it had a full
signal and dug pepper spray out of the recesses of my purse and set
it on the table.
I sat on the couch and stared at the black
T.V. screen. I couldn’t tell my mom because she would freak out,
and I didn’t want to go home and have whatever was going on follow
me to her house. That left me with no one to tell. I was trapped,
alone in my head.
At some point, I would have to take action
instead of pretending weird things were not happening to me, but
not today.
I poured a large glass of wine and pulled out
my school reading assignment for the following Monday. Thank God it
was Friday. Maybe if I got drunk enough tonight, I could sleep away
at least part of the weekend.
***
The ringing of my cell phone woke me up the
next morning. I answered without looking at the caller I.D.
“Yeah?”
“Will you let me in please?” Gavyn’s voice
came over the line.
I was shocked out of my sleepy state. “Oh!
Yeah, just a sec.”
I hung up the phone and darted out of bed
toward the bathroom. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed I
looked like absolute crap. I brushed my hair, used mouthwash, and
splashed my face with water. Thank God my nightgown was short and
cute. I glanced in the mirror again. There was marginal
improvement, but I still looked pretty bad.
I opened the door and he strode right in. He
was wearing khakis and a snug t-shirt which hugged his broad
shoulders. He had the usual leather strap around his wrist. Even
though I had spent a lot of time with him, his obnoxiously perfect
good looks always caught me by surprise. “Good morning. I’ve been
knocking at your door for a few minutes, but I figured you were
asleep.” He appraised me. “You look cute.”
“No, I don’t.” I looked down at my
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