Chapter 7

7

E LIZABETH

Clipped, heavy breaths fall from my mouth as I collapse on the bed with my eyes closed and a smile on my lips.

What has gotten into me?

That was… amazing?

I never thought we could get so worked up.

I was tired, stressed out, and almost in no mood for sex. Especially the virtual variety.

It pissed me off that we had to do it like that, and even that didn’t come easily.

And then I thought we’d end up talking about stuff, and I was afraid I might blow it.

There were a few awkward moments, and that stupid question about him liking Colorado made him look at me suspiciously.

At that moment, I knew something was off. He looked at me with inquiring curiosity. There was no way I could explain that question to him.

It came out of nowhere and seemed irrelevant in the context, but not if it was a different setup.

Something must’ve clued him in that I didn’t ask him that for no reason.

But somehow, we found our way out of that thicket of uneasiness and marched toward those sweet moments of physical pleasure.

I don’t know why the screen went blank in the end. I have zero energy to dig into that.

My eyes slide to the time.

It’s late anyway.

I stretch my legs under the sheets, grinning happily, when an unexpected noise pushes a dagger of concern through my chest.

What the hell was that?

I push upright, and just as fast, I roll off the bed with my heart beating in my mouth. Crunched over, I tip my gaze up.

A dark shadow zips past my window outside. The blinds are down, the sliver of light highlighting a tall, slender man wearing a hoodie.

Oh, fuck.

My first thought goes to the main door.

It’s locked, isn’t it? Yes, it must be locked. I remember locking it when Chloe left.

Crawling across the floor, I reach the closet but not without glancing over my shoulder and paying attention to every sound in the house.

What the hell was that?

My hands quiver as I pull a warm top on and slide my sweatpants up. My first trip is to the window. I pick up my phone on my way over before sneaking a glance outside.

My neighbor’s windows are dark, and everything else seems in order. My pulse still races as I turn around and tip toe my way to the back door. I can’t say I’m not scared shitless. Who was that man?

Had he just walked across several neighbors’ lawns before moving past my house. That could be an explanation.

It’s just that I have a hard time believing it.

I peer through the window in the back. The porch is dark. I wish I had a light over there.

I check the door.

Thankfully, it’s locked.

Moving quickly, I reach the living room and check the windows from afar. The blinds are down and slightly open. I can see the street and the cars parked in front of my house.

My old ride is there.

My other car is parked down the street.

A sigh of relief moves out of my chest when I check the door. This one is locked, too.

Shit, this was some scare.

I never thought living on my own could be so stressful. And now I’m rethinking this whole me renting a house. A condo might’ve been better. There are people around.

And some of the nicer places have security on site.

Well, it’s too late now.

I don’t know what made me think this was a good idea.

Oh, I remember. I thought that I’d have everything within walking distance.

The gym, groceries, and my favorite cafe.

Look how it all worked out.

It didn’t.

I’m barely going anywhere. I shop for food near campus. I do my work out in front of the computer screen.

And I write stuff that has no business being in a published book.

There’s that.

“Uh… What was that?”

My eyes fly to the window again as the headlights of a car come on, and someone turns the engine on.

I forget how to breathe.

It can’t be that man.

But something tells me that it is.

I leap to the window and peer outside, concealed by the darkness of the room.

The person is not in a rush. And no, I don’t recognize that car. It’s parked across the street, facing the exit of the neighborhood.

And oddly, now it all seems connected.

The sneaking behind my house, the parking in front of my house, the convenience provided by his car facing the exit.

I stare at the car, almost convinced that whoever is in that vehicle is looking at me.

Even if the rational part of my brain tries to tell me that I’m silly, my hair standing on end doesn’t lie.

Do I have a stalker now?

I wish I could take it lightly.

The car doesn’t move as if the driver is on the phone with someone. Or taking pictures of my place.

I remember I’m clutching my own phone, and my hand is sweaty.

I look at the screen.

The screen is empty. David didn’t call back. Without waiting another moment, I go back to the bedroom and open the laptop.

A message greats me. Another one pops up, informing me how much money I have made.

It’s a whopping amount of money.

Five thousand dollars.

I’ll be damned.

The man is rich.

I wish I could smile, but my grin is kind of dead on arrival. It doesn’t make it to my lips.

There is nothing out of the ordinary in my inbox, so I return to the living room, phone in hand, convinced the car has moved away. It’s gone, indeed. And then out of the bloom, my phone flashes a blue light and a notification.

The same account I have had problems with sending me a direct message starts harassing me.

There is an option to block him, but my instinct tells me it’s important. So I slide into the chat box and read his message.

He wants a web chat session with me.

I drop the phone on the window sill like it has poison.

ELIZABETH

A Few Days Later

Saturday Afternoon

“This looks phenomenal,” Chloe says, organizing the clothes on the racks.

She’s talking about a red dress.

I forgot how obsessed she was with fashion and how much fun she was to work with.

We get quite a few clients, and each heads their way to help them find what they’re looking for.

Time flies as I often look at the clock. She works two shifts today, and I plan to leave early.

As soon as the store traffic is light again, we bring out more inventory. Club dresses, sweaters, winter jackets.

Boots.

The colors are bright. Alive. Shades of red, orange, yellow, and blue.

She tries on a yellow jacket––she’s made an obsession with them––when the door opens, and a familiar face enters my line of sight.

“Rain?” I murmur, dropping a colorful scarf on the table.

“What?” Chloe asks, distracted.

Her eyes move over a coat while I peel away to greet Rain.

She scans the racks of clothing before I pull up close to her.

“Hey,” I say, unsure whether she’s here to buy clothes or talk to me.

She wears a green jacket that makes her eyes pop and soft white skintight pants. Her hair curls at the tips, and a white wool scarf is wrapped around her neck.

Light gleams in her eyes.

“Oh. Hey. Are you working on Saturdays?” she asks.

She’s here to shop.

“When they have me,” I say, a hint of humor in my voice.

She glances over her shoulder.

“Eve should be here any moment. We’re having cake and hot chocolate at the bakery around the corner. She’s on her way.”

“So you’re not interested in our latest collection?” I ask humorously again.

“I sure am. This is one of my favorite places to shop.”

I help her select a few outfits and lead her to the fitting room.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” I say, placing the hangers on a rack.

“I will. Thank you.”

I pull away and run into Chloe, who makes herself busy in the shoes section.

“What are you doing?” I ask, smiling and grabbing her by the elbow, nudging her away from the fitting room.

A smile tilts her lips.

“Nothing.”

“You’re such a creep,” I say, laughing. “Let her be.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“You’re stalking her.”

“So are you.”

I chuckle again.

“Go.”

“Liz?” Rain calls out.

I signal Chloe to move away and return to the fitting room.

Rain lifts up a dress and studies it.

“Do you have this in black?”

“Yes. Sure. I’ll bring it right away so you can try it out.”

She gestures at me.

“No need to. This size fits me. I want to buy them both,” she says, pointing at the white dress featuring a boat neckline, back zipper, long sleeves, and a hemline that hits above the knee.

“Sounds good,” I say, ready to pivot away.

“Oh…Liz?”

I freeze in the doorway.

“Are you coming to our party this Thursday?”

“Um. Yes?”

“You’re not sure?”

Wearing only lacy underwear and fuzzy socks, she picks up another dress from the hanger.

This one is purple and has a spectacular sash around the waist.

“You want me to help you with that?” I ask, buying some time while closing the distance between us.

She turns around to face the mirror while I brush her hair over one shoulder and look down to pull her zipper up.

The fabric––swishy taffeta––glints under the ceiling light.

The color is magnificent against her blonde hair, making her eyes look like green poison now.

Her eyes meet mine in the mirror, a hint of curiosity in her gaze. She reminds me of how David looked at me when we had virtual sex last time.

We’ve talked a couple of times since then.

I’ve never brought up Colorado again, and he no longer seems suspicious.

Despite dwelling for a good while, I didn’t tell him about what happened that night and the scare that man had given me.

I didn’t tell anyone, in fact.

I’m not one hundred percent sure that what happened that night had anything to do with me.

Although it surely looked that way.

I couldn’t just erase that impression from my head either, so I kept an eye out for suspicious things.

The person harassing me online was reported, and I haven’t heard from him again.

So maybe it was a coincidence, and it was mostly about me being leery about things with no actual causality between the two events.

Things have been quiet lately. And I haven’t had any issues with anyone.

School is good.

Work is good.

I have way more money than ever, but I’m too stingy to spend it on anything.

I like my ride, and I use it mostly at night when I go shopping for groceries or simply take it for a spin.

Chloe is back into her routine.

I still didn’t tell her that I wouldn’t attend her party. I tried and chickened out a few times. And now that Rain is here, and she is asking me about her party, I’m all stressed out.

How can I tell Chloe that I’m going to Thea’s party, to which she'd also been invited, and not going to her party because I’m looking for a job?

Rain’s stare is still on me.

“Yes. Of course I’m coming,” I say calmly. “And Chloe is coming too.”

“Great. We’ll have an amazing time.”

“Wait,” I say, grappling with suspicion. “I thought the party is at Thea’s house.”

“We thought that too,” she says, running her eyes over her dress.

She lifts her gaze and connects it with mine.

“But it would be easier if we had it at my place.”

My knees soften as I stare at her, intrigued.

“Is that a problem?” she asks.

“No. No problem. I’m sure it will be lovely.”

I freeze, my mind spinning a single thought.

“What?” she asks, turning to me.

I’m thinking.

Is this like a big party with a lot of guests? With more adults in the audience than kids?

I thought it was a nice gathering with cute stuff for the kids.

Because if it’s mostly for adults… Hmm. I know how fickle Chloe is.

She might reconsider going to Rain’s house.

She’s never talked about that man again, but what if she hasn’t forgotten about him, and there’s a chance he might be there too?

“Is it for the kids? The party?”

She smiles and turns her back to me.

“Naturally. Can you please unzip me?”

I do that, and she sheds her dress before putting her clothes on.

“But we might have a party for adults as well,” she eventually says, piling the things she intends to buy on a chair.

I pick them up.

“Lots of adults?” I ask.

“What do you mean?” she murmurs, running her fingers through her hair and brushing it all back.

“Nothing. I just wanted to know how to dress for the party.”

“Pick a nice costume. We’ll have the kids' party first and then spend some time together with the adults.”

Chloe pulls the drape to the side.

They greet each other, and my eyes go to my friend.

“We have customers,” she says to me before shifting her attention to Rain.

“We were talking about the Halloween party,” Rain says, and Chloe looks at me.

“You know about it…” I murmur.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah,” she says, moving her focus to Rain.

“We’re having a party for the adults as well,” Rain clarifies, and I know Chloe well.

She’s thinking what I was thinking moments ago.

“It’s no longer at Thea’s house?” Chloe mumbles, her eyes sliding to me.

“No,” Rain says while I witness the exchange.

“Sounds cool,” Chloe tosses at her, phony like a punctured condom. “Okay. Well.” She looks at me. “We’ll see you on Thursday then.”

My eyebrows go up.

“Yes. On Thursday,” Rain murmurs, and moments later, Chloe and I leave the fitting room.

I’m convinced that she’s already made up her mind.