The audacity of this jerk! He isn't even bothering to hide what he's doing!
Crunching the bread against me, I went along with the flicker of angry disbelief coiling inside. “What the hell are you doing?” The words were hot, tart on my tongue.
He didn't even flinch.
With a politeness I wasn't prepared for, he tilted his head and answered. “Ah. Sorry, but what do you mean?”
Crinkling my eyebrows, I spread my feet and faced him fully. “What do I mean? You've been following me since back at the commons!”
“Have I?” Scratching at his cheek with one elegant finger, his smile vanished. “No. Not quite.”
“Yes! Yes, you have!” Raising my voice, I gestured with the bag of bread violently. “I saw you sitting on the wall! Don't lie to me!”
That smile returned, fading in gently like smoke on a breeze. “You misunderstand. I only meant that it wasn't since you spotted me that I've been following you. It's been much longer than that.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it.
Dammit dammit dammit, this guy... this is dangerous, I just know it. Why did I bother confronting him? Ugh, I hope I don't end up as a news blurb tomorrow.
Working around the numbness in my tongue, I slid one heel backwards. “I swear, I'll scream.” And just hope someone hears me. Too terrified to take my eyes off of that pale face and check around, I prayed there were still people in the park.
“Scream?” he asked, tucking his hands into his pockets. “What ever for?”
Hesitating, I licked my lips. “Uh. Well. Aren't you—I mean, you just admitted to stalking me around.”
“True,” he agreed. “I'm just not sure what screaming would accomplish.”
That was too much for me. In a panic, I threw the bread at him, not watching to see if it would even do anything. All I wanted was to run, and my body was happy to oblige.
Scrambling down the walkway, stones clomping under my rapid foot-beats, I strained to tell if I was being followed.
I can't look back, dammit, I can't! Just run, Gale, just keep running.
Breathing heavy, fighting the sharp, acrid burning in my chest, I pushed myself beyond what my muscles thought they could do.
Screaming for air, for a break, I denied it all and just kept sprinting until I broke out into the street. Behind me, the park was like an angry black spider, the leaves and branches reaching for the sky with hairy legs.
Bending over by the only lamp post along that length of road, I panted.
I need to go further... I should get closer to other people, or go to the police, or just something. I wish I at least had a cellphone!
Wiping my forehead, I turned back to stare anxiously into the shadows. The park, a place that had always felt so peaceful to me, now made my belly stir uneasily.
Who was that guy? Why the hell has he been following me?
Shaking my head, I smoothed my hair back behind my ears. My belly still felt squishy, like the bread I'd eaten could come up any minute.
Glancing to the west, I saw the vague glow of the downtown area, where I knew the police station would be. Unfortunately, before the safe glow of the hustle and bustle, was a long stretch of silent houses.
Walking past the hunched buildings that seemed so insidious in the blue evening didn't sound appealing.
The other way up the road went back to my campus, my dorm. The entire swath of pavement was bright with tall lamps, and that... that struck me as much safer.
Tomorrow. I'll go talk to the cops tomorrow.
Adjusting my backpack, I hurried off down the quiet street. It wasn't until I crossed into the grassy commons of the campus that I started to breathe easier.
My relief didn't last long.
Stepping into the first halo of tall lamp light spreading across the ground, tingles crept up my neck seconds before that smooth voice called to me.
“Did you not realize this bread was old?”
Freezing, I looked down at the long shadow on the grass beside me. It poured over, extending into the light from the lamp above.
Warily, I turned around until I saw that grinning face. He was standing outside the reach of the glow, decked in darkness. Still, he wore those sun glasses.
In one hand, he had a slice of white bread held high. The bag I'd chucked at him was cradled against his chest. “Well?” he asked, expectant.
“I—I, what? Well what?” I was having trouble thinking, especially when I was trying to decide if he was close enough to stop me from rushing straight for the dorms at the top of the hill.
“Well,” he said pointedly, waggling the bread, “did you realize it was old?”
“That... yeah. Of course.” If I yell loud enough, right now, maybe someone will come help before this goes too far.
Sighing, the stranger tucked the slice back in with the rest. “So every time you've been eating these, it's been awful, stale quality?”
Stunned, I slumped my shoulders so quickly my backpack fell to the grass. “Every time?”
“That's what I said.”
“You... you've been watching me in the park before?”
Canting his head, he smiled sideways. “I thought I already said as much before you ran off in such a hurry?”
Oh my goodness what the hell. Gawking, my foot stepped backwards on the mild slope. “So you meant it. You've really been stalking me. Why? Tell me why.”
“As to that,” he shrugged, face almost entirely dark, “I couldn't say exactly.”
“You don't know?” Enraged disbelief wallowed up in me. “Impossible. How the hell could you not know why you're doing this? Who are you?”
In the late hour, his visage cast in shadow, only his smirk was easily seen. “So many questions. Let me answer the second, since it's really all I should be speaking about.”
With a heavy silence coating us both, he made it all the thicker with a dramatic pause. Bowing his head, a deep gesture I'd have felt was out of place on anyone else, the stranger inclined his chin at me.
At that angle, I could see just over the crack of his sunglasses. I thought I might spot something that explained the coverage, but I only glimpsed his eyelashes. Maybe he's blind? Why else wear glasses like that at night?
He moved in a smooth gesture that put him far too close. Unable to react, I inhaled sharply at his nearness.
He offered me back my bag of bread. Both his smile and his glasses glinted in the lamp light. “I'm known as Nethiun. Nice to officially meet you.”
'Nice to officially meet you.' My brain was in a fog, fighting to do something about all the warning sparks. “You know who I am, I take it.” I whispered flatly.
“Indeed,” he mused, gesturing the bread-bag at me again. “Gale Everette, student here at Endicott college, undeclared in your major. And now we know each other. How proper.”
Gingerly, I took the package from him, listening to the paper crinkle. “Proper. You call stalking me around in secret, learning weird facts about me, and scaring me half to death 'proper?'”
Shrugging, he straightened up and hid his hands back in his pockets. “If it all ends up in the same place eventually, then yes. Why not?”
“I—because you don't do things like that!” I blurted, so lost by the situation that my fear began to melt in a vague simmer. “Following people, not telling them why? That's awful stuff!”
“Awful,” he repeated thoughtfully. “Hmn. Perhaps I shouldn't have let myself be caught out after all.”
Reaching down, I scooped up my backpack, juggling it over my shoulder. “You're saying you let me spot you on purpose?”
Nethiun smiled down at me, but he said nothing.
He was still making me uneasy, but considering that
nothing had happened to me yet, I felt bold enough to press him. “Are you a private detective or something? Is that why you won't tell me anything, or why you're hiding your face behind those glasses?”
Leaning away, he touched a pair of fingers to the bridge of his nose. “A detective? No, nothing like that at all.”
“Then take those off, show me what you look like,” I pressed, taking a step forward without thinking about it. “Besides, it's got to be impossible to see out of those when it's this dark out.”
Nethiun's mouth spread, twisting up at the corners. “I can see just fine. But,” he went on, hunching down to let his face hover a mere foot from mine, “why are you so interested in seeing my face?”
Jerking backwards, I almost tumbled onto the grass. “What are you implying?” I demanded, clutching the bread-bag so hard it crunched. My cheeks felt like I'd been sitting in the sun for hours.
Chuckling, he kicked one shoe against his opposite ankle. “Nothing. You make it sound like I asked something inappropriate, when you're the one requesting a better look at me.”
Gasping, I shook my head so fast my hair flew like a storm of crimson waves. “No! No, you've got that all wrong, I...”
“What a nice pink color your cheeks can make,” he whispered, voice like melted caramel.
Blushing, my boots carried me up the hill a few steps. “Whatever. Stop looking at me already. I shouldn't even be wasting my time talking to you, not if you're going to be playing these word games and not telling me why you're stalking me.”
“I was only trying to have a little fun,” he said with exaggerated chagrin. “Upsetting you, well, that was just a side effect. Besides,” he said with a light laugh, “isn't this better than feeding the birds alone on a bench?”
“Is what better?” I scowled.
“Talking to me,” he said bluntly, cocking his head to one side.
Staring at his sharp cheeks, his even sharper smile, I struggled to find some words. Anything, if just to avoid dwelling in awkward silence.
Whoever this man was, he was throwing me off entirely. Was it because of how strange he was, or was it perhaps something in the way he spoke to me without a hint of uncertainty?
When was the last time a boy even tried to have a conversation with me—no, no, stop it Gale! This guy is trouble, and possibly crazy . At best, he's involved in some fishy stuff.
Also, his name is suspiciously weird.
Nethiun was quiet, his lips a neutral line. I realized he wasn't watching me any longer, but something past my shoulder.
Shivering, I shot a look behind me, staring at the campus and the lights of the buildings. It was too easy to feel like I was in some sort of horror film. “What is it now?” I said, hushed.
Suddenly self-conscious about acting so paranoid, I cleared my throat and spun back to squint at him. “If you don't—” Cutting myself off, I looked upon the shadow covered grass.
No longer was he standing before me. Somehow, in that few seconds, Nethiun had vanished.
Trembling, I shot a wild look around. There was no sign of the stranger, not even a hint he had existed.
Standing out on the commons, stale bread hugged tightly in my arms, I was entirely alone.
Chapter 2.
Gale Everette
My dorm was quiet when I arrived. Slipping inside, I set the bread-bag on my desk. Hanging my backpack on the chair, I flopped down onto my bed and groaned.
This has been a weird night. Staring up at the ceiling, I counted the wrinkles in the paint, trying to distract myself from my thoughts.
It seemed impossible. That wicked smile kept returning firmly to mind. Rolling onto my stomach, I dropped my face into my pillow.
Now what do I do? Go to the police station tomorrow? Tell them I'm being stalked by someone with a name like 'Nethiun'?
Pursing my lips, I crushed myself further into the fluffy bed. I'm still going to do it. I don't want to end up like one of those girls who convinces herself reporting stuff is a waste of time, and then ends up in a casket.
Distantly, I heard the approach of soft voices outside the door. I was drained of energy, burnt out from adrenaline, or I might have sat up.
Luckily, I recognized the feminine voice as it giggled. Sounds like Becky is back. My roommate usually stayed out late, hanging out with whatever boy had her current fancy.
Not lifting my head, I heard the distinct 'click' of the door opening, then closing gently. Louder were Becky's shoes, the heels clomping on the hard wood. I didn't need to look to know what she was wearing, it announced itself.
“Hey,” she said cheerfully, moving about the room and tossing things aside. “You awake?”
Instead of answering with words, I lifted an arm. The cool darkness of the pillow was too wonderful for me to let it end just yet.
Becky clicked her tongue, springs creaking when she sat on the mattress across from mine. “Very friendly. What's up Gale? I didn't see you all night, usually you're back before now.”
My voice was muffled by the pressure of the cloth on my mouth. “I didn't think you noticed that stuff.”
Laughing, she tossed something at me. I felt it land on the middle of my back, the sensation making me twitch. “Of course I notice. What, do you think I'm too distracted by a date to know when things are weird?”
I did think that, actually, I thought in silent guilt.
“Come on,” she goaded me, throwing something else onto my bed. It missed my back, sticking in my messy hair instead. “Talk to me.”
Rolling on my side to squint at the girl, I dug out the metal hoop trapped in my red tresses. Becky tended to wear some of the biggest earrings I'd ever seen. “Nothing to really talk about.”
“Well that's a lie,” she snorted.
Peering at her sweet smile, I was reminded of Nethiun. “Okay. Yeah, something happened tonight. I'm just honestly not sure how to explain it.”
Wiggling her perfectly shaped eyebrows, Becky sat up straighter. “Please tell me this is about a boy. It is, isn't it?”
Tightening my mouth, I tossed the earring at her. It landed harmlessly in her lap, where she picked it up with manicured pink nails. “No, not a boy. Well, okay—okay, sort of a boy, but not exactly.”
“Wow,” she said, eyes going wide. “You must really like him, you can't talk straight.”
“No!” I blurted, sitting up in a rush. The other ring of metal slid off of me, falling to the floor; forgotten. “Becky, you're jumping ahead. I haven't even told you what happened.”
Shrugging, she leaned back, kicking her feet idly. “Sure, but your face says it all.”
Baffled, I turned my head, catching my reflection in the screen of the laptop on my desk. It was Becky's, but she'd been kind enough to call it 'ours' when we'd moved into the dorm.
I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. “What?”
“You're flustered, Gale. Out of sorts. That's what I'm talking about.” Pointing at me accusingly, she grinned. “Whoever this guy is, he left you thinking about him.”
That's... true, but not the way she's thinking.
Running fingers through my hair, I huffed loudly. “This so called guy you think I'm apparently smitten with? He's a creep who stalked me all over the place tonight.”
Her face went blank. “Oh.”
“So you understand?” I asked in relief.
Cradling her chin in her hands, she looked at the ceiling. “Wow, that's crazy obsessive. What did you do to make this guy want you so bad?”
“Bwa—I—wha—what!?” Stunned, I threw my hands into the air and made a strangled noise. “Are you joking? I didn't do anything! Becky, this is serious!”
“I know, I know,” she said, motioni
ng at me as if it might calm me down. “I'm just saying, you and I both know you've never had a guy chasing you before.” Pausing, she squinted at me thoughtfully. “Like, at all. You know?”
Inhaling so much that my chest expanded, I held the air in for a long second. Expelling it, I made myself talk quietly. “Yes. I know. But this... this isn't like that.”
“How can you know that?”
“I just do! He said he'd been following me for a while, he knew my name, he... Becky, stop smiling.”
“Sorry, sorry!” She giggled, covering her mouth to hide the evidence. “Okay, fine. Let's say he isn't out to 'win your hand' or—”
“Ew,” I said, cutting in.
“—Or,” she pushed on, “trying to date you. Then what does he want?”
Biting the inside of my lip, I glanced at the bag of bread on the desk. “He didn't say.”
“Didn't say?”
“Yeah. Or I guess, said he wouldn't say, or something.”
Becky pouted, reaching down to kick her heels off. “What was his name, did you get that out of him?”
Peeking back at her, I hesitated. “Um. He said his named was Nethiun.”
“Nethiun,” she repeated.
Shrugging, I pulled my legs in lotus style on my bed. “Weird, right?”
“Depends. Was he cute?”
Gaping, I realized I was having trouble meeting her curious eyes. I saw her grin quirk higher, and regretted the topic entirely.
“Oh God,” she laughed. “He was, wasn't he? Well, look, maybe your crazy stalker guy means well and is just awkward or something.”
Looking down at my hands, I made them curl into gentle fists, then spread them again. Why don't I believe it could be that simple? Where is my suspicion coming from?
Maybe the fact he vanished without a word. I didn't see him leave, not a trace. “I was thinking about going to the police,” I whispered.
My roommate stood up, digging into her own desk. “Hmn. Well, if you're that worried, I say go for it.”
Caught up in my thoughts, I only looked back at my hands.
Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) Page 2