“Is this seat taken?” I asked her from behind.
“Yeah, my friend is─ Oh my God, Mace!” she squealed as she wrapped her arms around my neck. She was at least half a foot taller than me and had been blessed with awesome curves. Unfortunately, I was lacking in that department, too.
“Get your boobs out of my face,” I said with a laugh. She gave me one last squeeze before letting go and taking her seat again. I sat down on the stool beside her and waved to get the bartender’s attention.
“Vodka Cranberry,” I ordered after I flashed him my fake I.D.
“You’re drinking?” Taylor asked with one eyebrow raised.
“It’s been quite a day.”
“So, you aren’t working tonight?” she asked quietly.
“I’m always working, Tay. I don’t have a choice,” I said as the bartender handed me my drink. He winked at Taylor before walking away to help another customer.
“One drink can’t hurt,” she said with a smile.
I nodded in agreement before taking a sip. “Is there a lot of crime in this area?” I asked.
“Well, that’s random. Don’t you think you should have asked that before you moved into your apartment?”
“You’re probably right, but I’m asking now.”
“Eh, nothing too serious. More robberies than anything else. I don’t think you have to worry about being shot in a drive-by or anything, though,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Robberies?” I asked, thinking back to the guy I saw outside my window.
She nodded as she pulled her drink away from her mouth.
“I think I saw someone looking into my window tonight. Right before I text you.”
“I thought you said you were on the fourth floor?” Taylor questioned.
“I am. And no, I don’t have a balcony.”
“That’s weird. How would anyone be able to get up there? Did they bungee from the rooftop?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe I just imagined it,” I said with a shake of my head.
Taylor and I chatted while I watched her finish off another drink. When I was yawning more than I was talking, I decided it was time to leave. Taylor offered to stay with me in case the guy from the window returned. After seeing her make googly eyes with the bartender all night, I assumed she would be getting an invitation to go home with him and assured her I would be fine on my own.
“Text me when you make it back,” she said as she hugged me one last time.
“Boobs in the face,” I muttered against her chest.
She laughed like she always did, and I promised to text her before leaving to walk back to my apartment.
As I walked on the well-lit sidewalk, an uneasy feeling came over me. I glanced over my shoulder several times and quickened my pace. I never heard any footsteps behind me, but I felt someone, or something, following me.
“Who’s there?” I yelled, turning around to look behind me. I fully expected someone to step into the light and admit that I’d caught them, but that didn’t happen. Nothing happened. I shook my head and walked to my building as quickly as possible.
“I’ve got to pull myself together. Nobody is after me,” I whispered to myself as I changed into shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. I brushed my teeth and slipped into my bed.
I texted Taylor, letting her know I was safe and sound. She replied with a winking face and I knew she was with the bartender. I rolled my eyes as I tossed my phone onto the pillow beside me. I had no trouble falling into a deep sleep.
I spent the next morning organizing all of my stuff. I never realized how much shit I had until I had to find places to put it all. I was putting up picture frames on the coffee table in my living area when I heard a thud in my bedroom. I stopped what I was doing and slowly walked down the hall toward the sound.
My door was opened just a crack and made a squeaking noise when I pushed it open. I looked around the room and immediately noticed my window was open. I dropped to my knees and looked under my bed to see if the intruder was hiding there. Nothing. I made my way to the window and expected to see nothing but the street below when I looked out. I was shocked when I saw a guy staring back at me. Well, not a guy. Half of a guy. He was only visible from the chest up and even what I saw wasn’t really him; it was transparent. I was tempted to stick my hand out the window and touch him, but I had a feeling I would be disappointed when my hand didn’t come in contact with anything.
“Who are you?” I asked.
A look of absolute shock came over the transparent-half-a-guy’s face before he opened his mouth and then closed it quickly. Before I had a chance to ask another question, he was gone. I closed the window and took a seat on the edge of my bed. Who was that? Better yet, what was that? And why am I not freaked out?
Surprisingly, when I was looking into the eyes of that thing, I never felt any fear or worry. I was more intrigued than anything else. He looked so real, with his disheveled brown hair and dark brown eyes to match.
I considered calling Nat. After all, she had experience dealing with unusual people and things. But I decided to wait in hopes of finding out some more information about the transparent-half-a-guy.
I ran to the kitchen and dug around in the drawer that I had filled with random shit until I found a notepad and a pen. I scribbled out a note and went back to my bedroom. I opened the window just enough to slide the note through and then closed it on the piece of paper to hold it in place.
“Now, I wait,” I said to myself as I walked back to the boxes I’d been emptying before.
When I woke up the next day, I checked the window immediately. The note I’d left was still there. I tried to go about my day without thinking about the weird encounter I’d had yesterday, but I caught myself zoning out frequently. Finally, I accepted the fact that I wasn’t going to get anything done in my apartment and called Taylor. I invited her to lunch but she’d already eaten and I wasn’t even hungry, so we got pedicures instead.
“So, how was last night?” I asked as my feet soaked in the hot, bubbly water.
“It was great. Gabe was really great,” she sighed as she let her eyes flutter closed.
“Oh God, I’m sorry I asked. It’s nice to have a name to put with a face, though,” I said with a laugh.
I considered telling Taylor several times throughout the afternoon about the mysterious form I’d seen outside my window, but I knew she would worry about my sanity, so I kept my mouth shut.
We grabbed Chinese for dinner and took it back to Taylor’s apartment, where we watched reality TV shows while we ate and split a bottle of wine.
Taylor asked me to stay with her, but I told her I wanted to sleep in my own bed. She pouted as we waited outside of her building for my cab to pick me up.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I promised before I gave the driver my address.
It was almost ten o’clock by the time I got inside my apartment. I went straight to the bathroom to get in the shower. Still feeling a little buzzed from the wine, I knew I wouldn’t have any problem falling asleep. I dried off and got dressed, still in a daze. I was ready to crawl into my bed when I glanced out the window and saw an envelope stuck to it. I shook my head and blinked several times, but the envelope stayed put. I wasn’t imagining it. My heart rate picked up as I opened the window. My hands were shaking as I pulled the envelope off and brought it inside. I took a deep breath as I sat right there on my floor and opened it. The response to my note that had read: “Who/what are you?” was brief but still intrigued me.
You’re not supposed to be able to see me. Who/what are you?
-J
I’m not supposed to be able to see him. What does that even mean? I saw him plain as day, twice. I scribbled out another note and taped it to the outside of my window again before closing it.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to everyone that picks up a copy of this book. Thank you for taking a chance on an indie author. Your support means more than y
ou know.
Thank you, Kaysie Bishop and Kate Vandagriff for making the perfect cover for this book. It’s even better than I imagined.
Thank you to all of my pre-readers: Megan Jensen, Leitasha Rodriguez, Anisha Pineda, Paige Yearby, Rebecca Jones, Brooke Trimble, Kaysie Bishop, and Kate Vandagriff. How lucky am I to be best friends with each and every one of you? I love you all so much!
Thank you Erin Spencer and Southern Belle Book Blog for always being there to answer my silly questions and to keep my stress level at a minimum. I’m so glad to know you!
Thank you to my wonderful family and coworkers. Y’all have watched me carry my laptop around like it’s an extra appendage for the last six months and have done nothing but encourage me to finish this book. Thanks for the support!
Thank you to Caitlin Nelson at Editing by C. Marie and Ann Field at AJ Editing for helping me make this book the best it can be.
An extra special thanks to my awesome husband, Kevin Townsend. Thanks for never complaining when I’m writing instead of cooking or cleaning. Thanks for never hesitating to take our child to the park or to the movies when I need some quiet time. Thank you for listening to my ideas and supporting me every step of the way. Most of all, thanks for being my biggest fan. I love you the most!
About the Author
From a rural community in southern Oklahoma, Melissa Townsend is a married dental assistant with one child; and on the surface, the picture of today’s ordinary working wife and mother from Smalltown, U.S.A.
As a busy mom, she initially found her escape in reading. It is just in the past few years that she’s found her passion and enjoyment of telling her own stories. Having never travelled or experienced much beyond the realm of country-living, Melissa finds herself taking journeys through an array of genres and different writing styles. Don’t let her quiet, small town, ordinary demeanor mislead you. Sit with her for very long and you will quickly discover her wit, dry sense of humor, and unique perception of the world around her. It’s these characteristics spieled out into her stories that define her writing style and will keep you wanting more.
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www.amazon.com/author/mtownsend
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