The walk up the hill had completely drained the last of my energy reserves. With my snack in hand, I almost collapsed onto one of the sofas, nearly spilling the hot liquid all over my front.
I closed my eyes as I rested my head against the couch’s soft back. What a day.
But I was done with all my midterms now I could enjoy the week.
Professor Perry’s offer creeped up in my mind.
Dammit.
The whole thing weirded me out a little. Was he preying on my frailty, or was he simply a caring person?
After resting for a few minutes, I nibbled on the blueberry scone and sipped my tea. The sugar and fat seemed to replenish my strength. I pulled out my phone and texted Jen. Finished my exam. Let’s hope I passed. Hope you are having fun in Hawaii. She’d gone on a long weekend with her family.
Then I texted Mindy. All done. Going to chill out at the library. What are you up to today?
My phone beeped two seconds later with her reply. Wishing you were here. She included a palm tree and sun emoji. I knew she was in California, visiting her great aunt in San Diego, and was happy for her. She needed to do something fun after spending most of her free time with me in the hospital.
Everyone was on a mini break, and now I could do the same, although I had only one day left. Since I didn’t work the following week and I couldn’t leave Seattle, I made a list of places I wanted to visit eventually, as my energy allowed. I needed to include my mother and sister in the mix.
Pike’s Place
Museum of Pop Culture
The Botanical Gardens
Dinner with Mom on the Pier
Lunch with Stella
I stopped there. I was getting tired just thinking about my list. God, I hate being so weak. I wish I could have coffee and energy drinks like a normal human.
I sent a text to my sister to see if she wanted to meet me for lunch on Monday, and one to Mom to meet for dinner on Sunday. Maybe if I reached out first, they wouldn’t be so pushy. Both responded with an all-caps YES within a minute of each other.
Just as I slid the phone back into my purse, I looked up and there he was.
The man in black stood in the café's doorway, looking straight at me through those silver glasses.
I blinked, and he was gone. Did I just imagine he was there? I shook the feeling off and finished my tea, while scanning the room for any signs of him.
First the cemetery, then my work. Next the bus and hospital. Now my school. The guy was stalking me. Shit.
I knew he was following me, but with everything going on, I’d pushed it out of my mind… except I kept having weird dreams at night, about him and me as Eva. Part of me wanted to go talk to him, but the rational, self-preserving side of my mind wouldn’t entertain the thought. What would I say to him, anyway? “Hey why are you stalking me?” Yeah, that’s a real conversation starter.
I looked around the café. Being the weekend after midterms, most of the people hanging out were graduate students working on their thesis or dissertation. All the undergrads were out partying somewhere warm and sunny, except for me and maybe a few others who couldn’t afford to travel.
Stop pitying yourself.
I stood up and took my cup and plate to the dish bin and wandered out into the hall. The reason I’d come to the library was to sit in my favorite room on the whole campus—the Reading Room.
I slowly climbed the grand staircase up to the third floor and rounded the corner to the open ornate doors. As soon as I stepped through, a feeling of calm washed over me. The hushed reverence of the room, the smell of old books, cathedral ceiling and chandeliers, and stained-glass windows created an experience where time and space stood still for a moment, allowing me to catch my breath. I could stay in here forever and be perfectly happy. Whatever worries and stresses I had, they all melted away at the door.
I forgot about the man in black, Professor Perry, my most recent hospital stay, and the exams as I strolled the entire length of the hall, taking in everything I loved about this room. For a brief and glorious moment, all was well in my world.
I found a desk and sat down. From my purse, I produced my favorite book of all time, The Elf’s Promise. It had been a whole year since I’d reread it, and I’d slipped the paperback into my bag earlier this morning as a reward for finishing midterms. I couldn’t think of a more perfect place to sit and read the fantasy tale than the Reading Room at Henry Suzzallo Library. Within minutes, I seemed to be transported back to the enchanted Red Forest where the elves of Loria lived.
I was well into chapter one when I got the creepy feeling someone was watching me. I looked up from my book and glanced around. A handful of students were scattered throughout the massive room, all with their heads down. I returned to my book, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling.
Then I glanced behind me. There, by the second entrance, stood the man in black partly obscured by a bookcase.
Are you freaking kidding me?
I shoved the book back into my purse and ran out of the room and down the steps to the information desk where the usual redhead guy I saw here on the weekends manned the desk.
A second set of curved stairs came down opposite the ones I descended, and the man in black stood at the bottom.
“Hi, I’d like to report a stalker,” I said to the information clerk in a low voice.
“Is the person who is stalking you here?” he asked.
I pointed right at the man in black.
The redhead glanced in the direction of my hand. “I don’t see anyone there, miss.”
I glanced over. The man was still standing there. “He’s right there.”
The redhead looked right at the man in black and then shook his head. “Um, there’s no one there. Let me call the campus police.”
I blinked, and the man in black disappeared.
“Don’t bother,” I muttered and walked out of the building.
I’d had enough of this lunacy.
Chapter 8
I headed to the left, down to the Drumheller Fountain. As I rounded the pool on the opposite side, I saw him standing by the trees near the chemistry building.
How the hell did he get there so fast? Against all common sense, I burst into a run toward him.
“Hey!” I yelled.
He backed into the trees.
“Don’t you dare move.” My lungs burned. I’d used up more energy than I should have. A few feet further on, I had to stop. I held up my hand. “Don’t.” Cough. “Don’t move.”
I reached into my coat pocket and grabbed my inhaler.
I took two puffs as I staggered toward him. My vision blurred, and one leg didn’t lift quite high enough to step. The ground seemed closer than it should. My brain finally caught up with the fact that I was falling, and I caught my balance and steadied my body. The inhaler fell from my hand. I glanced around. A few people milled about admiring the old buildings, but mostly, the campus was bare of students.
I turned my focus to the man ahead of me.
“Why do you keep following me?”
He didn’t move, just kept staring through those stupid sunglasses.
“Would you take those ridiculous things off, so I can see your eyes?” I stooped down to grab my inhaler again, but kept my gaze on him.
“You can see me?” His voice was low with a hint of an Eastern European accent, just like he had sounded in my dreams.
“Yeah,” I snorted. “I’m looking at you, am I not?”
Standing up again, I took a step forward then stopped. He would have to meet me out in the open where everyone could see. I put my hands on my waist and waited.
He got the message and stepped forward. When he was an arm’s length from me, he stopped and took off his glasses.
I stifled a gasp.
His eyes were as black as night with tiny glints of light shimmering off their dark surface. Without his glasses, I could see his striking face. He could be the star of the next dark fantasy movie with that
black trench coat, and his long hair pulled back.
“How can you see me?” He tilted his head.
“Huh,” I stuttered. “You… you’re standing right there.”
“Fascinating.” His face revealed no emotion.
A clap of thunder overhead was the only warning we got before large raindrops came tumbling down from the sky. I didn’t move, nor did I take my eyes off him.
“Why are you following me?” I asked again, shivering a little. The surrounding air seemed a few degrees colder than it had been a couple of minutes ago.
“I don’t know.” His eyes scanned me from head to foot. “You’re different from the rest.”
“The rest of who? Women you’ve stalked?” What am I doing? I glanced around and noted that the few people who had been lingering had disappeared now it was pouring down rain. Shit. I turned back to the man.
“I don’t stalk humans.” He met my gaze. I swear I saw glimmers of red in his eyes.
“Oh, so, what, you stalk fairies?”
“I shouldn’t be talking to you.” He turned slightly, but my hand stopped him.
I didn’t know why I’d reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his leather coat, or why I was even talking to this stranger in a late winter downpour.
He focused on my hand.
Feeling stupid, I patted his arm and shoulder. “Just making sure you were real and not a figment of my imagination or a ghost. Not that I believe in ghosts… That would be totally silly of me.” I laughed nervously and pulled my hand back. “Okay. That was weird.”
Why do I have to be so socially awkward?
Why did I care? This guy was stalking me, and I’d gone out of my way to strike up a conversation. What the hell was wrong with me? Had I left half of my brain in the exam room?
My torrent of self-loathing questions stopped when his hand touched my shoulder. My gaze drifted up from his jawline to his lips and then to his eyes. My heart raced at our proximity. His hand moved from my shoulder to my cheek. Cold, wet fingers lightly touched my skin, sending sparks of electricity across my face and neck.
“I should not have sought you out. Please accept my apologies. I shall not bother you anymore.” He dropped his hand. Before I could react or say anything, he was gone.
The strange thing is I couldn’t be certain where he went. Like all the times before, he was there one second and then gone the next, making me think I might have imagined his presence. Unlike before, though, I had spoken to and touched him—he was as solid as the ground beneath my feet. I couldn’t explain away this experience with any rational train of thought.
But then again, I’d been in the ICU, fighting for my life the week before. Maybe my mom, Professor Perry, and everyone else was right—I’d pushed myself too hard too soon.
My body felt weaker than before. I stumbled forward through the puddles. The walk down to the transit station seemed miles long even though I could see it from the top of the hill. The cold rain didn’t help… My feet and legs were soaked.
I was about to cross Stevens Way, when a black Mercedes sports car stopped right in the middle of the crosswalk, and Professor Perry jumped out.
“Young lady, you will catch a cold.” He ran around and opened the passenger side. “Get in here before you end up back in the hospital with pneumonia.”
My mother had always told me not to get in a car with a stranger. Mr. Perry wasn’t exactly a stranger, but I knew nothing about him. Despite my better judgement—not that I had any left, at this point—I got in. The moment I sat down on the leather seat, I felt guilty about the water dripping from my coat and soaked pants.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered through chattering teeth.
“Nonsense.” He helped buckle the safety belt around my shaking body. “Let’s get you home before your mother worries even more.”
“My mom?” I shivered uncontrollably.
“Yes, she called me wondering if you had finished your exams and asking why you weren’t home.” He closed the door and walked around to the other side. Once in the driver’s seat, he cranked up the heat to full blast. My butt warmed too.
Heated seats, you idiot. I turned to him as he drove. “Are you spying on me for my mom?”
“What?” Professor Perry jerked his head toward me. “I got lucky because I was driving away the moment you walked out into the road.”
“How did my mother have your number?”
“I gave it to her to set up your exams when you were in the hospital.”
I leaned my head back. This was too much. I should have just gone home after the exams. Would have avoided two unwise situations. Right now, I could have been home in my fuzzy pajamas, curled up with a cup of tea and a book. Instead, I had talked to a stalker, gotten completely drenched, and now was riding in my professor’s car, who for all intents and purposes, was a stranger.
Wow, good thinking, Everly. No wonder Mom and everyone else thinks you can’t take care of yourself.
We were halfway to downtown when I realized I’d never given Professor Perry my address. “Do you know where I live?”
“Yes.” He gave a slight nod, but kept his eyes on the road.
“How?”
“Your student records.” He kept driving.
“You have access to those?”
He glanced at me. “I’m your assigned counselor.”
My body warmed up, but I still felt cold. “Since when? How come the school never informed me?”
“It did. Just now.”
This can’t be right. “I don’t believe you.”
“Ah, well, you may believe whatever that pretty little head wants, but this is true. You’ll be getting an official letter in the mail next week from the academic and registration office.” He turned on to Madison, heading into downtown.
And there’s the condescending professor, I’ve become accustomed to.
We rode in silence the rest of the way. Not once did I tell him where to go. It was as if he’d been to my place a thousand times. While we were stopped at a light, my body remembered the feeling of the man in black’s cool hand on my cheek. My hand traced the place his had been. How can such a simple touch generate such a powerful response from my body? Right then, I wished I was still standing in the rain with that man, rather than sitting in a warm luxury car with Professor Cranky-Pants.
I never asked the man his name. Will I see him again?
He said he wouldn’t be bothering me anymore, and that saddened me. I never got any attention from guys. I always flew way under the “oh, she’d be cute to date” radar. I kept my wardrobe plain and I almost never wore makeup, except some concealer here and there. My hair wasn’t much to work with either. All my life, I’d kept my head down to not attract attention.
It had worked… until now.
Maybe that’s why he’s stalking me? Don’t those type of people prey on the loners?
I should be afraid and want to stay as far away from that man as possible, but that was the problem—I didn’t fear him, nor did I want to stay away. Not after I’d talked to him, and we’d touched. It was stupid and irresponsible of me, but I wanted to see him again, and sooner rather than later. I didn’t care if this desire made me look like those bimbos in horror movies who willingly walked into a creepy basement alone.
Professor Perry pulled up next to my building and cut the engine. He leaned back and turned his attention to me. “What is going on in that head of yours?”
“How old are you?” I had no idea where the question had come from, but as soon as the words came out, I realized it had been sitting in the back of my mind for a while. Why do I care?
“Older than you think, much too old for you.” He smirked.
“You think I’m hitting on you?” I gawked. “You’re the one who keeps butting into my life and offering me rides in your little sports car. I never asked for this.”
Professor Perry took my hand. My shoulders tightened.
“My darling, my only concern is that yo
u are safe and cared for and that you succeed in your studies. I want nothing in return. Is that clear?”
Night had fallen around us, and his green eyes seemed to glow in the semi-darkness of his car. His hand felt warm and soft, wrapped perfectly around mine, but he hadn’t made any inappropriate advances on me.
I met his gaze. “Why have you been so mean to me, then?”
He bowed his head slightly. “I wanted to push you, to help you see your full potential.”
I pulled my hand back and reached for the door handle. “Look, I don’t need your help. Thank you for the ride.” I got out.
“Everly, don’t push me away as you do your mother and sister,” he called after me.
“My family business is none of yours. Please stay away from us.” I closed the door and hurried down the sidewalk.
I gritted my teeth together so hard they hurt. Especially when I noticed Mom’s sedan parked next to the building entrance. My hand found the base of Grandma’s cross and gripped the silver pendant, willing it to fill me with strength.
Here we go. Again.
Chapter 9
I spent Sunday in my fuzzy pajamas, streaming comedy movies on my laptop and eating all the leftovers that Mom had left in the fridge the night before. With the rain pouring outside, it felt like the right plan. My body needed the rest. The only thing missing was a cuddly kitten. Too bad sharp claws didn’t go well with my bleeding disorder. But a girl could dream, right?
At least I had my plants. They flourished in this apartment, with all the windows and a little attention from me. I loved plants. Half of them I’d received over the years during my hospitalizations. Now those were the size of mini trees and bushes. The rest had come from the flower shop—all castaways that would have ended up in the dumpster. Now they thrived in my living room. Perhaps the reason I had chosen botany as my minor.
The relaxing day didn’t erase the encounter with the man in black. My mind kept returning to him. Why couldn’t I get him out of my thoughts? And what did that say about me?
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