His Little Marionette (The Puppeteer x Reader)

Chapter 31: Being Followed

Y/N's POV

My car wasn't starting and I couldn't find the problem. I decided to call my boss and alert them of the situation so he won't be confused to see my car parked by the cafe. I then decided to call Alicia to see if she could pick me up. I called, but she didn't answer. I tried to call her again but again received no answer. I also tried calling Bella, only to receive no answer from her either.

I didn't really know who else to call that lived around here who would be willing to give me a ride. I didn't live in a large enough city, so I couldn't flag down a taxi. It seemed that I had no other choice. I had to walk home.

If I had my car, the drive back to my apartment wouldn't be too long. But walking to my apartment would take at least a couple of hours. At least I had my phone. It was at a decent charge, so I decided to play some music as I walked. Listening to some music would at least make the long walk bearable.

Quiet music filled the silence around me. But I had this weird feeling that I couldn't shake. I felt like there were eyes on me. I looked around me, but saw no one. I kept my guard up. It was Saturday night, so who knows who could be roaming around.

I kept walking, occasionally looking around as the feeling never went away. About halfway home, I looked behind me and I thought I saw someone there for a split second. I turned down my music so that I would be able to hear my surroundings. I decided to walk a little faster. I wanted to get home as soon as I could.

I swear that I could hear footsteps behind me. I quickly looked behind me. This time, I knew that I saw someone. I walked even faster. I almost wanted to start running.

In my head, I went over some of the moves that Bella had taught me. I kept them in mind just in case things started to go south and this stranger ended up trying to attack me. I knew that the key would be to try to stay calm in situations like this.

I could hear footsteps again. When I looked behind me, the person who was clearly following me hadn't even bothered to hide. He just kept following me. I couldn't see his face.

From what I could see, he was wearing a white hoodie with some sort of stains over it. I didn't want to think about what the stains could be. He was wearing black pants and tennis shoes. Under his hood, I could see long black hair. He had his hands in his hoodie pockets.

If I started sprinting back home now, I could get there in 5 minutes. I was debating it. Screw being calm, I could die tonight if this guy had any ill intent. I carefully weighed my decisions for a minute before making a dash for it.

As I was running, I made sure that my phone and keys were securely in my pocket. I took a glance behind me and saw that guy running after me. At this point, I was absolutely sure that he wanted to harm me in some way, so I picked up the pace. I had to be able to outrun him.

He risked another glance behind me. I wasn't gaining any ground. In fact, he seemed to be getting even closer to me. At this point, I pushed my legs to go as fast as they could. I just hoped that I wouldn't trip. If I did, I'd be a goner!

I could see the apartment building! I was almost there! I risked one last glance behind me. He was still hot on my trail. At least now, he wasn't gaining any ground.

Once I saw the doors of the apartment building, I could've cried. With a few more steps, I pushed open the door and ran into the safety of the building. When I looked back, I could see him looking at me from a distance. I was safe! I made my way back to my apartment and almost immediately collapsed on the bed in my room.

I pulled out my keys and put them away. I also pulled out my phone and saw that it was still playing music. Before turning it off, I checked the time. It was a little after 11PM.

I got ready for bed. Being chased by a madman could take a lot out of you. I was definitely going to tell Alicia about this. But for right now, I just needed some rest. So, I crawled into bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up and checked the time. It was a little past 10AM. I got up and made my way to the kitchen. I just decided on some buttered toast. I made my way over to the couch and turned on the news.

I didn't pay too much attention to the news. I was mainly thinking about my experience last night. Could I have gotten hurt last night? Did I escape a near death situation? Could I have really died?

I was walking through a more sketchy part of town on my way home. It was then that I remembered about my car. I needed to do something about it. I finished my breakfast and turned on the TV.

I took out my phone and called my father. He knew a couple of people in the area that could help me with my car. He recommended someone and gave me the number to call. I thanked him and made the call. The guy who picked up said that he'd take care of it and get back to me as soon as he could.

Now that I had the car taken care of I could relax. I had a free day all to myself. I decided to binge watch the show I started yesterday. So, I grabbed what was left of the snacks, which wasn't much, and got comfortable. I pressed play and glued my eyes to the screen.

A few hours later, I had successfully watched the entire show. I then heard my stomach grumbling and realized how much I neglected it. I had entirely skipped lunch in favor of watching the show.

I made my way to the kitchen to prepare myself an early dinner. I had what I needed to prepare myself some pasta. I grabbed what I needed and got cooking.

Once I finished making myself some pasta, I made my way over to the couch. I turned on the TV and just flipped through channels before settling on something to watch. I watched while I ate. After I was done eating, I brought my plate back to the kitchen. I washed everything I had used for the pasta.

I went back into my room. I decided I should do something productive. I worked on some school work for a bit. It didn't take long to finish it since I didn't have any large projects that I needed to do.

After that, I just decided to mess around on my computer. I went into YouTube and scrolled through recommended videos. I managed to find a video that sparked my interest. After that, I just watched more videos to pass the time.

A few hours later, it was almost 11PM. I decided it was time to call it a night. I got ready for bed and made my way to the bedroom. I set an alarm on my phone and plugged it in. I hopped into bed and went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up to my alarm. I got up and turned it off. I looked out the window to see that the sun was just starting to rise. It looked... beautiful. I've always loved seeing all of the colors as the sun rises.

I managed to tear myself away from the sight in front of me and made my way over to the closet. I pulled out a random outfit and made my way over to the bathroom. I grabbed a towel and put it down along with my clothes. I stripped myself of my dirty clothes and started my shower.

After my shower and drying off, I put on my clothes. I brushed out my hair before brushing my teeth. I walked out of the bathroom not even bothering with makeup. I walked into the kitchen and immediately decided on cooking myself some eggs. I grabbed everything I needed and started to prepare my breakfast.

I finished cooking and made my way over to the couch with my plate. I turned on the TV and changed it to the news. I started eating as the news person was finishing the sports topic. Afterwards, the weather came on. Just news about how cold it was getting outside. Then, the story of the missing people came on. What I saw shocked me...