Follow Me

1. Your Shadow

     There he was again. That guy was leaning against the brick wall of a building behind you. His hood was up but you could feel his eyes on you. You weren't even surprised at this point. At least stalking didn't seem to be his full time job. He wasn't always around. His usual routine consisted of following you too and from work.

     You shut the door to the apartment complex and headed off to work. The sun hadn't even touched the horizon yet. Did this guy even sleep? Right on cue he followed you down the almost empty sidewalk leaving a generous distance between you. Any of the few people out at this hour wouldn't think anything of it if they saw you and your shadow pass by.. You were the only one who could tell he was following you.

     You took your usual route to the coffee shop, him following at a distance all the while. It was a short, cold walk. Snow gently drifted down from the dim sky. It was difficult to maneuver through the icy sidewalk. The crunch of sneakers on thin ice could be heard behind you. You quickened your pace. The painted sign for The Bean Barn came into view and you quickened your pace. Getting to the shop you unlocked the door and went inside, locking it behind you. As you flipped on the lights the hooded figure walked past the front window of the shop. His red eyes met yours for a second. He quickly looked away and hastily walked off down the sidewalk.

     "It's ok." You told yourself.

     As you bused yourself with your usual morning cafe duties you tried to forget it. Still, that slumped figure and cold red stare burrowed into your mind. With a crash, the mug you had been setting on a shelf, slipped from your hand and fell to the hard floor. You stood there for a moment, staring at the splintered remains of the green porcelain. 

     "It's fine, it's fine, it's fine."  You thought, mouthing the words as you took another glance at the window. There was no one there. Just as you looked down and began setting another mug on the shelf, the door creaked open and the little bell tied to the doorhandle tinkled like ice falling from a gutter. You flinched and looked up, it was only the girl who shared a shift with you.

     "Morning Y/N!" Your coworker chirped.

     "Morning Hina."

     She rambled about some excuse for being late. I continued to stare at the broken mug, not taking in a word she was saying. Her chatter stopped abruptly.

     "Hey, you okay?" She asked, suddenly concerned.

     "I'm fine."

     "You sure?"

     "Yeah, sorry." I looked away from the shattered mug and rubbed my eyes. "I didn't sleep well, it's fine."

     "Okay, well... I'll clean this up. Why don't you go ahead and get your shift drink."

     "Oh, no I'll take care of it."

     "Go! Get! Coffee!" She shoved you out of the way and grabbed the broom and dust pan. Hina may have been chronically late and a chatterbox but at least she was helpful unlike the other part timers and students who worked the joint. She started up her chatter again as you ground the coffee beans, heated water, and steeped the grounds. You looked into the murky depths of the coffee and tried to suppress the thought of red eyes looking at you through the window.

———

     You shot out of bed, quivering from head to toe. Even though you were in your apartment on the fourth floor, you could have sworn you had seen a pair of red eyes in your smudged window. 

     "It's fine, he's not here." You said into the empty room.

     You scrambled out of bed and checked the clock. It was an hour till your shift at the bar. You had two part time jobs, once in a while this caused you to endure opening at the coffee shop, and closing at the bar. This was one of those days. After you got back from your cafe job at noon, you had a break till 4:00 PM. This space of time was usually spent napping.