THERE AND BACK AGAIN (Joseph Quinn)

An Unseen Shadow

If I can't have her, nobody can.
But she is mine! SHE IS MINE!

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As Joe approached the steps of Sarah's flat he saw a guy in a burgundy hoodie standing at the bottom of the path, looking up at her lounge window, he had his hood up and didn't move as Joe drew nearer.

"Erm, 'scuse me?" Said Joe as the guy was blocking his path. Something about his demeanour seemed off, but maybe he was looking to deliver something? A very common nightmare in London.
"you looking for an address, or something mate?" Joe enquired as he walked past the man onto Sarah's pathway.
"No, er, no.....er......sorry" the guy said awkwardly as he walked off, head hunched down into his shoulders. Not looking at Joe at all as he spoke.

'Odd' thought Joe as he strode up the steps, stubbed out his cigarette and knocked on Sarah's door, watching the man as he walked away down the road. Joe was slightly alarmed that he turned around to look at him again after a few moments to see if he was still watching.

He was still looking in that direction with a furrowed brow when Sarah opened the door.
"Hey you" the furrow disappearing on Joes face to be replaced with a smile.
"Hey" he said kissing her on the lips "I missed you"
"You were less than 2 hours!" Sarah observed  with an eye roll, but enjoying the compliment nonetheless.

Joe went to put his bags down in the corner, she noted with a knot of excitement that he appeared to have a stuffed backpack, at least one change of clothes with him this time, just incase?

"You can put those in the bedroom if you want; here, let me take that" she gestured towards the carrier bag as they both walked towards Sarah's bedroom. Sarah broke off into the kitchen as Joe put his bag in there.
"Oooh, croissants!"Sarah squeaked as she unpacked.
Joe appeared behind Sarah and she spun round to face him, the energy suddenly changing as they stood in the same position they had been in last night, with Joe pinning Sarah against the worktop, his arms wrapped around her, she kissed him gently.
"I missed you too" she said quietly. Joe smiled his cute grin at her and his stomach rumbled loudly, his eyes suddenly wide with embarrassment.

"I had better warm these up!" She said patting his stomach.
"I'm fucking starving" he said now rubbing his own stomach. Joe put coffee into the waiting cafetière.
"Umm, by the way there was a bit of an odd guy hanging round outside as I came in"

Sarah instantly stopped what she was doing.

"What? Just now?"
"He's gone now, but yeah?" Joe said with sudden concern at her reaction.

Sarah shot across her lounge to the window and pulled back the net curtain to look outside.

"Did he have really dark hair, wispy beard, olive skin?" Sarah had visibly blanched looking back at Joe.
"Um, I think so, he had a dark red hoody on but had the hood up so I couldn't be 100%; Sarah, what's wrong?"

"Oh god....I think it was Alec; he was stalking me at the Uni - oh god......I should explain" now in obvious distress, Sarah paced left to right in front of Joe.
"Who is Alec?" he said quietly, placing his hands on each side of her arms to stop her pacing and stooping to look intently at her face.

"Someone I hoped I had seen the back of"

"Come on I'll fix us a coffee and you can fill me in" he followed Sarah back into the kitchen with his hand around the back of her neck. She had now drawn her arms around herself protectively.
Joe had a feeling he was not going to like what he was about to hear.

Explaining to Joe what had happened over a cafetière of steaming coffee and a croissant it actually sounded worse when she said it out loud.

How Alec would wait for her after lectures to talk to her, initially on the premise of help with his course, and then gradually finding more and more excuses to detain her. How he would buy her unwanted gifts, leaving them in her pigeon hole at work, writing her poems and long rambling letters about how much he loved her, all increasingly creepy shit.