Only Mine

Chapter 15

------UNDER EDIT-------

There was a black Toyota sedan parked discreetly across the road, seamlessly camouflaging with the dimness of the descending evening. The headlight had been turned off and the windows were tinted such that no one could make out if there was any driver inhabiting the strange motor car. Situated 100 yards away in a library, I certainly could not make out any driver. Staring at the car from the library's large floor to ceiling windows had become my new favorite past time. 

I had first noticed the car when I was casually roaming the city district with Cheryl, trying to find a nice cafe dinner to finish off our usually busy college days with. I had not paid much heed when I saw it the first time, parked in the lot, while I waited for the local bus to take me home. It caught my attention as not many cars had tinted windows and it was covered in a thin layer of dust, as if the owner had recklessly abandoned it for a few days or didn't particularly care for the car's upkeep. Then, I noticed it the next day when I had made a quick run to my nearest neighborhood market for supplies for my Accounting project. It might have been another black Toyota Avensis but I took down it's number plate, in case I ever noticed it again. There was something disturbing about this car that invoked a sense of caution within me.

My senses went on high alert when I noticed it parked inconspicuously in the visitor's parking lot when I went to college the next day. It was the same tinted black Toyota Avensis with a CN-498-JC number plate. I casually strolled past it and tried gleaming if there was anyone inside, but the tinted windows blocked any view. Now, everywhere I went, I made sure to keep an eye out for the car and my suspicions were confirmed -- it followed me everywhere. Almost always just on the peripheral of being too perceptible. 

Leaning against the library window, I noticed it's outline in the evening air. The air was thick with humidity and heavy rainfall was imminent. I wondered who could possibly be interested enough with my whereabouts. Maybe Alceste was right -- I was a person of interest for the police given Alexa Durham's murder and my association with Jean Renauld. Or maybe it was something more sinister. It had only been two weeks since the fateful car accident and the strange cupid fac man's warning. Something in my gut warned me that this was just the beginning.

"What are you staring at?" Cheryl interrupted my bleak reverie.

I turned to find her carrying her heavy backpack, laptop in hand and a confused expression on her face.

"Just wondering if there's going to be another storm tonight," I said. 

"Ugh. I hope it doesn't. I can't stand it anymore," Cheryl said as she made her way past the occupied tables filled with students and towards a more secluded area of the library.

I followed her, my laptop bag in tow, silently shuffling past the undergraduate students who were busy with their study groups. 

"You're from London. Isn't this like any other day there?" I asked.