Unexpected

Chapter 34

Mallory

It's Friday evening, and I'm locking up at the library. I wave goodbye to Jalisha as she pulls out of the parking lot. Right as I'm about to sit down into my driver's seat, my name is spoken, and the voice has my blood draining from my face. I turn to see Josh standing a few feet away. He starts to walk towards me, coming out from under the shadow of the trees.

"Josh?" I question not trusting my sanity and possibly having a hallucination or something. 

"I bet you're shocked to see me," he answers with a slow smile.

I glance around nervously, but no one else is near.

"Wh . . . what are you doing here?"

"You gave me no choice, but to find you. You didn't respond to my text." His jaw tenses as he says it, coming to a stop right in front of me.

It is then that I notice the slight stubble he has grown on his face. Josh was always clean shaven. I never saw him looking less than perfect, an image straight from a fashion magazine. His current outfit of athletic pants and a tee shirt make him look bizarre to me. It's disconcerting, to say the least.

"There's nothing more to say. I've moved on." I answer timidly.

"You sure did. A whole three hours away."

"How . . . how did you find me?"

He leans in even closer and states with a malicious grin, "Come on, Mallory, it's the twenty-first century. It's not hard to find someone nowadays. You just have to have the motivation."

"But, why waste your time and gas to find me? I didn't answer your text for an obvious reason, or so I thought." I try putting on a brave face even though I'm trembling inside. He has me cornered between my open car door and the vehicle itself. His arms are braced against the door and the frame, effectively preventing me from just jumping in and closing it like I desire to. There is something that is off about him, and it is not just his appearance. This is not the man I previously knew. Well, I thought I knew I corrected myself. 

"Well, I was hoping a little face to face time would change your mind," he sneers. "But maybe I was wrong."

"Josh, I just don't see the point, okay? I live here now, and I can't just give you a second chance, not after what you did." I look away ashamed.

"I'm sorry, you know." He reaches out to play with a strand of my hair, letting it run through his fingers as they graze down the side of my face, and I tense at the contact. "I think if you give me a chance, I can make you very happy."

I pulled away. "No. I need to go. I'm sorry, but my answer is still no." I try to get behind the wheel, but he grabs my arm, squeezing tightly. I look up at him fearfully.

"Just think about it. I will wait."

"Sure," I whisper, "I . . . I need to go, please."

He releases my arm with a radiant smile. "That's my girl. That wasn't so hard now, was it? I'll be seeing you around." He leans forward like he wanted to kiss me, but I flinch and turn my face away in reflex. He chuckles and settles for kissing me on the cheek. "Until next time . . ."

I just nod and take the opportunity to close my door quickly. With trembling hands, I start my car and drive away. I glance back in my rear view mirror and see him still standing there, staring after me, smiling. 

Once I'm a ways down the road, I start to cry. I don't know what to do. I feel like he was threatening me, but in my panic crazed memory, I can't recall any actual verbalized threat. It was just his demeanor. It was scary. I drive around, not wanting to go home to an empty house. What if he follows me there? Dane wouldn't even be home yet. Then it hit me, I could go to the gym. I know how to get there, and Dane will hopefully be working. Maybe I could just stay there until he gets off shift. Then we could go home together. I'd feel so much better knowing that he was next door . . . just in case.