ΛFTERGLOW ☼๋࣭ ₖ.ₜₕ

『 20. wait for me 』

Photo of Soleil above ^^

⚠️WARNING(S)⚠️
None

Word Count: 5,290

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ˏˋ POV'ˎ
ʕ KTH ʔ
• ᴥ •

"Am I paranoid or has that car been behind us for kind of a long time?"

My question was left without a verbal answer, only earning a quiet and brief hum in response. I was partially joking, ending the sentence with a little laugh in an attempt to break a smile from the woman beside me who hadn't made a single noise or movement since we got in my car.

I had been driving for about thirty minutes in a random direction, as I had assumed that Soleil wouldn't want to return to her hotel yet. I wasn't sure of the details of the situation, but based on what Soleil's girlfriends had told me earlier that evening, I could come up with a few possible scenarios in my mind. Seeing a sketchy man grab Soleil alarmed me even more than it already would now that I'm aware of her family being involved in what Esther described as "sketchy stuff" in the past.

I wasn't quite sure what to say to make Soleil feel okay at the moment, but there were things I knew for sure that I shouldn't say. I knew I shouldn't ask her who that man was, I knew I shouldn't mention what Esther told me because she said she would discuss that with Soleil herself, and I knew it was probably better for me to not touch Soleil anymore without asking first. Although I knew she wouldn't necessarily be uncomfortable with me doing so, seeing her be grabbed like that by a man who clearly had no regard for her safety or feelings made me inexplicably angry and extra cautious of her feelings about touching.

The car behind us actually did concern me a little, but there still was the possibility of me being paranoid. I felt Soleil suddenly turn her head and lay her eyes on me, startling me with her first words since we've been driving.

"Drive down random streets and make a big circle. If they're still behind us the whole time, it's someone following us," she said simply.

Glancing over at her, I watched as her gaze returned to the road ahead and fiddled with her hands in her lap. Swallowing, I nodded my head and flipped the blinker on as we came up on a street to the right, deciding not to dwell too much on the fact that this was something she has probably had to do more than once in her life.

Glancing in the rearview, I watched with an unsettling sensation in my stomach as the car then switched on their blinker and turned as well. Soleil seemed to notice this and shifted slightly in her seat, causing me to glance at her with quiet concern, finding that her expression remained neutral.

I took advantage of the fact that the windows of this car were tinted so I could glance at the car behind us as often as I want without seeming suspicious myself. Unfortunately I couldn't make out a face from the distance they kept behind us, as they were most likely attempting to avoid being caught.

"There's still a possibility they just happen to be going to a house in this neighborhood," Soleil spoke up again, voice steady and quieter than usual. "Take a right on the third street down and then make a left and loop around back to the main drag when you reach the end of that one."

Giving another nod, I murmured, "Okay," and did exactly as she instructed.

The car remained a bit distantly behind us the entire time, even as I looped around and began driving back down the main drag on which we had entered the neighborhood. This caused my stomach to tighten with anxiety and I gazed over at Soleil to gage her reaction.