Reason

Chapter 7:

I got into my car, putting my shopping list in the middle consul. I was bored at home and I needed to hit the grocery store before I picked up Claire and Brodie from Ariel's. I pulled out of the garage and shut it.

I pulled out of the driveway and drove to Meijer's. It was about two miles from our house and was super convenient since we were having guests over tomorrow.

I had a long list of things that we needed for tomorrow and I was stressing about what would happen tomorrow. Would Ian tell my secret to everybody at the table? Or would he keep it and just use it as a way to blackmail me? I shook my head and pulled into a parking spot at Meijer's. I got out of the car and felt someone's eyes on me. I looked around the parking lot but didn't see anybody that caught my attention.

I walked into the store and grabbed a cart. I wheeled it to the fruit section and looked down at my list of food. I had kiwis, strawberries, bananas, apples, blueberries, oranges and raspberries on my list in the fruit section of my list. I picked up a plastic bin full of kiwis and put it in my cart.

I looked up and saw Ellie over at the bananas. I rolled my cart over to her and picked up a thing of bananas.

"How's Ellie?" I greeted, smiling at her.

"Aubrey! I'm great!" Ellie said, picking up some bananas. "Doing some shopping before you go pick the little kiddos up?"

"Yes. It's just so hard to shop when Brodie is crying and Claire is asking for every little thing." I replied, walking with her over to the strawberries. I picked up a couple of cartons of strawberries and set them in my cart.

"Yeah. That's the same with Nora, Hazel and Brooke." Ellie commented, wheeling her cart over to the apples.

"Claire was upset that we couldn't do our usual walk." I said, grabbing a bag to put the apples in. I set about six good apples in the bag and put them in my cart.

"Aw. I'm sorry. It's always my dang job." Ellie said, grabbing some apples for herself.

"No worries." I replied, feeling the same uneasy feeling I was feeling outside in the parking lot. I had never experienced the feeling of someone's eyes on me. It creeped me out. Who was watching me? I couldn't see anyone that looked out of the ordinary. "Ellie?"

"Yeah?" Ellie answered, wheeling her cart to the blueberries and raspberries. I followed close by; always looking around.

"I'm getting this really weird feeling that someone is watching me. Could you look around while my back is turned?" I asked, gripping my cart. Ellie nodded and I turned around. I grabbed a carton of raspberries and a carton of blueberries. I put them into my cart and turned back around. I looked at Ellie who had a frightened look on her face. My heart stopped.

"There is a guy with a long beard in a Georgia peach shirt that keeps looking at you. He just walked back around another food aisle." Ellie said. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. I steadied my breathing. Someone was watching me. Someone in a Georgia t-shirt. I tried to remember if I knew anyone that had a long beard from Georgia. No one.

"I'm going to continue my shopping with you, Ellie." I replied, grabbing a pack of oranges.

"Of course. I will walk you out when you are done too." Ellie said.

"Thank you so much. I don't think I've ever met a guy that fit that description before." I told Ellie. She nodded and we walked to the meat section. I pulled out what I needed which was hamburger meat, some ribs and a rotisserie chicken and we walked to through the rest of the store, getting what we needed.

The man kept following me and he darted around different aisles as we shopped. Who was this man? Why would he be here, whoever he was? Was he tied to Ian knowing my secret? Did this mysterious man know my secret too?