In the Melancholy Moonlight, Part 5: Dark Matter

Chapter 249: You're Gonna Go Far

A/N: Trigger warning for stalking in this chapter. Nothing terrible happens, but if you're someone who has stalking-related trauma like me, you might want to proceed with caution. If that's the case, you can skip to the line "Soon enough, my mom screeched into view, pulling up right next to me." Long story short, Nicolas was a bad boyfriend and he's an even worse ex. I went through something very similar at the end of my high school relationship, so a lot of this is based on my personal experience, with a few creative liberties of course because I wanted Claire to be braver than me and get the closure I never got.

This chapter is for anyone who's struggled with moving on. The world is waiting for you, whenever you're ready to go out and meet it. You can do this. You are brave enough. You are strong enough. You are smart enough. You are going to be okay.

Without any further ado, Chapter 249! I hope you enjoy!

🩵💛❤️💜🩷

CLAIRE:

It was just supposed to be a fun trip to the mall.

I was excited about it. I was going to the mall with Lindsay and Nneka to look for new clothes for college. Nothing too crazy, but, well, I was ready for a change. I wanted clothes that would be comfortable for biking, first of all. Everyone biked in Davis, there were more bikes than people in Davis. I wanted nice clothes too, for internships or job interviews or whatever other opportunities happened to present themselves that would require a business casual outfit or two.

More than anything, though, I wanted clothes for partying. My high school wardrobe simply wasn't going to cut it anymore.

I got to the mall first, as evidenced by the fact that our designated meeting spot was vacant, so I made myself comfortable next to the fountain and waited.

I'd only been there for about two minutes when I got the sudden sense I was being watched.

It happened more often than I'd ever admitted to anyone, the creepy feeling that someone was watching me. I'd always just chalked it up to residual trauma, a hypervigilance resulting from the fact that something or someone had been in the woods that fateful night Lucy was taken from us. The feeling that I was being watched had never amounted to anything, so I'd always just done my best to brush it off.

It was easier said than done, though. That day in particular, I was convinced that someone was watching me.

I scanned my surroundings, sure that Lindsay and Nneka were somewhere nearby. Maybe I'd heard their distant voices somewhat subconsciously, maybe they were just approaching and I hadn't properly registered it yet.

But Lindsay and Nneka were nowhere to be seen. I settled back down onto the bench, reaching for my cell phone just in case. I flipped it open and closed until my friends arrived a couple minutes later. I shoved the feeling away and jumped to my feet, rushing over to greet them. If they could tell I was uneasy, they were kind enough not to mention it, and soon enough, we were hurrying in the direction of our first destination.

Just before I followed them through the doors, I cast one last look over my shoulder.

To my horror, I was right. I was being watched.

Nicolas was leaning up against the wall across the way, sunglasses on to hide his eyes but definitely positioned in a way that suggested he was looking directly at me.

Well, that explains it, I thought darkly to myself.

But I refused to let a coincidental crossing with my ex ruin the fun shopping trip that I'd been anticipating for weeks, so I merely marched into the store with renewed vigor and walked directly to the rack full of crop tops.