Mr. Sandman

eight

"It was completely mad." Oliver laughed as he picked up his glass from the table. I couldn't even react to his story. I was completely bored. And slowly but surely, I was losing my mind. I smiled and looked down at my now empty plate. When we had arrived at the Italian restaurant, I wasn't even that hungry. I managed to eat everything on my plate out of monotony. "So, tell me about your family." He said and I looked up, meeting his blue eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked and he shrugged his shoulder, taking a long drink of his water.

"Your family back in America. What are they like?" He suggested. I rested my elbows on the table and thought for a moment.

"Well, my Dad is great. He owns the company, of course, but he was always a great Dad in general." I began to say. This was one of the first times Oliver had actually let me talk all throughout dinner. "We always had a really good relationship."

"And your Mom?"

"My Mom is another story," I griped and he chuckled. "Even before the divorce, she was always breathing down my neck about anything and everything."

As I told Oliver about my Mom, I felt an easily recognizable chill run up my spine, making me shiver internally. "You know, she was just always very..." I turned my head over my shoulder and let my eyes scan the restaurant that was behind me. Everything appeared to be fine. Servers attending their tables, a small group of people getting up from one of the red draped tables not too far away.

"Sophia?" Oliver's voice spoke up, bringing my attention back to the table in front of me. "Is everything okay?" He asked, his words sounding uncertain.

"Yeah, I'm sorry anyways my Mom wasn't a bad parent or anything. She was just always scared to let me grow up, I guess." I explained as he listened intently.

"I completely understand what you mean, my parents were basically both like that. Except," Oliver furthered the conversation as I slowly began to zone out again. I was having the same feelings I had the night I was being followed after work. I knew someone was watching me closely.

As I tried to listen to Oliver, I let my eyes wander momentarily. I examined the areas behind Oliver's chair. The rest of the restaurant was the same. Nothing appeared to be wrong and everything seemed to be commonplace. Every time I looked at a new corner or table, I was half expecting to see someone bundled in a black hoodie.

The feeling suddenly became overwhelming, making me think someone would grab me from behind and drag me into eternal darkness. "Hey, I'm going to run to the bathroom." I said quickly, cutting Oliver off. I stood and grabbed my purse, pushing my chair in.

"Oh, okay. Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, his expression suddenly horribly worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be right back."

I let my feet carry me across the packed restaurant at a fairly quick pace. I watched as people passed by, making sure none of them looked directly at me with any sort of sign that they knew who I was. The dull orange lights of the restaurant gave off a calming vibe that was currently being destroyed by my paranoia of an unknown force.

I pushed the wooden door open and stepped into the bathroom, which was substantially more peaceful than the dinning room of the restaurant. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that I was alone in the restroom. I walked to the granite counter top and put my purse to the side. Looking in my reflection, my eyes looked tired. Physically, I was wide awake. Mentally, I was drained.

I turned the handle to the faucet on and splashed a very small amount of the cool water onto my cheeks, attempting to wake myself up a little more. After drying my hands off, I grabbed my phone from my purse and saw I had one text message from about forty-five minutes prior.

Dan: hey what are you up to?

I sent him back a quick text, letting him know I was out with a friend, then slipped the phone back into my bag easily. I looked back into the mirror and reaffirmed myself. I was overthinking way too much. Everything was fine.

As I walked back towards the table, I saw Oliver standing from his chair and watched as he grabbed his coat. "I just paid, so we can go now." He said and smiled to me.

"Sorry I ran off," I apologized, but he shook his head.

"You're fine. I get it. It's girl stuff." He laughed. I didn't react, considering it most certainly wasn't "girl stuff."

As we exited the building, Oliver laced his fingers with mine casually, like it was a normal thing. It wasn't something I would have expected, but I went with it. Deciding it was an innocent act. Walking down the concrete path to the car, I got the same unsettling feeling my stomach. I clutched Oliver's hand a little tighter, simply out of fear.

"Cold?" He nudged me with his shoulder, breaking my trance. I looked up to him and smiled.

"Yeah." I said and he nodded.

We reached his black sedan and he opened the passenger door for me, allowing me access into the car. As I settled into the seat, I looked out the window and scanned the parking lot for any signs of life. It appeared to be empty except for a couple walking into the restaurant.

"So," Oliver said as he slipped into the car. "I don't know if you have any other obligations, but my mates just invited us to Society tonight. So I mean, if you want to go."

Going to a nightclub sounded like one of the least desirable things at the moment, but I didn't want to hurt Oliver's feelings. I smiled and nodded my head. "Sure. It'll be fun." I lied through my teeth. I saw the excitement in his eyes as he turned the car on.

I looked back out the window and watched as we backed out of the parking spot. As we drove out of the lot, I noticed a dark figure lurking on the side of the building. From the minimal light in the area, I could barely see the hood over the persons head as they watched our car pull out. My breath hitched in my throat. I knew this was my stalker.

And I knew this wasn't over.

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so within the past like 48 hours-ish, my notifs have been blowing up from this story which is awesome ty all sm for the support i love it a lot. even though i might not respond to all the comments, i read them all and you guys crack me up with your witty inline comments. thank you for making my day. anyways ilysm.