Someone is Watching

Chapter Six

"You can't keep running from me, my flower."
That's what that man had whispered to me when I was walking home from Lily's house. Now I knew that he really did follow me home, and it was him who had banged on my window, and left a dead rodent on my doormat.

I felt sick. I tried to call Mauve, but she didn't answer. She must still be working. I thought about calling my mother, but I'm not sure how she would react, or if she would even care. "Should I call the police?" I asked Arthur, who was laying on the window seat. "No, I haven't been threatened. Just thoroughly creeped out."

Maybe this guy had mistaken me for someone else, someone he really didn't like. Because I hadn't really met anyone since moving to Seattle, so there's no way somebody already knows me.

I convinced myself that all of this was no big deal. Just a simple mix up of faces. Besides, I had to go to the store, and I wasn't letting some creep get in my way. I had things to do, and I was going to get them done.

I pulled my hair into a messy bun and grabbed a leash I had brought back from Lily's house. This time we left the house through the mud room door, and I made sure that I locked both locks. Not long after, Arthur and I were in an outdoor market looking at plants. There was a space in the backyard for a garden, so I figured I might as well fill it.

I bought seeds for a few different flowers and fruits and vegetables, then we were on our way to the store. Arthur couldn't come inside the supermarket with me, so I tied his leash to a bike rack and quickly bought a small bag of dog food. When I came back, I found a small girl petting Arthur's head, his eyes closed peaceful as she ran her hand along his plush fur.

Later, on our walk back home, I got another phone call. But since it was in my back pocket and my arms were full of groceries, I had to let it ring. "My phone was never this busy when I lived in New York." I mumbled to myself, thinking it was probably my mother again.

We walked in silence for the rest of the way, just enjoying the sun and the birds. When we finally got to the house, I noticed the black box wasn't anywhere to be seen. I didn't know how I felt about that, but for the time being,, I was glad that it wasn't around.

I put a bag down and unlocked the mud room door, letting us into the cool house. Arthur went ahead of me, disappearing around the corner. I later found him laying on the window seat again, asleep.

I went to my room and changed into some worn overalls and a old, red t shirt. There was a small, weather beaten shed in the back corner of my yard that I planned on going through to find more gardening supplies. Right now, that garden was the only thing my mind was focused on.

I went back into the kitchen to grab the seeds I had bought. "Come on, boy!" I yelled to Arthur, "you are going to get some sun!"
He didn't seem happy about it, but he got down from the window seat and followed me outside.

All three yards bordering my own had large wooden fences surrounding their yards. It sort of fenced in my yard as well, which looked really weird, but I'm not complaining.

My landlady must be good friends with the neighbors to the left of me because there was a cute, wooden veranda against their fence.
It looked way out of place, not being connected to my house, but it was quirky and I liked it.

Arthur and I walked to the old shed in the back. I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. There also wasn't any door handle for me to use, which definitely didn't help me out.