Crossing the Line

Four

Gifts.

From fresh flower arrangements in the morning to her favourite chocolates during the day, for the past three weeks she had been getting numerous gifts delivered to her house each week.

"Good morning my flower."

"Your favourite to get you through the day."

"You are so beautiful to me."

Each gift carried a card with something sweet written about her and how beautiful she was but they were all signed with 'Anonymous'.

She didn't want to get her hopes up but a part of her hoped that it was him...

She hoped that he was done trying to find 'himself' and that he realized that everything was a mistake when he left her. She hoped that this was his way of easing himself back into her life again.

But while she received more and more gifts, she knew deep down that it didn't feel like they were his doing.

He would've delivered them himself. He would've picked flowers from his mother's garden. He would've talked to her in person right off the bat... Because that was him.

That was the part that scared her the most. That these gifts weren't from him but from someone(s) else.

She didn't want to ask the delivery man who sent these gifts every time he came around.

The thought of someone else other than him trying to entertain the idea of replacing him was something she wasn't ready for. She didn't think she would ever be ready that.

Because he was a kind of his own that was hard to compare to. She hated that he was him and she hated to admit it to herself but she missed him.

So so so so so much.

She didn't want to open herself to a new world that was patiently waiting for her to finally make a debut.

She didn't want to risk her heart by reopening wounds that were already hanging on by a thread.

- - -

She had been seeing Jeremy around more often than usual.

At the grocery store, the mall, walking around in her village, at her favourite restaurants... It was like he always seemed to know where she was.

Although it did raise suspicions, Jeremy was always a nice and respectful fan.

One day as she was walking her dog down her street, she bumped into Jeremy yet again with his camera hanging limply around his neck.

Giving him a small smile, he took that as a cue to approach her.

"Another picture, Jeremy?"

Nodding and holding his camera up, he quickly took another selfie. This was what? His 4th time this week. Jeremy turned towards her, a little more confidence in the way he carried himself than usual.

"So did you get my gifts?"

Confusion was her initial reaction then dread started to fill her bones. They were from him. All those gifts and cards of admiration were his doing.

All she could do was give him a sad smile and nod.

"You really don't have to get me all these-"

"Did you want to go to dinner with me later on tonight?"

His interruption caught her off guard. He never used to do that. Pausing for a moment to realize that he was serious, she backtracked her memory to all those times they've bumped into each other. She didn't feel like she did anything out of the ordinary to make him feel more special than most of her fans.

"I'm sorry Jeremy, but I'm not looking for anything."

"But my gifts. You accepted them all. You looked happy when you got them."

"What?"

Warning bells starting ringing in the back of her mind. How did he know her reaction?

"Nothing, nothing... It was a guess. Please just this once. Dinner with me?"

"I'm sorry Jeremy, but no. I appreciate the thought behind all the gifts and I'm thankful for them but it's best that you don't send me anything anymore."

Standing her ground confidently, she gripped her dog's leash around her hand a little tighter.

As she watched his face go from happy and hopeful to blank and unemotional, her confidence dropped and fear ran through her bones. He stared at her with a look in his eyes that told her to run then gave her a uncomfortable smirk as he turned at walked away, camera still around his neck.

Shit.

Maybe his thoughts about Jeremy weren't so wrong after all.