They'd been tailing her for so long. She didn't know who they were or what they wanted, but she knew that they were there. For months she'd been spotting the same faces in the crowd everywhere she went, constantly feeling like she was being watched, even coming home to find things just slightly out of place. At first she'd thought that her anxiety was getting to her, but now she knew something was going on; something bad.
She couldn't risk the safety of the people she cared about. She had to leave.
Kylie took one last look around her plain, brick-walled apartment before leaving forever.
Subway station | 3:30pm
Kylie stared at the subway schedule, wishing for there to be some kind of delay. Her's was set to arrive at 4:00. Was she really about to leave everything behind? She'd done it before, but she did have one thing then that she didn't have now; her younger brother Austin. More than anything, she wished he was here with her, but she knew he couldn't be. The whole reason she'd decided to leave was to protect the people she cared about and he was one of them.
No, without the stalkers she wouldn't have had to protect anyone in the first place. Kylie felt tears form in the corners of her eyes. It had taken years for her to finally be happy again after what had happened. It just felt so wrong that these people, who she's never even met, were completely ruining whatever life she had.
Kylie's phone rang, bringing her out of her daze. It was Aliya. Her fingers hovered over the decline button for a moment, but she decided to take the call, wanting to hear her friend's voice one last time.
"Hello?" Kylie said, gazing down the tracks.
"Hey, Kylie. It's Aliya. Listen, um, can you meet me at my house in twenty minutes?"
"I'm a little busy right now," Kylie replied cautiously. If Aliya found out she was leaving, she'd tell Lila and they'd try to stop her. This was something she had to do.
"It's actually kind of important," Aliya said nervously.
"Why? What is it?" Kylie asked worriedly, playing with a strand of her long, strawberry-blond hair.
Aliya hesitated for a moment. "I think I'm being followed," she said quietly.
Kylie froze as her heart sunk in fear. Not only was she in serious danger, she had also endangered her friends. She couldn't leave now. She had to stay and protect them.
"Hello? H-hello? Kylie?" Aliya said, panicked, after a long moment of silence.
"Y-yeah, I'm here. I'll be right over." Kylie hung up and raced up the stairs and out of the underground subway station as fast as she could with her backpack on her back, thinking of nothing but helping her friend.
Aliya's house | 4:20pm
Kylie knocked on Aliya's door and stepped back, fidgeting impatiently. Aliya opened the hatch on the door and peeked through. She opened the door and pulled Kylie in by the wrist, quickly shutting and locking the door behind her. She stood by the closed door, catching her breath.
"Are you alright?" Kylie asked.
"No..." Aliya replied. "Y-yes," she corrected herself.
"How far did they follow you?"
"I don't know. I saw them down the road. They were getting too close so I ran. I thought they were going to catch me," Aliya said.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Aliya's eyes widened as she looked towards the sound. Kylie put her finger to her lips and walked quietly to the door.
"Aliya? It's Lila! Are you there?" She heard Lila calling from the other side of the door.
Kylie breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door. "Come on in," she said. She shut the door behind Lila and led her through the hall.
"What's going on? Aliya told me she she was being followed," Lila said.
"She was," Kylie replied.
They came to the living room and sat down next to Aliya on the couch.
Kylie looked around the room as they sat in silence. The couch was cream coloured and felt like leather. The carpet felt soft between their toes. The large windows let in plenty of light, something Kylie normally would have enjoyed, but because of the current situation made her feel uneasy.
"What happened?" Lila asked her, shaking Kylie from her thoughts.
"There were people, and they were after me, Lila," Aliya said. "Every time I looked around there was this person in a black hoodie watching me. I had to run from South Street to get home."
Kylie's heartbeat sped up. It sounded so familiar to her.
"What did they look like? Were they a man or a woman?" Lila asked.
Aliya thought about it for a moment then slowly shook her head. "I never saw a face," she said.
"How many of them were there?" Lila asked.
"Um... well, now that I think about it, there was probably just one person following me."
"Guys?" Kylie said. The upset tone of her voice made the other two turn quickly towards her.
"I- I know why you're being followed," Kylie admitted to Aliya. "I think."
"Really?" Aliya's eyebrows knit together. "Why?"
"Because of me."
* * * * * * So I did it, I posted the first chapter!!
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