Chapter Two

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Saturday comes in a blur as Ray wakes up in a daze to the sound of her alarm clock at 6am. She jolts awake in bed, ruffling up the comforter and sheets.

“Fuck.”, she says aloud to no one but herself as the walls echo her words back to her. Rubbing her eyes, she walks across to the bathroom to prepare for a day of work on a Saturday. Work at home; it’s a gem, isn’t it?

            Mornings to Ray must always begin with a steaming cup of coffee on her rosy red lips. Nothing is more satisfying than a big sweater and a coffee in hand with the computer sitting atop the coffee table splayed out before her. If caffeine had never been invented, Ray’s not sure if she’d be able to operate as well as she does with it.

            With her lack of medication the night before, her head doesn’t hit that pillow upon her bed until the early hours of the morning. A whopping three hours of sleep and she still manages to slump out of bed. It’s quite an accomplishment.

As her coffee slowly dwindles down to just a few more sips, her bedside phone begins ringing in a methodical, persistent tone. She reaches the phone just in time.

“Hello?” she says.

“Hi, it’s Charlene. I was wondering if you were up for a night on the town. I’ve missed seeing you. You’re always so busy with work it’s almost as if you only exist in print.”

“Um, yeah sure. I’ll meet you down by the music store on W Greenfield Avenue. Any specific time in mind?” Ray asks curiously.

“Does 8pm sound good? Sorry to call you so early. I just had a hunch you’d be awake.”

“Well, you got me. Your hunches are always right.” She says, smiling into the phone.

Charlene hangs up on the other end and Ray sits on her bed, planning out the rest of her day accordingly so she still has some time for herself.

~

            As the clock strikes noon, Ray heads out to finish up some errands and find a new story she may be covering. As she’s walking out the door, she catches sight of her neighbor in her peripheral vision. His eyes watch her intensely, the way someone looks at a puzzle trying to figure out the way the next one will fit. She waves to him politely but he just stares. She continues walking to her car, pulling open the door and taking one last look at him. What a creep, she thinks to herself.

            Revving the engine, she jolts out of her driveway and straight down the street into town.

~

            Upon reaching the main street, she pulls into the grocery store parking lot. Reaching down into her side bag, she pulls out the list she made out before leaving the house. Usual things a person living alone would buy. Scribbled in her own messy hand writing, she goes through her list in her head once more.

Grocery List:

Healthy nut bread

English breakfast tea

Cat food

New sweater

Onion

Red velvet cake mix

Pasta

            Mostly all consisting of food, her list is almost always the same. Although she does make unexpected runs to produce stands, buying them out of squash, tomatoes and red onions. She would never consider herself to be a vegetarian, but she does eat more vegetables and fruits than she ever does meats.

                        The store is busier than Ray plans, but she navigates her way through the mounds of people to the best of her ability. She takes a sharp left down an isle less crowded than the others, reaching down to grab her favorite bread from the bottom shelf. Turning her head slightly, she feels a sense of paranoia creep up on her. She picks up her bread cautiously, turning around to put it into her cart without making notice of her worries.

            Rayleigh can feel a pair of eyes beating down on her. Looking behind her, she sees a man, standing out of the way of the bustling people. He stares her down, as if to purposely bring a sweat to Ray’s eyebrows. When their eyes meet, he doesn’t look away. But, she recognizes him. Her neighbor.

            Had he followed her? Was he watching her while she sat in her car in the parking lot? Questions start to build in her head. Ray pushes out the thought and turns her head back to walk out of the isle. Looking back, she finds that he’s maneuvered his way through the crowd. She can’t seem to find those eyes anymore.

            Rayleigh finishes out the rest of her shopping, still looking behind her shoulder constantly; expecting him to be there. Was it just her imagination playing tricks on her? Was he ever even there at all? She has no way of knowing. Until she drives back home.

~

Upon reaching her street, Ray keeps a close eye out of her front windshield for her neighbor. Pulling into her driveway, she finds no one. She puts her blue Toyota into park and unloads her groceries from the back seat. Lifting the bags onto both arms while still keeping a tight grip on her side bag, she walks to her front door. Still cautious of him, putting the key into the lock. As the key turns, she hears an unexpected voice from behind her, startling her to the point where she almost drops everything in her hands.

“Hi, aren’t you the new tenant?” he says, his voice husky from the cold and his head hanging low.

“Yes. I have been for the last few months. Weren’t you just at the gro-“ he cuts her off mid reply.

“I just wanted to drop by and say hello. I was close with the previous owner and thought it was formal enough for me to greet the newest.” His lips pull into a smile. An all too knowing smile causing an uncomfortable feeling creeping up Ray’s winding spine. There’s something eerie about him.

“That’s very nice of you. I never caught your name. We’ll have to uh… catch up some other time? I have groceries to tend to.” She says, slowly slipping through her open doorway.

“Here, let me help.” He reaches for the bags, but Ray pulls away before he can.

“No, that’s quite alright. I don’t need help.” Her tone is a bit rude, but she can’t help it. Watching her intentionally at the grocery store? Stepping onto her property the moment she gets home? She has every right to be.

He looks at her just way he had before, at the grocery store. He nods and starts to walk away.

As he walks down the length of her driveway, Rayleigh feels the tension in her shoulders begin to release. Stepping through the threshold to her home completely now, she locks the door and walks to the kitchen. Much too curious about the man across from her own home.

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