Unravelling My Past

15. Resolution

I struggle against his grip, groceries still in hand, I give the stranger a hard whack with my bag of cans. He lets go and I give myself a decent distance between us before I glance back to get a good look at my assailant.

Mid-forties drunk man. Haggard with ruined clothes. Hair tussled, sharp jawline, and striking green eyes. He looks at me angrily, rushing towards me at full-throttle.

I run down the streets, unfortunately knocking some trash cans over on purpose to block his path. I turn right, running straight only to realize that there would only be a dead end if I kept going that way. I immediately turn left to the nearest corner, and and as soon as I turn, I recognize the street that I am on, a small bit of relief entering into my mind and heart.

I rush in through the glass doors and close them. The familiar bell sound ringing. I gasp for air.

"Hazel, what happened?!?" I look up to see Adam, putting down his apron on the counter top as he is rushing to my side, worry filling his eyes.

"I was being chased," I say while gasping for air.

"Was it your psycho-ex?" He asks while putting both his hands on my shoulders, inspecting me for any sign of injury.

"No no. Just a random drunk, I don't know if he is still tailing me, but I just ran to the nearest corner that I could turn to, and I realized that I was on our street, so I ran to the cafe without much thought." I quickly explain.

Adam opens the door, looks left, then right, then left again. He closes the door, letting me know that no one was close. But then, there was a knock. My eyes widen in fear, and Adam pushes me behind the counter, which I thought to be useless since the door were made out of glass. However, you can't see through the glass clearly with all the intricate engravings. But I crouched down as he went to open the door.

"Adam!" It was a man's voice. I certainly  did not recognize it, but he seems to know who Adam is. I continue to wait quietly.

"Evan!" Adam replies with much joy. "Long time no see, where have you been? You literally disappeared for three months. You didn't even contact me, Ruby, or my mom."

"I had some business to take care of with the family back home. But now I'm back, should we catch up?" Evan asks. "But before that, who is that person that you shoved behind the counter. The glass may not be clear, but your silhouettes were quite visible with the lights on." My heart quickens in pace.

Adam calls my name. "Hazel, it's okay. He's a friend, not a stalker!" I awkwardly crouch out of my position, waving hello to the new person. My heartbeat slows down as I calm down. I look at him, short, dark brown hair, tattoo sleeve on his right arm and a small lightning bolt on the inner side of right wrist. He's slightly shorter than Adam, but tall nonetheless.

"Stalker?" He inquires.

"I was being chased, and I ran into the  cafe, but then you knocked so I hid." I answer.

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

An awkward silence hangs in the air as I stare at him and he stares at me. He seems familiar, almost too familiar, but I can't put my finger on who exactly he is. "Have I met you before?"

"I don't think so, this is my first time seeing you." He quickly replies. Suspicious, but since he is Adam's friend, I'll lower my guard and hostility. Adam sees the tension and breaks it apart. "How about we have a nice drink of coffee at the table? We can catch up and properly introduce ourselves."

"Great suggestion. But Adam, I'd like to speak with your mom." I ask politely. He nods and proceeds to fetch his mom and Amber comes out with a bit of flour on her apron. She sees me and smiles, giving me a tight bear hug that I try to reciprocate, but she's just too strong. Well, at least I tried. She looks a little past me and sees Evan. Tears start welling up in her eyes and she clasps her hands over her mouth.