Etched

Chapter 36

Standing outside the office building, I waved at Luke as I saw him sitting in the car with his mother and driving off. He was very cute and I was drawn to him. I hope he comes over again and we spend some more time together.

I'd met his mother and unlike how I'd imagined she was extremely sweet and soft-spoken woman. She was so grateful during the whole length of our conversation and I kept reminding her that her son was an amazing company. I offered her to drop Luke with me whenever she wanted to and even gave her Gabriel's address because that's where I was living now.

It was sad to see Luke going so soon. I thought he'd stay a bit longer but his mother came to pick him up.

"Hey" I felt a tug on my blouse. As I focused my attention, I saw a little girl wearing a pink frock looking at me. Crouching down, I observed how her golden hair were braided with colorful hair ties and she looked so adorable gazing at me with her large hazel eyes.

"Yes?" I asked softly smiling at her and making sure that we weren't obstructing someone's path.

"This is for you" she said shyly, raising her hand and showing me the parcel she carried. A frown made way on my face at her action but I took it from her grasp nonetheless. It was a gift box messily wrapped in a red sheet.

"Where did you get this?" I asked, as I looked for the card on the package because I kind of felt that it came from the same source as most of my gifts did before.

"Someone asked me to give this to you?" she said in her childish voice and I instantly looked at her, alarmed.

"Who, baby?" I questioned. She turned around pointing towards the store on the opposite street where now no one stood.

"Where did he go?" she said panicking and I knew whoever the sender was, they were nowhere near. This was being played discreetly. She was looking everywhere, searching for the person and I could see the look of confusion in her innocent eyes.

"Oh that's okay. Don't worry! Just tell me what did they look like?" I said, trying to calm her down and myself in the process. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Black clothes and..." she started, I nodded and she leaned in closer to my ear and whispered "scary," she shuddered and I was looking at her in shock.

"Elina!" a woman called, making the girl freeze and she gestured her mother that she was going back to her.

"Mommy is calling me. Goodbye!" she smiled at me while I was gazing at her, trying to rack my memory to link the description she gave to anyone I knew and the only person I could do it with was the man in the bicycle who'd glared at me. Black clothes and scary...

"Bye!" I whispered to almost no one being lost in my own thoughts and slowly straightened up drowned in my thinking. Could this possibly mean that I was being stalked so attentively that they had to make sure I was within their visual range before the parcel was delivered.

An uneasy feeling crept up my spine on the thoughts of being watched by someone which is why I nearly yelped at the sound of a voice so close to me.

"Excuse me" someone said from behind me, making me twist on my heels and I would've slipped if I missed a step. I gulped, shaking my head slightly at my jumpiness. Calm yourself, Jenna.

"That... is for me" said the thick voice. It belonged to a man as I'd guessed. He was wearing a suit as I'd seen so many people wearing recently. What struck me the most was his face. It felt like I'd seen him somewhere until I realized. 

He was the same person who fought me at Jerdy's for the gift and now again he was pointing at the package in my hand.

"I think not" I said sucking in a breath and backing away. This is not a coincidence for sure. Is he the stalker? But then if he is, why would he offer something and then ask for it back "Who are you? I saw you back at my home, then you are here?" I said taking more steps behind. "Did you get this for me?" I asked breathless.