Attraction

19.

"I'm going to miss you, my sweet Will" My mom says as she hugs me tightly. We're standing in front of the airport and I close my eyes tightly to fight the tears that so badly want to run down my cheeks.

"I know, I'm going to miss you too, mom" I breath trying to calm myself. She grabs her suitcase and gives me a smile before turning to walk into the airport.
"I'll call you when I land. I love you!" She calls out gently as she walks toward the entrance.

"I love you too" I call out after her, I turn to get my back in my car as I drive back to my apartment to get ready for my shift at work tonight.

My shift at work seems to pass by painfully slow tonight and the strange reminder of Jessie not being here with remains on my mind.
It has been two days since I texted her last and I never got a reply, Andrea informed me that Jessie was supposed to be at work tonight- but she never answered Andrea's texts or calls when Andrea tried to reach her.
I decide to take a bathroom break- we are horribly busy tonight but there are other employees here and I want to check up on Jessie. I go to the bathroom and pull out my phone from my apron as I hit Jessie's contact in my phone. It rings until I get her voicemail- I frown and hang up the call.

Jessie is everything okay? Call me when you can
I send her a text and get back to work.
Maybe she's just upset about what happened with Liam and needs some time to herself to move past all of it.

All of the employees I have spoken to that have Jessie's number all have said the same thing, when they call her it rings and goes to voicemail- all of their texts have been unanswered for the past two days.

I try to focus on other things and not let my worries get the best of me, but it's difficult. Jessie looked so crushed the last time I saw her, she's usually so bubbly and headstrong. Maybe she and Liam figures things out and she decided to be impulsive and take a trip with him.

She's an adult, she's allowed to do whatever she wants to do, but the least she could do is text one of us back and let us know she's okay. I hate not knowing if someone is okay or not. I walk back out and see a man sitting in my section, his back is facing me.

"Sir can I get you anything?" I ask him politely, he's got his face buried in a book and he doesn't look up to acknowledge me.

"Just the check." He replies while keeping his face fixated on the newspaper in front of him.

"You got it." I respond as I walk away to get his check. After I place the check down on his table, and walk away to grab a plate of steak and fries to take to another table. When I go back to his table he has already left the diner, I finish up with the rest of my shift as I clock out and get in my car to drive home.

I start the engine and the radio comes on, a woman on the radio makes a few announcements as I take down my hair from its tight and messy ponytail. I put my seat belt on as the announcements continue.

"And this next song has been requested to be played by a man who wishes to be left anonymous and to say, I love you and I'm thinking about you tonight." The radio announcer states.

Hello, it's me
I've thought about us for a long, long time
Maybe I think too much but something's wrong

My blood runs cold and I feel a few tears brim the corners of my eyes as the haunting song that he used to play for me begins. It's just a song- I try to mentally think to myself. It's a song, not a monster.

There's something here that doesn't last too long
Maybe I shouldn't think of you as mine
Seeing you, or seeing anything as much as I do you
I take for granted that you're always there.

As much as I don't want to listen to this unforgettable haunting song I can't bring myself to turn off the radio, I'm paralyzed by fear. It's like my brain and hands aren't connecting that I have to turn off the radio.

I take for granted that you just don't care
Sometimes I can't help seeing all the way through
It's important to me
That you know you are free
'Cause I never want to make you change for me.

My phone suddenly rings loudly causing me to jump- I look at the caller ID to see the dreaded unknown caller pop up. My stomach begins to flip and I quickly hit the red button to decline the call. The same unknown caller pops up again as my phone chimes loudly, I gasp sharply and I decline the call once more. My hands begin to shake as the same person calls me again. I feel the frustration pour through me and the hot tears stream down my cheeks as I answer the call and yell into the phone.

"Who is this? What do you want?!" I snap while on the verge of crying.

I feel so afraid and even more so paranoid. There is no sound on the other end of the phone and I quickly hang up the call.

My phone rings once more from the unknown caller as I answer it again feeling even more annoyed at myself for letting my past fears and paranoid take over me.

"Who is this?" My voice is hoarse and now quiet.

I begin to sniffle while trying to fight back the tears in my eyes that threaten to fall. When I hear a deep breathing on the other end of the phone, it makes my anxiety to worsen. My stomach begins to twist while my chest tightens.

"I hope you're having a good night tonight." The voice says.

It is a low, distorted, and muffled voice on the other line. It gives me chills from just the sound. I want to tell this person to stop calling me, or that the joke is over. But the phone call ends before I can get the chance to say another word; I am left sitting in tears in the darkness of my car.

I throw my phone in the back seat of my car and I drive off into the night. This can't be real, this isn't real, there is no way it's him. Has he found me? I feel so completely paranoid right now.

So many questions are racing through my mind but the horrifying realization begins to hit me as I drive along the dark road trying to get back to the safety of my apartment. The dahlia flowers at my doorstep, these phone calls I've been getting, the song that he always used to call me and play when the stalking was happening.

How can this be real? Maybe my paranoid mind has taken a turn and I'm letting all of these strange coincidences and overthinking get the best of me. My hands shake nervously as I grip the steering wheel tighter, I press my foot on the gas pedal as more tears escape my eyes. This is all just some horrible nightmare, and I'm only being paranoid. Unless I'm not.

There is no way he found me again, I'm states away, it's utterly impossible. I literally packed up all of my things, and got on an airplane and moved states away. I don't even have where I live on my Facebook account, this has to be just some crazy coincidence. I refuse to let him try to scare me and have control over my life with him being states away from me.