Obsession

14

Recap: Rhian finds out the guy Taylor rejected him for is none other than Fiifi, the nosy waiter from the bakery.

"Wait, you know this guy?" Jason asked, curious about how I had reacted when I saw Taylor's picture with Fiifi.

"Know him? I hate him," I answered, the coolness with which I spoke did not match the rage that was forming inside of me. I was angry, but I had so many questions. How long had Taylor and Fiifi been a thing? Did they know each other when the incident at the bakery happened?

"Most importantly, could it be that you're overreacting as usual?" Tyrone interrupted, reminding me that I was speaking out loud.

"Even more important than that, where are we going?" Monique cut in, a little short of breath. You could tell from the way she was panting and the beads of sweat that lined up on her forehead that she had been running.

"Where did you even come from?"

"I saw you walking down this street and decided to catch up. Back to my question, where are we going and why are you overreacting?"

"That makes absolutely no sense, and you're actually everywhere it's almost like you're following me."

The guys up to this point had been pretty quiet, waiting for me to introduce them to Monique. I eventually did, and regretted it instantly. They told her everything down to the last detail, but conveniently left out the part where they meddled and ruined everything.

"Okay that's sad but where are we going?" she questioned.

"We're going to find Taylor," I answered.

"Okay but have you thought for a second that maybe you should leave her alone? If she's happy with this Fiifi guy, just let her be and move on?"

I pondered her words for a second, but I knew Taylor was the one for me not long after I had got to know her. I was not going to give up on her so easily. I had that in mind as we approached Taylor's mother's house. I had already come here earlier, but Sportfest was over and I hoped she was home. She wasn't, and her mother was even more annoyed this time. Despite protests from my friends, I didn't want to give up just yet. I told them to go ahead without me, and that I'd meet up with them later. The guys, especially Tyrone, didn't object, and told me they were going to use the time to get to know Monique, who they viewed as Taylor's replacement in the group. I didn't mind, but I did not particularly like the fact that someone from my other life was getting involved with my friends.

I decided to stay in the neighborhood for a while, hoping Taylor would come home soon. After loitering about for an hour or so, I heard Taylor's soft laughter faintly echo from down the street. It was accompanied by a deep chuckle I assumed to be Fiifi's. I found a bush to hide under and watched on as they approached her door, hand in hand. Fingers crossed, I wished they wouldn't take a page from every movie with a date scene and kiss. They parted with more than a kiss though. There was a lot of fondling and touching and their tongues seemed to be everywhere. It was almost as if they had forgotten they were in the street. Eventually, they managed to bring themselves to stop, and the idiot had a grin on his face as he turned to walk away, not even worried about the embarrassing bulge in his trousers. She watched him leave, a flustered look on her face.

Demoralized by what I had just witnessed, I waited patiently for her to go inside before I made my getaway. One thing was certain: I had a score to settle with that guy. Too stressed out to meet up with my friends, I decided t head straight home. I had gotten a lot closer to Anne since she quit drinking, and I was certain she would have a little advice for me. Going home was fairly easy. The road was almost free of traffic, and someone had finally fixed the lift when I got into the building. The only downside was who I had to share it with. She had a sheepish grin on her face as she swung her duffel bag from side to side. It was almost as if she knew I had been hiding under that bush today. In awkward silence we stood, waiting for the ride to end.

Every now and then, she'd cast me an expectant glance, maybe hoping I'd say something. I had nothing to tell her, at least nothing to that I could quantify in words at the time.

Thankfully, Anne wasn't home when I got there.

Before I could undress, Tyrone called.

"Did you find her?" he asked.

"Yeah, my assumption was correct. She's in some sort of relationship with that guy, unless it's normal to French kiss your friends."

"It isn't."

"Who would've guessed?"

"Yeah and about Monique, she's an odd one. She seems nice, but I have my doubts," Tyrone began, and I rolled my eyes. He'd grown an inexplicable obsession with mystery novels over the last coupe of years, and this was the result,"I think she's been spying on you," he announced.

I had had that feeling about Monique for a while now, and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Over the last few months, she had been everywhere. She was there at the auction when I first met her, and I somehow ended up in her house the next morning. Then there was that time she rescued me from the woods, even though I was sure I was the only one who knew that particular place. Even stranger was how she had found us today. At this point, I was almost convinced she was a spy, but who was she working for, and why spy on me of all people? Well, two could definitely play that game. If there was something to find out about Monique, I would find it out. Besides, I had always loved the world of espionage.

That is not to say that I was about to go undercover or anything. This isn't one of those stories.

After almost two years, we're back.