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2

ARIA

"Shit," I muttered, staring at the broken cup laying scattered all over my kitchen floor. I had placed it down on the counter, not realising how close it was to the edge.

I sighed heavily, not in the mood to clean it up.

The previous night had rattled me, filling me with an unreasonable amount of paranoia and the fact that I lived alone did absolutely nothing to ease my worries.

The man with the gun was on my mind constantly, his face flashing before me every time I closed my eyes.

What if he followed me home and was waiting for me to show any signs of vulnerability so he could kill me and dispose of my dead body? I was scaring myself and I shook my head at my thoughts. Last night would have been the perfect opportunity to do whatever he wanted, so surely he wouldn't have let me go.

But what if the chase was his favourite part of tormenting his victims?

"Shut the fuck up," I murmured to myself. I had to stop thinking about it.

Making the final decision that I wouldn't ponder on it any longer, I quickly cleaned up the mess I had made. I needed a distraction, something to get my mind off things. My close friend Tamara, I liked to call her Tammy, was taking me for lunch seeing that it was my weekend off. I picked up my phone, dialling her number.

"Hey. You better not be cancelling on me," she answered, sounding excited.

I chuckled, already feeling a million times better. "I'm not. I'm actually making sure you're not cancelling on me." Tammy was a good friend, but ever since she got in a relationship, she seemed to struggle juggling everything in her life. Her new job, her friends, her boyfriend. Of course it was hard.

She scoffed. "I'm not. Be ready by two, please."

I smiled. "See you, later."

"See you."

We hung up, and I glanced at the clock on the wall. There was enough time for me to do a little bit of cleaning, heaven knew how badly my apartment needed. Mustering up the strength, I set my phone down on the kitchen table and headed to the cleaning supplies hidden away in a closet. I was going to do it but I was also going to mentally complain the whole way through.

It did me good, though. I took out all my pent up frustrations on my innocent furniture and then felt a million times better afterwards. True enough, Tammy stuck to her word and was honking outside the complex like a maniac. She truly did not care about what anyone thought of her.

"Took you look enough," she mumbled, eyeing me as I climbed into the passenger seat of her G-Wagon. How she could afford such a luxurious car with a PA salary, was both amazing and a little confusing.

I gasped. "Do you want me to get kicked out? You know Tony is already all up my ass about the rent and just looking for any reason to put me on the streets."

She grinned, slightly apologetic. "Sorry, you know I have zero patience. Hi," Tammy leaned over the centre console, and as routine, I gave her my cheek for a kiss. "So fucking cute."

"You're forgiven." I laughed when she wiped her lipstick off my skin with her thumb. "I'm so hungry."

"Good. I'll feed you," she beamed, putting the car in drive and proceeding to our favourite Thai restaurant.

I had met Tammy when she came into the diner one night, coming from the bar opposite the road. She was a bit tipsy, ordering a full breakfast at three am in the morning in an attempt to sober up before driving.

When my shift ended, she was still slumped over the table all alone and that's when I offered to drive her home.

She let me, a complete stranger, drive her car to her apartment and then help her to her door. We were both a little insane – and a friendship quickly blossomed. Me being all alone in a new city, Tammy practically took me under her wing. Or vice versa.

"Can't wait," I murmured, relaxing in the seat as she entered the freeway.

•••

"How's work?" Tammy asked, flicking through the menu. The tiny restaurant was partially filled, a bit noisy but nevertheless cosy. I went through the menu, even though I already knew what I wanted to order.

Her question caught me off guard, and immediately I received a flashback of just that previous evening. My nose scrunched up, shifting in my seat as I tried not to think too much. I was always a massive over-thinker, and it didn't help that I still felt uneasy.

I decided against telling Tammy what happened. "It's good. Tips are good. Better when I'm wearing a skirt even though it's a fucking diner."

"Of course it is." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "What are you going to order? I feel for something sweet so I think I'm just going to get the mango sticky rice."

"I'll get the shrimp pad thai, with a side of papaya salad—" my gaze skimmed the restaurant, searching for a waitress but they all seemed occupied. That's when my eyes landed on someone that I least expected.

No way...

My glare hardened on him. Was the fucker following me?

There he stood, adorned in a black pants and a white shirt as he ordered at the counter. In all his tall glory. It was dark when I first saw him, but I would recognise those features anywhere. It was engraved in my mind, any efforts to diminish it proving futile.

He had his back to me, the material of his shirt tight around his back and arms. A silver watch around his wrist. He looked...expensive. I clenched my jaw. Maybe it was a coincidence. I, sure as hell, hoped so.

"Who are you looking at—" Tammy got ready to turn around, stopping when my hand grabbed hers.

"Don't look," I said quickly, widening my eyes. "It's nobody important. Just someone who made me uncomfortable one time." It technically wasn't a lie.

"Even more reason to—"

"Tamara, please," I practically begged her. Maybe he hadn't seen me, and I would hate to suddenly get his attention. At that moment, I wanted to crawl into a hole and decompose right there. I took a deep breath in when Tammy straightened in her seat and I let go of her hand.

"Okay, fine. Calm down. I won't look. I don't see what the big deal is, but okay. Was he a customer?" she asked, pretending to still flick through the menu.

I kept my eyes down, shifting over the words on the laminated paper. Everything looked delicious.

"Yes." That was a lie. How was I supposed to explain that I witnessed him gunning someone down in the middle of a dark alley and he just so happened to catch me watching?

She nodded. "I see. Yeah, just ignore him."

"Yeah, we're in a good spot. I don't think he'll see me." Please don't see me.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" she asked.

"No, we're already sitting down and it looks like he's ordering a take-away," I replied, feeling a little bit relieved. Maybe it was just a coincidence and I overestimated my importance to the entire situation.

"Guess we'll have to wait until a waitress just comes to us," she said, and I offered an apologetic look in return.

"Sorry. Oh, look. Here's one coming now," I grinned as the waitress approached our table, collecting her notepad from the pocket of her apron. She introduced herself, told us the specials and then took our food and drink order.

I made sure not to look in the direction of the tills.

The last time I looked somewhere I wasn't supposed to...

"Sweet woman," Tammy smiled, watching the waitress depart from our table. "After this I'm having drinks with my colleagues. You should join us."

"I want to but I have a really early shift in the morning. The schools are also opening so we're going to be a bit busier than usual and I really don't need a hangover," I explained, watching her face fall.

"One of these days I'm going to stop asking you."

"I know..." I trailed off, lifting my head. I thought the man might have been gone by then. Boy, was I wrong. Because, yet again, he was looking directly at me.

It was day, providing all the necessary light I needed to actually see him properly. And when I did, my heart leaped in my chest. He smirked, showing that dimple before averting his gaze to the guy next to him. That smirk...it was a knowing smirk.

What was he playing at?

"Aria, your ears are red." Yes, because I feel overwhelmed for no reason.

"I'm fine. It's just really hot in here."

This time when I looked, he was gone.

Tammy stopped in front of my complex. "Are you sure you don't want to come with?" she asked, turning in her seat to face me.

I nodded my head. "Yes, I'm sure. But thank you for the offer and thank you for the lunch. You're the best." I gave her a kiss on the cheek and opened the door to leave, excited to return to my apartment and lock myself in. I was so fucking paranoid, and luckily, Tammy didn't pick up on my discomfort.

She laughed. "Thank you, I know."

"Drive safe. Let me know when you're home." I returned her grin before shutting the door.

She waited until I was inside the lobby before driving off. I took the elevator to my floor, walked down the hall and unlocked my door. As soon as the lock clicked out of place, I was entering the safety of my apartment.

Fuck.

I kicked off my shoes, not caring where it landed. My coat was shrugged off my shoulders and hung on the rack. My hair was released from its tie and I did the dramatic shake of my head, groaning in relief. Nothing felt better than getting home and making yourself comfortable.

But that comfort was proved to be fleeting.

A knock came from my door, surprising me. Nobody knocked anymore, they either called or texted to let me know they were coming over.

Then the handle started to turn, and I remembered that I hadn't locked it.

My eyes widened, momentarily stunned by whoever had the audacity to try and get into my apartment. I rushed forward to push it shut. What the fuck...

But whoever was behind the door, was a lot stronger than me.

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