Evelyn stepped off the bus, and the heavy city air immediately hit her. Houston. She hadn't been here in years, but nothing had changed. The same tall buildings soared for the sky, the same busy streets were full of people, and the same heat stuck to everything, making her skin sticky as soon as she went outside. But it wasn't the city that was strange; it was her.
She had been a different person the last time she was here. She had walked these streets with a goal, but now that she was standing on the edge of the pavement, she felt lost. The people around her felt so familiar yet remote, their lives unfolding without her. She was no longer a part of the city.
She pulled on her purse strap and walked deeper into the street. Her steps slowed down as memories came back to her. The laughing. The promises. And then, the treachery. She fled from everything, leaving this city and all that had kept her heart hostage for so long.
She looked across the gathering, examining faces without really seeing them. She attempted to stay focused and control her feelings, but the weight of the past was too much for her.
And there it was again: the feeling that others were watching her. The feeling that someone was looking at you. She halted in the middle of her step and looked at the faces of the people surrounding her, but she didn't see anything. No one looked at her.
She felt it again: an obvious feeling that someone was watching her. It was too real to ignore. Was it all in her head, or was someone hiding, waiting for her to mess up? She suddenly turned to her left and stared at the person passing by. A guy. She couldn't see his face very well, but how he walked made her think of something. Her heart skipped a beat. Is it possible that it's him?
Could it be Alexander?
But the man was gone. Lost in the crowd.
Evelyn's heart raced as she walked, and she held onto her purse tighter. It was nothing. It had to be. Houston was messing with her, bringing up memories of who she used to be. But she still felt like someone was watching her.
When Evelyn walked into the café, the door's bell rang softly. It was cooler here, and the sound of people talking gave me a break from the clamour of the streets. She sat down at a tiny table by the window, trying to escape for a little while. As she reached for her phone, her hands shook. Evelyn swiped to unlock the screen when it lit up, but there was a message she didn't recognise waiting for her. Her heart dropped when she read the words: "I know where you are." She looked at the screen and didn't move her hands momentarily.
It felt like the words were carved into her skin.
A quick wave of panic ran down her spine and made her heart race.
Who? How?
She swiftly looked around the café. A couple was talking at the counter while a man sat at a table, staring at his laptop. No one seemed to notice her upset, but her stomach was churning. Someone was watching her. Someone knew exactly where she was.
She looked around the room quickly, looking for anyone who might be the cause. Nothing. No one stuck out, yet the strain in her chest intensified every second.
The message stuck in her head like a gloomy cloud that wouldn't disappear. She couldn't get rid of it. This person knew too much, whoever they were. They had located her.
Her thumb hovered over the screen, considering what to do next. She could react and face them, but what good would it do? She had no idea who they were.
Evelyn took a hesitant breath and put the phone back in her bag. Not here; she couldn't let it take over her. Not now. She needed to think.
The barista came up and put down her coffee with a smile, but Evelyn didn't see him. Her thoughts were miles away. She didn't know who was watching her.
She picked up the coffee, the warmth of the mug only doing so much to soothe the chill in her bones. She had to go. She couldn't stay here, couldn't stay someplace where her history may come for her. But she didn't know where to go.
Evelyn sat at the little table, staring out at the lonely street outside with her coffee untouched. The world was going on around her, but she felt like she wasn't a part of it. The past, which she had tried so hard to forget, had returned to haunt her here. She shut her eyes, and for a moment, she was there again.
The warmth of Alexander's arms around her and the calm times they spent together were fleeting, delicate recollections that suddenly felt like they were gone in time. But then there was the treachery. The lies.
The understanding that all they had achieved was based on a weak basis. "I trusted you," he continued, his voice icy and regretful. "How could you do this to me?"
Evelyn tried to explain to him, but the words had disappointed her. His eyes, which used to be full of love and passion, were now empty, full of pain and anger.
She could see it in his eyes: the end of it all and the knowledge that there was no going back.
Her fingers clutched the table's edge as the recollection threatened to overpower her. She fled not only because of what happened but also because she was worried about their futures.
She couldn't stay and let the lies grow. But leaving had never been the right thing to do. She groaned, her shoulders sagging.
What did she want when she went back to Houston?
To get some closure?
To get better?
There was a shadow outside the window. She looked up fast, and her heart skipped a beat. She thought she had seen a guy briefly, but his figure was blurry.
Alex. But that moment was over, and as she moved forward to get a better look at him, he was gone, lost in the crowd. Her breath caught. It couldn't have been him. But the fear stayed. It always would.
Evelyn lived in a small flat on a quiet street far from the city's centre. It was the perfect place to hide, quiet, isolated, and just out of sight. But even here, in the quiet she had wanted, she still felt like someone was watching her.
As she walked around the room, her footsteps were loud in the quiet. Her eyes kept going to the windows. She felt a jolt in her chest whenever the floor creaked, or the wind rattled the blinds. She couldn't be sure, but the sensation of being followed increased. There were other people with her. She had never been.
Her phone buzzed again, bringing her back to reality. She took it right away, and the message lit up the screen. A picture of her son laughing and playing in the park.
The world outside is calm and innocent. The words below the picture made her stomach drop. "I see you." You're not safe." She fell onto the couch, and the phone fell out of her hands. Her son, her beautiful, innocent boy, was caught up in this.
The message was plain. Whoever was delivering these knew everything. She had to protect him. But how? Her phone buzzed again, a reminder of the peril lurking over them both. She picked it up again, dreading what she may find.
The message was basic. "It's not too late to leave." Leave?
Where would she go?
How could she run when she didn't know who she was running from? Her gaze glanced toward the entrance, a heavyweight descending over her. She wasn't alone in this apartment.
And someone outside was waiting. The walls of the apartment felt like they were closing in around her. Evelyn's motions were frenzied as she walked from window to window, checking the locks and searching for evidence of an intruder. But the apartment remained silent, calm.
The danger outside was genuine. The messages and the picture of her son showed that whoever was doing this knew way too much. Her hand hovered over the door handle, but she couldn't open it. Every instinct shouted at her to stay inside, to lock the door and wait for whatever was coming. But she couldn't wait forever.
Her phone rang again. A new message. "It's not too late to go." The words on the screen made her angry.
What did that mean? What was she supposed to do now? Where could she go? She felt vulnerable for the first time because of the uncertainty.
The person who did this hasn't done it yet. Evelyn had no idea what they wanted or how far they would go to obtain it.
The feeling of being watched got stronger. There was no escaping it. Not now.