Chapter 5

The shrill sound of the alarm pierced through the steely silence of the room. That woke her from her dreamless sleep. Hitting the snooze button, Clarissa crawled away from her bed. Sunlight streamed into the room through the window. Apart from the occasional sound of vehicles driving by, the neighborhood was relatively quiet.

She freshened up and dressed in silence. Only the sound of her ticking clock could be heard. The black gown she’d put on was loose in some places. She had lost some pounds. who wouldn’t after what she’d been through lately. At least, no attempt had been made on her life and she hadn’t received any auspicious gifts either. The FBI had nothing to say either. The radio silence was beginning to make her nervous. She had felt an ominous foreboding surrounding her. It never meant that anything good was about to happen.

Shrugging on her coat, she rushed down the staircase. Skipping breakfast had become a norm for her since high school. She Locked her doors and as always doubled checked. Something she had learnt to do since they left foster care. After that,she strolled leisurely down the aisle. She felt someone fall in step with her and even before seeing him, she knew who it was.

Barry Nordin.

The new tech guy at her office.She felt surprised at first and wondered what he was doing here, beside her.

'Hey’

'Hey’ she said, her voice a little bit high pitched than normal. ’What are you doing around here?’

‘I live around.’ He said, like she should know that piece of information already.

'You do? I never knew. I could’ve invited you for dinner or some coffee. You must think of me as someone who’s stuck up in her own little world.’ She said and he laughed softly.

'Well, I don’t. I just moved in recently. Maybe we could have that coffee some time soon. It’s really boring around here … with no close friends and all.’

She understood what he was suggesting. She smiled at him. Her circle could fit one more person.‘Coffee at my place after work, you in?’

‘Definitely! you don’t know how many nights I’ve spent in front of my TV bored out of my mind.’ Clarissa chuckled at the funny expression on his face.A comfortable silence settled between them as they walked towards the bus stop.

Clarissa peeked at Barry from her peripheral. He was just a simple looking guy. In his starched black pants and blue shirt beneath his black jacket, he looked more like a young college professor than a tech guy. He was taller than her at 5”7. His shaggy hair looked tousled. Or maybe, that was how he styled it, she thought. The only peculiar thing about him was his moss green eyes. They stood out in his otherwise uncharacteristic face.

Luckily, when they got to the bus stop, the bus was already there. They hurried in and the bus continued its journey. Sitting side by side on the bus, they still maintained that cordial silence. Clarissa let her head fall against the glass on the window. She waited to feel that revulsion that came with staying around guys for too long but it never came. she realized at that same moment that she hadn’t never felt it with Flynn too. Maybe she was finally healing from her past.

A smile touched her lip.

*****************************************

‘…it’s just a house party. Nothing more. We’ll have it at Claire’s.’ A breathless voice said from the other end of the line.

'I have work.’ Clarissa said as she typed furiously at her computer.

'You don’t work on Sundays.’ The voice at the end retorted.

‘You never said it was on a Sunday. Which Sunday do you have in mind?’

'Next Sunday.’

'I have to go see Marley.’

'Then, we’ll have it in two weeks. You better remember it or I’ll drag you by your hair down to Claire’s house, even if you’re in your old granny pJs. You and Claire are such boring folks. I even have to terrorize the two of you just to have a little girl’s night.’ Clarissa heard shuffling on the other end.

‘Did you just get your calendar, Syd?‘

'Of course, I have to make sure that you don’t deny saying yes to it later.’ More shuffling. ‘okay, now that we’ve come to an agreement, I can now call Claire to tell her about the party.’Clarissa let out an exasperated sigh.

‘You said you already told her.’

'That was just to trick you into saying okay, silly.’

'Very typical.’ Clarissa scoffed.

‘I have a call to make sweetheart.’ Sydney said with glee in her voice.

‘I hate you.’

'Right back at you.’

Then, the line went dead.

A knock on the door startled her. She cleared her voice and yelled a ‘come in’.

The door opened and someone she was least expecting walked in.F

Fynn…

Her heart did a little leap and she swallowed reflexively.They hadn’t spoken to each other since that night and even on the days they’d crossed paths later on, he’d just muttered a greeting and hurry on. So, she was a little bit surprised when he smiled at her and made his way into her sparsely furnished office.She smiled back, tightly.

'Have a seat.’ She said briskly, gesturing at one of the upholstery in front of her table. She was handling this badly, she though and winced inwardly. Her brisk tone would give hm a standoffish vibe and set the tone for their meeting. A very formal meeting.She watched him straighten an invisible crease on his brown coat before sitting. She knew he wore a black three-piece suit beneath his coat because he always wore suits.

'What brings you here today?’ she asked, feigning nonchalance.

'When I visited Chuck in jail, he had no idea about what was going on. So, I was wondering if there was anyone else who was kinda close to him then. Someone who might have a vendetta against you because you put Chuck in jail. And, there’s something else. Apart from Maria, did Chuck have any other family member? A child maybe...' He paused, then continued. 'Or a relative's name. It’s not in the police record.'

Hearing Chuck’s name had triggered that part of her which still vividly remembers her past like it all happened the day before. Her palms had turned clammy almost immediately. But, she steeled herself as much as she could.

'While we were there, Chuck didn’t have visitors. He had friends, more like drink buddies but they never came to the house. They just met up at the bars. We heard they, Chuck and Maria, used to have a child, a boy. He suddenly disappeared and was never found. Maria took to substance abuse as a coping mechanism and Chuck, well, he just kept on being Chuck.’

‘A child? It wasn’t mentioned in the files we have on him. Interesting.’ He bobbed his head in a way that suggested that he just realized what he had been missing.

'Is there something else I should know?’ she asked, feeling uneasy.

‘No, no, there’s nothing else. I’ll leave you to your work.’ Flynn said standing from the seat.‘I’ll walk you out.’ She said, standing too.Wood scrapped tiles as Clarissa pushed the chair back and walked across the room to stand beside the door, Flynn on her heels.

She didn’t know why she hesitated from turning the door knob.She felt Flynn’s body heat behind her. Something was coiled so tight inside of her. Whether from the need to talk to Flynn about any other thing or from the choking tension that had suddenly charged the room, she wasn’t sure. Flynn was so still behind her that if she wasn’t sure that he was there, she might’ve assumed that he left a while ago.She decided to take a dive.

'Won’t you talk to me about what happened that night?’ she asked in a whisper, not trusting her voice not to break.No response.

'Did I do something to upset you?’

Silence.

'It’s just that I can’t really bear the thought of us being familiar strangers. I thought we were fast becoming friends and then, this…’A warm hand touching her shoulder cut off the remaining stuff she wanted to say. She felt tingles which spread like wildfire, from her left shoulder down to the soles of her feet. The hand gave her a nudge and wide-eyed, she swerved to face him. They were so close that their breathes intermingled.

'Stop beating yourself over what happened. It wasn’t your fault at all. That was all me.’ His left hands raked his hair, scattering the well styled hair. ‘I just had a bit of a flashback and I got reminded about the good stuff that never lasts.’His hand strayed from her shoulder to tilt her chin upwards. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts.

They surreptitiously glanced at his lips. Her heart was thundering so hard she thought he could hear it.Maybe he could.It seemed as though time had slowed and they were in their own little bubble.He leaned forward and as if to search her eyes…

'Say no…’ he whispered in a really strained voice.But she wasn’t even thinking. She could only feel. And at that moment, she felt like kissing Flynn Grant.As though that feeling had been sent to Flynn through some sort of empathic, telepathic link, he kissed her. Just a gentle press of lips to lips.

She had once asked Sydney what it felt like to be kissed and she had said something about feeling a sort of electrifying sensation.

But this, this was on a whole level of different.As soon as their lips met, it felt like time stopped entirely. it felt like she was floating on air. She felt calm and soothed, and at the same time, she felt exhilarated. The calm spread from her head to her toes and then back to her head. Her head seemed lighter and her heart was beating slower than normal.It felt surreal.Flynn pulled away from her and with a glazed look in his eye, he opened the door and left without so much as a goodbye.

***************************************************

As she alighted from the bus, Clarissa clutched her bag tightly and pulled the lapels of her coat together to protect her from the harsh cold. it was a dark and cold evening. The frosty November wind whipped her hair over her face. How she hated winter. She waved her hair away from her face and walked hurriedly towards her apartment.

Suddenly, she felt that all too familiar tingle that sometimes meant that someone was watching her crept down her spine. She increased her pace. Even in the cold, she felt the trickle of sweat down her back from her nape.The road was lonely and dark alleys loomed at every corner. That feeling didn’t ease a bit, instead fear heightened her senses.She slowly began to run.She just needed to get home. She was safe there, she thought.

She heard someone’s footsteps echoing hers and she full on began sprinting.The footsteps sounded closer and closer with every passing nanosecond. She felt the urge to turn, but she knew that it was a very bad idea. In horror movies, those who looked behind always ended up dead.She didn’t plan on dying that night.But, it seemed the faster she ran, the faster whoever it was seemed to be catching up with her.She started gasping. Running had never been one of her strong suites and then, she began to regret not taking the exercising tips Marley had once given her.

Slowly, her strength began to wane. Her sprint slowed to a jog but she kept going. Whoever it was, was just trying to wear her out, like a clever predator. She could sense it. This was one of those times she wished she socialized with lots of people. Her apartment was nowhere in sight.

From afar, she sighted a still open store. That was when an idea hit her.Pushing her body to its breaking point, she half-walked and half-ran. She headed for the store hoping that the stalker wouldn’t catch up with her before she did. The stalker didn’t.She pulled the door open and staggered into the store.Her knees gave out and she fell to the ground, thoroughly exhausted and terrified. Still unsure of her safety, she crawled towards an aisle unaware of the wary eyes of the cashier tailing her. She didn’t stop until she was behind a large shelve that held lots of groceries.

Safely tucked behind the shelve, she slowly began to catch her breathe. At first, her breath came in rapid rasps, then slowed to something close to normal. She let a few seconds pass before peeking behind the shelve, her heart thundering. She had a perfect view of outside from her position. That was when she saw him.She was sure it was a him. The height and physique told her that. He wore a black pant that clung to his legs and a black windbreaker.The only downside was that he had a mask over his face. She couldn’t tell what he looked or the color of his eyes. Something that she could use as an identifier later on.He was peeking through the glass, looking for her.Whoever he was, he certainly had it out for her.She watched him rake the whole place with his eyes before leaving a few minutes later.

Sighing, Clarissa sagged with relief.She took large gulps of air to steady herself.The scurry of shoes on tiles made her heart jump to her throat, she looked in the direction of the sound and was relieved to find out that it was only a young girl who looked like she worked in the store.

'Are you okay?’ the girl asked as she hunkered down beside Clarissa.Clarissa nodded her yes. She didn’t quite trust her voice yet.

'I already called the cops. I didn’t get a good look at him, he was all covered up. He’s gone now, so it’s safe for you to come out.’ The girl said in a soothing voice.But when Clarissa made no move to move from where she was, she scrunched her brows in confusion.

'Maybe I could check if he’s still out there.’ The girl made to stand.The thought of the young girl alone outside snapped Clarissa out of her daze and she clasped the girl’s arm, stopping her from moving.

'You can’t go out there. He might still be there. The cops will be here soon. Let’s just wait.’

‘Well, if you say so.’ The young girl shrugged.Clarissa realized that she didn’t know the girl’s name, hadn't even noticed her when she ran into the store. so, she asked.‘What’s your name?’

'Madison, but I go by Maddy.’

‘Thank you, Maddy.’She thought to inform Flynn about what happened but decided against it. She slipped her phone from the pocket on her coat and dialed Marley’s number instead.

The cops arrived some minutes later. The girl went back to her station and watched Clarissa talk with the policemen. She found herself glancing outside more often than she normally did. Even shadows now looked like the man she had seen earlier. And, that man definitely didn’t look like a petty thief.

While the policemen talked to Maddy, the door swung open and a disheveled Marley hurried in.Clarissa, on seeing Marley, Scrambled up from the floor and rushed into his arms. She could feel the tension slowly seep out of his body. She felt more relaxed now that he was here.

It was probably that weird connection they’d established from years of being dependent on themselves.‘How are you?’ Marley asked her, holding her at arms-length.‘Still a bit shaken but I’m okay.’

‘What exactly happened?’ Marley asked. And, she told him. Everything.When she was done, they found themselves sitting on the floor beside one of the shelves with Marley’s arm thrown over her shoulder and his hands rubbing circles on her collar bone.

'Would you crash at my place? We can get you to work very early tomorrow.’

'We could go to mine? Your apartment looks like a torture house.’ Clarissa snorted.

'what’s wrong with my apartment?’ Marley asked in mock exasperation.

'Too bland for my liking.’Marley rolled his eyes.

‘Sorry if I hate cluttering my space with too many stuff in the name of making it fit your standard.'

They had this conversation multiple times and it always ended the same way. It was their own way of diffusing tension.

'Your house it is then. I’ll go have a few words with the officers and we’ll leave.’

While Marley spoke with the officers, Clarissa walked to the counter to speak with Maddy.

'Hey Maddy,’ she called, and Maddy smiled at her.‘What you did today was really brave. I feel like I owe you my life. Thank you.’

'It’s okay. Just be safe. That guy didn’t look like a thief. There was something menacing about the way he walked. And, I was really scared he might actually barge in here.’

'I’m really sorry for putting you through this. You should have my contact just in case.’ She took a piece of paper, snagged a pen from the counter, wrote down her number and gave it to Maddy. ‘Here is it. My name’s Clarissa and I live down the street. Thanks once again.’ With that she waved at Maddy and walked to the door where Marley was already waiting.

Hours later, Maddy flipped the closed sign, stepped outside the store and locked the glass door. She let her hair down from the bun she normally twisted it into and felt the black braids cascade down her back. She checked her reflection on the glass. Her black jeans clung tightly to legs and her huge grey sweater hid her lean figure. Her caramel skin seemed to shine under the neon light. Pulling her beanie on her head, she slung her bag across her body and began walking down the street.

Unaware of the shadow lurking in a corner, she hummed dancing with the devil as she walked on the lonely road, slightly illuminated by the street lamps. She didn’t see the shadow sneak out of a dark alley and begin to trail her.She didn’t see him slip a knife out of his pocket just as he got behind her.When the knife plunge into her from behind, she was too stunned to shout. Her mouth widened into an ooh. It felt like every breathe had been sucked out of her. Blood trickled down her body, staining her grey sweater crimson. She stood frozen as the knife was pulled out of her body before crumpling to the ground in a bleeding mess. Her knees hit the ground first before she toppled over.Maddy eyes still wide open, saw him lean over her.

She stretched her hand out, towards him as if to ask for his help but her strength failed her and her hand fell.She felt herself begin to lose consciousness. As she slowly slipped under the thick, inky blackness, one thing stuck to her mind. she knew the man who had murdered her. He was the same man who had come after Clarissa earlier.And, he had green eyes.