Page 1 of My Dad's Best Friend

Chapter One

Marie

“Dad, we have to go,” I say, trying to keep my voice even and not look around. I don’t want that guy, Cam, to know that I see him looking at me. I’ve seen him more than enough to know that it’s not a coincidence. I don’t want to use the s-word on anyone, but it’s the only one fitting for this guy: stalker.

“We’ve just ordered dessert,” Dad protests across the table from me.

“We’ll get some fro-yo on the way home,” I say, forcing a smile. “I probably shouldn’t eve have dessert anyway. Gotta watch my figure.”

I stand from our table in the outdoor seating of the mall’s food court. Dad and I love coming to this restaurant, the only place that has table service here. It’s always been our spot at the mall, my compromise to him for letting me drag him and his credit card with me while I go shopping. It’s surrounded by potted palm trees which provide shade and make it feel just a little bit cooler than being outside the walls of the mall.

I try not to look over at the hooded figure in the shade across the food court, whose eyes I can feel on me as I move. I wish I had brought a sweater or a coat. I feel exposed, knowing he’s watching me, like all my parts are on display. I cross my arms and turn my body, trying to get Dad to follow me.

“Sit down, Marie,” he says. “Let’s just relax and enjoy the rest of our lunch together, alright? You’ve only just got back from college and I need to spend some time catching up with my little girl.”

There it is. ‘My little girl.’ It’s the phrase that gets me every time. I’m an only child and now that I’ve flown the nest for college, my parents keep reminding me how hard my absence has been on them. They’re good parents, which makes it hard not to give in when they pull out these kinds of stops.

I slump down in my chair, trying to make myself as small as possible.

“What’s the matter with you?” Dad asks as I hide my face. “Are you embarrassed to be seen with me or something?”

I shake my head. “No,” I say, remembering the days when I couldn’t wait to get away from him or mom. “I’m not fourteen anymore. I don’t get embarrassed by my parents.”

“Then what’s going on with you?”

“Fine,” I huff.

I glance in Cam’s direction, though I can’t see him anymore. I can only hope he’s left, though in the past, I’ve not been so lucky. “There was this guy on campus and we had a couple of classes together. He talked to me during one of them, and it turns out that we’re both from here. Cam, I think his name is. Anyway, our classes together took place in the first quarter of the year, and I’ve seen him everywhere since.”

“It’s a guy you like that you don’t want me to meet, is that it?”

“No,” I urge. “No, not like that. He’s all over the place. Like, weirdly all over the place.”

“So what?” Dad asks. “Campuses aren’t as big as you think they are. And if he’s from here, you’re bound to run into him.”

“No, I mean I see him everywhere,” I hiss. “All the time. I would see him at the gym, but he doesn’t actually go to the gym. He’d just sit there. I would see him at the library, and he would come into the coffee shop where I was working and just sit in the corner during my shift and then leave before I finished.”

“Are you saying you have a stalker?”

I wince at the term, hearing it said out loud. I nod. “Yeah, I think I do.”

His brow furrows as he presses his lips together, looking at the table. I don’t want to worry Dad. I was glad to leave Cam behind at college, but now that he’s still following me around on my home turf, I don’t know what to do.

I didn’t want to tell Dad about it in the first place. I’m afraid he won’t want me going back to school. I don’t even know what I want to get a degree in, but I know that I need one if I’m going to get through life, and I can’t do that if Dad tells me I can’t keep up my studies.

I try not to look as unnerved at seeing Cam as I feel, though I want to look around and see if he’s still around. As my eyes dart around the food court, I know I look sketchy. And it’s not making Dad feel any better.

“Maybe we should go to the police about this,” he says, looking around to follow my gaze.

“He’s gone, Dad,” I say, hoping I’m not lying. “But I can’t go to the police. I tried. There’s not a whole lot they can do. I mean, for one, I don’t even have his full name to report him.”

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