Page 43 of David's Love

And oddly, now it all seems connected.

The sneaking behind my house, the parking in front of my house, the convenience provided by his car facing the exit.

I stare at the car, almost convinced that whoever is in that vehicle is looking at me.

Even if the rational part of my brain tries to tell me that I’m silly, my hair standing on end doesn’t lie.

Do I have a stalker now?

I wish I could take it lightly.

The car doesn’t move as if the driver is on the phone with someone. Or taking pictures of my place.

I remember I’m clutching my own phone, and my hand is sweaty.

I look at the screen.

The screen is empty. David didn’t call back. Without waiting another moment, I go back to the bedroom and open the laptop.

A message greats me. Another one pops up, informing me how much money I have made.

It’s a whopping amount of money.

Five thousand dollars.

I’ll be damned.

The man is rich.

I wish I could smile, but my grin is kind of dead on arrival. It doesn’t make it to my lips.

There is nothing out of the ordinary in my inbox, so I return to the living room, phone in hand, convinced the car has moved away. It’s gone, indeed. And then out of the bloom, my phone flashes a blue light and a notification.

The same account I have had problems with sending me a direct message starts harassing me.

There is an option to block him, but my instinct tells me it’s important. So I slide into the chat box and read his message.

He wants a web chat session with me.

I drop the phone on the window sill like it has poison.

ELIZABETH

A Few DaysLater

Saturday Afternoon

“This looks phenomenal,”Chloe says, organizing the clothes on the racks.

She’s talking about a red dress.

I forgot how obsessed she was with fashion and how much fun she was to work with.

We get quite a few clients, and each heads their way to help them find what they’re looking for.

Time flies as I often look at the clock. She works two shifts today, and I plan to leave early.

As soon as the store traffic is light again, we bring out more inventory. Club dresses, sweaters, winter jackets.

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