Page 7 of Bound By Valor

For one paralyzing moment, I was back in a darker time, the fear so tangible it was almost a physical presence in the room. My mind raced to the worst conclusion—Adriano. Could he have found a way back from the grave to torment me? The thought wasirrational, yet fear isn’t always ruled by logic. My breath hitched, and I stood frozen by the door, afraid of what more I might discover if I moved.

My heart sank further when I saw the shattered portrait of my cat, Ada. “Seriously?” I muttered, my voice shaking a bit with anger.

Kneeling to pick up the pieces, the harsh reality of someone breaking into my private life hit hard. “Fucking hell.” I grumbled, trying to mask the hurt with annoyance as I cleaned up the mess.

The living room was a disaster, but I needed to check the rest of the apartment. My footsteps were hesitant as I pushed open my bedroom door. Everything seemed untouched here. I breathed a slight sigh of relief, though the comfort was superficial. The spare room and bathroom were the same—undisturbed, which somehow made the living room’s chaos feel even more random.

I returned to the living room, trying to put some order back into it.

I picked up a fallen book, trying to restore some order to the chaos, when my phone suddenly buzzed to life. It caught me off guard—an unknown number flashing across the screen. My heart skipped a beat as I swiped to answer, my stomach in knots.

“Hello?” My voice came out stronger than I felt.

Only silence answered back. My pulse hammered in my ears. Could it be him? “Zarek?” I whispered into the void, half-hoping he would reveal himself.

Instead, a heavy sigh echoed through the line, followed by the sharp click of the call ending. “Coward,” I muttered under my breath, my initial fear quickly burning up into frustration. This had to be connected to that night, to him—the night that sentmy life spiraling out of control. Who else could it be, and why else would my apartment be turned upside down the moment things started getting weird?

Clutching my phone in my hand, I couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on me. My apartment no longer felt safe. I moved to the kitchen, my movements jittery. I grabbed a glass and filled it with water, my hands trembling slightly. Every sound seemed amplified, every shadow a hiding place.

My mind raced with possibilities—could it be Zarek? Why would he trash my place? Or was it someone else? Someone I pissed off at work, perhaps?

I slammed the water glass down harder than I meant to, the water spilling unceremoniously over the counter. I knew I had to tell someone about this, but what exactly? I rolled the idea around in my head, knowing too well how these stalking claims usually played out. “It’s random,” they’d dismiss, seeing nothing was stolen, just things tossed around. I muttered a curse under my breath, feeling the walls of my own home close in around me.

As night crept in, the isolation of the apartment grew heavier. I double-checked the locks on the doors and windows, my earlier defiance slowly dissolving into a gnawing anxiety. The locked door didn’t stop them before. I truly wasn’t safe.

The thought of sleep was laughable now. Instead, I settled onto the couch, a blanket pulled tight around me, waiting for the dawn or whatever might come first.

???

“I swear, Mom, I really am driving. Like, right now,” I said as I gripped the steering wheel tighter. A few sleepless nights had passed since my place was turned upside down, and I couldn’t handle the eerie quiet of my apartment any longer. So, decision made, I was en route to my parents’ place in Milton for some much-needed peace.

“How’s the car holding up? You know how Ally is with maintenance,” my mom’s voice crackled through the speaker, tinged with concern. Originally, I had considered the train, avoiding the hassle of traffic. But the idea of being so exposed, surrounded by strangers’ prying eyes, made my skin crawl. Borrowing Ally’s somewhat neglected car seemed the lesser of two evils.

“It’s holding up, Mom. It moves, and right now, that’s enough,” I reassured her, eyes flicking to the GPS. “I’ll be there in about forty-three minutes.” Traffic was a nightmare today, a relentless stream of cars, and I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.Again. A particular car had been trailing me since I left my apartment, its persistence gnawing at my nerves.

On a sudden impulse, driven more by a need to confirm my fears than actual navigation, I swerved off at an exit way before my intended one. Glancing in the rearview mirror, my stomach sank as I saw the car blatantly follow my lead.

I rounded the corner and there it was again—a few cars back, subtle but unmistakable. For a fleeting moment, I entertained the thought that maybe, just maybe, they were after Ally.

Wishful thinking, Leora. They’re tailing you.

Pushing that uneasy thought aside, I steered backonto the highway, heading towards Milton. The mysterious car flickered in and out of view in my rearview mirror, keeping pace but never overtaking. It wasn’t until I hit the quieter, tree-lined streets of the suburban neighborhood that the car finally vanished.

Shortly after, I pulled up to my parents’ cozy little house in the heart of Milton. I scanned every shadow and corner as I got out of the car, half-expecting someone to leap out at any moment. My walk to the front door was a mix of casual strides and internal panic, my gut twisting with every step.

I didn’t even pause to greet my mother when she opened the door, instead blurting out, “Hey, just need the bathroom!” as I dashed past her.

Once in the guest bathroom, I leaned against the door, trying to steady my breathing and calm the storm inside me.

After a few moments, I managed to pull myself together and strolled back into the living room as if nothing had happened, sinking into the couch next to my mom.

“Can I get a hug now?” she asked, her voice dry with mock irritation.

I let out a short laugh and wrapped her in a long, tight hug, still feeling the tremors of anxiety fading from my body. “Where’s Dad?” I asked casually, letting my gaze wander around the room, still half-expecting trouble to follow me inside.

“He’s in the backyard, covering the patio furniture. Can you believe we’re expecting rain in March?” she said, but my mind wasn’t ready to shift to mundane topics.

I simply nodded, a forced smile painting my face.

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