Page 15 of Found By Him

My blood pools in my veins. My skin crawls. I want to throw up and run at the same time. Spinning around quickly, I startle some people walking behind me. I swing my head in every direction. They have to be around here somewhere. Not that they would be carrying a sign, but no one looks like they might be my stalker. There are a few couples on the opposite side of the street. Two of them are watching me with concerned expressions. A woman on a bike stands on the corner of the cross street, typing on her phone before she puts it back in her bag and rides away. There’s a man and his dog, maybe fifty feet from me. But he’s probably about seventy, and while I don’t want to be an ageist, the likelihood it’s him seems slim.

I force calming breaths into my lungs. The last thing I need is to hyperventilate and pass out on the sidewalk. My stalker will probably pretend they know me and kidnap my unconscious body, with the bystanders none the wiser.

“Ella!”

I scream as someone grabs my arm, instinctually trying to dislodge from their grasp. Since the other person doesn’t resist, they immediately let go. The loss of tension makes me almost faceplant on the concrete; thankfully, I catch myself before I do any real damage.

“Oh my god, Ella! Are you okay?” Maggie kneels next to me.

“It’s you,” I confirm breathlessly.

“Yeah, it’s just me. I’m so sorry I scared you. Let me help you up. Did you hurt yourself?”

Maggie carefully helps me to my feet, and I assess myself to see if there’s any damage. I scratched my forearm during the fall and have a few rocks embedded in my palm, but I’m unscathed beyond that.

“I’m okay. I’m sorry. That was so embarrassing.”

“Please don’t be embarrassed. You look upset. Is everything okay?”

I hesitate to tell her the truth. I don’t want to stress her out or scare her. “Yeah, I just thought I saw my ex.”

She appears to accept my explanation, casting only a few concerned glances my way as we walk to the restaurant. With me on shaky legs and a heart rate I’m trying to calm with easy breaths.

Just as I’m about to step into the door, I give the sidewalk one last inspection.

About where the old man with the dog was a few minutes ago, a figure with a larger build, wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up, is hurrying down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. I tell myself not to read too much into that. It might be August in the south, but maybe he has low iron and is always cold.

But a chill still slides down my spine as I watch him turn the corner.

I push my barstool back,standing to give Maggie a hug. “Thank you so much for inviting me tonight. This is exactly what I needed.”

Maggie hugs me back with equal intensity. “You have no idea how much I needed this too. Let’s do this again soon.”

I release her and reply, “Absolutely.”

She glances around the restaurant. “Are you sure you don’t want me to hang out with you?”

I decided to stay for one more glass of wine before heading home. I reassured Maggie multiple times I would be fine, but I appreciate her concern. Especially consideringhow our evening started. Being surrounded by all the people in the restaurant gives me a false sense of security, but I’m not ready to go sit alone at home.

“I’m good. I know you have to be up early tomorrow.”

“Okay, well, we’ll talk soon. I’ll text you later this weekend.”

I give her one last smile. “Sounds good.”

I watch Maggie weave through the tables. Once she’s out of sight, I sit back on my barstool. The bartender is chatting with a couple a few seats down from me, but other than that, it’s pretty quiet for a Friday night.

As I roll my shoulders, the tension for the week makes itself known in every muscle.

“Hey there, beautiful. Your friend leave you?”

Holding back a groan, I internally roll my eyes before acknowledging the man to my left. He’s handsome enough. But definitely lacking the masculine edge that a certain someone has. This guy looks like he would invest my money for lackluster returns. His grey suit is slightly wrinkled, his button-up shirt untucked and partially unbuttoned.

“Yep, she had to head home,” I reply, shifting to look back at the bartender, hoping this man takes the hint.

“Ah, well, lucky me to get you alone.”

My body freezes. I swallow the lump that’s formed in my throat as fear ripples through me and goosebumps run down my arms.

---