Page 4 of Pushed

Have you ever been so lost inside your own head you didn't know up from down, left from right; your ass from your forehead?

That was me, fading out into the yellow and leaning into the white aura holding me steadily in place.

The lights grew brighter as the car moved closer, the engine roared and died down as the tires crackled with every rotation. Snapping myself free of the trance, I held my hand up, waving in apology and jogging to the sidewalk.

Shit, Perri, you need more sleep.

Glancing back at the car, it sat at the stop sign just idling in place. It didn't inch forward to turn, none of the blinkers had started flashing, signaling a direction.

No one's coming, why don't they just go?

After a long moment of static motion, it finally moved, turning right. But it didn't pick up speed or cruise past me with a destination in mind.

What are they doing? Are they. . . No, no they're not.

Inching along, the engine barely made a sound as it crept silently behind me. Tucking my head down, I picked up my pace.

Why aren't they leaving? Are they seriously following me?

Oh my God, I think they are.

My nerves struck a cord, forcing my heart to beat anxiously inside my chest as a cold sweat started to dampen my forehead.

Fuck. What do I do? What the hell do I do?

Thinking quickly, I rummaged around in my purse and pulled out my phone. Holding it up, I pretended I was talking to someone on the other end.

I should have called the cops, but I didn't; hindsight was a bitch. It mocked me as I clung to the idea that a pretend phone call was enough to keep me safe.

From the corner of my eye, I watched as the car closed in. Keeping my lips moving, my voice was soft but audible. “Hi, what's up? Yeah, yeah, I'm almost home, just around the corner.” I heard the engine rev slightly as the car lingered beside me, keeping a pace that seemed to match mine. “Mm, hm,” I mumbled to no one, nodding my head in agreement.

Turning my face to the passenger side window, I tried to look inside, but I couldn't make out anyone behind the glass. The windows were tinted jet black, reflecting just my figure, warping it like a fun house mirror.

Holding my purse against my chest, sweat started to trickle down my spine as I continued to talk to the imaginary person on my phone. “Yeah, work was good.”

Are they looking at me? Why are they going so slow?

What the hell are they doing?

The engine suddenly sprung to life as the car jerked forward in one spastic pounce. They were gone, speeding ahead and taking a sharp right turn, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared.

That was fucking creepy.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, I dropped my phone back into my purse, keeping my head straight and pressing on. Pounding my feet into the pavement, I forced the nerves away, trying to shake off the entire thing.

It was nothing, probably someone who was lost and then figured it out.

It's just so quiet, where is everyone?

Shaking my head to myself, I remembered how late it was. It was almost eleven on a Sunday night, of course the street was deserted. People were probably at home getting ready for bed and preparing for the week ahead.

I never usually walked home from work or walked alone this late at night to begin with. Most of the time my roommate Cassie would give me a ride if I needed one, but her car was in the shop, so I didn't really have much of an option.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much longer that I had to rely on her as my set of wheels.

You'll have your own car soon, just a few more extra shifts and you're set.

Two jobs wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend my summer, but hitching a ride with Cassie was starting to become more of a hassle than anything. She said she didn't mind, except I knew her better than she would ever admit.

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