Page 11 of Behind The Screen

“Mm,” they hum, taking a long sip of their coffee. The steam fogs their glasses for a moment. “It’s been okay. Bit cold for my liking.”

“Welcome to New England.” I try to give them my friendliest smile. I don’t mind small talk; it’s a really big part of the job. But when I’m this tired, I really struggle to care at all about the weather.

“You look like you could use some coffee yourself. Rough day?”

“Rough few days,” I complain with a groan. “Luckily, my shift ends soon, though.”

“Hope you get some sleep.” They glance at my name tag. “Have a good weekend, Clara.”

The rest of my shift passes quickly, with stolen glances at the raven-haired beauty in the corner. I take a deep breath and look up at the clock. I only have one more hour to go. Vanessa has convinced me to go to her home after my shift to get some good sleep and stay for the rest of the weekend. She wants me to stay longer, even going as far as insisting I move in until I can find a new place. But I’m not going to be that person.

Her fiancé is great, and I know they would both be very welcoming to me, but I don’t want to be a burden. When I left my family behind to start a new life, I was adamant that I would not take charity from anyone. I would figure this life shit out on my own, and this is no different.

I’ll take them up on the stay for the weekend. It can be a chance for me to get my head back on straight, get some decent sleep, and start next week with a plan. I just keep telling myself that if I can get some sleep, everything will be okay. I can find a new apartment, somehow make getting naked online more safe for myself, and then hopefully ditch this person once and for all.

CHAPTER9

Io

I waitfor a few minutes to pass after she’s left the coffee shop before I start walking toward her apartment.

She’s on edge, as she should be, and I don’t want her to turn around and see a familiar face now that we’ve officially met. I like how she looked at me, her eyes widening at mine with interest. See, doll face? How easy it would be to fall for me if you would just give me the chance?

When I arrive outside of her building, I take up residence in my favorite spot. There’s a little alleyway that lets me hide from the main street, but I can still see the front windows of her apartment. The curtains are still drawn, so I open my phone instead.

She went to work on Thursday, and while she was away, I snuck into her apartment to plant some cameras. I knew I needed to keep an eye on her, make sure her father or his little cronies didn’t get to her first and steal her out from under my nose.

I still don’t know how she’s managed to live in this hellhole for so long. From the moment I stepped inside, my nose was assaulted with the lingering smell of garlic from downstairs, mixed with about eight different lavender candles. It must be her scent of choice for trying to disguise where she lives.

And on top of that, everything in the apartment was slapped with pale, feminine colors. It was an absolute riot of baby pinks, pale purples, and soft blues. She had old furniture, vintage, but it somehow worked. It was very…Clara. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from her. I could tell she had really tried to make the place feel like her home.

As I flick through all of the cameras, I realize she isn’t in her little pink palace. I have one in her bedroom that covers it wall to wall, two in the living room area so that I can see her if she moves to the kitchen, and one in the bathroom. For her safety, obviously. I’m not into piss play.

And every single one is empty. Where the fuck has she gone?

My immediate reaction is to text her, but she isn’t responding to me anymore. At this point, I’m pretty sure she’s blocked my number. That’s okay, I’ll just go get another burner from my apartment. In the meantime, Jules can track her phone to tell me where she is.

The phone only rings once before she picks up.

“You need to give me something to tell her father,” she says by way of greeting. “He’s breathing down my neck. Any closer, I’ll smell his breath.”

“I need you to track her phone.”

After a beat of silence. “You’ve lost her?”

“I haven’t lost her. She’s just not home, and I showed her my face today, so…I couldn’t follow her as closely.”

“You lost her.”

“Okay, fine, yes. I’ve lost her. Now it’s your job to find her again.” I can hear her groaning. “Stop that. Tell the father I’ll have word for him by next weekend. Tell the bastard to give me the fucking week.”

“Should I use the colorful additives you did?”

“If you think it adds flavor.”

“It does. I’ll track the girl. Don’t do anything stupid.”

I should’ve known she’d go to Vanessa’s. Clara looked rough at work today, and I know it’s partly my fault. But if she would justlistento me, everything would be fine, and she could get some fucking sleep. There were little blue bags under her eyes that dimmed her freckles, one of my favorite things about her. I hate doing this to her.

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