Page 11 of Stalked By the Accountant

He's been watching me.

I try to keep my voice steady, even as my hands tremble.

“Ben is just a friend, Jack, but I'm starting to begin to wonder what you are."

Jack's eyes flash before they settle into guilt as he realizes his fuck-up. "Becca, he begins as he takes a step toward me.

I take a step back instinctively. Ben looks between us, confusion creasing his brow.

"Hey man, I think you should back off a bit," he says, but Jack ignores him. His focus is entirely on me.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Becca. I love you. You know that. I can't help myself."

My mind is still spinning with this latest revelation. How long has Jack been stalking me? I want to run, but my feet are frozen in place.

"I have to go," I finally manage to croak out.

"No, Becca, please..." Jack reaches for me, but I pull away. The damage is already done. Maybe my trust issues have been right all along.

I turn and walk away, my heart shattered but my will resolute. I don't look back, even as the tears blur my vision. I leave Jack—and poor, confused Ben—just standing there.

I keep walking, putting one foot in front of the other even as my legs shake. I don't stop until I'm in the safety of my apartment, the door locked behind me.

Only then do I let the panic take over. My breaths come in short, ragged gasps as I slide down against the door, wrapping my arms around myself.

He's been watching me. Following me. Learning my habits and schedule without my knowledge or consent. Bile rises in my throat at the thought of him lurking in the shadows, observing my every move.

I should have noticed the signs earlier. The way he always seemed to know where I was going or what I was doing. How he'd show up unexpectedly when I was out with friends. The "coincidences" that now seem sinister in hindsight.

Shame floods through me. How could I not have realized? I'm supposed to be smarter than this. More cautious. But Jack seemed so sweet at first. So genuinely interested in me as a person. Or was that just part of the act, a way for him to get close enough to feed his twisted obsession?

The tears come then, hot and furious. I cry for the relationship I thought we had. I cry for my own naïveté. But most of all I cry for finding out the truth and the fact that I wish I didn't know.

I want things to go back to the way they were when I felt safe and cherished in Jack's arms.

I'm pathetic.

CHAPTERNINE

Jack

I sit in the dark,the only light coming from the streetlamps outside my window. Everything in this room reminds me of her. The pillows strewn about, the blanket tangled at the foot of the bed—all echoes of Becca's presence.

Our last night together plays on a loop in my mind. Her soft laugh as we watched some silly romantic comedy. The way she curled into me, her head resting on my chest. How she traced circles along my arm with her finger, igniting sparks with her feather-light touch.

"I'm so happy with you, Jack." Her words haunt me now.

We made love for hours, the world fading away until it was just the two of us. My name on her lips as she came undone in my arms. Her body warm and pliant against mine.

Afterward, we laid in silence, Becca drifting off to sleep. I watched her, drinking in every detail of her face. The flutter of her eyelashes. The curve of her lips. The steady rise and fall of her chest.

If only I knew that would be the last night I'd hold her. That she'd be gone before I woke, leaving behind nothing but the lingering scent of her perfume on my sheets.

Becca hasn't returned my calls or texts since she left. Each unanswered message chips away at what's left of my heart. I cling to the memories we made in this room, refusing to believe she's truly gone.

Hoping against hope she'll come back to me.

The ache in my chest intensifies, an emptiness that threatens to consume me whole. What did I do to push her away? How can I fix this? I'd do anything to turn back the clock.

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