It had been a week since the last message from Song geom-eun gae , or 'that man!' as she preferred to think of him. She was trying to act normal but inside her nerves were shot. She jumped easily , she felt eyes following her everywhere she went , she was snappy ...with Suga ! Of all people...and was starting to withdraw into herself .
She knew why she was doing it , if she could just bring herself to leave Suga then she could disappear, start anew some where, but she was selfish , and there lay her problem.
She wanted that man gone and Suga in her life , but she couldn't see how to achieve both.
She still couldnt work because of the damn boot , Suga was busy a lot lately so that made it easy to make excuses to not see him. It's too late , she's tired , her foot hurts .... all these excuses worked on her short temper too...'sorry I snapped I'm tired ' sorry I made you feel bad for not returning my phone call, I was having a bad day '
Truth was she did want to speak to him , be with him and be in his arms every minute of the day , but when she didn't hear from him for a few hours she worried ' that man ' had got to him and hurt him , so then she'd been short with him when he had rang and it was a whole frustrating vicious circle .
She thought about changing her phone number , but then ' that man 'would come to her in person again .
She was sat alone in her room , Suga had said he was working and would be away for a couple of days , and she had managed to say nice things on the phone and say she would miss him , but although that was the truth, she also felt a weight off her shoulders , she didn't have to worry about him for a few days , even if that man rang or turned up now , Suga wasn't here so he'd would be safe .
All these thoughts didn't stop her crying herself to sleep that night though.
The next day she had a hospital appointment to check on the progress of her ankle . Rose had volunteered to take her , but Rose had her baby and Rm , and if that man came near either of them just because they were with her , she couldn't forgive herself, so she had declined , much to Rose's dissapointment.
She was getting quite good at getting about with the boot on. Didn't even need the crutches anymore. Sure she waddled as she walked but still the boot kept most of pain at bay and she hoped to get back to work next week. Sitting at home waiting for something bad to happen was really driving her insane.
As she got on the bus that would take her to the hospital, a normal enough looking man got in after her and sat behind her.
Something about him though gave her shivers up and down her spine. Her stop was still a few stops away but she got off at the next available one in the hopes he wouldn't.
Her heart sped up as she saw him get off along with her. She caught him looking at her but then he walked away , talking on his phone as he did. Relief and embarressment flooded her , and she called herself stupid names as she sat and waited again for the next bus.
' I'm becoming paranoid 'she told herself as she watched the man's figure dissappear into the crowded streets.
Shaking her head she thought 'I've watches too many American crime dramas ' she gave a little rueful smile and sat back , taking a long drink from her bottle of water .
Her phone rang and she spat some of the water out in shock, but then she was relieved to see it was Suga , she answered with a smile on her face .
" I had a few minutes and thought I'd see how you are today ?" Came his beautiful smooth voice down the line , causing her heart beat to speed up for an altogether different reason.
She told him she was good and off to the hospital for a check up , and she thought she heard him say ahh , but then he spoke wishing her luck and told her he'd be back in 2 days and he missed her.
Her bus arrived and she wished him goodbye before getting on.
" you're healing nicely " the doctor told her " I don't see why you can't go back to work , just take it easy , rest when possible and we will start you on physio in 10 days "
She thanked the doctor and left the hospital feeling happier than she had for a while , the sun was out , all thoughts of the suspicious man long gone and she was on the mend.
The saying no news was good news came to mind as she made her way down the busy streets.
Now that man knew where and how to find her , him not making contact could only mean two things , either he had won enough from his gambling habit and was living it large and blowing it some where, or he had pissed the wrong people off and was in hospital..or worse.
She could remember coming home from school one day when she was about 14 to find him all bloody and unconscious just inside their front room. She had stood watching him struggle to breath for a few seconds. Thoughts of leaving him there had crossed her mind , just like he'd left her to cry when she had been crying in pain, but then she had come to her senses and called an ambulance.
She hadn't got any thanks for it though, he'd discharged himself as soon as he'd become conscious, so he didnt have to pay for treatment, and she'd had to take a week off school to look after him.
She shook the dark memories away and was surprised to find herself back at the bus stop.
Amongst the people waiting was the same man as before, she shivered, but told herself it was a coincidence as she took her seat on the bus .
This time he was sat in front of her and he hadn't looked at her once .
She almost laughed out loud at her silliness , and then made herself relax for the remainder of the journey . She was tired and hungry , and her ankle was starting to ache.
She thought about grabbing food from one of the many side stalls serving along the side of the street, but out the corner of her eye she thought she spotted the man from the bus again , she didn't stick around to be sure , but hurried home. Imagining that man around every corner was making her question everyone and she didn't like that about herself ...
