Blue Swan

Chapter 2

I have the morning off this Saturday. I decide to make the most of it to go to the Police Station to make a report about the threatening message. How can he still be thinking about me after all this time?! I left him years ago! Chuck, my high school boyfriend that I dated for a few years into college that was abusive and unsupportive as hell. I thought I was done with him, but no. He keeps popping back into my life.

I make my report to the police officer who honestly looks like he could care less and leave, feeling more anxious than before. If the police don't take me seriously, will I really be safe? I decide to go surfing to try and calm my nerves before work. It helps, but only a little. At lunchtime during work, Bubble's out on a shout and Sofia has clocked out. I end up nibbling on an English Muffin in the break room but my appetite has completely gone. My stomach is in knots and my nerves are shot. Nobody at that police station took me seriously, even though I explained my history with him and the things he did. If Chuck comes to LA, it won't take him long to find out where I work, and from there, where I live...

I pulled out of my thoughts by a solid hand on my shoulder that makes me jump and almost drop my coffee. Will!

He looks at me astonished but that quickly fades into concern, "Hey, Andy...are you okay...?"

I force a quick smile and nod furiously as I turn away, "Yeah! You just took me by surprise, that's all."

I can feel him staring at the back of my head and I continue, "Did you need something?"

"Well...I found this in the locker room trash..." he murmurs, holding out the crumpled rose, "Did you not like it after all...?"

I avoid his gaze, "How can you be sure that's mine? Didn't you give one to everyone?"

"Yeah, because that's what I do, yours was different though...it was the only one from the bunch that had two colors..." he says sadly.

I falter in topping up my coffee and all I can say is, "Oh..."

"Andy..." he sighs, touching my arm, "talk to me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." I sigh, putting my cup down a little too hard.

Will pulls me towards him and I crack, "My ex is threatening me. He sent me messages I originally thought were from a secret admirer, but last night he said that he'd found me and that he was coming for me."

"Have you told the police?" he asks, panic in his eyes.

I nod, "Yes, but they didn't take me seriously."

He curses under his breath and hugs me, "No wonder you seem off today...trouble just love to follow you around, doesn't it?"

That gets a bitter laugh out me, "I really have the best luck! I can't believe mistakes I made over a decade ago are coming back to haunt me now...I really know how to puck them!"

He chuckles before turning serious, "We should probably alert HR about this so that security can be on the look-out for him."

I shake my head, "I'm already causing enough problems for the ER, I don't need to add to them."

"Andy, if you don't report this and he does get you that will cause a bigger problem for the ER than if you alert security right away," he points out.

I sniff and nod and he leads me to HR, a supportive arm around my shoulder. I'm instructed by the head of HR to take a few days off starting immediately to get my nerves in order and they arrange for a member of security to take me home while they fill out the necessary paperwork.

I get home and I feel physically drained. I decide to have a bath in the middle of the day to try and soothe myself before changing into some yoga pants and a loose top with a cardigan as I settle down to watch crappy daytime TV.

I must have fallen asleep on the couch because I wake up with a blanket draped around me and a note from Sofia telling me there's food in the fridge. I realize what woke me up though; someone is knocking at the door. I freeze. Is it him??

I approach the door cautiously and look through the peephole and breath a sigh of relief, soon followed by a wave of confusion; it was Will. I open the door and a mixture of happiness and relief shows on his face before a red rose is shoved into my face by a now awkward and embarrassed Will.

"Sofia told me where you guys live and she helped me suss out the issue with the rose from before," he rambles, "I wanted to make sure you were okay. And I realize it was a pretty stupid idea to give you a flower that was so similar to the ones I gave everyone else and I wanted to make it up to you and-!"

"Will!" I shout, interrupting him and making him wince, "Thank you."

He blushes and smiles and I take the rose and gesture with my head, "Come on in, you're letting the cold in."

I move in and he follows me in, a little awkwardly. I move to the kitchen to find a vase for the flower and I call, "Want something to drink? I'm making tea."

"Yeah, sure..." he says, clearing his throat.

I start to boil some water and move around the kitchen gathering mugs and tea bags. I can feel Will stood in the doorway looking at me and I hand him his tea. We sit on the couch in silence and I curl up across from him. We still haven't said anything. There's a strange mood in the air and I decide to break the tension by asking, "Have HR managed to sort everything?"

"Yeah," is all he says, staring right at me.

I shift uncomfortably and focus on finding my conspiracy theory documentaries on Netflix and I  feel him edge closer and drape a blanket over us before I'm pulled into a hug.

"I was worried about how you'd be doing after the shock," he murmurs in my ear, "I'm glad you're okay..."

I turn to look at him, grateful for his concern before I realize how close we actually are. I rest my head on his shoulder and I swear I feel his breathing pick up in pace before returning to normal. We're about 3-quarters of the way through the show when he says, "Wanna go to the beach on Saturday?"