To Those Who Follow

Chapter 2

It's been 3 days since Rylan received the letter which she never responded.

And that included 3 days of searching every single blackmail she could find against Cordelia. She was that desperate to throw the latter off her trail. She even stopped going to the library and instead went to the only secluded place left, the janitor's closet.

It's actually more secluded than the library, but she can occasionally hear moans and shuffling on the far end and that in itself is weirding out Rylan. Plus the smell of all the used stuff is gagging her.

She's seated behind a bunch of used rags and insecticides with a face mask on, swatting the bugs that dare come close to her. She's been stuck here for the past 3 hours, adding more and more juicy stuff to her files.

When she heard the door creaking, Rylan dismissed it as another horny couple and instead focused on her work but the shadow she saw was making her heart pound. She might deny it but then the door closed and only footsteps coming from one person can be heard. From her point of view, she can see thin, curvy legs.

Obviously female...

She slowly turned off the laptop, hiding all the things that might put her in danger. She carefully put the wooden panel she's using as a table in front of her to hide her from sight. The footsteps are getting louder, as her heartbeat goes faster. The steps stopped to where she's seated, sweat dropping profusely from her forehead.

"Now, where is that mop," a deep voice said, breaking the silence in Rylan's ears. She sighed and slowly removed the panel. Of course it would be a janitor, it was her closet after all. When the janitor took her leave, Rylan carefully removed all the junk in front of her and went out, stretching a few limbs which ached from the cramped up space she's in. She put everything back in place and went out of the closet, straight to the tea shop.

The tea shop was unusually vacant today. Instead of the usually packed area, what greeted Rylan was the peaceful ambiance the tea shop owner wanted it to be.

She ordered an earl gray tea, something to calm her nerves and relax her mind. She felt she hasn't been herself lately. With every information she gathers there's this unspoken paranoia that those info would be deleted or worse, would lead to her doom.

When Rylan thought she's getting a grip of herself, she saw a familiar figure enter the shop, her dark ringlets swaying with her every step.

Rylan immediately downed the bitter tea, no matter how hot it is, and sauntered to the back door. She was a few steps away from the tea shop when she realized she forgot something.

My bag.

She walked back to the store, where Cordelia's steely gaze greeted her. She quickly grabbed her bag and immediately headed out, but a hand stopped her.

"Rye! What a pleasant surprise. Why don't you join me here?" Cordelia gestured to the seat beside her.

"Sure, I would love to, for a friend of mine." Rylan smiled and sat down on the seat in front of Cordelia. Just three days ago, Rylan found herself in a same situation. She didn't want to be suspected again.

"I see you never responded to my letter. You really are stubborn."

"Why would I respond to your letter when it was clearly addressed to someone else." Rylan smiled again. "Maybe you want me to deliver it to the right person."

Cordelia continued speaking but halfway through it, something caught Rylan's attention. Someone was carrying a metallic rectangular thing. She squinted more and from this distance she could see a very sparkly pink sticker at the cover...

Rylan immediately searched inside her bag. When she was sure it wasn't there, she immediately stood up.

"Looking for something?"

The moment Cordelia said that, the person threw the laptop in the middle if the street. Rylan went out of the shop and ran straight in the middle of the street to pick up her prized possession, not minding the speeding car headed her way.