Bring Me Home ✔

Taken: Part 20

Extended it was. For the next two weeks, Juliet was aware of the eyes that bore into the back of her head everywhere she went. He was a pesky fly on the wall, always around but never wanted. Whenever she thought she was free of the insect, there he was again. Not once had he approached her though, and for that, she was thankful. Much to her dismay, the glares she sent his way did not deter him but rather seemed to amuse him.

The worst part was when she would see him outside of work.

At first she chalked it up their constant close proximity due to the size of their small town, but after she ran into him four separate times in the same day while running errands, she was on the verge of going to the police to report him. The problem was that he never spoke to her, never threatened her, and did nothing to warrant an official police report from being filed. She had no proof to provide that he had been following her to support her claim.

The thought had crossed her mind to confront him, but he did not seem like an active threat, and she wanted to keep it that way; at least until Matthew was home to protect her. Once he returned, her new friend was going to be in for it. With his support, she felt invincible, and had been impatiently waiting for the moment that she could unleash her anger. Only then would she show the light haired stalker why it was a bad idea to mess with her.

Until then, she just needed to know that Matthew was okay as it had been three weeks without a single word from him, and she wanted to hear him tell her that everything else would be okay. She had tried to call Matthew multiple times, and sent countless messages, but he never returned them.

At one point, she was so paranoid (and admittedly, very intoxicated) after a close run in at the market with the man, that she even called Hawk. Well, she tried to call him.

Unfortunately for her, she learned that the number in her call history, from their previous conversations, was not valid and she was ready to pull her hair out.

Fortunately for him, it meant that he didn't have to listen to her drunken ramblings about his coworker.

A cold breeze blew through the town and confirmed for Juliet that fall had finally arrived and her days of melting in humidity were over for this year. She wrapped her arms tightly around her midsection as she cursed herself for not wearing a coat. It was a beautiful time of year, and she had been excited to pull out her winter clothes from the back of her closet and lose herself in sweaters and boots for the next few months. That was something that she just hadn't gotten around to doing yet, even if she hadn't been doing much else besides staring at her phone in her down time.

The sound of another pedestrian's footsteps as they approached her from behind, caught her attention. Juliet took a courteous step to one side of the walkway so they could pass her. When she heard them slow only a few paces back, she figured that they hadn't wanted to be rude by brushing by while she was on a leisurely stroll. She had left for work early that morning and wasn't in a rush.

There had been only one or two cars on the road that morning but she hadn't expected more than that. There wasn't a single person who wanted to be up that at 6:30 in the morning, especially on a Saturday, besides her and the person behind her of course. She couldn't blame them for wanting to walk as well; it was a gorgeous morning. A chilled breeze whirled around her again and she smiled up at the brightly lit sky. The sun had risen over an hour prior, but the town slept soundly in their warm beds.

Her auburn hair ruffled in the wind before it slid over her face as she turned her head to confirm the lack of oncoming traffic in the street. She stumbled slightly as she stepped off of the curb and brushed her hair out of her face simultaneously.

A warm, tanned hand reached out and grabbed her by the elbow when she lost her footing, and Juliet looked up to her savior. He was an inch shorter than her, but was a sturdy man. One that was unfamiliar to her. She knew that it would be impossible to know everyone in town, but she was also aware that he had to be from close by since he was on foot. Since she had lived there for a few years and had walked to her current job every day, she was positive that she had talked to or seen everyone in the area at one point or another, and he was not a local.