Ever After (currently rewriting)

Part 8

The rest of the day passed  quickly. When I got home, I picked up a new book off of the shelf and settled onto my couch. I was mid way into the first chapter when I realised that my mind was wandering. I didn't have a clue what I had just read. Instead, my mind kept playing over my date. Aedan's company had been great, leaving me wishing for more. The hours flew by. And that kiss afterwards... Just, wow.

The exhilaration combined with a foreign sense of belonging has stuck with me. Weird, I know. I just met the guy.

Later, I find myself at work and daydreaming when I should be working. "Elizabeth, line 2." Suddenly blares over the stores loudspeakers.  That's odd. The only person who ever calls me is Anna, and she would use my cell.

I walk quickly to the phone at the front of the store. "Hello. This is Elizabeth. " It comes out a little breathlessly, a hint of worry in my tone.

There is a long pause, then a man's voice grates, "I thought you were special."

What the... I have no idea who this is. "I'm sorry. Who is this?"

"I saw you with him. I won't tolerate this kind of behavior. You are mine," The voice is harsh, deep anger evident.

"I'm sorry. I think you..." my voice trails off as I realize who this is. There's only one person it could be. Cade, the stalker. I hang up quickly. My heart is pounding in my ears.

I look around myself frantically. I don't see him, but that doesn't mean anything. The dark night outside the store windows is suddenly ominous. I go back to my shelves, but I'm jumpy. When a customer hurries around the end of the shelves, pushing a cart full of groceries, I think I have a mini heart attack. He called me. He's never done that before. It's obvious what has brought this on. He was there today. He saw me with Aedan. And he's not at all happy about it.

The rest of my shift seems like it will never end. Every small noise makes me jump. By one, I'm a mess and glad it's over. Much longer trapped under the harsh store lighting that felt like a beacon and I'd have run screaming from the place. The store is quiet, the cleaning crew the only others still here. I clock out, but freeze by the back door, afraid to go out to my car. It's a long walk through the back alley to my parking spot. I don't really have much of a choice, here. I work up the nerve and cautiously open the door. 

There's movement in the alley. A pair of eyes glow in the darkness. I squeak and jump back, ready to dash back inside, before I realise what I'm looking at. 

A pair of yellow eyes surrounded by grey fur look up, tongue lolling irreverently to one side.

"How did you get here?" My wolf friend is standing in the alley, tail wagging happily at me. I move towards him, relieved for the company,  even if it's not a person. "Come on boy, you can walk me to my car." I pat my thigh and turn towards my car.

The wolf moves to my side and we walk down the alley. I reach down and let my fingers run through the hair on the back of his neck. He keeps shooting glances at my face in a very undoglike fashion, like he's looking for something. 

We get to my car and I open the door. Before I can tell him not to, the wolf has jumped into the front seat. He crosses to the passenger side and sits, looking at me with his head cocked to the side. 

"Ok, then," I mutter and climb into the car. I hope whoever owns this wolf won't mind if he goes for a ride.

"Where do you belong?" I ask as I drive home. Not that it's that many miles between my house and my job, but it's odd that the same animal has turned up at both places. I glance at him, and he's staring straight at me with yellow eyes. His huge size barely fits in the front seat of my car. His head is slightly ducked down to not hit the roof. I didn't know wolves were this big.

The wolf lifts a huge front paw and puts it on my knee. "Oh, you belong to me?" I ask jokingly. 

He lets out an emphatic sneeze. I look over again. He's looking straight into my eyes. "I am losing my mind. I think a wolf is talking to me. I've finally lost it," I start muttering, a bad habit brought on this time by my doubting my own sanity. I flick my gaze over at him a few more times. Every time, he's sitting scrunched into the top small seat, watching me with disturbingly intelligent eyes.

I pull into my driveway and get out of the car a little shakily. Tonight has been an emotional train wreck. The wolf jumps out too. Still sticking to my side, the wild and I walk to my front door and I open it. Hope bursts out in a flash of fur and wiggling butt. I watch carefully as she exuberantly greets the wolf. He tolerates her lavish greeting with stoicism. Then she squiggles her way to me. I give her a scratch and go inside, I'm so ready for this night to be over.

I feel slightly better as soon as I'm home. This place has always been my sanctuary. I walk wearily upstairs to change into pajamas, Hope and the wolf following. I'm pulling my preferred sleep attire, an overly large t shirt, over my head when I glance at the wolf. He's sitting in the doorway, gazing out into the empty hall. Weird.

I'm still too worked up. There's no way I'm going to sleep, so I put in a movie. Flinging myself onto the couch, I tuck my feet under me. Hope takes her usual spot on the rug in front of the fireplace, vigorously chewing on a toy. The wolf jumps up next to me and curls up with his head in my lap. I let my hand rest in his fur as I stare at the tv. 

I'm not really watching the movie. Instead thinking about what happened at work. This new development is disturbing. Cade obviously is a bigger problem than I'd thought. He's been watching me from a distance for months. That was bad enough. But tonight's phone call crossed a line. It was threatening. 

The wolf keeps shooting glances up at my face. "Sorry boy. A lot on my mind tonight." I decide that I might as well go to bed after all. Sitting here worrying isn't accomplishing anything. I get up and go to the door.

"Ok, boy. Out you go. Someone must be missing you. Thanks for the company," I tell the wolf, holding the door open. He stops and gives my hand a lick with a wet tongue, before trotting out the door and away into the darkness.

I drag myself upstairs and crawl under the covers, exhausted. Hope is there, at the end of my bed, but the house seems emptier than usual. I'm laying there, trying unsuccessfully not to think, when I realize what my problem is.

I miss Aedan.

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I'm curious... how many of you actually read the ANs at the end of a chapter? I do, I love the little insights into the author's minds, but I'm wondering if I'm in the minority.

If you read this, leave me a comment. An emoji, critic of the story, even a random question.