Serendipity - a fortunate happenstance |✔

Chapter 26

"That black hoodie!" I shuddered as everything got clear in my mind.

Jay's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Whoever it was...he was stalking me all this time Jay...that's how he knew that I live here alone. He knew my whereabouts." I muttered the latter mostly to myself.

"No it wasn't him" he disagreed calmly.

"It is him Jay, it has to be...I've seen him... he always had his hood on...he was always hidden away"

He interrupted my waking nightmare "It was me".

I just stared at him in confusion. I didn't know whether I heard him right. I was mouthing my questions and they lacked sound. "How come?" I made it out at last. "Were you following me... all this time?"

"For a while, yeah" he answered without meeting my eyes.

"W-h-y?" that was all I could ask.

He closed his eyes and inhaled. He started speak after a pause. "When I heard that you're moving here for college, I knew you were running away. Because I knew you wouldn't leave your family behind unless" he gritted his teeth "I thought you would move in with new friends or get in to a college dorm or something, but you didn't. So I bought an apartment few blocks away, I got in to the same college mid semester, so I could see whether you're doing okay." His beautiful eyes flashed up to mine for the first time "I swear to god Ems, I didn't mean to interfere in your life...in anyway. I wanted to see for myself that you're doing well and you would move on, hopefully...."

His eyes were focused back on his fists "That was when these freaking headlines started popping up in the newspapers." He paused a little. "At first it didn't bother me. Then I started seeing this pattern. It was clear that it wasn't random. Each and every victim was someone who lived alone or someone who was alone somewhere at a specific time... Even in those articles they highlighted it. And I couldn't think of anyone but you. I freaked out. I wanted to warn you. But I didn't have a way to do so. So I tried to be where you are every time possible." He smiled looking up to me "And I saw that I scared the hell out of you from that hood. Didn't I?" he didn't expect an answer, he just carried on "and then Liam showed up out of nowhere...and I was a bit relieved since I knew you were with him most of the time".

My sight was blurring though his voice was still clear enough, I saw the faint image of him raising his head to me "I know...Now you want me to leave. Ems I would...but I can't let you-Ems? Ems can you hear me?" My ears started ringing. My eyes were struggling against the fog, realizing what was happening again. "Not this again" he was muttering to himself "Hold on Ems-" My eyes were closing. My own pulse started ringing in my ears. Yet I said what I wanted to say before I lose the consciousness. "It was you" it really was him, who was there when the concussion hit me for the last time before Liam arrived. "You've been-" my voice no longer coming out, I just mouthed the word "-everywhere." That was all I could let out and all I did remember.

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My eyelids felt heavy. My eyes fluttered open. Bright light around me was painful. I shut my eyes back tightly. Behind my ears, blood felt pooling. It was familiar to me just as my own heartbeat. I was revisiting the last memory I had, in order to gather myself back up before the agonizing headache surface.

Jay was there with me, probably still here somewhere near. He must be freaked out already. I wanted to talk to him. More I got to hear his answers; tons of more questions were popping up. But still with this freaking light I couldn't open my eyes even. "Turn this off Jay. It hurts." I told him.