Camila can't seem to shake the uneasy feeling.
She felt it the moment the sunlight pouring in through the window woke her up. She felt it as she ate her cereal with berries in the morning. She felt it as she showered with ice cold water. She just felt it in the deep pits of her stomach.
She has no idea why today of all days, she feels this particular way. She hopes it's nothing bad.
She looks into the mirror at the bathroom on her ten minute break and forces a smile, not liking the way the red lipstick looks on her.
Wiping it off, she already prefers the nude color of her lips. Her fingers graze the pearl necklace that's on her neck slowly and she exhales, trying to forget the feeling in her stomach.
Perhaps ignoring the feeling would make it go away.
-
Not far across town, Lauren stares in the mirror at her green eyes that seem brighter than ever.
She's suddenly appreciative of the air she breathes around her as she inhales. So fresh and simple.
Something that she'd be so willing to take away from another person.
She couldn't believe that the time had finally arrived. It seemed like she had been planning everything for years, though it was only a few months. It still had felt like forever.
Tonight would make the wait all worth it, she just knew it.
She puts on her trusted wool emerald turtleneck sweater to protect her from the icy cold weather and sprays a squirt of sandalwood with jasmine perfume behind her ears. Her fists clutch tightly in readiness as she looks at her reflection on the bathroom mirror.
Time to go.
-
"Iced coffee with two sugars and almond milk?"
Camila stares out of the glass window into the foggy streets.
"Miss?"
Completely unaware that the barista was calling out her order, Camila continues to stare out in the darkness.
"Pardon me?"
The brown haired girl suddenly jumps at the abrupt contact of a hand placed on her shoulder.
Looking at the beachy blonde hair and polite smile of the man with his hand touching her shoulder, she takes the drink from his extended hand and smiles apologetically.
"I apologize, I got a bit distracted."
"I saw," he smiles and small wrinkles form around his eyes. "Anything I can help with?"
She shakes her head distractingly and glances at the dark outdoors again before meeting his eyes.
"Nothing to worry about."
"You come here every day, don't you?" He asks curiously.
"I like the coffee here, the company isn't so bad either," Camila takes a sip of her iced drink and forces it down her throat. "See?"
"Well as you could tell I'm a new worker and it's nice seeing a familiar face every so often that's on my shift," he says as he takes a seat on the chair in front of her.
"I'm Camila."
"Ryan."
Camila extends her hand and Ryan shakes it enthusiastically. He shoots her a dazzling smile that probably makes all the girls swoon under his spell, but not her.
"So what do you do, if you don't mind me asking?" Ryan smiles flirtatiously as she meets his brown eyes.
"I'm a journalist for the New York Times. I'm guessing that you're a barista?"
His smile soon disappears by his bruised ego and Camila has to force herself not to smile.
"It's just a part time job while I put myself through school," Ryan explains as she takes a sip of her iced coffee that she had been ignoring.
"No, I really think that's admirable. I had to do the same. I worked in a grocery store for a while, so I totally get where you're coming from. Being a barista is a complete step up from bagging groceries in my book."
"You think I'm admirable?" He asks with a boyish grin as he leans towards her on the table.
How fucking predictable that men only listen to the things they want to.
This time, she tries not to roll her eyes and instead forces a cough. Standing up, she breaks her norm of leaving sometime later and grabs her coffee from the table.
"It was nice meeting you, Ryan. I'll see you around."
"Wait!" He calls out before she can pull open the door as she wraps her scarf around her neck. "Let me walk you out?"
"Don't you have a shift you need to get to?" Camila sneers, beginning to feel uncomfortable in his presence.
"Look around, sweetheart."
Camila looks around the coffee shop to realize that Ryan was the only worker now who would be closing. She had lost track of time so much that she hadn't realized that everyone had left except her.
"I- honestly that's alright, I have someplace I need to be. I'll see you next time, but I have to get home now. Thanks for the offer."
Before giving him a chance to respond with his persistence, Camila accidentally slams the door and begins walking out in a hurry. She knows that Ryan can't just burst out and follow her because he can't leave the cafe like that.
The cold air greets her like ice in her lungs and she breathes out, seeing the smoke escape her nose.
It's very late and she can feel her heart begin to speed up in fear when she hears footsteps behind her.
Turning back, she sees the empty streets and darkness in every corner. She tries to ignore the footsteps, but instead she raises her velocity as she walks. The steps following her seem to get closer and louder and she can feel the small hairs on the back of her neck rise in fear.
Turning her flashlight on with her phone, she stops and moves it around at every corner. It goes unsuccessful because she can't see or hear anything because the footsteps seemed to have disappeared the moment she stopped.
"Is anyone there?" Camila cries out, trying to make her voice not quiver. "Ryan?"
Silence.
Turning forward, she can see the faint outline of her apartment and she breathes out a sign of relief. Maybe she's just being paranoid and scaring herself.
She starts to walk again while clutching her phone tightly when suddenly, instead of the footsteps, she hears someone running towards her direction. Turning back, she squints her eyes and sees the familiar face through the dark streets.
Ryan.
Running fast, Ryan's brown eyes are dark and his nose has turned bright red. He puffs out the smoke of the cold through his nose and mouth as he runs straight to her and stops right in front of her as he struggles to catch his breath.
"What are you doing here?" Camila asks nervously as she looks around to see if anyone else is near. "Shouldn't you be closing up?"
"I can do that later, I just locked the doors. See?" Ryan dangles the cafe shop keys on his fingers as his chest heaves while he breathes. "Now I can walk you home."
"Honestly, that's really unnecessary. I-I'm capable of doing that myself," Camila stutters, taking a step back from him.
"Are you? Look around," Ryan clutches Camila's jaw and makes her look around. She winces at the pain of his forceful fingers on her skin. "It's late and dark. Things could happen to pretty girls like you at this hour."
"I'm sure the only thing that puts me in danger around here is you," Camila spits out as she pulls his hand away from his face violently. "Touch me again and I swear, I will scream."
"Who's going to come help you?" He taunts with a smile as he steps closer.
He walks towards her and shoves her up against a wall near a dark alley. Pinned up against the wall, he presses his body against hers and Camila can smell the scent of coffee beans on his work clothes.
"I saw the way you were looking at me in the coffee shop," Ryan husks in a seductively voice. She grimaces when she feels his tongue on her neck. "Stop acting so hard to get when I know you were only doing it to taunt me."
His hands grasp her bottom while his tongue circulates on the nape of her neck. She can feel the wet strokes of his tongue move aggressively against her skin in an unpleasant way. He moans and she can feel his hardened member pressed against her belly.
"You like that?" Ryan breathes out as he presses his face against her breasts. Camila tries not to gag while he tries to grind his member against her body. She can feel his hands start to travel to her belt buckle.
"I'm attracted to only women, idiot."
With as much strength that she can manage, Camila kicks her knee forward and it comes in direct contact between his legs. He screams in pain and she takes the opportunity to push him off her body roughly the second his hands go to clutch his penis protectively.
Her push was so strong that she watches him fall to the ground while holding his area as he winces in pain. She takes the chance to run away as fast as she can away from him now that she's taken away his power.
She can feel the blood pounding in her ears because she feels like he'll catch up to her and grab her any second, but as she takes a peek behind to see how much she gained on him, she's greeted by the empty street and him nowhere in sight.
She's confused, but that doesn't mean she'll be an idiot and try to find him.
Instead, she runs as fast as she can to her apartment, and for a second... she thinks that she hears Ryan scream in horror from afar.
Finally breathing out the fear as she reaches her safe and sound destination, she locks the door to the apartment complex. She feels the weight lifted off her shoulders now that she's safe and away from him and the streets.
Camila starts to walk up the stairs to get to her apartment, but she pauses and lingers against the door. She can't help her curiosity and instead, she takes one last peek at the same area he attacked her in.
The area stood still and quiet, but Camila could swear that from afar, she could see a pair of green eyes in the shadows watching her.