On Monday, I went into the firm feeling like I constantly had to keep looking over my shoulder. I wanted to enjoy this neighborhood, especially since I had always wanted to live in Brooklyn when I had to chance, but that complete stranger was ruining it for me entirely.
I sat down at the desk, turning on the computer and the copier and making sure to refill the candy jar for the clients — and Liam, Niall, and Cody.
I began putting the files away that I had brought home over the weekend, keeping the important ones out to give to Liam when he arrived. I still felt on edge, even though I was in the safety of the firm, but it wouldn't surprise me if that fûcking creeper walked past the window at any moment since he seems to pop out of nowhere all the time.
The door opened and I flinched slightly, sighing in relief when it was only Niall. "Good morning, Niall."
He looked over and smiled at me. "Good morning, Mimi, how was your weekend?"
"It was alright," I shrugged. "Nothing too exciting." Not really exciting, more like terrifying. "What about you?"
"Eh, 'bout the same." He said. "My girlfriend wanted me to attend her yoga class to see if it would help me relax or something."
"And how'd that go?" I said, holding back a laugh.
He shook his head with an eye roll. "I'm never doing yoga again. Lets leave it at that."
I nodded, and the door opened again, Liam walking in this time. "Good morning, you two. Niall, you're here early."
"I was running some errands and finished sooner than I expected," he said. "I hope that doesn't screw up your schedule, Payno."
Liam chuckled and said, "No, it's fine, here, let's talk in my office."
Niall nodded goodbye to me, and Liam walked over to the counter in front of me and said, "Hey, Amelia, can you print off the Carleton case for me? I'd like to take a look at that sometime this morning."
"Of course." I said, and began pulling it up on the computer.
"Thanks, I'm going to speak to Niall first so I'm not in a hurry."
I nodded and left the tab open to come back to while I did the other paperwork I had left to finish. The morning went by fairly fast, and it wasn't long before it was almost lunchtime. I printed off Liam's case files and walked them into his office, knocking politely on the door and interrupting his and Niall's discussion.
"Oh, thanks, Amelia," Liam said, taking the files from me. "Also, I need you to run an errand while you're out for lunch, if that's alright?"
"Of course, what do you need?"
"A few pints." Niall said, and Liam rolled his eyes.
"I need you to mail some letters, and pick up some supplies," he said, handing me a note pad slip. "I have a list of things I need, but if there's anything else at the front desk that you're running out of, you can jot that down as well."
I nodded and left his office, grabbing my purse and heading out to grab a bite to eat. I knew there was a smaller post office a couple blocks away by a small Chinese restaurant I could grab some takeout from. The only thing I didn't like about living in Brooklyn was that I didn't know anyone, except my coworkers. A lot of my friends were either in New Jersey or Manhattan, so they weren't really that close to go to lunch or hang out with after work.
I stopped at the post office first, and then to lunch. I felt a little out of place, since most of the people in the restaurant were dressed very casually and I was in my work attire. I ordered my food to go, so I could sit outside in the nice weather.
Just as I sat down, I noticed a familiar face walking in my direction.
"Hey, Mimi," Cody smiled. "What's up?"
"Not much," I said, secretly hoping he would join me since I didn't really want to eat alone. "Just grabbing a quick bite and then I have to run errands for Liam."
"Oh, sweet, well, I'm actually headed there this afternoon," he said. "Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all." I smiled, and he went inside to grab some food.
We sat and chatted, talking about the weekend and any plans for the week. I mentioned my lack of friends in the area, and he was more than happy to invite me to hang out with him and his friends.
"We go to the Pinnacle most Thursday's," he said. "Their drinks are half priced and they have a live band. You should definitely come sometime."
"I'd really like that," I said. "I definitely need more friends to hang out with when I'm not at work."
"Well, you're more than welcome to be friends with mine." He grinned, and we exchanged numbers so we could keep in touch.
After we finished our meals, I knew I needed to head to the supply store soon or I'd be late getting back to work. Just as I grabbed my purse to stand, I saw the last person I wanted to see round the corner of the block and start walking in our direction.
I grabbed my drink and said, "Actually, I want to finish this off before we leave."
I tried to avoid eye contact with him as he passed, but I couldn't help but sneak a glance at him. His eyes were already on me, and I couldn't tell if his expression was full of confusion or annoyance out of seeing me yet again.
Cody noticed my sudden change in behavior and leaned forward as he said quietly, "Do you know that guy?"
I shook my head and grabbed my purse. "No. No, I don't."
Cody followed me after I stood up and began walking away. "You guys stared at each other like you do."
I sighed and stopped at the crosswalk, anxiously waiting for the light to turn green. "He's just some guy that hangs around my neighborhood."
"Seems like more than just that."
"It's nothing, I don't even know his name."
*
I couldn't believe I saw that man again. It started to feel like he was the one stalking me. I thought it was just a coincidence, but now it seems like he's doing it on purpose.
After work, I walked home. I would've asked Cody to come with me, but he left hours before my day was over. I fumbled with my keys as I neared my building, accidentally dropping them and having to take a few steps back to pick them up.
Someone grabbed them before I could, and I knew even before looking up that it was him.
"Give them back." I said, glaring at him and crossing my arms.
"Whoa, what's the magic word, princess?" He smirked, holding my keys out of my reach. "Not very lady-like, is it?"
"You're stalking me, and you need to stop." I said. "I know you're going out of your way to follow me everywhere."
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Why would I want to go out of my way to follow some pretentious twenty year-old around Brooklyn?"
"I'm twenty-two." I said, and grabbed my keys from him, turning on my heel and walking away. I could hear him still following me, and I abruptly turned around and looked him dead in the eyes as I said, "Could you stop following me? I don't know what you want, but I don't have it, so just get the héll away from me —,"
"Hey, Harry." I turned to see that same man from last week who tried to mug me start walking towards us. I noticed a few other men standing against the wall in the alleyway, and my heart started racing. "This lady causing you trouble?"
"No, Benny, it's not a big deal." He muttered, waving his hand for his friend to go away. He scoffed and still inched closer to me.
"It's not like she could put up a fight anyway." He said, and swiftly grabbed my wrist, but I was not having it. I quickly brought my knee up and nailed him in the crotch. He let go of my wrist almost as fast as he grabbed it, and knelt down in pain. I took that chance to run, going straight for my building, but Harry was quick to grab me and pull me back.
"What do you want from me?" I asked. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Well, you can't just kick my buddy in the balls and walk away." He said. "It's a little rude, innit?"
"Well, he can't just put his hands on a woman without asking." I glared. "It's a little rude, innit?"
I swiftly turned and pried myself from his grip, but he followed and moved himself in front of me to block my path, causing me to bump straight into his hard torso. I heard his friend groan behind me, and I turned to see him stand straight and say, "I'm about to teach this bîtch a lesson."
He nearly charged towards me and almost immediately, Harry was in front of me and stopped his friend. "Hey, calm the fûck down."
"What, you're just going to let her fûcking kick me in the balls and walk away?"
"It was kind of funny, actually." Harry chuckled, and I kept backing up, just wanting to leave this situation before it became worse than it already was. His friend tried shoving Harry, but was met with a swift punch right into his jaw. "Fûck off, Benny," Harry's tone was drastically different. "I told you before, she doesn't have anything we fûcking want, so leave her alone."
Benny looked at him like he was insane, and began backing up from the two of us. "By the looks of it, man, it sounds like she's got a little something you want."
"Oh, fûck off." Harry said, and Benny went back to the rest of their friends against the wall.
Harry turned around to face me but I didn't even want to give him any more of my time. He was freaking me out and I didn't want to be around him or his "friends" any longer. I turned around before he even spoke, keeping my arms close to my chest in case he tried to grab me again. I was so close to calling the police that I began typing in 911 and keeping the number open in case I needed to dial.
Luckily, I didn't need to call the police, because when I got back to my building, Harry wasn't behind me. I went into my apartment and locked the door, and I knew I was going to have to start walking home with someone, otherwise, who knows what would happen the next time I passed that alley?