Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 18893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 94(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18893 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 94(@200wpm)___ 76(@250wpm)___ 63(@300wpm)
Movement catches my eye and my entire body stiffens.
A couple of people walk by, just as blurry through the fogged-up window, moving fast.
It’s nothing. There’s nothing to worry about.
When I finally manage to relax into my chair, my face is hot. I fish my phone out of my pocket on instinct. I should call a friend just to hear another person’s voice. Someone who could bring me back to reality.
But as I scroll through my contacts, another kind of chill sets in.
It had been hard to meet people when I first came here, but I had met a few people I’ve seen every so often and recognized.
I did have a group of friends back at home, but with the time difference and them moving and applying for jobs and internships and…moving on to the next phase, the messages have slowed.
Somehow, between now and the moment I set foot in this city, those people have faded out of my life. I’ve just felt so cold and isolated here. All the texts I’ve exchanged with people are from months ago. Those months flew by, despite the cold that seems to make every hour drag. It’s been months, I realize. Months since I’ve had anything close to a social life.
Months I’ve spent alone under skies that always seem to be gray.
I hover over my friend Emily’s name in my contacts list.
She’d answer, wouldn’t she? I'm sure she’d accept an explanation about how I’d lost track of time studying and how I’d thought about texting her so many times and then got busy or tired, but now I could talk, and…did she want to?
With a reluctant breath, I put my phone away, snapping my jacket pocket shut over it.
I came here for hot tea on a rainy day and to do some studying, and that’s what I’ll do.
I get out one of my textbooks and the appropriate notebook. The words fade to gray and I find myself rereading the same paragraphs. I order another tea. While it steeps, I clear my throat and introduce myself to the barista.
Her name is Cara, and she’s taking a semester off. She doesn’t say what she’s studying, but she smiles when she talks about her routine, and I get through the conversation without bringing up the shadow outside the window or the chill I feel all over the city. I don’t ask her if she’s heard of anyone else experiencing anything similar. There’s no way to slip a potential stalker into the conversation without freaking her out.
This time, when she pushes the fresh cup and saucer over to me, she says, “Enjoy, Ivy.”
I thank her and take my tea back to the table.
Small steps. Progress. But it’s quickly lost.
As soon as I sit down, I feel another chill.
I can’t pretend I haven’t felt it. I’ve been in the café long enough to warm up from the rain, and I haven’t felt a draft. Nobody’s even come in.
CARLISLE
It’s all gray and blurred. The darkness is everywhere and it moves about the unsuspecting people. And then there’s her. Bright and so easily seen. She calls to me like I prayed to the gods she would. What I would give to be mortal again so she could see me as I see her.
Time…in time… I stop the thought, hating what must be done.
For now, my frustration only grows.
My focus drifts back to her in the present moment. The golden flecks in her deep brown eyes. Her long and lush dark brown hair. The soft curves of her face and the pale pink of her lips…breathtaking. She’s gorgeous and her light shines wherever she goes. My eyes close and I swear I can still smell her. Her fragrance lingers in the rain.
I follow her—gorgeous curves, beautiful and sensual even under the fabric of her raincoat. I notice each shiver and the way she pulls her hood tight over her hair as if it will hide her from me.
Nothing could hide her from me.
Once she’s gone into the café, letting out a gust of warm coffee-scented air into the cold, damp outdoors, and once the door is shut behind her, I stay out of sight and only watch. It’s torture. Being so close, yet so far away.
She’s only taking off her hood and sliding the raincoat off her shoulders, but even those simple movements heat my long-felt desire for her. The embers blaze deep in my soul. I watch as she runs her hand over her hair, combing her fingers through it and letting the droplets of rain disperse.
Every little thing she does is mesmerizing.
Heat courses through my body. I know her fear. It permeates around her, stifling what must be done. She’s afraid of my presence because she doesn’t know me, and that causes the deepest anger of all.
I don’t mean to linger, but when I’m halfway past, I realize I can see her.