My phone buzzed on the couch, making me pull away.

My heart skipped. Was it an email from them?

Warner eyed me. Giving me an encouraging nod, he pushed me to check it.

With both excitement and nervousness, I picked up my phone, expecting an email of good news. As I saw the screen, my heart stopped in my chest. And then it started racing. It wasn’t anything I expected it would be.

I gave you time. And now your time is over. You can’t escape me anymore. -A

EIGHT: A SHADOW

“Come on, Em! You can’t sit here with that gloomy face. Don’t worry about the job, just enjoy, girl! Everything will be fine,” Molly slurred, leaning against the bar counter. “Here, take this drink. You’ll feel good.”

I shook my head. “I’m not in a mood.”

She pouted. When I didn’t drink the shot she offered to me, she shrugged, gulping it herself.

Kate and John shook their heads at her and went back to their cuddling.

We were at a local pub with our college friends. After they found out about Warner getting the job, they wanted to celebrate it. So here we were, enjoying the night. Except me. Too many thoughts were playing in my head to get wasted with alcohol.

“Here, at least drink this orange juice. It’s really good, I tell you.” Warner handed me a glass, sipping on his own.

“Thanks.” I scanned the dancing crowd and the moving lights. Even the booming music didn’t make my mood better.

He turned me to him. A small smile tugged on his lips. “Don’t worry. I’m sure the job will be yours.”

I smiled before he got busy with the others, laughing and joking. And I just concentrated on my juice in silence.

“You can’t escape me anymore.”

What did he mean by that? Whatever he said that night, at the parking lot, and then that message, what should I think out of it? Why was he behaving like he… like he had some right over me? All these years, he didn’t even ask about me to anyone.

And now…

A sigh left my lips. He confused me. I confused myself, or should I say, my feelings did. Even knowing he could give me another heartache, why did I still feel so connected to him?

“Em? You’re here with us, right? You seem lost,” Kate asked.

“My love, you know why she isn’t in a good mood tonight. We’ve been pestering her from the moment she arrived. Leave her alone,” John said, kissing her temple, and then pulled her for a kiss. The others gagged at their PDA.

Something soared in my chest and subconsciously, my hand touched the corner of my lips. The place where his scorching mouth was just nights ago.