Four
897 Words
*MOANA'S POV**
"Moana?" a voice called from behind, and I quickly turned to see Elvis.
"Are you okay? You've been standing by the door for a while."
"I... It's nothing. I'm heading back to my desk now," I muttered, walking past him briskly.
At my desk, I focused on my work, managing to get quite a bit done before my lunch break. Then my phone rang. I picked it up.
"I'm on my way now," I said before hanging up and grabbing my bag.
As I was about to leave the building, the receptionist called me back.
"This was delivered for you."
It was a small parcel that fit neatly into my bag.
"Is there a sender's name?" I asked, examining it.
"No, just a little boy who dropped it off."
I glanced over the parcel. "Okay, thanks."
I considered opening it but was interrupted by my phone ringing again. I quickly tucked the parcel into my bag and hurried out. It was probably Lisa calling.
When I arrived at the restaurant, I spotted her and smiled, making my way over.
"You look so much better today," she said, kissing my cheek.
"Do I?" I replied, knowing she was just being kind. I hadn’t slept at all and was sure I had dark circles under my eyes.
"How are you feeling?" she asked gently.
"A lot better."
"So, have you ended things with him?" she asked carefully.
I shook my head. "No."
"Moana, you're only hurting yourself by holding on."
"I'm not. In my heart, it's over. I just can't face him yet."
She sighed, but to my relief, didn’t push further. We ordered lunch, and I ate slowly, not paying attention to how much time I had left on my break.
"That man has been staring at us for a while," she remarked suddenly.
I froze, my head snapping up. "What man?"
She nodded towards the glass. "The one outside."
I turned and saw a man in a black suit casually leaning against the wall, watching us intently.
"s**t," I whispered. How could I have forgotten?
"Do you know him?" Lisa asked, concern in her voice.
"No," I said quickly, ducking my head. "We need to leave."
"You're scaring me, Moana. Is he bothering you? I can go tell him to back off."
"No. It might be dangerous," I said, my voice trembling. Her frown deepened.
"What’s going on? Speak now," she demanded.
I hesitated, not wanting to alarm her, but she wasn’t going to let it go.
"Last night... something happened," I started, my voice low. "There was blood in my front yard. A lot of it. The emergency team came, but they didn't find a body."
"Blood? What happened?"
"I don’t know. There was a trail of blood, but it just... ended. The head of the team thinks someone might be trying to scare me."
"Scare you? Why didn’t you call me? You spent the night alone after that?"
"I didn’t want to bother you."
"God, Moana. You never bother me! You should’ve called," she scolded. "You make me so angry when you say things like that."
"I didn’t sleep, if that helps," I offered, trying to lighten the mood.
She rolled her eyes, but a small smile broke through, and I giggled.
"So you think this guy has something to do with it?" she asked, nodding towards the man.
"Maybe. I’ve seen a few men in black suits today. One even bumped into me this morning. I think they're following me, but I don’t know why. It seems too coincidental."
"Could this be about Caleb?"
"Why would Caleb have men following me or leave blood in my yard?"
"Not Caleb—his wife," she suggested.
"His wife?" I repeated, surprised.
"She might feel threatened. Maybe she’s trying to scare you off."
"There's no need. I'm done with him."
"She doesn’t know that. You haven’t officially ended it with him, and she might think you're still involved."
"I can’t just leave town, Lisa. I have a job."
"You won’t have a job if you end up dead."
"I’m not going to die."
"You don’t know that. For all we know, this woman could be dangerous. Just end things with him and we can leave town for a bit. You’ve been talking about a vacation forever. Let’s go to your mom’s or somewhere far away."
"Fine, I’ll call him and arrange a meeting to—"
"Are you out of your mind?" she cut me off, her eyes wide. "You want to meet him? What if his wife sees that? You could end up dead!"
"Lisa!" I yelled, exasperated.
"Sorry, but it’s true. Just call him and end it over the phone. It’s too risky to meet him in person."
"Okay," I mumbled, picking at my food.
When I glanced outside again, the man in the black suit was gone. I finished my lunch ten minutes past my break and Lisa walked me back to the office.
By the end of the day, my leave request had already been approved. Elvis had been more than happy to sign off on it, probably because I’d never taken time off before.
Lisa had plans that evening but promised to be at my place by ten. That gave me a few hours to officially end things with Caleb and let him know I was aware of his wife.
- Writer
