Torn between worlds

Shadows linger

The sun dipped low in the sky, casting long shadows across the cracked pavement as Jake and I locked up the garage. The hum of traffic from the nearby highway blended with the distant chirp of crickets, filling the air with a strange sort of calm. But neither of us spoke as we trudged toward the bus stop. The silence between us was thick, heavy with unspoken thoughts about the events of the day.

Finally, Jake broke it.

“So,” he said, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. “You gonna pretend like none of that happened today?”

I glanced at him, trying to play dumb. “What’re you talking about?”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Pete. The girl? The call? That freakin’ SUV? You’re telling me you didn’t feel how weird it all was?”

I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I kicked a loose pebble down the sidewalk, watching it skitter across the asphalt. “I don’t know, man,” I said finally. “She seemed… stressed. People have bad days.”

“Bad days?” Jake snorted. “That wasn’t a bad day, that was some straight-up movie-level drama. Did you see the look on her face when that guy showed up? She was scared, Pete. Like, really scared.”

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Yeah, I noticed. But it’s not like we can do anything about it. It’s her business.”

Jake stopped walking, forcing me to do the same. He turned to face me, his expression serious for once. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

“I overheard her phone call,” he said, lowering his voice as if someone might be listening.

I frowned. “What phone call?”

“You know, when she stepped outside while we were working on her car. Her dad called. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but, man, she wasn’t exactly quiet.”

“What’d you hear?” I asked, crossing my arms.

Jake hesitated for a moment, like he was deciding whether or not to spill. But then he took a deep breath and said, “Her dad was laying into her about not being married. Told her she’s not getting any younger and that if she doesn’t find a guy soon, he’s giving all his money to charity.”

I blinked, stunned. “You’re kidding.”

“Wish I was,” Jake said, shaking his head. “He even told her if he dies before she ties the knot, she won’t get a cent. Like, who does that to their kid?”

“That’s… harsh,” I said, trying to process it.

“Harsh doesn’t even cover it,” Jake replied. “No wonder she looked so upset.”

I thought back to her expression when she hung up the phone—the way her shoulders sagged, the way she muttered to herself like she was carrying the weight of the world.

“And then that guy showed up,” Jake continued. “Who do you think he was? He didn’t look like someone you’d want to mess with.”

I shrugged, though the image of the man in the suit was burned into my mind. “Could be anyone. A business associate, maybe. Or… I don’t know.”

“Business associate?” Jake laughed humorlessly. “Come on, Pete. The guy practically screamed trouble. Did you see the way he looked at her? Like he owned her or something.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but Jake was right. There was something unsettling about the whole interaction, something that didn’t sit right with me.

As we resumed walking, Jake kept talking, throwing out theories like a detective trying to c***k a case.

“Maybe she’s in some kind of debt,” he said. “You know, like her dad cut her off and now she owes money to the wrong people.”

“Or maybe she’s hiding from something,” he added a few minutes later. “Like, what if that guy was sent to bring her back to her family or something?”

“Or,” he said with a mischievous grin, “what if she’s secretly royalty, and she’s on the run from an arranged marriage?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ve been watching too many movies, Jake.”

“Hey, you never know,” he said with a shrug. “Life’s stranger than fiction sometimes.”

We reached the bus stop, and I leaned against the pole, glancing down the road to see if the bus was coming. “Look, whatever her deal is, it’s not our problem,” I said. “She’s gone, Jake. Probably for good. Let’s just forget about it.”

But even as I said the words, I knew I didn’t believe them.

The truth was, there was something about her—something that lingered, like the faint scent of her perfume still hanging in the air. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we hadn’t seen the last of her.

The bus pulled up, its brakes screeching, and we climbed aboard. Jake found a seat near the back, but I stayed standing, gripping one of the metal poles as the bus lurched forward.

Out the window, the city lights blurred together, casting a kaleidoscope of colors across the darkened streets. My mind wandered back to the garage, to the way she’d looked at me before she drove off.

She hadn’t said much, but her eyes had spoken volumes—fear, frustration, maybe even a plea for help.

Jake was wrong about one thing. This wasn’t like a movie. Movies had scripts, neatly tied-up endings. This was real life, messy and unpredictable. And I had a sinking feeling that whatever was going on with her, it was far from over.

By the time we got off the bus, the moon was high in the sky, casting a silver glow over the quiet neighborhood. Jake and I walked in silence, the weight of the day finally settling in.

As we reached our building, Jake turned to me. “You think we’ll ever see her again?”

I hesitated before answering. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

He nodded, then grinned. “If we do, call dibs. I saw her first.”

I rolled my eyes. “Goodnight, Jake.”

“Goodnight, Pete.”

I climbed the stairs to my apartment, my thoughts still tangled with questions I couldn’t answer. As I unlocked the door and stepped inside, I told myself I was overthinking it. She was just another customer, just another passing face in a city full of strangers.

But as I lay in bed that night, staring up at the ceiling, I couldn’t shake the feeling that our paths weren’t done crossing.

And somewhere, miles away, a black SUV idled outside a darkened mansion. The man in the suit stepped out, his phone pressed to his ear.

“Yes,” he said into the receiver. “I’ve found her. It’s only a matter of time now.”

The line went dead, and with it, any lingering sense of peace.

The night stretched on, silent and foreboding, as the pieces of an unseen puzzle began to shift into place.