Chapter Three
642 Words
Isabella
"You've been distracted all morning."
Isabella glanced up from her notebook to find her best friend, Sophie, studying her from across the campus café.
"I'm fine."
"Mhm."
"You don't believe me?"
Sophie reached across the table and stole one of Isabella's fries.
"I believe you're a terrible liar."
Isabella rolled her eyes.
"You've been staring out that window for the last ten minutes."
"I have not."
"You absolutely have."
Isabella sighed, leaning back in her chair.
"Have you ever had the feeling someone was watching you?"
Sophie grinned.
"Like a secret admirer?"
"No."
"A stalker?"
"I'm serious."
Sophie's smile faded.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
Isabella rubbed her temple.
"It started yesterday outside the hospital."
"And?"
"I just...felt it."
She hated how ridiculous it sounded.
"There wasn't anyone standing there?"
"There were people. Lots of people."
"So maybe you were imagining it."
"Maybe."
But deep down, she didn't believe that.
She had felt eyes on her before she turned around.
Not imagined them.
Felt them.
Their professor entered the classroom, ending the conversation before Sophie could ask another question.
By lunchtime, the rain had finally stopped.
Students crowded the university courtyard, taking advantage of the sunshine that had broken through the clouds.
Isabella sat beneath a large oak tree, reviewing lesson plans for her student teaching placement.
A shadow fell across the pages.
"You dropped this."
She looked up.
A little girl, no older than eight, stood in front of her holding a silver charm bracelet.
Isabella blinked.
"Oh."
She looked down at her wrist.
Empty.
"I didn't even realize."
The little girl smiled shyly before placing the bracelet into her hand.
"My mommy says pretty things are easy to lose."
Isabella laughed.
"Your mommy sounds very wise."
The girl nodded proudly before running back toward a nearby bench where her mother sat.
Isabella fastened the bracelet around her wrist again.
It had belonged to her mother.
She never took it off.
How had it fallen off?
A strange chill crept down her spine.
From inside a black SUV parked across the street, Marco lowered his binoculars.
"She almost lost it."
His partner, Ethan, didn't look away from the camera lens.
"She did lose it."
"No."
"The kid gave it back."
Marco frowned.
"Think it was coincidence?"
Ethan shrugged.
"Everything's coincidence until it isn't."
His phone vibrated.
Luca.
He answered immediately.
"Report."
"Nothing unusual," Marco replied.
"She went to class. Had lunch. She's heading to her teaching placement next."
A pause.
Then—
"Boss wants to know something."
Marco waited.
"If someone approached her today..."
"...would she notice?"
Marco looked through the windshield.
Across the street, Isabella zipped her backpack closed before standing.
As she adjusted the strap on her shoulder, she froze.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
She turned her head.
Directly toward the SUV.
Marco's stomach tightened.
Their windows were tinted.
She couldn't possibly see them.
Could she?
For three long seconds, Isabella stared in their direction.
Then someone called her name.
She looked away.
Marco released the breath he'd been holding.
"She looked right at us."
Luca was silent for a moment.
"I'll tell Cassian."
The line disconnected.
Isabella continued walking toward St. Michael's Academy.
Halfway there, she stopped.
Something wasn't right.
She opened her bag.
Lesson plans.
Wallet.
Keys.
Phone.
Everything was there.
So why did she feel like she'd forgotten something?
Her phone buzzed.
A text message from an unknown number.
Be careful who you trust.
She frowned.
Wrong number?
Before she could reply, the message disappeared.
She blinked.
Then looked again.
Gone.
As if it had never existed.
A cold breeze swept down the sidewalk.
Across the street, a man in a dark coat watched her from beneath the awning of a closed bookstore.
The moment Isabella looked up—
He was gone.
For the second time in two days...
She was certain.
Someone was watching her.
- Writer
