Her Stalker

5

Cont….

"But why do you care anyway?" She snapped. Hattie immediately cursed herself for uttering such words. The young man was just being helpful, and that was what she needed but her crazy mindset wouldn’t help but question everything. She knew she sounded a bit harsh, and she didn’t want him to have a bad impression of her.

"I mean, you barely know me and you are acting all nice." She said calmly this time, hoping she would sound less rude than the first time.

"Oh" he looked slightly embarrassed by the question and Hattie mentally face palmed herself for making him uncomfortable.

"Well, no reason. Just wanted to make sure you were okay, losing someone can be hard," He said. Something flashed in his eyes. Hattie couldn't tell if it was regret or pain.

"Have you ever lost someone?" She asked, but realization soon hit her. Of course, his girlfriend. How stupid could she have been? Saying something like that could reopen an already healed wound.

"I’m sorry. I totally forgot about your girlfriend". She said showing every atom of remorse she could gather.

"It's okay" he smiled faintly as he lowered his gaze. This was very strange to Hattie, coming from someone who had always been the one making her uncomfortable.

'How bad could he have missed her?' Hattie thought

"Did you love her?" she asked

"Of course I did" he snapped with anger in his voice. Almost as though he was trying to convince himself of how much he loved her.

"I'm so sorry" Hattie paused "I guess we have both lost someone. I can clearly say I know how you feel" she sighed.

Javier tilted his head to the side while looking at her. He pinched his temples as though he was thinking about something.

Hattie couldn’t help but feel uneasy. She hadn't been stared at like that before. Especially by someone who had such intense, sexy eyes. She mentally face palmed herself once again for thinking about that.

She wondered what was going on in his head? What she concluded was he was thinking about her. She could feel it. She kept rocking her chair to and fro, trying to calm herself down and also give him the impression that she didn't feel intimidated, but that was rarely helping.

All of a sudden the room became too hot, and she felt suffocated in her seat. She needed to do something about it. It was like his gaze was pinning her down. No man had ever made her feel so comfortless and self-conscious before.

"That's a very unexpected reaction coming from a psychologist," he noted as he shifted his gaze from her to the painting on her wall. He had noticed she was uncomfortable. He was right. As a psychologist, She wasn't supposed to be scared of eye contact, but there She was, extremely anxious.

Her eyes followed his eyes and they landed on the painting he seemed so invested in. Westin had gotten the painting for her as an apology after beating her up a certain time.

He knew her love for art was beyond anything. The painting was all about a young lady with a blindfold holding onto a candle in a dark tunnel. A hand was stretched out toward her, trying to lift her from the darkness.

Hattie fell in love with the painting the moment she saw it. The details were perfect. The artist deserved an award.

"What do you mean?" Hattie turned to him slowly. His eyes were still on the painting. Well, it was better than having those peering eyes on her.

"How do you even deal with patients?" he asked, turning back to her. Hattie felt her heart skip a beat. What was happening to her?

"They don't stare weirdly like you do". She sighed "Why do you stare at me like that?" She snapped, cutting straight to the point.

"Cause I want to’' he said casually. Almost as though he was trying to test her patience.

"Well stop it"

"Why?"

"Because, normal people don't stare like that," Hattie let out, trying to sound as angry as possible. She didn't like the effect he was having on her and she didn't want him to have any effect on her.

"So you are saying I am abnormal?" He leaned closer, still starting at her, adding to her difficulties.

"Nobody said that"

"You just did"

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Then I guess I am doing a perfect job," he noted teasingly with a smirk planted on his face

'Damn that smirk' she thought to herself

"Whatever" she rolled her eyes, "I thought you were here to console me"

"Oh Yeah, I forgot about that part." He stopped as he looked at the painting once more.

"How did you get it?"

"Westin got it for me as a gift

"It's nice," he commented with hesitation in his voice. "What does it mean?" he turned to look at her

"A woman is trying to come out from the tunnel and that is a helping hand"

"You think?" He chuckled, almost as though he mocked her explanation.

"Yes, that's what it means," she spoke out with confidence. "Does it mean something else Javier?"

He smiled and looked at her. She wondered what was so amusing about what she had said. She folded her arms under her breast, waiting for his own explanation. She knew he definitely had something to say about the painting.

"You are not particularly wrong" he finally spoke

"Well, what's your thought about the painting then?

"Nothing" he shrugged.

"You are very good at telling lies."

"How did you spot that?"

"I'm a psychologist, remembered"

"Oh…. I almost forgot that part" He teased

"Well," Hattie gestured at the painting, waiting for the answer to the question she earlier asked.

"I would rather not say."

"Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions," he said tiredly

"Oh really?"

"Yes a lot" he leaned back on his seat

"Suit yourself then"

"With pleasure," he shrugged, raising his two legs to her desk. Now Hattie was certain he came here solely to piss her off.

"Really?" she snapped, pointing her fingers at his shoes on her desk which looked quite expensive "What are you doing?" She fired.

"Calm down, my legs got all cramped up staying In a particular position. And you did say I should suit myself" he smirked

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

" You want me to leave?" he frowned

Of course not. She didn't want him to leave. But another part of her wanted him to because she would never concentrate with him around.

"Won't your boss get angry if he finds out you left your office to come and pest me?"

"Well you can ask him that yourself," he said bluntly

"How?" It took her a while, but she finally realized he just referred to himself as the boss. Of course. How did she not realize it from the way he carried himself? He sure didn't look like someone who would work under anybody. She couldn't even imagine him answering to someone.

What surprised Hattie the most about him was how fast he switched his character. From a caring and loving person, to a person who wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

"But you are so young?" she noted

"My father handed the company over to me shortly before he died"

"He is dead?"

"yes, cancer of the brain."

" Oh, I'm so sorry, and your mother?"

"She is currently in California."

"Do you have any siblings?" She knew she was being too inquisitive, but she couldn't help it

"I'm an only child" he replied casually "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you have any siblings?"

"No"

"I guess we both have the same thing in common. And your mum?"

Her heart skipped when he asked that "Dead," she said with a casual demeanor.

"Oh," he looked at her with sympathy. She didn't like that look. Almost as if he was pitying her "What about your father? He continued.

"Dead too"

"It will be okay Hattie," he consoled.

"Yeah" she replied trying to look as unaffected as she could be, but that was difficult.

Javier bent his wrist, to check his time.

" I will see you later, Miss Cater," he said slowly getting up. A part of Hattie didn't want him to leave. She hated to admit, but she enjoyed his company.

"Alright," she said trying to sound plain as she watched him head for the door and walked out

She leaned back in her seat, smiling sheepishly like a high school girl that had just been asked out. She had no idea why she was smiling, but she knew she had not smiled like that for a very long time.

'Javier' she recited. She never asked for his last name.

Hattie was still in dreamland when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" she voiced out.

Aida walked in with a grin on her face, she seemed quite excited.

"And who was that?" Aida took the time to take a seat.

"Who was who?"

"The fine gentleman who walked out of here"

"Oh that's Javier"

"He came for therapy?"

"No, he didn't"

"Ohhh," Aida said with a smirk. Hattie already knew what she was thinking.

"Wipe that smirk off your face. He is just a friend" Hattie noted playfully

"If you say so" she shrugged. She paused for a while before asking "How are you coping

Hattie?" Her eyes changed and were instantly filled with sympathy

"I'm doing Ok, you don't have to worry about me"

"What really happened?"

It was then Hattie realized she had never really told Aida what exactly happened. She just told her Westin died

"Westin was cheating on me" Hattie blurted out

"Oh dear". She didn't seem surprised. "He did seem like someone who would cheat"

"I know right? Well he did" Hattie agreed.

"So what happened?"

"I was asleep when I got a text" Hattie paused as she swallowed hard

"it was pictures of Westin and another girl"

Aida gasped "How could he?"

"The person sent me pictures of different tools. The person wanted to kill Westin and I was asked to choose a weapon. To cut the story short, the person who texted me was the same person who killed Westin"

"I'm so sorry dear. I don't even know how to comfort you" she placed her hands on Hattie's.

"It's fine. I am alright"

"I knew he cheated but he didn't deserve to die"

"I know, but we can't change anything, can we?"

"No we can't”

"I have to attend to a patient. I will be off now," She said with a smile as she stood up to leave.

Hattie looked at the painting on the wall. It had never looked more beautiful, but she couldn't read any other meaning to it. Her mind drifted to Javier as she smiled again. What was he doing to her? She thought as she sighed.

*****

Hattie groaned in frustration as she kicked the tire of her car. She stood with her hands akimbo, totally confused about what to do. Her car was not the type to act up like this, but stuff like this couldn't be predicted. She bent her wristwatch to check the time

"9:30 pm already?" she sighed. She sure was stranded.

"Ugh" she groaned, looking around to find anybody, but she didn't. She thought of leaving the car out and walking down to her house because standing there was quite dangerous.

Suddenly her thought drifted to Javier. He surely wouldn't mind lending her a helping hand, she thought. She knew she barely knew him but she had no other choice but to call him.

She took out her phone and tried locating his number on her contact list. Thank goodness they exchanged numbers.

Her heartbeat accelerated as she held the phone to her ears. The call was answered on the 3rd ri…

"Hello" his deep hoarse voice echoed.