Chapter 5 Somebody's Watching Me, Its My Anxiety
Celene's POV
I've never prayed like I prayed at that airport. It almost didn't matter anymore, it was way past the two minutes I had left, my flight was definitely about to leave, without me in it.
“Ma’am,” A man in the black suit said, tapping lightly on my shoulder and then on the desk beside me when I did not respond.
I was about to yell at the passenger behind me to fucking read the room, until I heard a voice say, “a seat just opened up for you. If you would follow me, I can escort you there.”
“What?”
He smiled. Not kind, not cold. Just… empty. “You’re cleared to board.”
“But… I thought—”
“They’ll explain at the gate.”
Behind me, the desk agent looked equally confused. But she nodded for me to follow him. At that, I didn’t ask any more questions. I just moved.
"God, Buddha... Anyone of you guys up there, Thank you!!!" I whispered under my breath.
We were weaving through the crowd towards my flight when I felt cold, calculating eyes following me.
Not everyone’s eyes on me… Nope. Just one pair of eyes.
"Angel Gabriel, this is not the time to play hide and seek with me, my darling"
I stopped and looked around the crowd. Nothing. Everyone was busy in their own world. Still, the sensation of being watched stayed with me, making the hairs on my neck and hands rise.
I turned back, continuing my journey. The man leading me held a door open. “This way.”
I nodded once like a lizard and walked through.
“Right this way, ma’am.”
He called me ma’am. He fucking called me ma'am. I almost giggled out loud. But I didn't want him hearing it and thinking I was not the serious "important person" he must have thought I was.
I couldn’t even relax and sleep. My nerves were running wild. I just needed to make it to my exam.
When the plane landed, I didn’t even wait for the seatbelt sign to chime. The way I grabbed my things, thanked no one in particular, and fled like the airport floor might open up and swallow me whole, they probably thought I was mad.
I sat in acab and made a mental inventory of everything I had carried. Something felt...light. Like I was missing something important.
My manuscript!! I left my manuscriptfor my new novel, Claimed by Azaziel on the airplane seat! Dammit!!"
“God, I’m an idiot,” I whispered.
Do I have to rewrite a full novel all over again?! With my writers block? Fucking hell!
The university gates loomed ahead as my cab driver moved and I had never been so grateful to see the gates of my school.
I made it to the exam hall with just a few fucking minutes to spare. My chest was still heaving when I handed in my ID to the assistant examiner and sank into my seat.
My fingers trembled so much as I picked up my pen to begin my exam, but I couldn't concentrate.
Halfway through the exam, I forgot where I was. The letters blurred. First, I was reading a question, all I could think about was a hallway, and a man carrying me through it… Images of a hand gripping my waist. The smell of rain and danger.
"Focus, Celene!"
I scribbled some more nonsense on my exam sheet. Or maybe it was a genius answer. It was fucking hard to tell through the fog behind my eyes.
The moment I stepped out into the university courtyard, sunlight hit my face and I just wanted to disappear.
“Cee!” Maria’s voice cut through the haze in my mind.
I turned, groaning deep in my throat. The only thing worse than a hangover and jet lag, is a hangover, jetlag and Maria, in the same space and time.
There she was...arms full of iced coffee, her wild hair on her head, and the scowl of a best friend on a mission.
“You look like a raccoon who just survived an exorcism.”
“Nice to see you too,” I muttered.
Maria shoved a coffee into my hands. “Drink. Talk. Explain.” she said and I sighed and took a long, grateful sip of coffee.
“You better have a story,” Maria said.
“I have confusion. And nausea.”
“Close enough. Now, tell me everything,” she said.
“I don’t know anything. I woke up somewhere weird. Made it to the airport somehow. Thought I’d missed my flight. Then a seat just… appeared.”
“Appeared?” Maria asked, her eyebrows jumping all the way to her hairline.
I nodded. “In a full black suit. I swear, this man shows up. Says there’s a seat. No explanation. No receipt. Didn’t even give me a name.”
Maria’s lips pulled to the side. “Okay, that’s either a miracle or a mafia move. Did you ask why though?”
“I didn’t ask. I just got on the plane.”
“Smart girl. I raised you well.” she said and then giggled.
"Wait. That means, someone pulled strings for you!!" All I could do was nod, while she jumped up and down like a damn frog on crack.
"Miss MIA, little miss one week vacation! Queen One Night Only!” she sang.
“Don’t start.” I groaned.
“Oh, I’m already in the middle. The start was twenty-four hours ago when you went radio silent after drinking one sip of vodka and texting me ‘I think I’m gonna die lol’ and then disappearing into thin air like a Disney princess with trauma, and then waking up this morning in a strange bed… who are you and what have you done with my Celene.”
“It wasn’t one sip.”
“Oh, forgive me. Three gallons and a full night with a hot stranger!”
“Okay, I did not—wait... I don't even know if he was hot or not”
She blinked at me. “You don’t remember anything about him?”
“I remember... dancing. A huge man... A room...Maybe a mouth. Definitely a strong jaw... But I swear, I nothing happened!! Don't judge me”
Maria gaped. “You spent the night with a stranger, and then passed out drunk? Girl, I can't wait to tell your future kids!"
We started walking toward the cafeteria with Maria already halfway through a theory involving a secret admirer when I felt it.
A chill all over my body. I looked up and just across the street I noticed a sleek, black car. It was parked a little too perfectly parallel to us on the other side of the road to be a coincidence.
I squinted to see who was inside, but It's windows were tinted darker than even legal and it was angled directly toward us.
“Hold that thought,” I said.
Maria kept ranting. I slowed down my movements and turned my body slightly and peered again.
The car was still there...Still watching. Or maybe that was just me losing it. Maybe...Just fucking maybe.
My fingers curled tighter around my cup.
And though the glass was too dark to see anything inside, I knew...
Someone in that car was watching me.