The supermarket was bigger than any shop I’d ever been in before. They had a wide variety of food and stuff I’d only ever seen on TV.
I blinked at Eva when she stuffed a basket into my hands. She took one for herself and then turned back around to face me.
“Let’s meet back here in say half an hour?”
My eyes widened. “You want to split up?”
“Yes.” Eva rolled her eyes. “If something happens just scream.”
She spun on her heels and walked away before I could talk some sense into her. Splitting up was the worst possible mistake to make in a place where humans surrounded us, but Eva didn’t care about that.
I sucked in a deep breath and slowly blew it out as I moved. We only needed to get a few things. It was going to take less than half an hour to find everything.
But I had underestimated the humans again.
They didn’t have the things I usually bought, so I had to settle for something else otherwise Eva would never shut up about it. For some reason I was pulled towards the section that sold the baked goods. There were only a few items left.
My eyes lingered on the caramel donuts. When was the last time I ate one?
I almost called the woman over to take one but the words died down on my lips when thoughts started flooding my mind.
There was a reason why I stayed away from certain foods.
Spinning on my heels, I hurried away from the dangerous foods and headed to the safer choices.
***
The basket was starting to get heavy even though it only contained a few things. Most of the things I used and needed were nowhere to be found. I was either going to have to ask Dad to get them for me or I was going to have to order them from online.
Letting out a sigh, I stopped and stared at the shelves in front of me. My eyes darted over every box until I located the cereal I always ate for breakfast. It was on the top shelf, too high up for me to reach.
Biting my lip, I debated my options.
I could ask a stranger for help or I could do it on my own.
How hard could it be to grab a box of cereal from the top shelf?
I placed the basket down on the floor and studied the bottom shelf. If I could step on it then I’d be able to reach, but it didn’t look very sturdy.
Instead, I stood on tip toes and reached for the box but my fingers only brushed it.
“Here, let me help you.”
In the next second the length of his body was pressed to mine.
I jerked away and only made things worse. My elbow knocked a box down which started a domino effect.
Horror filled me as I watched the cereal boxes hit the floor one by one.
“Well shit.”
My eyes darted to the man when he moved. It looked like he was around my age but I was a bit uncertain based on his height and the muscles the guy packed.
His green eyes locked with mine for a few seconds before I lowered mine. Swallowing, I crouched and pulled the boxes that had fallen into my basket out and placed them back on the shelf.
“Here, I believe this is the cereal you were after.”
I glanced up to find him looming over me with the box held out toward me.
For some reason his action made icy shivers race down my spine. I hated the way he loomed over me. It made memories I’d pushed to the back of my mind resurface. My breathing sped up when panic hit.
Grabbing my basket, I stumbled to my feet and nearly tripped but managed to regain my balance.
I looked up at him and then glanced down at the box he still held out towards me.
I needed to get away.
Dropping my basket, I spun around and started running. There was no time to search for Eva. I’d text her when I got back to our dorm room. All that mattered was to get as far away from the man that screamed danger.
The moment I ran through the door, a hand clasped my wrist and spun me back around.
My lips parted as a scream rose in my throat.
“Ari?”
A sob fell from my lips instead when I realized who’d stopped me. I threw myself at him and buried my face against his chest.
Dad instantly wrapped his arms around me. “What happened?”
I shook my head and sucked in a deep breath. His familiar scent calmed me slightly.
“Is your sister here with you?”
Pulling back, I reached up to wipe the tears from my cheeks.
“W-we split up,” I croaked.
Dad’s eyes darted over my face in concern.
“Let’s go find her and then I’ll drive you two back. Did you take a taxi?”
“Walked.”
His brows dipped into a frown. Pursing his lips, he slipped his hand into mine and took a step into the supermarket.
My legs felt like jelly. I didn’t want to go back and risk seeing that man again, so I tugged on his hand until he stopped and turned towards me.
“I’ll wait in the car,” I told him.
Dad hesitated for a few seconds and then handed me the keys. “What happened?” he asked again.
“N-nothing.”
With the keys clutched tightly in my hand, I hurried toward his car. The moment I was inside with the doors locked, I blew out a breath.
Dad lingered in the doorway for a moment longer before he turned and disappeared from sight.
I slid down until I was no longer visible. Who was that man? Why does it feel like I knew him?